USB hubs

[inkleput]

Running XP Pro, SP2 on 1.7 gb Thinkpad T42.

I have a USB 2.0 4 port hub made by Tripp-Lite. It seems to cause wierd
things when I try to use it. For instance if I try to unhook my USB
external drive using "Safely Remove Hardware" it may or may not work and
it takes several minutes to "make up its mind" and either dosconnect or
not disconnect. Without it it seems to take only a few seconds.

Actual drive access seems to be fine. But I changed ports on my USB mouse
and it took 5 or 6 minutes for it to come back online. It's almost
instantaneous without the hub.

My last hub (1.0) seemed flakey as well. Are USB hubs prone to be freaky?
Should Tripp-Lite stick with tripping lites?

I only have two USB ports on this laptop. Are these hubs like everything
else in hardware - no clear winner?

JimL

 

[GlowingBlueMist]

Running XP Pro, SP2 on 1.7 gb Thinkpad T42.

I have a USB 2.0 4 port hub made by Tripp-Lite. It seems to cause wierd
things when I try to use it. For instance if I try to unhook my USB
external drive using "Safely Remove Hardware" it may or may not work and
it takes several minutes to "make up its mind" and either dosconnect or
not disconnect. Without it it seems to take only a few seconds.

Actual drive access seems to be fine. But I changed ports on my USB mouse
and it took 5 or 6 minutes for it to come back online. It's almost
instantaneous without the hub.

My last hub (1.0) seemed flakey as well. Are USB hubs prone to be freaky?
Should Tripp-Lite stick with tripping lites?

I only have two USB ports on this laptop. Are these hubs like everything
else in hardware - no clear winner?

JimL

You might try another cable between the PC and the hub.

I've not run into problems with the hubs themselves other than power issues.
If your drive is trying to get power from the hub it may not be supplying
enough power, especially if the hub is not externally powered by a
transformer. The hub might be using just enough of the 5 volts from the PC
to power itself that there is not enough power left to properly feed the
hard drive through the USB cable.

I did have one external hard drive that had an external power transformer
that caused problems, not the hub itself. The stupid twits that designed it
routed the 5 volts from the external power transformer to the hard drive AND
back down the USB cable into the PC/hub. That caused reset and other
problems until I opened the hard drive case and cut the 5 volt trace from
the transformer input to the USB cable connector.

 

[inkleput]

You might try another cable between the PC and the hub.

I've not run into problems with the hubs themselves other than power
issues. If your drive is trying to get power from the hub it may not be
supplying enough power, especially if the hub is not externally powered
by a transformer.

Thanks, but the HD is powered separately by a wall wart (through a power
strip to cut it off completely).

I have no data transfer problems, just unhooking the stuff from XP Pro.
Which is why I don't know whether it is hardware or software.

BTW, there is almost NO cable between the hub and the computer. The
built-in cable is literally 3/4 inch long! Actually 1/2 inch between the
hub body and the connector.

JimL

 

[Joel]

Thanks, but the HD is powered separately by a wall wart (through a power
strip to cut it off completely).

I have no data transfer problems, just unhooking the stuff from XP Pro.
Which is why I don't know whether it is hardware or software.

BTW, there is almost NO cable between the hub and the computer. The
built-in cable is literally 3/4 inch long! Actually 1/2 inch between the
hub body and the connector.

JimL

It could be able time to retire some older USB hubs those served us daily
for number of years. Or the case of the Hub may not show any damage but I
couldn't imaging about the transformer, chip after years dealing with heat.

I just tossed away my first USB hub after so many years running 24/7
because the AC adapter gone bad, and it seems like another one is about to
follow its brother to the trash.