USB Port Not Working

  • Thread starter Thread starter LMO
  • Start date Start date
L

LMO

Guest
Aloha all. I bought a 4 Port USB Hub, but it is not working. It has a male
USB plug, to plug into the USB ports on my computer, and add 4 more. I
plugged it into the front USB port on my XP/SP3 system, but nothing is
recognized when I plug into the port. The Device Manager says it is an
Unknown Device under USB Controllers, and it says No Drivers Are Installed.
The Hub did not come with any drivers. Is there any way I can get this
recognized and working easily?
Thank you.
 
Re: USB Port Not Working

LMO wrote:
> Aloha all. I bought a 4 Port USB Hub, but it is not working. It has a male
> USB plug, to plug into the USB ports on my computer, and add 4 more. I
> plugged it into the front USB port on my XP/SP3 system, but nothing is
> recognized when I plug into the port. The Device Manager says it is an
> Unknown Device under USB Controllers, and it says No Drivers Are Installed.
> The Hub did not come with any drivers. Is there any way I can get this
> recognized and working easily?
> Thank you.
>

Plug it into a USB port on the back of the computer.

The way this works, is the electrical properties of USB
ports on the back of the computer, are superior to those
of the port on the front of the computer. The back port
can better handle ESD (because there is a bare metal contact
between the port housing and the chassis). And also, the
electrical connections from the Southbridge, to the USB
connector, are carried in the motherboard PCB. The
motherboard designer will have ensured the proper
impedance tracks were used to make the connection.

The front USB ports, sometimes use a small PCB that is glued
to the plastic fascia. There is no good ESD connection on
assemblies like that. Sometimes, the USB assembly is not
ready to carry USB2 signals, and things like your
"unknown device" are the result. The cabling to the
motherboard can also be poorly implemented (unshielded
for part of its length).

I'd try the connector on the back of the computer, before
concluding the new hub you bought is defective.

Using plug and play standards, the hub should have drivers
provided by your OS.

Paul
 
Re: USB Port Not Working

Thanks, Paul. Tried as you suggested, but still no joy. I contacted the
seller (EBay) and he fully refunded my $ without question, so obviously it's
a crap product, and he knows. I guess he hopes some people won't bother
asking for a refund.
Can you suggest a USB Hub that does work, so I can buy one without the
crapshoot?
Thanks again.

"Paul" wrote:

> LMO wrote:
> > Aloha all. I bought a 4 Port USB Hub, but it is not working. It has a male
> > USB plug, to plug into the USB ports on my computer, and add 4 more. I
> > plugged it into the front USB port on my XP/SP3 system, but nothing is
> > recognized when I plug into the port. The Device Manager says it is an
> > Unknown Device under USB Controllers, and it says No Drivers Are Installed.
> > The Hub did not come with any drivers. Is there any way I can get this
> > recognized and working easily?
> > Thank you.
> >
>
> Plug it into a USB port on the back of the computer.
>
> The way this works, is the electrical properties of USB
> ports on the back of the computer, are superior to those
> of the port on the front of the computer. The back port
> can better handle ESD (because there is a bare metal contact
> between the port housing and the chassis). And also, the
> electrical connections from the Southbridge, to the USB
> connector, are carried in the motherboard PCB. The
> motherboard designer will have ensured the proper
> impedance tracks were used to make the connection.
>
> The front USB ports, sometimes use a small PCB that is glued
> to the plastic fascia. There is no good ESD connection on
> assemblies like that. Sometimes, the USB assembly is not
> ready to carry USB2 signals, and things like your
> "unknown device" are the result. The cabling to the
> motherboard can also be poorly implemented (unshielded
> for part of its length).
>
> I'd try the connector on the back of the computer, before
> concluding the new hub you bought is defective.
>
> Using plug and play standards, the hub should have drivers
> provided by your OS.
>
> Paul
>
 
Re: USB Port Not Working

LMO wrote:
> Thanks, Paul. Tried as you suggested, but still no joy. I contacted the
> seller (EBay) and he fully refunded my $ without question, so obviously it's
> a crap product, and he knows. I guess he hopes some people won't bother
> asking for a refund.
> Can you suggest a USB Hub that does work, so I can buy one without the
> crapshoot?
> Thanks again.
>

You can use the customer reviews on Newegg, to identify products
that aren't DOA. You don't have to shop there, just go there
to see the reviews.

