Question : USB ports are not recongized

A customer brought in a gateway computer and none of the USB ports are working,  She wanted me to wipe the hard drive clean and re-install the os (Windows XP home edition).  So I formated the hard drive and re-installed Windows XP (SP3).   But the USB ports still do not work.  I checked settings in BIOS and the USB options are enabled.   Am I correct to say that the motherboard is faulty?

Answer : USB ports are not recongized

It sounds as if the USB ports are indeed faulty on the motherboard - you can check if you have a voltmeter - check the ports to see if they're providing 5V or not.