Laptop and USB2 Cardbus problem - system freezes

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

s.a.richardson@massey.ac.nz wrote:
> Hi everyone,
>
> I have an ongoing problem with my laptop. I have an NEC Versa M300
> laptop, and as I have a USB2 Maxtor external storage device and a HP
> dc4000 DVD writer, I have also invested in a USB2 cardbus, as the
> laptop has only USB1.1. Anyway, whenever I plug either device into the
> USB2 card, it seems to work just fine, until the system freezes
> completely and my only option is to restart the machine. I have taken
> it to technicians to get it looked and and nobody has been able to
> tell me anything as to why the machine continues to crash. The
> freezings are random in nature - although they occur every time I am
> using the card.
>
> If anyone has any suggestions I would be most appreciative. This
> problem has been driving me up the wall for almost three years now -
> I'd appreciate knowing something (even if it was worst case
> scenario!).
>
> Cheers,
>
> Sam

You do not mention how power is supplied to the devices. Both need
substantial power and the add-on card might not supply enough.

Q

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Quaoar <quaoar@tenthplanet.net> wrote:
: s.a.richardson@massey.ac.nz wrote:
: > Hi everyone,
: >
: > I have an ongoing problem with my laptop. I have an NEC Versa M300
: > laptop, and as I have a USB2 Maxtor external storage device and a HP
: > dc4000 DVD writer, I have also invested in a USB2 cardbus, as the
: > laptop has only USB1.1. Anyway, whenever I plug either device into the
: > USB2 card, it seems to work just fine, until the system freezes
: > completely and my only option is to restart the machine. I have taken
: > it to technicians to get it looked and and nobody has been able to
: > tell me anything as to why the machine continues to crash. The
: > freezings are random in nature - although they occur every time I am
: > using the card.
: >
: > If anyone has any suggestions I would be most appreciative. This
: > problem has been driving me up the wall for almost three years now -
: > I'd appreciate knowing something (even if it was worst case
: > scenario!).

: You do not mention how power is supplied to the devices. Both need
: substantial power and the add-on card might not supply enough.

I'm guessing that both a DVD burner and an external hard drive are
both self-powered, so power is probably not the issue here.

Andrew
--
----> Portland, Oregon, USA <----
*******************************************************************
----> http://www.bizave.com <---- Photo Albums and Portland Info
----> To Email me remove "MYSHOES" from email address
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Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

s.a.richardson@massey.ac.nz wrote:
: Hi everyone,

: I have an ongoing problem with my laptop. I have an NEC Versa M300
: laptop, and as I have a USB2 Maxtor external storage device and a HP
: dc4000 DVD writer, I have also invested in a USB2 cardbus, as the
: laptop has only USB1.1. Anyway, whenever I plug either device into the
: USB2 card, it seems to work just fine, until the system freezes
: completely and my only option is to restart the machine. I have taken
: it to technicians to get it looked and and nobody has been able to tell
: me anything as to why the machine continues to crash. The freezings are
: random in nature - although they occur every time I am using the card.

: If anyone has any suggestions I would be most appreciative. This
: problem has been driving me up the wall for almost three years now -
: I'd appreciate knowing something (even if it was worst case scenario!).

You didn't mention the manufacturer of the USB2 card. Obviously, you
could try another one, perhaps a card with a different chipset. The
card you have now may simply have some sort of electrical problem and
may always have had one.

Andrew
--
----> Portland, Oregon, USA <----
*******************************************************************
----> http://www.bizave.com <---- Photo Albums and Portland Info
----> To Email me remove "MYSHOES" from email address
*******************************************************************

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Andrew wrote:
> Quaoar <quaoar@tenthplanet.net> wrote:
>> s.a.richardson@massey.ac.nz wrote:
>>> Hi everyone,
>>>
>>> I have an ongoing problem with my laptop. I have an NEC Versa M300
>>> laptop, and as I have a USB2 Maxtor external storage device and a HP
>>> dc4000 DVD writer, I have also invested in a USB2 cardbus, as the
>>> laptop has only USB1.1. Anyway, whenever I plug either device into
>>> the USB2 card, it seems to work just fine, until the system freezes
>>> completely and my only option is to restart the machine. I have
>>> taken it to technicians to get it looked and and nobody has been
>>> able to tell me anything as to why the machine continues to crash.
>>> The freezings are random in nature - although they occur every time
>>> I am using the card.
>>>
>>> If anyone has any suggestions I would be most appreciative. This
>>> problem has been driving me up the wall for almost three years now -
>>> I'd appreciate knowing something (even if it was worst case
>>> scenario!).
>
>> You do not mention how power is supplied to the devices. Both need
>> substantial power and the add-on card might not supply enough.
>
> I'm guessing that both a DVD burner and an external hard drive are
> both self-powered, so power is probably not the issue here.
>
> Andrew

The question must be asked if the answer was not previously supplied by
the OP. There are countless similar problems being posted to this and
other groups wherein the posters incorrectly assume that on-board USB
ports or the USB2 ports on PC-Cards are capable of supplying the
required power for their removeable drives, especially external drives
in enclosures. No one reading the OP has the benefit of having the
computer available for inspection.

Q

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Thanks for the responses! In answer to the questions posted on this
thread:

- Both external devices are powered externally. The USB2 card is also
powered externally.

- The USB2 card is a Belkin card.

Previously I had a 4-port USB2 card (no manufacturer) which was also
powered externally - the freezing began with this card - so I then
switched to a Belkin card, and the system freezes haven't been fixed.

I appreciate that people who post to these threads haven't had the
chance to see the machine at work. I was merely wondering if anyone had
had the same experience and had found a potential answer. I have been
trawling these threads for a long time and am yet to see a similar
problem to mine...

I'm guessing that it is not a card-related issue - rather it may be
that having both USB1.1 drivers and USB2 drivers may be causing the
machine to "cross wires" and causing the system to crash. Does this
seem a sensible possibility?

Thanks,

Sam

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

s.a.richardson@massey.ac.nz wrote:
: I'm guessing that it is not a card-related issue - rather it may be
: that having both USB1.1 drivers and USB2 drivers may be causing the
: machine to "cross wires" and causing the system to crash. Does this
: seem a sensible possibility?

Doubt it. My laptop has both USB1.1 and a PC Card add-on like you use
to add USB2.0, and I've used both ports at the same time. My computer
has never frozen up.

Andrew
--
----> Portland, Oregon, USA <----
*******************************************************************
----> http://www.bizave.com <---- Photo Albums and Portland Info
----> To Email me remove "MYSHOES" from email address
*******************************************************************