Usb Problems

[ro2124]

Having a load of problems with USB devices- for example connecting External HDD, it shows up OK and is shown on explorer and works for a while, but if I leave it for a bit and then try to use HDD, it cuts out and and disappears and then after 30 seconds or so its showing again. This happens all the time and is very irritating. Read somewhere after a while USB connections accumulate and if having many USB connections,they sometimes interfere with each other. Could this be the prob? Used a prog called USBDeview which shows I have 41 USB ports in use, which doe seem a lot. What would happen if I get rid of all those and start again, would all the devices install thems;ves agin when plugging them in again or would I screw up all USB devices I used before? Or any other advice how to solve this?

[Buenchico]

I haven't got a clue about what is gong on but I do know I program (which I use myself) which will clear all USB drive references from your computer's registry, so it might well be worth a try:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/usboblivion/

Download the installation file and double-click on it to run it.

REMOVE ALL USB DRIVES FROM YOUR COMPUTER!!!

Run the program, ensuring that you put a tick against 'Do real clean'.

Restart your computer. (If you've got a built-in card reader you might find that, upon restarting, your computer goes through the 'installing new device procedure' before it will recognise it as a drive. Don't worry, it's normal!)

Your computer should then know which PORTS it's got but have no knowledge whatsoever of any DRIVES which have ever been plugged into them.

That might well resolve your problem. (Any USB devices you plug in will be recognised as usual but won't be linked to any previous data in your registry. So, for example, if a USB memory stick always showed up as Drive J in the past, it might now show as Drive E but it will still work just as well).

[ro2124]

Mmmh tried that prog, but unfortunately it did absolutely nothing! Far as I know did everything correctly removed all drives, clicked Real Clean, etc.
But when checking devices with USBDeview same ports listed as before. Damn !

Another thing confuses on the USBDeview prog it has 41 ports listed, but on Windows Device Manager only showing 8.

Guess I could try removing all the ports listed manually, this might do it perhaps?

[Buenchico]

There's definitely something weird going on!

I'm completely mystified as to how USBDeview can show 41 ports in use because (unless you've got a very unusual computer) you won't have anything like 41 ports available.

If you see a screen like this one
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usbdeview.gif
it's not showing any ports in use at all; it's simply listing the devices which are recorded as having been plugged into the available ports. (Further, that list should be empty after running USB Oblivion!).

So where is your figure of 41 coming from?

[ro2124]

Yeah it is weird as you say Well the ports are of course not all in use but they are listed
here is part of the list, all kinds of weird ports I cant figure

Port_#0003.Hub_#0003
Port_#0003.Hub_#0003
Port_#0003.Hub_#0001
Port_#0002.Hub_#0003
Port_#0002.Hub_#0003
Port_#0002.Hub_#0001
Port_#0001.Hub_#0003
Port_#0001.Hub_#0002
Port_#0001.Hub_#0001
Port_#0001.Hub_#0001
Port_#0001.Hub_#0001
0000.0014.0000.003.000.000.000.000.000
0000.0014.0000.003.000.000.000.000.000
0000.0014.0000.002.001.000.000.000.000
0000.0014.0000.002.001.000.000.000.000
0000.0014.0000.001.001.000.000.000.000
0000.0014.0000.001.001.000.000.000.000

as you said expected that list to be gone after using the oblivion prog but they were all still there

[ro2124]

Well finally reached at least a partial conclusion, contacted the hard drive manufacturer and they asked if I was using USB3 , which in fact I was as my computer has 2 and 3 ports. They suggested I try USB 2 port and indeed that solved the problem!
Although why USB 3 should not work is beyond me and I am waiting for an answer on this from the manufacturer

[bhg481]

I had a problem a year or so ago with an HDD in a caddy. The caddy was supposed to be USB 3.0 and had to be connected with a USB 3.0 lead but it would only work if I plugged it into a USB 2.0 socket on the computer (or any other computer). Being a caddy I was able to open it up and found that one of the internal leads had become disconnected so USB 3.0 operation was, effectively, using faulty wiring. Plugging into a USB 2.0 socket avoided using that particular connection. Unlike you, I didn't have any diagnostics; it just didn't work.