USB Device not recognised-very strange
Hi all, got some very strange symptoms, that get very puzzled looks from my IT mates. I have read all the other threads on USB storage and nothing is as weird as my deal.
Recently started a job, given a Pentium 4 to fresh install XP as my work machine. All installed fine, connected to domain, all configured great.
Lots of stuff I need to transfer to my laptop, or other machines. I have several flash thumb drives for this, and the work PC has 6 USB 2.0 ports.
Been using the USB ports and drives successfully for weeks.
Left a drive in the front USB port of my machine the other day, and someone (possibly even myself but I would remember) has stepped on the thumb drive, killing it. I open up the casing of the thumbie and can see 4 solder contacts that have broken. Damn.
So I unplug the thumbie, luckily there is no critical data on it. I go to plug in another USB flash drive, in fact the same model and size. It does not appear in Explorer, and the following message appears in a pop up bubble near my clock:
"One of the USB devices attached to this computer has malfuntioned, and Windows does not recognise it."
I assumed I had killed the USB port. Try next port. Same deal. Hmmmm.
There are 2 ports on the front, and four on the rear. One of the rear ports currently has my USB Microsoft keyboard plugged in, and it is still working 100%. As a test, I plugged the keyboard into one of the front USB ports. Gets recognised, loads drivers and works within 10 seconds. Hmmm.
Plugged another known working USB thumb into rear & front ports. Not recognised. Plug this thumbie into my laptop and other computers in the office that are the same machine as mine - works 100% Hmmmm.
Now here is the real strange bit. I have a nokia 6280 with a 1 gig memory stick in it. I have the nokia USB cable. When you plug in the 6280 to a USB port, it asks you to choose one of three modes: Default Mode {requires specific Nokia drivers and allows message and contact syncronising} / Printing Mode {allows you to print straight to a usb printer - I think it has some generic printer drivers it loads} / Data Storage Mode {makes the phone act as a generic flash drive - this is the mode I usually use for transferring files}
Plugging in the Nokia to any USB port in Data Storage Mode (haven't tried the other modes) on the problematic PC works 100%. No issues, no drivers needed, fast transfers. Any other thumbie I try is not recognised.
What the hell Why won't normal thumbie work anymore?
Thanks for any advice. Tried updating USB drivers by the way - no change.
I always get the computer issues that get the reply "I have never seen that before" or "That doesn't make sense"!
Hunter
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Recently started a job, given a Pentium 4 to fresh install XP as my work machine. All installed fine, connected to domain, all configured great.
Lots of stuff I need to transfer to my laptop, or other machines. I have several flash thumb drives for this, and the work PC has 6 USB 2.0 ports.
Been using the USB ports and drives successfully for weeks.
Left a drive in the front USB port of my machine the other day, and someone (possibly even myself but I would remember) has stepped on the thumb drive, killing it. I open up the casing of the thumbie and can see 4 solder contacts that have broken. Damn.
So I unplug the thumbie, luckily there is no critical data on it. I go to plug in another USB flash drive, in fact the same model and size. It does not appear in Explorer, and the following message appears in a pop up bubble near my clock:
"One of the USB devices attached to this computer has malfuntioned, and Windows does not recognise it."
I assumed I had killed the USB port. Try next port. Same deal. Hmmmm.
There are 2 ports on the front, and four on the rear. One of the rear ports currently has my USB Microsoft keyboard plugged in, and it is still working 100%. As a test, I plugged the keyboard into one of the front USB ports. Gets recognised, loads drivers and works within 10 seconds. Hmmm.
Plugged another known working USB thumb into rear & front ports. Not recognised. Plug this thumbie into my laptop and other computers in the office that are the same machine as mine - works 100% Hmmmm.
Now here is the real strange bit. I have a nokia 6280 with a 1 gig memory stick in it. I have the nokia USB cable. When you plug in the 6280 to a USB port, it asks you to choose one of three modes: Default Mode {requires specific Nokia drivers and allows message and contact syncronising} / Printing Mode {allows you to print straight to a usb printer - I think it has some generic printer drivers it loads} / Data Storage Mode {makes the phone act as a generic flash drive - this is the mode I usually use for transferring files}
Plugging in the Nokia to any USB port in Data Storage Mode (haven't tried the other modes) on the problematic PC works 100%. No issues, no drivers needed, fast transfers. Any other thumbie I try is not recognised.
What the hell Why won't normal thumbie work anymore?
Thanks for any advice. Tried updating USB drivers by the way - no change.
I always get the computer issues that get the reply "I have never seen that before" or "That doesn't make sense"!
Hunter
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BIZZARO WORLD!
Opened device manager. Uninstalled every item under Universal Serial Bus controllers. Rebooted.
All drivers automatically re-installed. Sees the thumbie. Thumbie appears in explorer and I can see files. This is great!
However, I get a notice that this device can run faster, I seem to be running USB v1.0.
So open device manager, right click Universal Serial Bus controllers, Scan for Hardware changes. It updates some more drivers. Then my thumbie gets the unrecognised malfunction error balloon, and is no longer in Explorer.
WTF?!?
I think this guy has hit the nail on the head - god dang it I think I have fried hardware.
"You may have damaged something on the motherboard still. You may not be getting enough power to it to run the USB sticks, the keyboard maybe can get by without much power. Your Nokia would then work because it supplies its own power (maybe). Is there a amperage difference in the USB 1 vs USB 2.0 standards, there probably is.
If it isn't a branded computer, then you may have a motherboard with about 400billion USB ports on the inside when you only need about half that. So you may consider opening it up and seeing if you can switch the wires to different USB pins on the board. (for example moving it from USB 4-5 to USB 6-7."
Far out, that is some serious troubleshooting. Different amp level on USB 1 vs USB 2 - this would make sense, as yes my Nokia powers itself. My hat goes off to this post!
Which means it IS hardware, which means I need a new case...but is it the port or the mainboard? Arrgh.
Guess I should just be grateful I have the Nokia.
Apart from the external hard drive, there is one more step you could try - format the hard drive and do the XP installation over again from scratch.
"You may have damaged something on the motherboard still. You may not be getting enough power to it to run the USB sticks, the keyboard maybe can get by without much power. Your Nokia would then work because it supplies its own power (maybe). Is there a amperage difference in the USB 1 vs USB 2.0 standards, there probably is.
If it isn't a branded computer, then you may have a motherboard with about 400billion USB ports on the inside when you only need about half that. So you may consider opening it up and seeing if you can switch the wires to different USB pins on the board. (for example moving it from USB 4-5 to USB 6-7."
Far out, that is some serious troubleshooting. Different amp level on USB 1 vs USB 2 - this would make sense, as yes my Nokia powers itself. My hat goes off to this post!
Which means it IS hardware, which means I need a new case...but is it the port or the mainboard? Arrgh.
Guess I should just be grateful I have the Nokia - I'll juts use it exclusively until I buy or get given a new machine.