*******
This is an example. Although the pictures don't show it, the reviews
seem to be claiming there is a power supply, so the unit can be self powered.
The advantage of being self-powered, is if a connected device needs 500mA,
it will be available. If you use a bus-powered hub (no AC outlet connection),
then each port should be limited to 100mA (no high-power support). If all
you had connected was a USB mouse, this would not matter. For other
things, the additional power may help. If you had one of those
USB scanners that draws all power from the USB bus, then having
the AC adapter for the hub may help it to run.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16817111976

(Manufacturer site)
http://www.goodway.com.tw/en/product3.asp?listid=1&id=4&subid=7&pid=448&typeid=#index1072

(User manual - still uncertainty over whether an adapter is included!)
http://web.archive.org/web/20051220193756/http://www.goodway.com.tw/en/prodimg/manual/2.0hub-new.pdf

(Go back to product image, and try and read the box! It looks like the
same product packaging is used for several different product versions.
I still cannot be sure an adapter is included. No purchase for me!)

http://c1.neweggimages.com/NeweggImage/productimage/17-111-976-05.jpg

*******
This is an example of one that had a few more problems. At one time,
you could list 100 reviews per page on Newegg, and now you have to click the
page thing, to see more reviews. Page 2 has some more of them.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16817182057

*******
Looking through the list, price doesn't seem to do anything for
quality, but there are differences between brands.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N=1228013606&bop=And&Order=PRICE&Pagesize=100

*******
Do I use these reviews for my own shopping ? Yes. Just a couple
days ago, I bought some RAM fron a Canadian company, and used the
Newegg reviews to sort out the winners from the losers. It took
about two hours of reading reviews, before I could find a decent
product. I never would have imagined, when I started, that I'd
be selecting the product that I eventually decided on. Quality
is something that is getting increasingly hard to find. Even a
company I know possesses proper test equipment, is having
problems shipping quality products. And they make their own
chips.

Have fun,
Paul
 
Re: USB Port Not Working

Many thanks again, Paul. Great idea. I know I should check things out before
I buy, but sometimes I just want to get it!

"Paul" wrote:

> LMO wrote:
> > Thanks, Paul. Tried as you suggested, but still no joy. I contacted the
> > seller (EBay) and he fully refunded my $ without question, so obviously it's
> > a crap product, and he knows. I guess he hopes some people won't bother
> > asking for a refund.
> > Can you suggest a USB Hub that does work, so I can buy one without the
> > crapshoot?
> > Thanks again.
> >
>
> You can use the customer reviews on Newegg, to identify products
> that aren't DOA. You don't have to shop there, just go there
> to see the reviews.
>
> *******
> This is an example. Although the pictures don't show it, the reviews
> seem to be claiming there is a power supply, so the unit can be self powered.
> The advantage of being self-powered, is if a connected device needs 500mA,
> it will be available. If you use a bus-powered hub (no AC outlet connection),
> then each port should be limited to 100mA (no high-power support). If all
> you had connected was a USB mouse, this would not matter. For other
> things, the additional power may help. If you had one of those
> USB scanners that draws all power from the USB bus, then having
> the AC adapter for the hub may help it to run.
>
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16817111976
>
> (Manufacturer site)
> http://www.goodway.com.tw/en/product3.asp?listid=1&id=4&subid=7&pid=448&typeid=#index1072
>
> (User manual - still uncertainty over whether an adapter is included!)
> http://web.archive.org/web/20051220193756/http://www.goodway.com.tw/en/prodimg/manual/2.0hub-new.pdf
>
> (Go back to product image, and try and read the box! It looks like the
> same product packaging is used for several different product versions.
> I still cannot be sure an adapter is included. No purchase for me!)
>
> http://c1.neweggimages.com/NeweggImage/productimage/17-111-976-05.jpg
>
> *******
> This is an example of one that had a few more problems. At one time,
> you could list 100 reviews per page on Newegg, and now you have to click the
> page thing, to see more reviews. Page 2 has some more of them.
>
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16817182057
>
> *******
> Looking through the list, price doesn't seem to do anything for
> quality, but there are differences between brands.
>
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N=1228013606&bop=And&Order=PRICE&Pagesize=100
>
> *******
> Do I use these reviews for my own shopping ? Yes. Just a couple
> days ago, I bought some RAM fron a Canadian company, and used the
> Newegg reviews to sort out the winners from the losers. It took
> about two hours of reading reviews, before I could find a decent
> product. I never would have imagined, when I started, that I'd
> be selecting the product that I eventually decided on. Quality
> is something that is getting increasingly hard to find. Even a
> company I know possesses proper test equipment, is having
> problems shipping quality products. And they make their own
> chips.
>
> Have fun,
> Paul
>
 
Back
Top