Front USB not working with USB storage pen drives?

[ArmchairAthlete]

I've noticed at work and at home that sometimes when a USB pen drive or watch drive is plugged into the front (not back) usb ports of some PCs it won't work with it correctly. Out of about a half dozen systems, several have worked fine with a usb storage device plugged into the front USB and several (including my personal system) have not.

Does this have to do with differences in the motherboards themselves as to how they support front USB, my own error in wiring the front USB, a software problem, or something else?

I've seen both XP and 2000 both work and not work. I've tested multiple pen drives people had and my own USB storage watch so it's not the USB storage device itself. Other USB devices (like mice) will work fine in the same front USB ports that aren't working with USB storage.

Here is the specific error on my win 2000 machine upon hooking up to the front USB:

Completed the Found New Hardware Wizard


USB

An error occured during the installation of the device.

The installation failed because a function driver was not specified for this device instance.

To close the Wizard, click Finish.



Again, works just fine on the rear USB ports of the same system.

 

[EarthwormJim]

Could possibly be an issue with the USB drive not liking USB 1.1 (most front USB ports are typically 1.1).

 

[ArmchairAthlete]

Well, this USB watch and most pen drives are 2.0 but backward compatible to USB 1.1.

I think usb storage has both worked and not worked on 2.0 front USB headers different PCs...

 

[corkyg]

More than likely it is the internal link between the USB pins and the front connectors. Those can be pretty flaky with some mobos - use all separate single pin connectors, and easy to mess up.

 

[ArmchairAthlete]

Originally posted by: corky-g
More than likely it is the internal link between the USB pins and the front connectors. Those can be pretty flaky with some mobos - use all separate single pin connectors, and easy to mess up.

Well I disconnected all the wires from the front USB and re-wired it. I double checked everything, but the USB drive still shows up as an "Unkown Device" under Universal Serial Bus Controllers.

Maybe I'll try re-wiring one more time. Could be my mobo drivers but I really doubt that.

EDIT: Isolating the problem...

I hooked another USB header into the motherboard. This header is actually meant to be installed in an empty PCI slot, it came with the A7N8X Deluxe motherboard. The watch drive works fine when connected like this.

Therefore, something's wrong with the Front USB header on the case itself. I'm not sure if I can replace it or not... As for now I just have a USB extension cable connected to a rear USB port and resting on the top of the case for easy access.

 

[Ronin7]

I had this exact same problem with a 7-in-1 flash card reader that I got yesterday. This unit was intended for connection to an internal header connector. As there are no free USB header connectors on my MB, I made up a new cable with a USB-A connector. This comes out through a hole at the back of the cabinet and connects to one of the rear USB ports. Anyway, your posting put me on the right track. Turns out I had reversed the polarity of the data signal. Correcting that solved the problem. In short, swap the green and white wires and you should be ok.

 

[stultus]

What case, thumbdrivees are you using? On my Antec 2600, my PNY 1.1 thumbdrive works but a newer 2.0 Sandisk does not.

 

[ArmchairAthlete]

stultus:

Drive (512MB one):

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/watches/5eec/

Case:

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=11-125-224

Note that I've seen this with other cases/usb drives.

Thanks for the tips Ronin7.

Right now I've just got an extension USB cable plugged into a back usb port with the other end resting on top of my PC to plug the usb drive into.



EDIT: Same error even when I switch green-white wires =(

EDIT2: When this USB watch drive is working correctly it has a red LED that lights up. It blinks slowly when it's plugged into a PC and working (powered). It blinks fast when writing. It doesn't light up at all on my PC. Maybe the problem is in the +5v wires. Perhaps this front USB header isn't getting power to the watch drive.

Again, the problem is with the header. Plugging a different header into the pins on my mobo works fine (cept the other header I tried is a rear pci slot one wich doesn't help me).