usb ports not working. power surge.

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fartonmyear · #1 Post by **fartonmyear** » Sun Nov 19, 2006 3:52 pm

i got a message that said the USB ports exceeded it's power limit or something and there was a power surge. what does this mean? how can i fix it?

#2 Post by **tomh009** » Sun Nov 19, 2006 4:05 pm

fartonmyear wrote:i got a message that said the USB ports exceeded it's power limit or something and there was a power surge. what does this mean? how can i fix it?

Your USB device tried to exceed the 500 mA maximum. I have seen this happen with external 7200 rpm hard disks. In that scenario, at least, the only option is to either move the disk to a media base, or to use an external power supply.

What type of device are you connecting?

fartonmyear · #3 Post by **fartonmyear** » Sun Nov 19, 2006 9:05 pm

i am using an external usb sata 7200rpm drive. it is being run from it's own power supply. i can't use any other usb devices on any of the usb ports, such as a flash drive.

#4 Post by **tomh009** » Sun Nov 19, 2006 11:40 pm

fartonmyear wrote:i am using an external usb sata 7200rpm drive. it is being run from it's own power supply. i can't use any other usb devices on any of the usb ports, such as a flash drive.

Hmmm ... sounds like it's still trying to draw power from the USB. Can you confirm that it runs even when it's not plugged into the USB?

fartonmyear · #5 Post by **fartonmyear** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 1:38 am

yes it still runs even when not connected to the usb

#6 Post by **tomh009** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 5:46 am

fartonmyear wrote:yes it still runs even when not connected to the usb

So ... just re-reading your posts. Does the external drive work? But flash drives do not? Even if you only plug one thing in? Or does the error only come into play when you have the hard drive AND a flash drive?

I presume you are connecting directly to your X, not through a hub, right?

fartonmyear · #7 Post by **fartonmyear** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 11:24 am

no usb device works. not the hard drive, not the flash drive. nothing. yes, directly. i've uninstalled drivers and reinstalled too.

#8 Post by **tomh009** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 11:54 am

fartonmyear wrote:no usb device works. not the hard drive, not the flash drive. nothing. yes, directly. i've uninstalled drivers and reinstalled too.

Unfortunately that really sounds like a hardware problem, then ...

Dngrsone · #9 Post by **Dngrsone** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 3:41 pm

I agree; sounds like the Southbridge went. Any idea what chipset your Thinkpad uses?

I have seen a significant number of problems on the desktop side of things where Intel chipsets like the ICH5R are sensitive to excessive current draw on the USB ports. I and many others have promoted the use of externally powered USB hubs (as a kind of insurance) to people who have those chipsets and do a lot of hotplugging.

usb ports not working. power surge.

usb ports not working. power surge.

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