could be a faulty USB port too(*)...

As Venemo said, treat the whole box as DOA.. take it back for an instant replacement or refund.. no messing

*Some N900's suffered a loose USB port that actually came out of the phone.. For those that didn't fall out, the port often became intermittent and unreliable.. it's a strange hardware flaw which I think was being addresses by Nokia.. There are threads on here about it..