  So here is what I think the problem was. So I can save anyone else all this needless grief. (This mouse works fine in every other port, although from now on I am putting it into an adapter). You can see the hole on the thin side. No other USB I have has that. At least they said they would allow me to return the one with the damaged port because it was within 30 days. I am getting a replacement with the exact same specs and hopefully it will not happen again. Better to ruin a $5.00 adapter than a whole desktop (even though I am pretty sure nothing shorted and they can fix it up like new). [IMAGE]
I do not know how such a stupid thing happened but it has completely destroyed my day. I inserted a mouse dongle (and wireless keyboard dongle) into two of the ports in back. It went in fine and was meant to be a temporary stopgap measure as the cord was too short for the regular mouse that came with the unit. When I tried to remove the dongles one refused to come out. I got absolutely hysterical since I needed the keyboard for my other laptop. It would not budge but I finally managed to remove it. I had no idea it would totally destroy the port. Now it has metal sticking out at a weird angle and I cannot insert anything else. It must have gotten more mangled by removing the stupid mouse dongle. Never in my entire life have I had such problems with a stupid mouse. And now I just know I am going to have to pack it up and send it back or just "live with it." I know this is a stupid reason to be so upset but I really think for the price of this machine, it should be "perfect." I never even finished the setup process because why bother? I really need this thing to work by the middle of June so I cannot afford to be shipping it back and waiting weeks for repair.
XPS 8950, mouse stuck damaged smart port