Tech Support said USB devices can sometimes "short out" when hot swapping, truth or baloney?

[Ghost]

Posted the problem in the general forum...but didn't get much of a response.

HP Scanner6200C works great in Win95, but not in either version of Win98.

Tech support said that when you hot swap USB devices you sometimes damage "onboard components such as ROM chips".

Tech support said Win95 is not as picky, and doesn't read those ROM chips and therefore scanner works.

Tech support said Win98 is pickier and when it doesn't find the data, doesn't detect the scanner.

Tried Scanner on different machine and doesn't see it in 98, only 95.

Is what the tech said about hot swapping USB devices and possibly frying chips bullsh!t, or has someone experienced this too?

Thanks

 

[Cyph3r]

In general, when dealing with Hot-Swap devices, having a short on some of the components is definetly a possibility and as such, manufacturer's are supposed to take precaution in desiging the device/components to prevent that.

One of the things in the USB spec's is the possibility of USB devices being hot-swapped and as such, if a device claims to conform to the USB specs then it must be also allow for the possibility of being hot-swapped. If, on the other hand, the HP scanner is indeed not conforming and as such, will be damaged if hot-swapped. Then you should look into returning it and getting a scanner from some other manufacturer that conforms better to the USB spec..Regards

 

[reality bites]

I would say BullSh_t. USB was designed to be hot swapped and unless you put the connector in backwards (not possible) it should not short out. Why it works in 95 and not 98 is odd, but I would say more of a problem with 98, 98 sucks! Your scanner is not supported under win2K. Maybe find a cheap SCSI card and hook it up that way.

HP recommends that the USB cable length stay UNDER 2 meters, is yours?

 

[Ghost]

Thanks for the input. The unit was purchased 15 months ago...and worked like a charm on Win95. Just upgraded him to Win98se after he got nailed by a virus...

I think it's a driver issue. Their tech support is telling me the unit has been damaged in a way (by hot swapping) that it's only recognized in 95 not 98, which is what really sounds like a bunch of hooey to me.

 

[Ghost]

I'm inclined to agree with you, Reality. Yes, the cable is very short. Maybe 3 feet or so.

Yeah, very odd it works in 95 only.

Thanks for the feedback on SCSI, I think I can get the bottom end SCSI for 50 bucks or under. That may be the solution.

I must say I was disapointed with HP support. Their web site has limited driver updates for scanners, and the tech guy is telling me it's an unfixable problem because hot swapping the USB shorted out something.

Makes no sense to me. And I get tired of calling HP in the hopes that one tech will know the answer to the problem.