Hi Ron, I'm not sure you are right. I was reading my camera manual last night and it says: Use the interface cable to attach the camera directly to a USB port on the computer, not through a USB hub. The connection may not operate correctly through a USB hub. I've found this with a friend's external CD writer. It worked when attached directly to the computer but not when attached to the hub she had. Other devices like scanner worked perfectly through the hub. I can't recall where but I've also recently read that if a device wasn't being recognised properly on one USB port, using another often caused it to be recognised. Just my experience and reading. I don't understand why. Cathy At 04:26 9/03/2005, Ronald Boyd wrote: >Donna, > >There must be something else in the mix. > >The USB ports on the front of a computer are simply a hub - an unpowered one >at that -- connected to the USB Card by a cable similar to the one that you >have connected to your printer. Granted the signal starts out powered (as >are the other 2/4 (external) ports on the Card) but that power is lost as >soon as it is connected to the hub. (These ports are actually designed to be >used with low/no power consuming devices like a mouse or a keyboard.) > >Therefore, if you are lucky enough to have a device that works on an >unpowered USB port, it should work even better (or, at least, no worse) from >a powered outlet... either at the rear of the computer or at a separate >powered hub. > >Ron

Cathy, What you are saying is correct. Your understanding of the issue, however, may be at fault. Perhaps if I explain it this way: Pretend that you have gone to the store and purchased an electrical extension cord. At one end is a male plug and at the other is three female connections. You would then plug the male end into a wall socket. Let's call the wall socket a "Card." You would then have a cable connected to a "card" and at the opposite end would be a "hub" into which you could plug three separate devices. This is exactly what a USB Hub is -- despite the fancy moniker. Now, even though there is a power drop in the electrical extension cord it is generally not a problem unless the device requires an extraordinary amount of energy. The energy from a USB card, on the other hand, is not very strong to begin with and most (but certainly, not all) USB devices need the maximum amount. This is why most manufacturers discourage the use of a USB Hub. On the other hand, a "powered" USB Hub gets its power from the (above mentioned) wall socket and, therefore, has power to spare. Again, this is device specific and some work with an unpowered hub and some (most?) don't... some do sometimes and don't at other times. Now, the other point you raise has to do with the device driver. When you first connect a USB device to your computer a "driver" is installed that controls the device. Sometimes the driver will only believe the device is connected to that same port each time. It's more complicated than this but you get the point. Ron -----Original Message----- From: Cathy Pinner [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2005 4:00 PM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [SP] Re: Scanner Reinstalling Problems Hi Ron, I'm not sure you are right. I was reading my camera manual last night and it says: Use the interface cable to attach the camera directly to a USB port on the computer, not through a USB hub. The connection may not operate correctly through a USB hub. I've found this with a friend's external CD writer. It worked when attached directly to the computer but not when attached to the hub she had. Other devices like scanner worked perfectly through the hub. I can't recall where but I've also recently read that if a device wasn't being recognised properly on one USB port, using another often caused it to be recognised. Just my experience and reading. I don't understand why. Cathy At 04:26 9/03/2005, Ronald Boyd wrote: >Donna, > >There must be something else in the mix. > >The USB ports on the front of a computer are simply a hub - an unpowered one >at that -- connected to the USB Card by a cable similar to the one that you >have connected to your printer. Granted the signal starts out powered (as >are the other 2/4 (external) ports on the Card) but that power is lost as >soon as it is connected to the hub. (These ports are actually designed to be >used with low/no power consuming devices like a mouse or a keyboard.) > >Therefore, if you are lucky enough to have a device that works on an >unpowered USB port, it should work even better (or, at least, no worse) from >a powered outlet... either at the rear of the computer or at a separate >powered hub. > >Ron ==== SCANNERS-PHOTOS Mailing List ==== To subscribe or unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] or [email protected] with the single word SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. ============================== Search Family and Local Histories for stories about your family and the areas they lived. Over 85 million names added in the last 12 months. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13966/rd.ashx -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.308 / Virus Database: 266.6.3 - Release Date: 3/7/2005 -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.308 / Virus Database: 266.6.3 - Release Date: 3/7/2005