USB Problems

[Guest]

For some reason my USB devices have stopped working recently.
I have 3 USB Mass Storage devices (A WD Portable Hard disk, a PNY cheapo
Flash drive and a Sony MP3 player) and when any of them are plugged in my PC
stops responding immediatly.
Is there any way I can sort this out?
Thanks!

 

[smlunatick]

For some reason my USB devices have stopped working recently.
I have 3 USB Mass Storage devices (A WD Portable Hard disk, a PNY cheapo
Flash drive and a Sony MP3 player) and when any of them are plugged in my PC
stops responding immediatly.
Is there any way I can sort this out?
Thanks!

Try "clearing" out the settings for each from Device Manager.

Then, re-connect one at a time and test. Stop as soon as the PC stops
responding.

BTW: Has anything else change? Additional "internal" components
(hard drives, CD/DVD or video card?)

You may want to get a powered USB hub, which should provide additional
power over the USB ports.

 

[nice one]

If this occurs when you use any of the USB ports, then I'm afraid it looks
like you have a faulty motherboard.
Hope you can sort it out without going to the expense and time of replacing
the motherboard.

 

[Guest]

Nothing internal has changed, and I believe that it may be the mass storage
device driver that is at fault because I have a USB mouse and keyboard and
they still work perfectly. It's quite difficult to find a USB device which
isn't a mass storage device in my house or I'd try other USB devices.
I tried connecting the External HDD to different ports, including through a
hub and each port individually, but my PC still hangs whenever the autorun
box would normally appear. CD autoruns still work fine.

 

[Smoker]

Nothing internal has changed, and I believe that it may be the mass
storage
device driver that is at fault because I have a USB mouse and keyboard and
they still work perfectly. It's quite difficult to find a USB device which
isn't a mass storage device in my house or I'd try other USB devices.
I tried connecting the External HDD to different ports, including through
a
hub and each port individually, but my PC still hangs whenever the autorun
box would normally appear. CD autoruns still work fine.

Your USB mouse and keyboard are plugged in all the time. When it comes to
most things external XP gets amnesia real easy., especially external hard
drives. Maybe disable your Autorun for everything. This is a very common
problem you have. There are a zillion fixes because hardly any work for
anyone else.

Start by assigning a permanent drive letter to the things you plug in and
out so the crap OS doesn't get confused all the time and give up. Use the
end of the alphabet like x, y and z. If it still doesn't work do a Google
search and try the many suggestions you'll find. Usually if your external
HDD is plugged in when you cold boot it should be discovered. It may
disappear while you're doing something or something else. Use this time to
assign the drive letter and a label.

 

[Guest]

Your USB mouse and keyboard are plugged in all the time. When it comes to
most things external XP gets amnesia real easy., especially external hard
drives. Maybe disable your Autorun for everything. This is a very common
problem you have. There are a zillion fixes because hardly any work for
anyone else.

Start by assigning a permanent drive letter to the things you plug in and
out so the crap OS doesn't get confused all the time and give up. Use the
end of the alphabet like x, y and z. If it still doesn't work do a Google
search and try the many suggestions you'll find. Usually if your external
HDD is plugged in when you cold boot it should be discovered. It may
disappear while you're doing something or something else. Use this time to
assign the drive letter and a label.

Windows doesn't boot if the USB device is plugged in (it gets stuck during
it's 'I'll hide what I'm doing from you with this little animated bar'
section) and crashes before an icon appears to do anything with any devices,
so I can't disable autorun or change the drive letter.
I read something somewhere about being able to get Device Manager to show
devices that weren't connected with an environment variable, I'll try and
find this and then uninstall and reinstall the devices and the drivers (if
they show up).

 

[Smoker]

Windows doesn't boot if the USB device is plugged in (it gets stuck during
it's 'I'll hide what I'm doing from you with this little animated bar'
section) and crashes before an icon appears to do anything with any
devices,
so I can't disable autorun or change the drive letter.
I read something somewhere about being able to get Device Manager to show
devices that weren't connected with an environment variable, I'll try and
find this and then uninstall and reinstall the devices and the drivers (if
they show up).

 

[Guest]

Windows doesn't boot if the USB device is plugged in (it gets stuck during
it's 'I'll hide what I'm doing from you with this little animated bar'
section) and crashes before an icon appears to do anything with any devices,
so I can't disable autorun or change the drive letter.
I read something somewhere about being able to get Device Manager to show
devices that weren't connected with an environment variable, I'll try and
find this and then uninstall and reinstall the devices and the drivers (if
they show up).

I have used the repair console to replace the USBSTOR.SYS USB Mass Storage
Device Driver and the problem is still there, so it's either a problem with
something else down the USB chain or it's a problem more deeply seated.

 

[Smoker]

I have used the repair console to replace the USBSTOR.SYS USB Mass Storage
Device Driver and the problem is still there, so it's either a problem
with
something else down the USB chain or it's a problem more deeply seated.

 

[Guest]

OK, I've found something which seems to work around the problem without
fixing it:
I've switched off the BIOS EHCI which seems to get Windows to treat all USB
ports as 1.1 or older. It isn't a fix, but it at least gets me onto the
devices until I save up my pennies enough to buy a shiny new motherboard.

If someone could reply so I can register a fix, that'd be great. Thanks for
everyones help!