Windows wont start with USB printer plugged in

  • Thread starter Thread starter Richard in AZ
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Richard in AZ

I have now got two club members that can not start Windows if their USB printer is connected.
In both cases the computer goes to the BIOS splash screen and freezes.

In one case it is a Dell Computer with an HP printer.
In the second case it is an HP Computer with an Epson printer.

If you remove the printer USB cable, the computer starts and load the desktop just fine.
Then you can plug the printer cable in and use the printer computer and printer.

But if the printer USB cable is connected, printer power off or on, then the computer go to the BIOS
splash screen. Dell in one case, HP in the other case and just stays there. In both cases, I have
deleted the printers and re-installed the printers with updated drivers obtained of the printer
vendor web site. I have reviewed the BIOS setting in both computers and any USB start-up options
are not obvious.

Any thoughts? Both computers are located about 20 miles from me, so instant checks are not easy to
come by.
 
Richard in AZ said:
I have now got two club members that can not start Windows if their USB
printer is connected.
In both cases the computer goes to the BIOS splash screen and freezes.

In one case it is a Dell Computer with an HP printer.
In the second case it is an HP Computer with an Epson printer.

If you remove the printer USB cable, the computer starts and load the
desktop just fine.
Then you can plug the printer cable in and use the printer computer and
printer.

But if the printer USB cable is connected, printer power off or on, then
the computer go to the BIOS splash screen. Dell in one case, HP in the
other case and just stays there. In both cases, I have deleted the
printers and re-installed the printers with updated drivers obtained of
the printer vendor web site. I have reviewed the BIOS setting in both
computers and any USB start-up options are not obvious.

Any thoughts? Both computers are located about 20 miles from me, so
instant checks are not easy to come by.
Click to expand...
Do you Legacy USB enabled in BIOS?
Is this a new development? If so, what has been
installed/uninstalled/added/deleted that may have caused these changes?
Are they both on the same network, or are they not networked at all?
 
I have now got two club members that can not start Windows if their USB printer is connected.
In both cases the computer goes to the BIOS splash screen and freezes.

In one case it is a Dell Computer with an HP printer.
In the second case it is an HP Computer with an Epson printer.

If you remove the printer USB cable, the computer starts and load the desktop just fine.
Then you can plug the printer cable in and use the printer computer and printer.

But if the printer USB cable is connected, printer power off or on, then the computer go to the BIOS
splash screen. Dell in one case, HP in the other case and just stays there. In both cases, I have
deleted the printers and re-installed the printers with updated drivers obtained of the printer
vendor web site. I have reviewed the BIOS setting in both computers and any USB start-up options
are not obvious.

Any thoughts? Both computers are located about 20 miles from me, so instant checks are not easy to
come by.
Click to expand...

I saw this issue on a few Dell machines in the past. It turns out
installing the Intel Chipset Software solved it for me. If it's a
new-ish PC (say the past 5 years), these drivers should set you
straight:
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&ProdId=816&DwnldID=18494&lang=eng
Let me know if it helps.
 
SC Tom said:
Do you Legacy USB enabled in BIOS?
Is this a new development? If so, what has been installed/uninstalled/added/deleted that may have
caused these changes?
Are they both on the same network, or are they not networked at all?
Click to expand...
Neither computer is networked, but they are connected to DLS modems.
They belong to two different computer club individuals in private homes.
The Dell started this problem shortly after the owners original Dell printer died and he bought
a new HP printer.
Since I could not find any BIOS setting that referenced USB boot options he just waits until the PC
is running and then plugs in the printer.
The HP computer was brought to me as a total non-operating mess and I used the feature on the
hidden partition to restore it to the "Factory" status and did all the updates at my home. Then I
took it to the owners home and install her Epson printer from the vendor CD's. However, she then
found it would not start the next day and brought it back to me. It worked just fine in my shop but
not when she returned home. On the phone, I asked her to unplug the printer and try it. Of course
it worked then. Now she has to boot without the printer cord connected and then connect the
printer. I have not had a chance to check the BIOS again on this computer and the owner is not
competent enough to work in the System Settings. I may not get a chance to see this PC for a while.
I just found it strange that two computers, different brands, with different printers exhibit the
same problem.
Both computers are 4 to 5 year old models and operating with XP home edition and SP3 updates.
 
