USB causes computer to stall and power off

[DragonReborn]

Ok, so I have a usb 2.0 pci card and the four ports on my Abit IS7-G mobo. If I plug ANYthing directly into the mobo the computer will not even POST. If I plug it in when windows is running it will do a hard crash that makes the monitor screen look very funks (weird colors everywhere) and it sounds like it resets itself.

If I plug in more than a few into the pci card it will do the same thing. Is my mobo hating usb life right now? Powersupply?

I have the fully updated bios, motherboard drivers, windows drivers, usb drivers, etc.

Help! =)

 

[happycat]

powersupply for sure.

 

[Powermoloch]

Originally posted by: DragonReborn
. If I plug it in when windows is running it will do a hard crash that makes the monitor screen look very funks (weird colors everywhere) and it sounds like it resets itself.
.

Help! =)

Let me get this straight, are you plugging stuff into the motherboard while it is turning on? if it is what your saying, why are you doing that !!!!

 

[DragonReborn]

haha, no i am not plugging things in when it is turning on. if they are ALREADY plugged in and THEN I turn on the computer it won't post/boot. If they are unplugged then all is well.

I then try to plug them in once windows is booted and bam, locks up.

it does seem like a powersupply issue doesn't it? Hmm...last time i buy enermax. =)

 

[2kfire]

Just to make sure, what power supply do you have? Can you see the rating for the +5V? USB ports and PCI cards use +5V and if the rating on your PSU is too low, it could be the cause of problems.

Edit: By USB, I meant USB ports

 

[DragonReborn]

enermax noisetaker 465 (I believe). it's about 1 and a half years old

 

[DragonReborn]

very sorry, should have made clear that I have been running this system successfully for the past year...these usb problems have just crept up the last few months.

 

[2kfire]

From the specs, seems pretty good. Enermax are pretty good PSUs too. I have a 300W that I bought for my P3 years ago powering an Athlon XP now. Maybe some voltage regulators on the mobo are messed up causing problems when you hook up to 5V. Could also be driver-related. Even though you said you updated all drivers and such, there might be some conflicts somewhere. Or, maybe the devices are just drawing too much power. Each USB port can only provide 500 mA, which isn't much at all (2.5 watts). USB hubs, USB hard drives, even some cameras should be powered separately when plugged into USB ports.

Edit: Just read above post. In that case it's most likely a software problem (drivers, conflicting apps etc). Hardware usually starts giving signs before it fails (unless something drastic happens, like lightning strike).

 

[DragonReborn]

hmm..it seems weird that everything was happy but then it is gradually getting worse. it definitely FEELS like a hardware issue. I don't have another PS lying around to test unfortunately...hopefully enermax will rma this one.

I don't think it's software since I just reformatted/reinstalled windows with the latest drives and bios. And the problems were occuring BEFORE i reformatted and reinstalled.

 

[2kfire]

Oh, okay... I thought it just appeared all of a sudden, that your USB ports stopped working. In your case, you're right, it seems like a hardware issue. It's hard to say if it's the mobo or the PSU though, since if it IS the PSU, it SHOULD affect other things as well (HDDs, optical drives, PCI cards all use 5V). Can you check the output voltages of the PSU (either with a voltmeter or through some software program)? That would help determine how the PSU is doing.

 

[DragonReborn]

hmm...that is a good point. Why should ONLY the usb ports be acting funky? Though I recently notices a hard crash/stall in World of Warcraft that never happened before. Maybe the powersupply is being overtaxed/dying.

Which program is good to test powersupply voltages?

thanks for all the help!

 

[2kfire]

I use EVEREST Home Edition (Link). If you can use a voltmeter, it is the best way, cuz the software solutions aren't all that accurate. If you need help doing that, PM me and I'll do my best to help. The software solutions will give you an idea of how things are, so if one says that your +5V line is 3.4V, there's a problem! Good luck

 

[xgsound]

I've heard that several video card overclocking programs can scramble the usb portion of the bios in some cases. I don't know how true it is, but clearing the bios was the fix for it and is easy enough to try. If this fixes it, don't use the overclocking program to change any cpu settings anymore.

After the bios clear a delete and reinstall of the usb was required as I recall.


Jim

 

[DragonReborn]

hmm...i don't use any vid card OC'ing programs. I have not refreshed the bios/cleared the cmos in a while (abit hasn't released an update since February).

who knows though? =)

 

[DragonReborn]

here's what I got from Everest...looks like the powersupply is Ok but ya never know...i'm curious what would happen if I plugged more devices in...

--------[ Sensor ]------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sensor Properties:
Sensor Type Winbond W83627HF (ISA 290h)
Motherboard Name Abit IC7 / IS7 Series

Temperatures:
Motherboard 38 °C (100 °F)
CPU 48 °C (118 °F)
PWM 40 °C (104 °F)
Maxtor 6B300R0 33 °C (91 °F)
IBM IC35L180AVV207-1 32 °C (90 °F)

Cooling Fans:
CPU 1455 RPM

Voltage Values:
CPU Core 1.47 V
+3.3 V 3.41 V
+5 V 4.95 V
+12 V 12.04 V
+5 V Standby 4.97 V
VBAT Battery 3.26 V
DIMM 2.56 V
DIMM VTT 1.26 V
AGP VDDQ 1.52 V
Debug Info F 3A FF FF
Debug Info T 38 48 40
Debug Info V 5C A0 D5 B8 C6 5F 4F (01)

 

[DragonReborn]

any ideas?

 

[Fardringle]

Since the problem happens from a cold boot as well as from within Windows it really does sound like a power problem. One way you can test this is to disconnect the power from one of your optical drives (or hard drives) then go ahead and plug in one of the PCI or USB items that is currently preventing the system from booting. If the system boots fine at this point I'd say your power supply is at it's max capacity (since it just started happening, the PSU is likely failing).

An example of what I'm suggesting:
Say you currently have your CPU, video card, two hard drives, and two optical drives installed and it boots just fine but it fails to boot if you plug in a PCI sound card. Unplug one (or both) of your optical drives and plug in the sound card then try to turn the computer on. If it boots successfully, it's almost certainly a power issue.

 

[DragonReborn]

yeah, those are good ideas/advice. I will post back with results.

i'm thinking that if i unplug my optical drives, plug in all of my usb devices and it works perfectly then it's almost certainly PS. I guess it still COULD be the mobo?

thanks!

 

[DragonReborn]

also, just to make sure: in my device manager there is only ONE listing for a usb2 enhanced controller. that normal or should all the listings be enhanced 2.0?