[ImAWhat]

I am using a really cheap laptop and I am trying to hook multiple usb deals up to it. I have a mouse plugged into it and an extra storage drive that has its own power supply. If I try to hook in another zip drive or webcam, my computer will not register it and it gives me an error. If I unplug my storage drive and plug in the webcam, the webcam works, but then if I plug back in the storage drive, then it gets an error. I have tried to unplug my mouse to see if that would make a difference and it does not do anything. I still can't get any two of the devices working together, the zip drive, the storage drive, or the webcam. If anyone knows what the problem might be, please post a comment. It would be much appreciated.

[Tech4me]

Hello What.. You might need a POWER USB hub that only need to plug in one working port.
Keep in mind that each of device you may have its own software (make sur you load them first) if not Plu&play device.

Make sure you match them......usb 1 or usb 2.0. before you buy.

Chck out these...: www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182139

[ImAWhat]

Would I need a power USB hub even though my hard drive has its own power supply? It might be something to do with software, because when I hook up the second one it says something about unrecognized software or something like that. Also I am hooking up an off brand storage drive and an xbox webcam or another off brand mini zip drive. If I got a power usb hub do you think that might fix the problem anyways? I didn't even know they had such things.

[Tech4me]

Power usb port is always good for you...It won' t hog the power from your laptop or pc......Don't need an expensive one.....wait for sale....

Check out these site for good deals..: dealnews.com/

Each of your devices should come with its own software , normally come with a cd or at least has an option to download from their sites.

Try to get all softwares for your device first, see if they work...

If you list the details of all your devices ( Including your WDs/OS)....We might be able to help .

[ImAWhat]

Alright I think I am going to go buy a powered usb hub. Here is the last information I have about my problem. I just want to make sure the powered usb hub is going to fix my problem. When I connect me storage device when my webcam is already plugged in or vice versa it say "USB Device Not Recognized" "One of the USB devices attached ot this computer has malfunctioned, and Windows does not recognize it." The only other information that I might have that is helpful. I don't know if it is fully correct though. When I hooked in my webcam today. On the back of my laptop I have 2 USB ports and those are the 2 that I plug my webcam and storage drive into. When I pluged my webcam in today, I plugged it into the bottom one and it said something like "This device can run faster on a 2.0 USB port" I almost always plug my stuff into the top USB port, just because it seems to fit easier, because my hand does not have to touch the desk and try and fit in in the bottom one. So my guess is, since I have never gotten this message before, that maybe my top USB port is a 2.0 and my bottom one is a 1.0. Does this make any sense and is this possible? Thank you for everyones help, this is my last question before I go buy a powered USB hub.

[Tech4me]

Ok...Nothing is 100% sure until you have a good port to test your devices out.....plug them in one by one....wait for your pc recognize it and make sure it works properly...( Like I said...before you know for sure your device.."like webcam" is working or not....you should get all software its required or new firmware to get it working properly)

then continue plug in another one....

[poglatg]

ImAWhat,

You said that you have an old lappy, so yeah, it is entirely possible that you have some USB 1.0 and some USB 2.0 ports. DON'T PANIC! USB standards are backwards compatible, so a 2.0 device will run in a 1.0 port and vice verca (it will just be at the slower 1.0 speed).

A couple of things I would suggest:

1. See if there is a BIOS upgrade for your particular laptop (check the manufacturers website)

2. The problem may be with a PCM/PCIA card (if you have one) causing you greif.

3. I found that some storage devices (cameras, thumb drives, MP3 players) didn't play nicely with Windows XP when they were forced to have a drive letter associated with them higher than J:.

4. Some of my cheap-arse devices (like my crappy MP3) randomly fail on me. Un plug 'em, plug 'em back in and they go OK.

[ImAWhat]

Well it is not a super old laptop. Probably about two years, it has windows vista though. I figured out though that if I plug in something to the bottom port which I think is the 1.0 and then plug something in the top port, they both end up working, so I will do that for now until I need another USB port.

[taustin1382]

My bet would be an IRQ conflict.....



see below



1. Right click on My Computer, then
click on properties, then click on Device Manager.
Or, click on Start, point to Settings, and then click
Control Panel, Double-click System, and then click
the Device Manager tab to display all devices.

2. An exclamation point ( ! )
in a yellow circle will appear next to the names of
ports or device that are conflicting. Click the (+)
sign next to Ports (USB, COM and LPT) to display current
ports.

3. You can move any devices from the
conflicting ports to the new ports. or move the conflicting
card to an new card slot. Then restart the computer,
Windows should now detect the new attached devices.

4. Double-click the names of the conflicting
USB, COM or LPT ports. Click the check box by "Disable
in this hardware profile."
7. Click OK, and then restart the computer.
Windows should now detect the new serial or parallel
ports and the attached devices.




this was taken from another site. sounds correct to me for xp though you might have to hunt in vista as im sure the names have changed in control panel.

[ImAWhat]

Naw. That wasn't it. It doesn't even see them as there, which I have no clue why, after it just said was unrecognizable. It sees them both when I connect the bottom one and then the top one and they are working. I really don't know what is wrong. Also if they are both working and I restart my computer. When my computer comes back on, it does not see either one of them and they both are not working again.

[taustin1382]

I guess try a powered hub, thats pretty strange....

does it matter what 2 devices .... like have you tried a usb thumb drive and a webcam or something like that?

[rgreen4]

What is the make and model of your machine? Do not post serial number, ever, just the model number.

[ImAWhat]

It does not matter what 2 devices I hook in. As long as I hook the bottom one in first I found out that they both work. It is an acer laptop. I bought it for $450 so it was really cheap. The model number I think is ZR1. That is all it says next to model number on the bottom of my laptop, if you know where else it would be or how many number or letters it is, because this is not it, please tell me.

[rgreen4]

I tried the Acer website, but apparently it is messed up as clicking on the heading technical support wants to download a program. Not!

There should be more numbers, as some of the Google references when I googled Acer ZR-1, had Acer ZR1-2xxx. You may want to look on the bottom and see if there are more numbers on a label. But apparently you have a workaround for it.

[taustin1382]

that is crazy! I have never seen usb care which slot was connected first....

well at least you found a workaround, I was checking on google and found a fair amount of driver updates and windows patches reguarding usb issues similar to yours but not referenceing 2 or more devices.

I would call acer at this point and see if this is a known issue....

[ImAWhat]

Well thank you for everyones help. I think I am just going to leave it for now and just keep plugging in the bottom one first. I need to buy a usb hub anyways, because I need to go buy a new headset and the one I want is a usb plug in one and so I will need another usb port anyway.

[Tech4me]

Gladd you got it work ......Good job.