i have a laptop and a desktop and a 300 Gb portable hard drive (i'm a writer). i bought a house and moved in and my desktop can no longer access internet, and neither computer can access the portable harddrive. Using the laptop (because i can't figure out the problems with the desktop) when i plug in the portable hard drive i get an error message: A USB device has a powersurge and has exceeded the power limits of the device.  After i follow the instructions then i get the same message for my Netgear wireless adapter and no USB port works and i have to shut down and restart.

i have a deadline and need access to the portable hard drive. i don't understand why i would be having power related problems moving from an apartment to a house. Any ideas?

   It sounds to me like something was ruined in the move.  Either the hard drive is messed up and drawing too much power or the USB ports are messed up.  I guess that it could be the motherboard too.  It is hard to tell without being able to test the individual devices.
   If a power surge caused it, it could have been a lightning strike or just a surge from the electric company.  A power surge can ruin any of the above mentioned devices.  It sounds like you are going to have to take it all to a computer repair shop.