USB port

Dan Dowd · Post by **Dan Dowd** » 28 Dec 2001 8:10 am

I gave my son a new printer-scanner-copier-fax for christmas. It only has a USB port connection. I have tried everything I know to get it up and running, but it is a lot smarter than me. When the device is hooked to the USB port. the computer will not shut down or restart without turning the power to the computer off. I have reinstalled Win 98 several times and removed the drivers for the USB port several times and reinstalled them. Computer works fine without a connection to the USB port. The drivers are present when looking in the system tab in Control Panel. He also has a Palm Pilot with a USB connection and we also could not get it to work I am wondering if there is a problem with the mother board. Anyone have this kind of problem. The computer is a 2year old Quantex pent II 600 mhz. However Quantex is no longer alive.

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 28 Dec 2001 11:31 am

Dan, check around and see if you can find any newer USB port drivers. I had a HP scanner that was USB attached and it would work then it wouldn't work. I went to the HP site and they had some updated USB port drivers and that fixed the problem.

Then again, it may be a hardware problem with the USB port(s). And, if everything is on the motherboard you will be better off getting a USB I/O board and installing it if there is an open expansion slot. I think USB I/O cards are relatively inexpensive

Just drop it down the bottomless hole

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 28 Dec 2001 4:08 pm

A new USB port (card) would cost less then $10 at your local Computer Pit, and will save you more than $10 in aggravation.

Tom Diemer · Post by **Tom Diemer** » 28 Dec 2001 5:01 pm

You may want to check your BIOS settings. Most mainboards USB ports can be disabled in the bios, to free up interupts. Some early ATX boards were actually that way by default.

It should be set to:

USB enabled
Reserve IRQ for USB = ON
And if there is one:
Reserve IRQ for VGA = ON
(keeps AGP video cards from bumping into USB interupts)

You may find language variations from one brand to another, but you should be able to interpret it to those settings.

Not all boards have these settings, but many do.

Good luck

Tom

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 29 Dec 2001 4:00 am

Dan, I would be willing to bet a few dollars ( 2 or 3 thats it ) that the driver and or software that came with your new scanner, printer , fax etc... needs new software !
If it is possible to go the manufacturers website ( if they have one ) you can view service releases and downloads. I'm of the opinion that this is normal these days. MY HP 932C printer ( USB) is one of the earliest releases and the software caused my entire PC to lock up, it wouldn't even shut off !
Of course the store ( kids) told me I didn't install it correctly, and that I was the only one with this problem, But me being a guy, an older guy and a little wiser than them, I printed out all the failure crap on the HP website about the printer and the software and gently handed it to them while they were telling me the problem was me. It was great. An old guy actually telling a young store clerk that they didn't know what the (XX@@##) they were talking about and proving it.The HP website instructions and download fixed the problem and I am certain yours can be fixed as well but probably not without a headache or two..Just a thought ..
Good Luck
TP

Dan Dowd · Post by **Dan Dowd** » 29 Dec 2001 6:41 am

Thanks for all the help guys. I looked at the BIOS in my computer and there is a USB reference to turn it on. This was under perphials. I dont recall seeing a USB ref on my son's computer. I will check again now that I know where to look. Perhaps the BIOS needs to be upgraded. I have gone to the Lexmark site and they do have an upgraded driver. I will also download it. What would a person that knows nothing about a computer do when the get a problem. I know a lot of folks that get a problem with their computer and have no idea how to cope with it so they don't even turn it on/ Very frustrating for them. I know enough to be dangerous and will fight to the death.

Steve Feldman · Post by **Steve Feldman** » 29 Dec 2001 7:32 am

I know enough to be dangerous and will fight to the death.

Ha! I will have to copy this into my file of memorable Forum quotes!
SF

Leroy Riggs · Post by **Leroy Riggs** » 29 Dec 2001 2:16 pm

I recently upgraded an old computer to 98 and the USB would not work until I upgraded the driver software for the device that I was driving (a 250 MB ZIP Drive). It has worked well since.

