Noob USB questions

[powersoul]

Hey guys, hardware noob here. I'm currently running into some problems with USB on my computer...

Kay first, some basic info about my computer

System:
Microsoft Windows XP
Home Edition
Version 2002
Service Pack 3

Computer:
Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU
E5700 @ 3.00GHz
2.99GHz 3.25GB of RAM

Some other stuff that I recognize that -might- help
PSU: Cooler Master RS-500-PCAR-A3 (500w) http://www.coolermaster.com.sg/product. ... ct_id=3738

MOBO (or is this a memory board? I don't know the name for this): PCI Express Dual DDR 2 800 FSB 1333

And I see something similar to this in my CPU too: http://www.pcchips.com.tw/PCCWebSite/Pr ... 44&LanID=0

Need more info, please let me know.

THE PROBLEM

I have a USB Network Adapter plugged into one of my USB ports, which uses 450mA of power. I checked out my USB Root Hub under Device Manager and found out that my computer is supplying 500mA per port. With this in mind, I mounted a flash drive into another port, but it fails to read or write properly (aka files not transferring or copying totally before getting an error).

My flash drive is a Cruzer Sandisk 16GB formatted under NTFS, and I'm attempting to transfer a file that is only less than 1.5GB. This flash drive takes up about 100-200mA of power.

Testing my theory of overloading, I dismounted my USB Network Adapter and remounted my flash drive. It then functioned normally. Remounting my Network Adapter in again, my USB fails. I tested this with every single available port on my CPU and the results are the same. I have a total of 6 available ports (Device Manager tells me that I have 8, but I'm pretty sure it's 6) and they all seem to fall under one Root Hub, despite showing five different Root Hubs.

Is there any way I can mount both flash drive and Network Adapter at the same time with both of them performing at normal levels?

Also, I found it weird that such things happen only now. I have been using this computer for 2.5 years and transferring big files (like 10 or 20GB) at one go and never had such problems. If somebody can help, it will be very much appreciated.

@Moderators: If this thread doesn't belong here, please move it to the correct one, thanks!

[Friendly]

I had similar problems with a USB hub and a PS3 once (file transfers broke off); as it turned out the hub was faulty.
Try a different hub. And if it's indeed a power-related problem, a hub with external power supply might do the trick.

[powersoul]

Before I try that, anyone knows if increasing my PSU will work (aka getting a PSU with bigger watt ratings)?

[Obiwanshinobi]

Maybe the mainboard's going off. (Mine just have, after ~ a decade's worth of extensive usage.)

[Ed Oscuro]

PSU is probably fine, leave it be. I don't think there is anything wrong with your system. The reason is that a Hub is equivalent to a port for purposes of bandwidth and power usage - it's simply sharing its resources across various physical ports.

You could probably fix the problem by buying a self-powered (i.e., has its own wall wart) mini USB hub to plug in additional things. Bandwidth might suffer a bit from having two devices in at the same time, but I doubt it would be a problem in practice, so long as you didn't routinely use all the ports.

Alternatively, what would help you would be a way to connect to those other USB Hubs showing up in Device Manager...if they actually exist as individual hubs. It might be interesting to know if you have a keyboard and mouse plugged into USB ports as well. I don't know what typical power usage is for those, but they must have a little. Very quickly you'd come to 500mA.

The PC Chips thing is a motherboard. I don't know if I've ever heard of that manufacturer before. In what connection did the P43G come up?

I don't know of a straightforward way to find out what motherboard you have in Windows XP, but you can find out the information you need more straightforwardly. You can enter device manager again and check out the driver / details for the USB Hub. Specifically, hit the Details tab (I'm working from Windows 7 but it shouldn't be too different in XP), and then select "Hardware Ids." This should bring up a string with VID (Vendor ID) and PID (Product ID) numbers as well as a REV. Plugging those numbers into an online database like this can show you details about the actual hub. This will assist you in finding new USB drivers (which are really nice to have, but the types of problems fixed in any USB driver update I've seen are typically speed and compatibility related, and have nothing to do with compatbility to the USB spec which you're apparently overloading).

[Stormwatch]

I don't know if I've ever heard of that manufacturer before.

Seriously? PC Chips is quite famous... not in a good way, though.