Asus M2NPV-VM & Nforce 430 USB compatibility problem?

[Yousuf Khan]

I have a 7-port USB 2.0 hub, which for some reason will not allow a
certain USB keyboard to initialize under it. Everything else connected
to this hub works properly, e.g. two different mice (one Microsoft, one
Logitech), to a VoIP phone. I have another 4-port USB 2.0 hub that this
keyboard does work under (and everything else), on the same motherboard.
Now, I was trying to replace this 4-port hub with the 7-port hub, but
now those plans are out the window.

At the same time when I try this same 7-port hub on my laptop with an
AMD/ATI chipset, the keyboard gets recognized and initialized properly.
It seems matching USB hubs and USB chipsets is a big crap shoot. Anybody
got any suggestions about how to resolve this problem?

Yousuf Khan

 

[Robert Redelmeier]

I have a 7-port USB 2.0 hub, which for some reason will not allow
a certain USB keyboard to initialize under it. Everything else
connected to this hub works properly, e.g. two different mice (one
Microsoft, one Logitech), to a VoIP phone. I have another 4-port USB
2.0 hub that this keyboard does work under (and everything else),
on the same motherboard. Now, I was trying to replace this 4-port
hub with the 7-port hub, but now those plans are out the window.

At the same time when I try this same 7-port hub on my laptop with
an AMD/ATI chipset, the keyboard gets recognized and initialized
properly. It seems matching USB hubs and USB chipsets is a big crap
shoot. Anybody got any suggestions about how to resolve this problem?

Maybe look for a mobo BIOS update? Maybe try a different
USB socket on the hub? The kbd is an ancient PC device and
I expect "peculiarities" even in a modern USB incarnation.


-- Robert

 

[Franc Zabkar]

I have a 7-port USB 2.0 hub, which for some reason will not allow a
certain USB keyboard to initialize under it. Everything else connected
to this hub works properly, e.g. two different mice (one Microsoft, one
Logitech), to a VoIP phone. I have another 4-port USB 2.0 hub that this
keyboard does work under (and everything else), on the same motherboard.
Now, I was trying to replace this 4-port hub with the 7-port hub, but
now those plans are out the window.

At the same time when I try this same 7-port hub on my laptop with an
AMD/ATI chipset, the keyboard gets recognized and initialized properly.
It seems matching USB hubs and USB chipsets is a big crap shoot. Anybody
got any suggestions about how to resolve this problem?

Yousuf Khan

Try Microsoft's UVCView:
http://www.users.on.net/~fzabkar/USB_IDs/UVCView.x86.exe

- Franc Zabkar

 

[Yousuf Khan]

Try Microsoft's UVCView:
http://www.users.on.net/~fzabkar/USB_IDs/UVCView.x86.exe

Yeah, well, that's the utility that I am already trying. It's what's
confirming that the keyboard isn't being initialized properly.

Yousuf Khan

 

[Yousuf Khan]

Maybe look for a mobo BIOS update? Maybe try a different
USB socket on the hub? The kbd is an ancient PC device and
I expect "peculiarities" even in a modern USB incarnation.

Wish there was a BIOS update left on this thing, but it's already got
the latest BIOS. I had previously searched for a BIOS update when I was
looking to see if a Phenom-capable BIOS exists for it, so I could have
upgraded to a quad-core. Asus has stopped updating the BIOS on this.

The keyboard is so ancient, it should be one of the easiest to to
convert to USB.

Yousuf Khan

 

[Franc Zabkar]

I have a 7-port USB 2.0 hub, which for some reason will not allow a
certain USB keyboard to initialize under it. Everything else connected
to this hub works properly, e.g. two different mice (one Microsoft, one
Logitech), to a VoIP phone. I have another 4-port USB 2.0 hub that this
keyboard does work under (and everything else), on the same motherboard.
Now, I was trying to replace this 4-port hub with the 7-port hub, but
now those plans are out the window.

