T40 USB failure

[PhilS]

The USB ports om my T40 appear to have failed. IBM will be replacing the motherboard (under warranty) next week but I am trying to gather additional information before I send it to them.

I've read prior posts about USB problems and realized that I appear to have been suffering from the USB 1.1 - 2.0 issue for some time. Last week, I tried to download photos from a USB multi-function storage card reader and was unable to do so. I tried a second card and a USB storage key - both failed. The only device I have that appears to work is an older camera that uses USB 1.0 technology. All of the USB ports fail using WinXP and three versions of Linux. PC-Doctor, with a USB storage key plugged in, gives errors and fails the device.

The only new thing I've done to the system is place it in an IBM Port Replicator.

Questions:
1. Has any one encountered this problem.
2. Has any one had a Port Replicator II damage the USB ports.

Phil Sherman

[cmarti]

1. Has any one encountered this problem.Phil Sherman

Just do a search on the forum, there are lot of people who their T4x machine has failed the same way.

2. Has any one had a Port Replicator II damage the USB ports.
Phil Sherman

No way that could happen, it's not connected to the usb ports.

[PhilS]

There's no connection to the external USB ports but one of them is carried out through the connector on the bottom of the Thinkpad to the port replicator. This does provide the port replicator a path to potentially effect the USB ports.

Linux las loging of kernel messages that records hardware activity. When I plug in a 2.0 device to one of the USB ports, I can see the software trying to assign an address to the device. This activity is never completed and eventually a couple of error codes are generated by the USB controller. The software then repeats this cycle, trying different device addresses.

All of the USB devices that fail in the Thinkpad work without problems on both of my desktop machines. They've also worked for a couple of years in the T40. This eliminates the devices as the cause of the problem.

Phil Sherman

[stuwain]

I had the same problem. It got fixed when my mother board died about 6 months later on a rainy day (I believe this failure is unrelated). Since then the USB has worked great.

-Stu

T40, 1.5gb ram, 1.5 MHz, 60gb 7200

[PhilS]

System was repaired through EasyServ this week. Shipped Monday evening, received back Wednesday, around noon.

Motherboard was replaced, USB ports now working porperly, with & without the Port Replicator II attached.