jonnymartyr

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Hi Everyone,

I am having a problem with the USB ports on my new ASUS P5B motherboard. While some devices function normally, others seem to to work incorrectly or occasionally power off whilst in use. In more detail:

USB Sound Card: Works Fine
Mouse: Works Fine
Pen Drive: Works Fine

External Hard-drive - Worked, then became corrupted whilst in use. I think this is due to it powering off without first being safely removed. If it connected when booting up, the system hangs on the motherboard splash screen.

USB MIDI Keyboard - Makes the "connected" sound when turned on, but is not detected by any of my music software. As above, causes the system to hang on motherboard splash screen if connected whilst booting up.

Wireless Adaptor- Intermittently connects/disconnects from wireless network - very annoying when trying to download files, as you can imagine!

I think this points towards a power issue - I am using a Casecom 500W PSU, so I don't know if there are any issues with this? What I don't understand is how the same problem can manifest itself differently (or not at all) on different devices. I have tried switching devices round to different ports, but to no avail.

System Spec:
Motherboard: ASUS P5B
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.33Ghz
Graphics: Zotac 9600GT
Memory: 4GB
Power: Casecom 500W
2x DVD Drives, 1x Hard Drive

Any help anyone can give would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,

Jonny
 
Providing it's not a hardware isue (MB), be sure you have all current Microsoft OS updates. Try reinstalling the chipset drivers from the MB CD. Last resort, do a repair install of your OS.
 

gone fishin'

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If you are running WinXP, there is a small issue with windows refreshing the connection to the wireless router very quickly and if it misses a call it'll drop the connection, as for the USB problems probably doing a reinstall would be the best thing to do, especially if you have the updates turned on, regretfully I had several issues after the updates and hotfixes caused the corruption, now I have them disabled, and try the USB functions before you get very deep in reinstalling programs, it'll help to tell if the MB is bad, as for the external HD causing the system to hang on boot, your right the drive is corrupted and window is trying to make some sense of what is there, but I don't understand exactly why as I turn mine off and just leave it plugged in, good luck and let us know how it goes
 

jonnymartyr

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Thanks for a quick response guys - I've tried a few things (including reinstalling drivers, updating BIOS) but nothing has worked so far.

I am reluctant to do a clean install of XP as this install is less than a week old, and the issues were apparent from the start. I think its most likely a power issue, as sometimes the network disconnects when other system devices start using more power - for instance, loading a CD or plugging in a USB pen drive.

I think the hard drive was corrupted because of the power loss - it was shut down without disconnecting safely.

I also apparently now have a dead USB port ("USB Device Not Recognized") which was not there 10 minutes ago!

As for windows refreshing the connection, I'm using the same adaptor and the same copy of XP with the same updates as my previous system, so is that likely to be an issue?

If all else fails I'll give it a clean install and disable updates as you suggest, and see how it goes. I'd just like to see if there are any more options before I go nuclear, so to speak.

Once again, thanks for your speedy replies.

Jonny
 

jprevost

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I disagree with the advice given above. Before repair install of OS or reinstalling drivers (ASUS is good with XP default), I would go into the device manager, go to view/show hidden devices, under USB delete all that you see that are having trouble. After doing so, reconnect each device individually without ANY OTHER DEVICES CONNECTED and having windows look/install the drivers.
As for the hard drive, are you trying to power a 5400rpm 2.5" drive off of the usb port? If so, that can be problematic, especially if using a long usb cable, a mini-usb connector, or a motherboard header connector. Go straight off of the usb connectors on the back panel if trying to power a usb hard drive through the cable. Else there shouldn't be any issues with powered devices like larger 3.5" drives.
I'm also surprised the sound card works as it's usually a high current drawing device, same with the wifi depending on your distance from the access point.
BTW, which board model is it? There are a lot of P5B's and they have a large variance in offerings. All high quality, just some are on the low end like my P5B-E.
I would go into device manager and check each USB hub's power draw. To do this, under "Universal Serial Bus controllers" double click on the "Intel(R) ICH_ Family USB Universal Host Controller - xxxx" and then go to the Advanced tab. It'll show you the bandwidth used. Make sure nothing is too high. Then go to the "USB Root Hub" and under the Power tab check to make sure the listings don't total over 500mA. This is the "requested" power draw from the devices, not the actual!!! So for example, my Microsoft mouse says 100mA but I know it's not that much, but it's there as a ceiling for the operating system to warn me if I attach a none self powered hub and try and power too many devices through one connector.
It's similar to fan headers on the motherboard. Most boards run with 1 control chip and since most setups don't take up all of the fan headers, the current on 1 header can usually go over spec (like a 120mm low speed) but when you hook up a lot of fans that no longer becomes safe. It's simple addition but overlooked frequently by most "system builders."
Good luck, and last resort, reinstall OS.
 

jonnymartyr

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Thanks very much jprevost, I'll give those steps a try now.