Leroy

Dan Dowd · Post by **Dan Dowd** » 29 Dec 2001 4:40 pm

The saga continues. I checked the BIOS and the USB port is enabled. We bought a USB card at Wal Mart. Before installing it I deleted the drivers for the old USB port. There was no software for the new PCI card. Installed the card and started Windows. We started to get error messages like, cant find krnl386.exe, rundell32 illegal operation and the computer hung at the green screen. Restarted again then error msgsrv32 illegal operation, cant load vscapi.dll, mstask and explorer illegal operation. Took out the PCI USB card and it started and I deleted all the USB drivers under System tab in control panel. It woks fine without the usb connection. I think the computer is inhabited by aliens. [This message was edited by Dan Dowd on 29 December 2001 at 04:43 PM.]

Mark Ardito · Post by **Mark Ardito** » 29 Dec 2001 5:00 pm

Dan,

I had the same problem recently with a external CD burner. I upgraded all computers at my office to Windows 2000 and then some external USB CD Burners didn't work. I upgraded the BIOS and they worked!

My first suggestion...upgrade the BIOS. Then I would check the manufacturers website for a update or "patch" that they have released.

Good Luck!

Mark

Tom Diemer · Post by **Tom Diemer** » 30 Dec 2001 7:41 am

Dan, it seems the key to this, is that the Palm doesnt work either.
I'm very familer with the Palm's Hotsync software, and it is as simple as it gets.
If the Palm isn't working either, you have no prayer with the printer/scanner.
This MUST be a hardware or hardware driver problem, IMHO.
Some sort of device conflict or something.

Can you check device manager and look for any yellow or red flags on any devices? (rightclick on My Computer, go to properties, 2nd tab in)
If by chance, you see a group called 'Other Devices' let us know what's showing in it.

If all else fails, and you know you have the latest (or at least functional) bios version,
There are two things to try.
NOTE: Backup any important files first!!

One is, delete the devices from device manager listed under the USB section. One will be your mainboard chipset driver, the other the USB root hub. Once deleted, either reboot, or hit the refresh button, let Windows re-detect them and reload the drivers from the Win98 disk.

The other is to find the registry key HK Local Machine/Enum - and delete it.
Doing this will make the computer redetect most all of the hardware devices, sometimes will correct incorrect or corrupt drivers or out of version modules.

These are pretty heavy steps Dan. Be careful if you choose to try them.

Personally though, I haven't seen a mainboard that has USB, not work with Win98. I do agree that a lot of them need updated to work with Win2000, ME, or XP.

Sorry I can't be of more help. Sounds like a tough one. From my experience, I would concentrate of getting the Palm working first. It is a vastly simpler device. Once that is working, the printer should load right up for you.

Again, good luck Dan.

Tom

P.S. when you installed the slot mounted card, did you first disable the mainboard one? If not, that would explain a pretty severe hardware conflict.

Dan Dowd · Post by **Dan Dowd** » 30 Dec 2001 11:35 am

Tom, I did so many things IM not sure if I did disable the USB listed in the BIOS. I will try that again and reinstall the card. Thanks for the memory jog. The computer has more than I do.

Dan Dowd · Post by **Dan Dowd** » 3 Jan 2002 4:03 am

Well the USB problem has been eliminated. My son was so frustrated with this problem and he needed to print something, he pluged his old printer in to the parallel port with the computer on. This eliminated the USB problem because now nothing works. He is going to replace the mother board and upgrade from a Pent 3 @ 666 mhz to a Pent 4 @ 1.5 gig. The Pent 4 requires a different power supply so a new case was purchased along with new 256 meg of memory. He will use the existing hard drive and CD drives. The bare bones system cost aprox $459. He will send the old mother board to be repaired if possible and maybe we will know what the original USB problem was caused by.