[judemo]

I need to reinstall windowsXP home and have to disconnect all hardware. I need to know if it is ok just to unplug printers etc. from usb ports or is there a special way to do it.

[mjd420nova]

Judemo: No. there is no harm in just pulling the USB connector out of the jack. USB is a HOT plug type of connection. Even other ports such as parallel and serial ports are in no danger of hurting the port or the device by unplugging them while either the PC or device is powered on. After reinstalling the OS, you should follow the procedure for installing the other devices however, especially printers and other peripherals.

[phillypa800]

judemo, on 06 October 2009 - 08:57 AM, said:

I need to reinstall windowsXP home and have to disconnect all hardware. I need to know if it is ok just to unplug printers etc. from usb ports or is there a special way to do it.

you may have already performed your re-installation. just keep mouse and keyboard plugged in. remove the rest from your USB connector. if you fail to remove printer, joystick, game pad, etc. your installation will become corrupted due to un-known drivers.

[judemo]

Thanks to everyone for your help... now all I have to do is get started.. wish me luck..

[mphenterprises]

phillypa800, on 06 October 2009 - 10:21 AM, said:

if you fail to remove printer, joystick, game pad, etc. your installation will become corrupted due to un-known drivers.

Hi phillypa. You and I have not directly discussed anything in a long time. Hope all is well. I would have to disagree with this statement. The introduction of any USB devices at the start of an installation will not corrupt the installation. There will simply be entries within Device Manager requiring drivers to be installed.

I just had to reinstall five Operating Systems on two computers over the weekend (for some still unknown reason). I did not disconnect any of the external USB devices (hard drives, printers, portable players, etc.). Both computers completed the installation process flawlessly. The hard drives are exceptions (I know. I just wanted to throw that in there). However, the portable players and the printers were listed within the Device Manager with question marks. Once I installed the appropriate drivers, the question marks went away and all was well.

[smax013]

mjd420nova, on 06 October 2009 - 10:13 AM, said:

Judemo: No. there is no harm in just pulling the USB connector out of the jack. USB is a HOT plug type of connection. Even other ports such as parallel and serial ports are in no danger of hurting the port or the device by unplugging them while either the PC or device is powered on. After reinstalling the OS, you should follow the procedure for installing the other devices however, especially printers and other peripherals.

All true...

However, there are some exceptions. You should NOT just pull external USB hard drive connection cables or flash drive from USB ports while the computer is powered up without first properly unmounting the drive from Windows. If the computer is powered down, then you can disconnect any USB device you want typically.

[phillypa800]

mphenterprises, on 06 October 2009 - 05:27 PM, said:

Hi phillypa. You and I have not directly discussed anything in a long time. Hope all is well. I would have to disagree with this statement. The introduction of any USB devices at the start of an installation will not corrupt the installation. There will simply be entries within Device Manager requiring drivers to be installed.

I just had to reinstall five Operating Systems on two computers over the weekend (for some still unknown reason).

hello mphenterprises. we all agree to disagree my friend. however, i only speak from experience and will never steer anyone in the wrong direction. i've been there-done that with respect to having devices plugged in and not plugged in. the OS re-installation got corrupted while devices were plugged in. tried again with only the keyboard and mouse, no issues. i've been messing with computers since i was 8 years old (i'm 34 now), and will stand by my free advice to the public.

let's not beat this dead horse. thanks for your opinion however!

This post has been edited by smax013: 14 October 2009 - 01:40 PM
Reason for edit: Fixed quote tags