Controlling USB power output: iPod Shuffle

[uberT]

Here's a curious situation I haven't been able to resolve. We've got a couple of the newer iPod Shuffles and they're supposed to be able to charge on any USB 2.0 jack. However, the Shuffles will only charge on one computer in the house, the R60e. The R60e has the iTunes software program on it, the other computers do not.

I chatted with Apple today and they said the iTunes program does not need to be installed for charging via USB to take place. They sent me this link describing how to turn off a power saving feature in WINXP: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1401?viewlocale=en_US


I tried this and every time I reboot the check mark is put back in the "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" box making it impossible for me to check whether this is really the issue. Is there a setting in Power Manager, for example, that is causing this?

To further confuse, this box is checked on the R60e, yet that machine will charge the iPod

Thanks for any tips or hints.

[Paul Unger]

I assume the rest of "the computers in the house" are those listed in your signature. I've never experienced USB power issues with my T42s, but I certainly have what appears to be a power issue with my T61 (see Crippled USB Port). Have you tried plugging the devices into different ports? If it's the same with all ports it's probably a different issue, but I thought I'd check to make sure.

[vanaya]

It might be possible that the software is needed. When I have to charge my BB, it will only charge on the lappy that has BlackBerry desktop manager. Hope this helps.

[sarbin]

It might be possible that the software is needed. When I have to charge my BB, it will only charge on the lappy that has BlackBerry desktop manager. Hope this helps.

same behavior here with my bb. a31p has the bb desktop mgr installed and the usb1.1 ports charge it fine. t43 has not had the software loaded yet and upon plug in, the bb displays: "USB charging current is not sufficient. Verify that your handheld is connected to a powered USB charging source and that the proper USB driver is installed."

[uberT]

I assume the rest of "the computers in the house" are those listed in your signature. I've never experienced USB power issues with my T42s, but I certainly have what appears to be a power issue with my T61 (see Crippled USB Port). Have you tried plugging the devices into different ports? If it's the same with all ports it's probably a different issue, but I thought I'd check to make sure.

Paul, yes, i"ve tried all the ports. (I've got a couple of older machines not listed in the signature.)

The guy at Apple suggests this is a typical laptop issue and PCs don't show this problem. It all comes down to saving battery power.

A couple of the machines are USB 1.1, none of them work.

I have no idea how to identify whether a port is a "high powered" USB (2.0).

[uberT]

It might be possible that the software is needed. When I have to charge my BB, it will only charge on the lappy that has BlackBerry desktop manager. Hope this helps.

Yeah, I'm starting to think this might be the issue. I don't want to be forced to install iTunes on the other machines. It's a huge program and I don't want the Apple marketing clutter.

Plan B: Buy a standalone charger for the Shuffle.


Thanks for the reply.