flash pen causes computer to crash!

[Chief Wiggum]

I've just bought a flash/data pen. Yes i know i am behind the times. Whenever i plug it into my computer which is running xp pro it causes it to freeze. The cursor won't move and if i press cntrl alt and delete nothing happens either.

I have to end up restarting it with the reset button. Any ideas what the problem is caused by and how i can fix it?

[greymalkin]

are you able to plug in a usb mouse or other device into the same port without it freezing?

[Chief Wiggum]

yes, i can plug in my digital camera via usb no problem.

Is it something to do with mass storage devices?

[VegasBud]

If it's a new usb device that doesn't work in a known good usb connector, this first thing I would suspect would be the device itself. Do you have a different computer you can try it in?

Here's the MS webpage "General USB troubleshooting in Windows XP". That might help. According to MS, a system hang would indicate a "malfunctioning or incorrectly-configured device".

[Chief Wiggum]

Could be the pen i guess. its not plugged into a hub as such. It plugs into the front of the computer case which is hooked up to the motherboard.

I thought they were plug and play lol

[VegasBud]

Ever since WinME they are plug and play. The only times I've had to install a driver for a USB device was on a win98se computer.

Since you are plugging it straight into the computer, with no hub, on WinXP, it's now virtually certain the device is faulty. If you have another computer you can plug it into, and it causes a system hang on that computer too, there would be no doubt the device is faulty.

If you give me the device's make and model, maybe I could find something else about what the problem is. Or you could just return it. It's your choice.

[Chief Wiggum]

Thanks. Its a Datasafe aqua 1 gb flash pen. Its smaller than my thumb

I will try it on another computer when i get the chance.

[VegasBud]

It appears to be just a normal usb device. No driver required. People who have one seem to like it. No problems with it. Reputable manufacturer.

Sounds like you just need to exchange it for a new one, and you'll be all set.

[ROF]

The only times I've had to install a driver for a USB device was on a win98se computer.

I had to give someone a bunch of files for an old Win98 machine this person(who is not so bright) to fix it. Before the person came to my house he bought a memorex travel drive. I asked him if he had drivers for the travel drive. He said yes. He had downloaded them from his computer and loaded them unto the travel drive prior to coming over. Before could ask he proceeded to tell me he was going to load the drivers from their onto the Win98 machine.

I laughed.

He looked at me strangely.

You can't install drivers for a device from the device prior to driver installation.

Your statement made me think back to this somewhat amusing mishap.

[Chief Wiggum]

I've tried the flash pen on another computer and it works!

Something weird is going on with the front ports of my base unit. Strange that a camera will run of the same usb port.

Luckily this is sorted since i have bought a 20 inch apple cinema screen which has rear usb ports.

[holistic]

amusing......

Chief, i've seen this before, it is not the USB drive, not a driver issue, it is your computers front ports.
Your camera has its' own power source the USB device doesn't.

Low power to USB device on the front USB ports. Try it on the back motherboard USB ports.
Other options : get USB extension cord from back to front of machine or get a USB hub.

FYI: I have a logitech G15 keyboard with 2 USB ports. My USB MP3 device works as it has a battery. My "thumb" drive works occasionally. (no battery)

][

[jollyjohn]

Same thing happened to me too. I re installed the mouse driver and end od problem. I also had to include the mause in the start up list.
John

[Prot]

You DO need to update your USB drivers. I have XP Pro and my computer would not recognize external hard drives nor flash drives with U3. An update on the drivers solved this problem.
I have front and rear USB ports and those devices worked on none of them. I never had a problem with the computer freezing, tho.

[Nelson37]

I have experienced exactly that problem.

USB memory stick would not work on one PC, froze it requiring hard reboot. Two other, similar memory devices worked fine. These were different brands and different capacity, not identical. Questionable stick worked on two other PC's.

Comment about power could well be the issue for the OP, however it was not in my case.

Sometimes two pieces of equipment that should be compatible just aren't. Check both devices with other equipment to verify, if so just accept it and move on.

[xxiangg]

Do you use on-board USB or add-on card USB? I have problems
with on-board USB (with ATI chipset) for one of my computers.
The USB would crash the computer when using my printer.
Although the USB works with other devices needing higher
bandwidth, like external HD and external HDTV box. In the
end I have to plug-in a USB add-on card, replacing the
on-board USB.

[redwudz]

I always try the rear USB ports if the front won't work. I have a couple computers that the front ports are USB 1.1, even though the back are USB 2.0.

Most USB ports are rated for 500Ma maximum. You can go into Device Manager>Universal Serial Bus Controllers and see quite a bit of information about the USB ports. If you look at the Root Hubs>Property>Power, you can see what power each of the ports are using. My USB microdrive uses 498Ma, Printer 2Ma, USB powered scanner 500Ma.

I also have one computer that won't boot if a USB flash drive is plugged into any USB port. USB is not on the boot list of the computer, but it seems to automatically look to it as a boot device. This is handy when I plug a USB floppy drive in, as it will then boot from a floppy disk without going in to BIOS to change the boot order. Unfortunately, I haven't found a simple way to use a USB flash drive as a boot device.

The official USB site: http://www.usb.org/home

Some other good USB sites:

http://www.usbman.com/

http://www.everythingusb.com/

http://www.lvr.com/usb.htm