Is it possible to plug a device into the usb port with out any problems ?

[boyz]

hey guys i have a p4 system with xp pro and i want to know if i can plug my rca lyra 128 mb, into the usb port without running into any problems. I always thought that you have to power down the pc before connecting any devices, it this true ?
thanks in advance.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

It *should* be fine, I always plug my USB devices in when the computer is running, I haven't ever actually turned it off to plug it in

Don't take my word for it, I don't want to be liable for an mp3 player if something goes wrong...

 

[xizor]

wow, if you needed to power down to use USB, it would be absolutely useless

you can plug a device in at any time! you should disconnect the device however through winxp before you remove it.

usb was made for hot swapability

 

[boyz]

how do you disconnect the device ?

 

[xizor]

there should be a "safely remove hardware" icon in your system tray

 

[bacillus]

Originally posted by: boyz
how do you disconnect the device ?

right click on the safely remove hardware icon in systray!

 

[InlineFive]

Originally posted by: bacillus

Originally posted by: boyz
how do you disconnect the device ?

right click on the safely remove hardware icon in systray!

And then click the drive you want to disconnect, confirm and disconnect physically! Acutually, USB is Plug-'n-Play, which means that you can plug it in or unplug it without having to shut down the computer. I have to say that it's really nice.

-Por

 

[VansTheMan]

Yeah, if you had to unplug to use USB it really wouldn't really have any advantage over anything else. Hot-swapability is so very useful.

 

[anandfan]

I plug/unplug my camera and scanner all the time while the system is running. That's what USB is for.

 

[JBT]

hotswapability thats what its all about

 

[Abhi]

Do it without any concerns...
unless there is a "safely remove hardware" icon in the system tray. If there is, first disable then unplug.

 

[stevewm]

USB was designed for hotswapping....

The "safely remove hardware" thing ONLY applies to USB storage devices. Any other device can be unplugged without stopping it.

And then the ONLY time you need to go through the "safely remove hardware" thing is if you have enabled Write Caching for USB storage devices. In Windows XP Write Caching is DISABLED by default so you can safely unplug any storage device without "stopping" it first. In Windows 2000 you should definately stop a USB storage device before unplugging it. Win2k enables Write Caching by default and it provides no way to disable it!

 

[AndyK]

If your USB device has a driver install disc (doesnt use a generic driver) then you should install the driver BEFORE you plug the device in, if XP assigns the wrong driver (such as calling a benq 4300U scanner a generic flatbed scanner22) then it can be a real pain, even if you install the correct driver after XP will often default back to its original chosen driver (in this case I find system restore the best solution)


Andy