Richard in AZ said:
Neither computer is networked, but they are connected to DLS modems.
They belong to two different computer club individuals in private homes.
The Dell started this problem shortly after the owners original Dell
printer died and he bought a new HP printer.
Since I could not find any BIOS setting that referenced USB boot options
he just waits until the PC is running and then plugs in the printer.
The HP computer was brought to me as a total non-operating mess and I
used the feature on the hidden partition to restore it to the "Factory"
status and did all the updates at my home. Then I took it to the owners
home and install her Epson printer from the vendor CD's. However, she
then found it would not start the next day and brought it back to me. It
worked just fine in my shop but not when she returned home. On the phone,
I asked her to unplug the printer and try it. Of course it worked then.
Now she has to boot without the printer cord connected and then connect
the printer. I have not had a chance to check the BIOS again on this
computer and the owner is not competent enough to work in the System
Settings. I may not get a chance to see this PC for a while.
I just found it strange that two computers, different brands, with
different printers exhibit the same problem.
Both computers are 4 to 5 year old models and operating with XP home
edition and SP3 updates.
Click to expand...
On the Dell, were the old printer drivers uninstalled before the new printer
was installed? I know with my HP all-in-one (and with all the HP laser and
inkjet printers at work), the drivers had to be installed before the printer
was even plugged in, especially the USB ones.
 
SC Tom said:
On the Dell, were the old printer drivers uninstalled before the new printer was installed? I know
with my HP all-in-one (and with all the HP laser and inkjet printers at work), the drivers had to
be installed before the printer was even plugged in, especially the USB ones.
Click to expand...
I cannot say for the Dell, but since I did the reformat and re-installation on the HP computer I
know there were not printers before I install the Epson. And I did install the software first,
plugging the printer in only when the software requested it.
 
Richard in AZ said:
I cannot say for the Dell, but since I did the reformat and
re-installation on the HP computer I know there were not printers
before I install the Epson. And I did install the software first,
plugging the printer in only when the software requested it.
Click to expand...

One thing to look at in BIOS is the boot order. If 'Removeable Devices' is
first in the list, it may be hanging there. That's really the only other
thing I can think of right now. I have a USB HP printer, and my PC boots
fine with it on, I just went through my BIOS settings to see
 
One thing to look at in BIOS is the boot order. If 'Removeable Devices' is
first in the list, it may be hanging there. That's really the only other
thing I can think of right now, unless there are other USB devices plugged
in that may be dragging the power past the 500mA limit. I have a USB HP
printer, and my PC boots fine with it on, and I just went through my BIOS
settings to see what mine were and if changing them made any difference, and
it still booted fine. Sorry I couldn't help.
 
One site here has a Dell server which freezes on bootup if a USB tape drive
is connected. Can't be power consumption as this is separately powered.

This is a BIOS firmware bug, and while BIOS/CMOS Settings may have some
influence there is no point in poking-around in the OS or drivers.

It may be worth seeing if the PC/mobo manufacturer has a BIOS update for
this problem. Bear in-mind that flashing the BIOS does carry some risk with
it.
 
Hello Richard in AZ,

You mentioned that the computers in question are 4 to 5 years old. Have you
condidered checking the power supplies of these computers to see if they
might have degraded in power. The reason I ask this question is because
about two years ago, my computer stopped booting with my Lexmark printer
attached. It worked if I booted first then plugged in the printer for about
a week. Then one day the computer auto-restarted and froze as soon as I
plugged in the printer. I rebooted without again, plugged in the printer
after logging into Windows, and once again the computer restarted and froze.
I started without and checked the device manager, . . . no problems. (??!!!)
Then after uninstalling/reinstalling printer drivers, and even reinstalling
Windows, still no problems except that the computer soon stopped working
even with the usb mouse hooked up.

Long boring story short, the power supply was going bad after about 5 years
of faithful service first on my own home built machine and then my parents'
rebuilt machine which is now the only computer in the house.

I went to Office Depot to purchase a new power supply (though I wasn't
really sure that was it). I almost purchased a power supply tester instead.
Not wanting to risk spending more than necessary, I took a chance and got
the power supply. I took it home and all was well again.

I would suggest you may wish to go to your nearest computer parts dealer or
favorite online computer store and see if they sell power supply testers
since you have two people with different brand computers and printers having
the same or similar problem.

