In regards to this issue your having, if you are able to connect a controller using the USB ports and it connects without issue then the USB Ports are good and in working order. The PlayStation's OS is setup to only allow music and video playback through a USB drive. any other file types on the drive are not supported by the OS. They did that purposely to elevate game piracy. There is an alternative to allow you to play game backups and homebrew however, use a mod chip to modify the system to allow homebrew and backups. If you have any further questions regarding anything regarding electronics, Contact us on our website at CERLV.com