Mini-USB Hub Doesn't Work On Vista Laptop...

[DefRef]

I have a Targus USB mini-hub - ACH63US | Targus Super Mini USB 2.0 4-Port Hub - that I used with my old Dell laptop (Inspiron 6000 w/WinXP) without a problem. It was used with key drives and wireless mouse receivers - nothing too heavy.

After getting my Dell XPS 1530 w/Vista, that same hub lights up when plugged in, but nothing plugged into it is recognized. I thought it had failed, but when I attach it to a WinXP desktop, it supports a key drive like nothing's wrong.

I've looked around for fixes and tried changing the permissions on the c:\Windows\inf\INFCACHE.1 file and rebooted with no change. A USB Driver rollup patch from M$ isn't applicable because I'm up to SP1 already. I can't delete or rename the INFCACHE.1 file.

Key drives and WD Passport HDs plugged into the same USB jack work fine, so something is up with Vista and this hub. Any ideas? TIA!


Edit: Corrected brand and added model info.



UPDATE: I figured out how to nuke the INFCACHE.1 file, but now it only works on 2 of the 3 ports on the laptop; the right side and the bottom left port - the top left port still won't see it. Sucks, but I'll cope, I suppose.

 

[Zepper]

A self-powered hub would likely do better on a laptop unless all connected devices are very low current.

.bh.

 

[DefRef]

Which part of "It was used with key drives and wireless mouse receivers - nothing too heavy." was unclear and suggested I was overloading it?

 

[Zepper]

Well, my kbd/mse RF receiver has a 180mA rating which isn't particularly light re. a USB load... I also have an IR one which I can't find to check its load. If nothing is plugged into your laptop's USB channel, you have perhaps 500mA to power the hub plus everything plugged into it. I've got an eMail in to Crucial to find out the load of some typical USB flash drives - doesn't seem to be a listed spec on most drives.

.bh.

 

[DefRef]

Well, I tried to plug in the Passport and it came up as an Unknown Device in Device Manager. This drive worked fine when jacked straight into the lappy. I've got a bunch of USB peripherals I need to connect and if it can't handle the light stuff, how will it cope with the more demanding things? This hub also as a second plug for power (i.e. two USB jacks - one for data/power, the other for power) and that didn't help. I wonder what the deal is with that one USB jack since it works fine with whatever is plugged into it straight.

 

[Ghouler]

check the load [mA] for all devices that you connect. Going by specs USB is supposed to carry 500mA but it is often not achieved on laptops

 

[Zepper]

I got this answer from Crucial, but it doesn't seem like a confident, well-reasearched answer to me.

"Hi Bill,

Thanks for contacting us. Usually, the most draw that you will get from a USB flash drive is 2.5 watts." ed. 2.5W = 500mA

If that is true, then a single USB flash drive can use up what is supposed to be all that is available. My self-powered hub has a 2 Amp wall wart, so that is shared among powering the hub and the 4 available USB ports. I have an extra one (unused except for a test to verify working condition on receipt) available for sale - PM me.

Here is a review from PriceGrabber of the SanDisk 1GB Cruzer Titanium-
'2 Star ReviewBEWARE - high power requirements
Strengths: Pretty blue light
Weaknesses: Does not work in most USB ports
Summary: Sandisk supports this device only on rear USB ports on desktop machines. Be prepared to crawl under the desk every time you want to use it. No front ports, no expansion cards, no powered hubs -- rear motherboard ports only. They don't tell you that until AFTER they have your money."

This came from the description page on the SanDisk Ultra Cruzer titanium 4 and 8GB units (I added the bolding):

"Specifications:

* Pentium PC or Macintosh computer with USB support
* Windows 2000 SP4, XP, Vista and Mac OS X v10.1.2+ **
* USB 2.0 port required for Hi-speed transfer
* Requires high power USB hub port"


From this I'd draw the conclusion that larger (and/or faster) USB flash drives can require significant current - particularly in write or erase modes. I have also written to SanDisk and Kingston. I'll report back what I get.

.bh.

 

[MadAmos]

Originally posted by: Zepper
I got this answer from Crucial, but it doesn't seem like a confident, well-reasearched answer to me.

"Hi Bill,

Thanks for contacting us. Usually, the most draw that you will get from a USB flash drive is 2.5 watts." ed. 2.5W = 500mA

If that is true, then a single USB flash drive can use up what is supposed to be all that is available. My self-powered hub has a 2 Amp wall wart, so that is shared among powering the hub and the 4 available USB ports. I have an extra one (unused except for a test to verify working condition on receipt) available for sale - PM me.

Here is a review from PriceGrabber of the SanDisk 1GB Cruzer Titanium-
'2 Star ReviewBEWARE - high power requirements
Strengths: Pretty blue light
Weaknesses: Does not work in most USB ports
Summary: Sandisk supports this device only on rear USB ports on desktop machines. Be prepared to crawl under the desk every time you want to use it. No front ports, no expansion cards, no powered hubs -- rear motherboard ports only. They don't tell you that until AFTER they have your money."

This came from the description page on the SanDisk Ultra Cruzer titanium 4 and 8GB units (I added the bolding):

"Specifications:

* Pentium PC or Macintosh computer with USB support
* Windows 2000 SP4, XP, Vista and Mac OS X v10.1.2+ **
* USB 2.0 port required for Hi-speed transfer
* Requires high power USB hub port"


From this I'd draw the conclusion that larger (and/or faster) USB flash drives can require significant current - particularly in write or erase modes. I have also written to SanDisk and Kingston. I'll report back what I get.

.bh.

Thanks I am interested in what you hear as well

 

[DefRef]

On my old laptop, I was able to hang two Sandisk Cruzers and the mouse receiver off this hub. Sucks that I can't do as much on the new one.

 

[Zepper]

Maybe you should check with Dell to find out what is supposed to be available at the port(s) you were using. They often do things the way they want instead of what is considered to be the standard or conventional way.

.bh.

 

[corkyg]

A hub with out its own power source is not very reliable, especially on a laptop. It really has nothing to do with the OS - Vista, or XP.