USB Hub Help Please!

[Smudger]

Hi, hope you guys can help.

A friend has a Dell Dimension XPS t450 running win2k Pro.

When a USB hub is plugged in it hangs at the flash screen and progresses no further. You have to unplug the hub then re-boot. However, if you plug in the hub once windows is up and running it's fine.

Anyone know how to get the thing boot with the hub plugged in? It's rather tedious having to unplug it every time you want to boot the machine!

It's a fairly generic hub (no brand name to be seen) and has a power input, which i've tried in and out, and it still doesn't work, so it's not a power issue...

Any help gratefully received.

Thanks

[Ceefer]

Maybe a BIOS update could help? Thats a fairly old computer (I used to have an XPS t600 so I know) and there may be a more recent BIOS that addresses the problem.

[Smudger]

Ah, good idea. I'll give it a try.

Thanks

[RavenNight]

Sounds like its trying to boot from it, go into the BIOS and move USB to the end of the boot priority bit.

[Lobro]

This sounds just like my problem. I have a Belkin USB2, 4-port hub (transformer powered) that douesn't light up when I boot up. I have to unplug the input USB lead to the hub and then re-plug it - and all 4 greens come up. It has been suggested that my old machine (circa 1999) doesn't have enough umph when starting up to be able to jump the hub into action. Yes, I would love to delay the USB start-up signal until everything has settled down. The suggestion of moving USB to the end of the boot priority bit sound right - but I haven't a clue as to how to do that.

This is my first query to Hexus - so is there still someone out there who could help with this?

[nichomach]

If you update your profile with your system specs, it'll be easier to determine where in the BIOS you'd find the boot priority.

[Lobro]

I,ve added system info to my signature 'cos I couldn't find how to add it to my profile or to 'My System'.

[herulach]

i think the problem there might jus tbe the age of the system, i wouldnt have thought pII motherboards would have excellent support for USB, i know the one i used to have didnt

[Lobro]

Sorry, finger trouble. It is a PIII system and had two USB 1 ports when delivered. I have since added a Belkin 4 way USB 1 hub and that worked fine (only a bit slow). I have now unplugged that hub and inserted a PCI board for USB 2 output. It is this that is driving the new(ish) 4 port USB 2 hub. Unplugging after booting failed to light up the hub and then re-inserting gives me 4 greens and my printer, scanner, wireless mouse and ADSL router all work fine. However, I fear that the re-plugging operations every day will wear out the plug!

[nichomach]

Is the system patched to at least 2K SP4? The post SP4 rollup is a good idea, but SP4's a must for USB2 support.

[Lobro]

Yup, It's Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4.

[nichomach]

Bugger. Who are the manufacturers of the USB2 card?

[Lobro]

You're right. It is one. The hub is a Belkin!

[nichomach]

OK, so it's a Bugger-branded USB2 card plugged into a Belkin hub... ?

[Lobro]

Oops, I dunno. Will search archives tomorrow - but will that help. Surely a delayed 'switch-on' instruction would do the trick, and how can I do that?

[Lobro]

OK, so it's a Bugger-branded USB2 card plugged into a Belkin hub... ?

Using Add/Remove Hardware and looking at the list I suspect the potentially b**********ded USB2 card is the NEC PCI to USB open host controller.