USB Probs / Overtaxing Power Supply?

[CRParker]

Hi All -

I've had a frustrating problem creep up over the weekend. I have a 300w power supply in my PC (Win2k, KT7-A, Athlon 1.2 o/c to 1.33, 2 Maxtor 7200 40g hd, DVD, CD-RW, Sound Blaster, NIC, Firewire, ISA Modem) and everything has been working just dandy.

Over the weekend I scavenged two more hard drives from a PC that I no longer use, and added them to my PC. So in addition to the list above, I've added a Maxtor 30g and a Maxtor 40g (both 5400 rpm).

Suddenly my USB ports are no longer reliable. I only have one thing plugged in (DirecPC), and it will work for a few hours and then suddenly the USB port seems to disappear. Sometimes Win2k will detect a spurious new USB device which it can't set up.

Rebooting the PC takes care of the problem for another few hours. Also, a USB hub which I used on that other PC will not work on this one. Same symptoms - the lights on the hub light up like they should, then after about 20 minutes the lights go out.

I doubt that it's the hub, since it didn't physically move (just plugged in to the new PC) and worked just fine on the other PC. I've left the hub disconnected for the last few days, just to verify that it didn't cause the probs, and the DirecPC still has it's issues.

Also, I tried to sync my IPAQ with the PC, and the PC had a very hard time detecting it. Sometimes it would, sometimes it wouldn't. (IPAQ was used on the other PC also, so this is the first time I've tried it). The IPAQ works fine, I can plug it's dock in to my notebook PC and no problems.

So I've narrowed it down to USB. I'm wondering if I'm drawing too much power from the PS with the extra 2 hard drives added to the PC.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[AndyHui]

From your description, it does look like you are not getting enough power.

While I am normally not an advocate of power supplies that can drive an arc welder, with the devices that you are running, it would be worth getting a larger power supply, or if your current supply is generic, go for a name brand unit.

 

[CRParker]

My PS is an Antec brand., so hopefully that's already good.

I ran across a reference in the FAQ saying that slot 4 and 6 on VIA motherboards can interfere with USB.

In my initial post, I forgot to add that I installed a Maxtor ATA-100 PCI card to handle the 2 additional drives. Unfortunately I don't remember which slot I put it in. The combination of card and drives has worked perfectly in the old PC right up until I pulled it out over the weekend.

How are the slots numbered? Is #1 closest to the AGP, or is it the one at the edge of the MB?

Thanks!

 

[AndyHui]

PCI Slot 1 is usually closest to the AGP.

 

[ShallowHal]

You should make sure that your power supply is AMD recommended.
Go Here for that information.

 

[DaiShan]

had the same problem with my kt7a it is a via chipset problem, grab the latest via 4 in 1's, then go to www.usbman.com and pick up all patches that are relavent to the via chipset and your operating system, including the filter patch. This should fix your problem.

 

[CRParker]

The PS is AMD rated. I don't remember the exact model, I went through all this when I built the PC last year.

The PC itself is almost a year old, and has been running just fine until I added the extra hard drives over the weekend. Since coincidence is pretty rare with PC problems, I'm pointing at something related to the new drives being the problem.

I'll need to try swapping around PCI cards tonight, and see if that fixes it. If not, I suppose I'll have to move the drives back into the other PC, and set it up as a network server.

 

[CRParker]

RE the VIA drivers, I see that USBMan.com has a newer version than the ABit web site (I have a KT7-A mb).

Is it safe to use those drivers, or do I have to stick with whatever Abit has blessed?

Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions!

 

[DaiShan]

nah just so long as you grab the v 4.37 but make sure you visit the section dedicated to via and grab some of the other things (the filter patch was what finally did it for me but I grabbed several others as well so ymmv)

 

[SemperFi]

If the drivers don't help, Ive got an idea for you to try. I just read this last week and it was new to me. Anyhow in device manager goto the usb section and right click on a root hub. Select properties, then select the power management tab and remove the check from the allow the computer to shut down this device to save power.

I am running xp so I am assuming this feature is present in 2000. I can't remember where I read this info at but I do remember it saying that this fixes alot of usb cable modem problems.

Semper Fi

 

[corkyg]

Another solution is to add a USB hub that has its own power supply, and thus the devices connected to it do not draw from your main P/S.

 

[CRParker]

My USB hub is powered, so that's not the problem. Tracking down these odd issues is frustrating, to say the least!

 

[DaiShan]

did the downloads help at all?

 

[Mem]

CRParker,try the new VIA USB filter driver 1.10 from
here it`s WHQL approved by Microsoft.

 

[CRParker]

DaiShan -

I haven't tried the downloads yet. I checked the PC last night, and the DirecPC had been up all day (it's the only USB connected right now) so that's encouraging.

Too many hours of work, and not enough free time means this may end up waiting til the weekend.

Thanks for the suggestions!