At the same time when I try this same 7-port hub on my laptop with an
AMD/ATI chipset, the keyboard gets recognized and initialized properly.
It seems matching USB hubs and USB chipsets is a big crap shoot. Anybody
got any suggestions about how to resolve this problem?

Yousuf Khan

Just out of curiosity, what happens if you connect the 4-port hub to
the 7-port hub and then plug in your keyboard?

Asus motherboard <-> 4-port hub <-> 7-port hub <-> keyboard

- Franc Zabkar

 

[YKhan]

Just out of curiosity, what happens if you connect the 4-port hub to
the 7-port hub and then plug in your keyboard?

Asus motherboard <-> 4-port hub <-> 7-port hub <-> keyboard

I've tried both combinations too: plugging the 4-port into the 7-port;
and also the 7-port into the 4-port; and the keyboard doesn't
initialize in either case. However, now that you mentioned it, I tried
one other combination that I hadn't tried: I took the mini-USB cable
from the 4-port and put it on the 7-port, and it worked! It looks like
the problem was a cable. The new 7-port came with a somewhat cheap-
looking mini-USB cable, but I didn't think a cable would make this
much difference.

Yousuf Khan

 

[Franc Zabkar]

I've tried both combinations too: plugging the 4-port into the 7-port;
and also the 7-port into the 4-port; and the keyboard doesn't
initialize in either case. However, now that you mentioned it, I tried
one other combination that I hadn't tried: I took the mini-USB cable
from the 4-port and put it on the 7-port, and it worked! It looks like
the problem was a cable. The new 7-port came with a somewhat cheap-
looking mini-USB cable, but I didn't think a cable would make this
much difference.

Yousuf Khan

Does the "bad" cable also cause the keyboard to misbehave on the
4-port hub?

Is the cable a 5-pin type ???

- Franc Zabkar

 

[YKhan]

Does the "bad" cable also cause the keyboard to misbehave on the
4-port hub?

No, the original 4-port hub is extremely resilient, works with
virtually everything well. I had posted here almost a year back about
a problem I was having in getting a second 4-port hub to operate at
high-speeds, whereas an older previous 4-port hub had no problems at
all.

comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.chips | Google Groups
http://tinyurl.com/6ph7ym

Well, the older 4-port hub that I was referring to in that older
posting, is still the same 4-port hub that I'm referring to here. I
never got that solved, the only solution I was given was to buy yet
another new hub. I've since gone through two more 4-port hubs, and now
I'm on to this 7-port hub, and the oldest hub is still by far my most
reliable and fastest. I'm no longer looking for full USB 2.0 speeds
from any of my subsequent hubs, because none of them have delivered
it. I'm now limiting myself to connecting only slow peripherals to
these hubs, and high speed stuff like external drives I attach
directly to a free USB port on the computer.

Is the cable a 5-pin type ???

Well, all of the cables feature a Standard-A type connector on one
end, and Mini-A type connector on the other end. The Standard-A plugs
into the computer, while the Mini-A plugs into one special plug on the
hubs. The Standard-A and Mini-A connectors are as defined by the
following article.

Universal Serial Bus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB#Types_of_USB_connector

Yousuf Khan

 

[Franc Zabkar]

Well, all of the cables feature a Standard-A type connector on one
end, and Mini-A type connector on the other end. The Standard-A plugs
into the computer, while the Mini-A plugs into one special plug on the
hubs. The Standard-A and Mini-A connectors are as defined by the
following article.

Universal Serial Bus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB#Types_of_USB_connector

Yousuf Khan

Some peripherals utilise the fifth pin to communicate their device
type to the host. They do this via a resistor connected to ground.

http://wiki.openezx.org/EMU
http://pinouts.ru/CellularPhones-A-N/razrv3_charger_pinout.shtml
http://pinouts.ru/Devices/mini-USB_pinout.shtml

I don't know whether the above applies in your case, though. In fact I
can't see that this would serve any purpose for a hub.

BTW, here is one 4-pin mini-USB connector:
http://pinouts.ru/PortableDevices/miniusb_devices_pinout.shtml

- Franc Zabkar