The hard drive is a powered 3.5" one - I suppose the data could have been corrupted as I was reading from it at the time it disconnected.

As far as I know my board is just a P5B, label on the box just says "P5B<Green>".

Would installing the drivers one by one potentially solve the problem, or is this a diagnostic step to see which one is likely to be causing the trouble?

Many thanks,

Jonny
 

jonnymartyr

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Just tried your power suggestion, here are my results:

Currently connected: Sound Card, Mouse, USB Pen Drive, USB MIDI Keyboard [lights on, so drawing power, but not working]

Under "USB Serial Bus Controllers":

7 x "Intel(R) ICH8 Family USB Universal Host Controller - xxxx"
- One connected to "M-Audio Fast Track Pro" [sound card], at 71% (+20% system reserved)
- All others show "System Reserved: 10%".

7x "USB Root Hub":
- One connected to "M-Audio Fast Track Pro" at 200mA and "Intellimouse Optical" at 100mA
- One connected to "USB Mass Storage Device" at 200mA + "Unknown Device" at 0mA + 2 ports available
- All others show "x ports available".

1x Unknown Device

1x USB Mass Storage Device

Jonny
 

hairycat101

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My question is whether this is a do-I-have-enough-juice-to-run-all-of-this-crap type of concern. 500 watts. My review of your USB add-ins was pretty brief, but you could be asking a lot. I suppose a good question might be is whether any of this stuff is running through a hub (any kind... including one that is connected to the case or through the keyboard).

This XP sp2? Make sure chipset driver is latest and greatest and not jacked up. ;)
 

Armageddon

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Are you running some of those devices through an external USB hub?
I had the same problem with a 7 port SMC, and the only way I got them working was to plug them directly in to the motherboard's USB ports. Some devices need a bit more power than the hub can provide.
ASUS boards have always had issues with USB, at least with the boards I owned.
 

hairycat101

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I run 5 Asus boards (owned and run by my company) I haven't had weak USB ports from any of them. This is in addition to every other Asus board that I have ever run. What issues you got with Asus and USB's?
 

Armageddon

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Device recognition problems, some not working outright (board returned and vendor confirmed they were faulty), and some others that I admit to not remembering right now. Not to mention the crackling sound issues.
I own a Gigabyte now and everything USB at least is working flawlessly, though I think I got a problem with its Gigabyte IDE/SATA controller re-booting my external hard drive at random.
 

jonnymartyr

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I am on XP Sp2, all drivers and utilities are up-to-date (downloaded of ASUS website). All devices are connected directly to the USB ports on the back of the computer. Currently connected:

Wired USB Mouse
Network Adaptor
USB Pen Drive
Sound Card

The network adaptor still cuts out intermittently. If I plug in a new USB device (such as pen drive or MIDI keyboard) or put a CD in the drive then the wireless cuts out. If I have a USB pen or MIDI keyboard plugged in when turning on the machine Windows will not start - I get the loading screen then just a blank screen. However, my USB sound card is plugged in when the computer boots and that doesn't cause a problem.

Armageddon, when you say "some not working outright" were the problems similar to my own? I'm wondering if it could be a faulty board causing them.

Jonny
 

Armageddon

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Yes, they were in that the board wouldn't boot with some devices connected at boot-up, and some never did work on the faulty board. Even my logitech USB G7 mouse would have issues were it would move erratically on the last 975 ASUS board, and it was extremely frustrating.
I had my SP2 up-to-date as well. I would take that board in for a check-up, or even RMA it outright.
I'm never buying another ASUS board again.
 

jonnymartyr

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That seems to be the best explanation really - I can't understand why some devices work fine while others won't at all. A minute ago my USB MIDI keyboard was working, now when i turned it on it pops up "USB Device Not Recognized" and then disconnects the wireless adaptor!
 

Armageddon

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I hope your problems get solved with a replacement board. I got so frustrated with their tech support, and their boards, I kept RMAing them just for the heck of it. By that time I had another board in my system anyway.
 

jonnymartyr

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OK I'll give that a go then, seems like I'm getting pretty much exactly the same problems as you were. Thanks so much for your help everyone, really appreciate it.

Cheers,

Jonny
 

jonnymartyr

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Ok I think I have the problem fixed - looks like it was some kind of conflict with the network adaptor causing the other USB ports to behave strangely. I replaced it with an old Belkin one I had and it works perfectly. So anyone else experiencing this problem, try uninstalling USB devices one at a time until the problem goes away, then maybe you can find out which one is causing you grief.

Cheers for your help guys

Jonny