WinXP, USB & legacey hardware?

I recently did a clean install with WinXP, but am having problems with several USB/USB hub connections.
I have a D-link DSB-H4 USB hub (4 ports), there is no rhyme or reason to when it will be "hot" or not. Also XP will not see the PNY dual card reader attached to the same USB hub.
This hub has/had my Epson printer, Visor PDA "hot shoe ", webcam( videoman), and the dual card reader.
I have been to the website for both the hub & the card reader, and there is nothing helpful at either local.

 

Only thing I can suggest is to make sure you are using an external power supply to run the hub. I see that it can be powered directly from the PC's USB connection for low powered devices, or powered from a separate power supply. My IO-Data card reader won't even run by itself on a hub unless that hub is externally powered. I also see that your hub is only USB 1.1 compliant, so won't be much good for most USB 2.0 devices excepting USB 2.0 printers that only need the speed of USB 1. Try running the card reader from its own dedicated USB port.

 

echo: WinXP, USB & legacey hardware

THe hub does have an external power source, and it lights up when the machine boots up but it goes dark most of the time before boot up completes.
Even my PDA hotsynch has it's own power source, so the hub is "pulling power" only for the card reader and since my epson printer also has it's own power supply......
i saw another thread that said something about the bios setting being defaulted to USB off, how would i check this and is it something i should look in to?
Thanking you in advance.
Chaos

 

Yes there is a setting in the BIOS. I can't remember where, but if you boot into BIOS by hitting the delete key (depending on your motherboard) during bootup twice a second till the BIOS menu displays. Check though the screens. You won't save anything or do any damage till you hit the "save and exit" screen and type Y for yes.
There should be a "USB legacy support" option. Set it for auto or enable. Auto would be the prefered setting.

 

Chaosrn,
You mentioned you just did a clean install. Have you installed SP2 yet? Making sure your MS updates are current will remove some known USB glitches. Are you using XP Home or Pro?

Johanna

 

The clean install was done on brand new

The clean install was done on brand new HDD, with an OEM XP (home) disc.
i have had auto-updates running and it seems, now that you mention it, this issue came up after one of the auto updates ran!
there was a point where XP would tell me there were updates to install, even after i ran the update and XP rebooted the system. (how many times does it need to reboot after running the install algorythm)?
But i will double check the update log

PS cool Vargas ICON Jo!

 

also, i have now updated XP

also, i have now updated XP, and the latest "wrinkle" is that as the system boots up (with the card reader plugged into the hub), when it reaches the user ICON screen, a LOUD click sounds, and the machine re-boots itself, and continues to do so until I pull the card reader out of the hub during one of the "dark" periods of a re-boot.

 

Disable "auto restart" in Control Panel> System>Advanced> Start up and Recovery settings and post the exact error message you receive with your next blue screen.

I'm wondering if this has anything to do with the problem you are experiencing?

Johanna

Congratulations...you are the first person to recognize the avatar for what it is!

 

Is the "loud click" eminating from the CPU box or your monitor?
Sounds like it could be a relay in the monitor clicking when the monitor receives video (voltage). If this is happening then this would normally indicate a graphics card and/or driver issue. If it happens just as the blue icon screen comes up (after the Windows screen with the blue horizontal meter graphic) then this would be where the monitor switched from VGA mode to SVGA mode, suggesting a graphics card/driver issue, but in your case is probably not graphics related, but other hardware related, because at this point, some hardware is also detected. Pulling out the card reader suggests that this piece of hardware is faulty or incompatible with XP?
I presume if you unplug this reader and do a reboot, (other than pulling it out part way through a reboot) it boots OK?

 

the "problem" stops when i remove the card reader

however, I tried to plug in an IPoD clone and the USB hub doesn't see it and remains dark.
it is making me crazy.... i thought that XP was supposed to be better! i know ME & 2K were buggy, but i thought that XP with it's increased levels of control (reads as: bill G doesn't want anybody playing with his income), it was supposed to be more user friendly and less geeky.....
well i still like the way win98se worked better.