Here is a link to newegg.com to give you an idea of what you could spend on
a tester:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...der=BESTMATCH&Description=power+supply+tester

I know others have tried to say it isn't a power issue, but I think it may
be.

The only other possibility I can think of considering all other suggestons
posted, is that the usb ports are going bad themselves either in the wiring
connected from the port on the computer box to the mainboards or worse
possible case, the connectors on the mainboards themselves are bad. Usb
ports can be replaced with an add on pci card, or you can replace the usb
ports built into the computer box that are connected to the mainboard.

I would suggest first testing the power supplies for decreased power output
since that is your most likely problem.

If it isn't, and you don't want to mess with the usb connectors on the
mainboards, invest 5 or 6 US dollars or your currency's equivelant in a usb
port card and see if plugging into that also causes problems. If not, then
problem solved for at least one of the machines in question.

Finally, don't decide not to try something because someone else says it
won't help unless you have already tried it or you actually know a sledge
hammer will only make things worse. You are dealing with two fairly old
systems, and after 4 or 5 years, computer hardware WILL start going bad. It
is a time to either consider replacing parts as they begin to decline in
performance, or purchase a new computer and scrap or recycle the old
systems. It may also be a good time to think 'back up' if that wasn't
thought of when the systems were new because the hard drives may also begin
to have problems.

So if you think you need new cables, ide or sata cables, power supply, etc.,
chances are it won't hurt to start your emergency shopping list and set your
budget for such items.

I apologize for my lengthy suggestion. I hope you can find something that
will help among the answers you recieve.

Good luck.

--
Peace,

Jeffrey W. Bowen
Remove NO SPAM entries from email address to send personal email.

Please post replies of successes or failures so we all can benefit from each
others' experiences.
 
One more thing, sorry.

Remember to discharge all static electricity from your body by touching a
metal object such as the power supply or computer box frame before touching
the components inside your computer box.

Also, if the add on card does work, disable the onboard usb ports in your
CMOS or disconnect the built in usb ports from the mainboard, so that you
don't have resources directed to the unusable ports.

--
Peace,

Jeffrey W. Bowen
Remove NO SPAM entries from email address to send personal email.

Please post replies of successes or failures so we all can benefit from each
others' experiences.
 
Thanks Jeffrey. I get involved in these as I am an A+ certified computer technician (and a member
of the computer club who works on some computers for coffee and cookies). It is not my decision
about spending the owners money on repairs. In both cases, the computer is owned by a senior
citizen on a small fixed income. They may choose to plug the printer in after they boot until they
can maybe upgrade to a newer computer.
 
Thanks for the reply Richard. After I posted the instructions for
discharging static electricity, I realized that you probably already knew
that.


Good luck.
 
Zilbandy said:
Doesn't anybody around here trim their posts? When I see threads with
over 200 lines of text and a one or two line reply, I generally ignore
them... like I SHOULD have done with this thread. :/ Forgive me for
trimming this post and using a bottom posted reply. I'm just an old
fart that doesn't understand the modern ways of "new" technology.
Click to expand...

If you aren't going to contribute anything in the way of help, then yes, you
*should* have ignored it (as one old fart to another :-) ).
 
Richard said:
I have now got two club members that can not start Windows if their USB printer is connected.
In both cases the computer goes to the BIOS splash screen and freezes.

In one case it is a Dell Computer with an HP printer.
In the second case it is an HP Computer with an Epson printer.

If you remove the printer USB cable, the computer starts and load the desktop just fine.
Then you can plug the printer cable in and use the printer computer and printer.

But if the printer USB cable is connected, printer power off or on, then the computer go to the BIOS
splash screen. Dell in one case, HP in the other case and just stays there. In both cases, I have
deleted the printers and re-installed the printers with updated drivers obtained of the printer
vendor web site. I have reviewed the BIOS setting in both computers and any USB start-up options
are not obvious.

Any thoughts? Both computers are located about 20 miles from me, so instant checks are not easy to
come by.
Click to expand...
Most computers, even four-year-old ones, have multiple USB ports usually
divided between the front and back of the machine.
I'd try plugging the USB printer into a different port, preferably on
the back if it's now plugged in the front or vice-versa, to see if that
makes any difference.
Also, are there any other devices plugged into the USB ports on these
computers? You might try removing them one by one to see if that affects
the operation.
Push comes to shove, try the HP Computer with the HP Printer if the
users are willing to switch. <vbg>

Bill
 
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