iBook G4 USB ports (2) don't both work at the same time

[adventurat]

Hi there! I did a forum search for this problem, but couldn't find any mention of it (which is a tad disheartening).

It's only recently come to my attention that the two USB ports on my iBook G4 (which will be 4 yrs old in February) don't both work at the same time.

Usually I only use a USB thumb drive, but recently I've tried to use both it and my camera cable, or my USB mouse, to no avail. Only one port is active at a time.

I can reboot the system and encounter the same thing. And here's the really weird part: the ports seem to take turns being the active one.

Anyone else familiar with this? Any ideas, oh Cleverheads?