USB port problem: 2006 iMac

I have one of the first-gen Intel iMacs from early 2006. The USB ports seem to stop working at least once or twice a day. I'll notice that the keyboard and/or the mouse isn't responsive (sometimes it's one and not the other, sometimes it's both). If I unplug the keyboard from the USB port and plug it back in, it will start working again, but I can only do that once or twice before that trick doesn't work either. If the mouse remains unresponsive, I need to hold down the power button and restart the computer. After it reboots, everything is fine again.
I have a USB hub plugged into the other port, and switching the hub and keyboard jacks doesn't seem to make a difference. I have a pair of game controllers plugged into the hub, along with an iDevice cord (I don't typically leave my iPhone or iPod connected to it all the time) and the cord for recharging my external iDevice battery. If I switch the keyboard and hub plugs, the lights on the hub, which were on, will go off when switched to the other port, and the keyboard/mouse still won't work.
The first time this happened, I tried another keyboard/mouse combo that I knew worked, but no dice.
Oddly, the power and charging lights on the external iDevice battery light up, even though the hub port it's connected to remains dark. It's a four-port hub, and each has a blue light that goes on when power is going through it.
I ran Apple Hardware Test, the long version, but it didn't find anything wrong with the computer.
Wondering what else I can test. Could the USB ports be going bad?
It just occurred to me that this could be connected to my FireWire drives, which sometimes drop off the Finder. If I unplug them and then plug them back in, however, they come back.
I have one drive plugged into a FireWire port and a pair of daisychained drives plugged into the other one. The daisychained drives are self-powered, while the other drive plugs into the wall.
Are the USB and FireWire ports on the same board? I assume they are. Am I overloading that board? I'm wondering if I am, given everything I have connected. When the keyboard and mouse stop working, though, the hard drives remain in the Finder.
Any hints are appreciated. Thanks!

I'd recommend doing a SMC reset to see if that helps solve the problem. If you have never done one then:
_SMC RESET_
• Shut down the computer.
• Unplug the computer's power cord _and all peripherals_.
• Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds.
• Release the power button.
• Attach the computers power cable.
• Press the power button to turn on the computer.
_PRAM RESET_
• Shut down the computer.
• Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
• Turn on the computer.
• Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
• Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
• Release the keys.
If that doesn't solve it trying starting in Safe Mode and see if that works.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1455
Roger

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Hi all,
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I work on behalf of HP
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I think there is a problem with the usb ports on the MacPro which I also think is causing some of the bluetooth problems that are being reported around. Here's why.
I have a "base" new MacPro (2xQuad 2.8, 320G drive, etc.). After getting the unit going with the standard usb keyboard and mouse I then paired my Apple wireless keyboard and mighty mouse. All worked fine. Then the problems started. I have security set that requires a log in when booting, however after restarting, or rebooting, the MacPro the wireless keyboard and mouse were no longer recognized and I was stuck at the login screen. If I then connected my original Mac usb keyboard it would not work. The ONLY way I can get the usb keyboard to work is by having it connected when I reboot/restart. Calling Apple support was...well let's just say less than useless. So I have been doing a lot of experimenting on my own. I have finally found out that if I have nothing at all connected to any of the usb ports then the MacPro will recognize my wireless keyboard and mouse (although it does take some time to recognize it). If I connect my usb devices again and reboot...back to the same situation. No connection to my bluetooth devices and my usb keyboard will not work (unless I again reboot with it already attached). Now before you say it's my other usb devices let me tell you what I have....just a Canon printer and a Western Digital USB drive that I use for Time Machine. Both of these units have been working fine for over a year and work absolutely fine when connected to my Mac Book Pro.
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Good luck all,
rd

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