Hi folks, I know this is off topic but I also know there are some
computer savvy people here too and am hoping for some clues to this
annoying problem.

After a period of time when my USB peripherals are not used the ports
appear to go to sleep. For example, I turn on my printer and print
something, leave the printer switched on but don't use it for (say) 30
mins. If I try to print again everything works up to the point of
actually printing (i.e. the application prints to the driver and the
spooler takes in the job but nothing is transmitted to the printer
itself). It's not just a printer problem - all my USB devices behave in
the same way and once the ports have gone to sleep none of them will
work and I have to re-boot the PC.

I've got an Athlon XP mobo with 512MB RAM and am running Win XP Pro with
all the updates. Device manager thinks everything is working okay ...
even when the ports are asleep. I have no power saving profiles active.

Any advice would be appreciated - and thanks for taking the time to read
this.

--
Regards

Steve G

On 01.05.2006 11:04 am, CET - what odd quirk of fate caused SteveG to
generate the following:? :

> Hi folks, I know this is off topic but I also know there are some
> computer savvy people here too and am hoping for some clues to this
> annoying problem.
>
> After a period of time when my USB peripherals are not used the ports
> appear to go to sleep. For example, I turn on my printer and print
> something, leave the printer switched on but don't use it for (say) 30
> mins. If I try to print again everything works up to the point of
> actually printing (i.e. the application prints to the driver and the
> spooler takes in the job but nothing is transmitted to the printer
> itself). It's not just a printer problem - all my USB devices behave
> in the same way and once the ports have gone to sleep none of them
> will work and I have to re-boot the PC.
>
> I've got an Athlon XP mobo with 512MB RAM and am running Win XP Pro
> with all the updates. Device manager thinks everything is working okay
> ... even when the ports are asleep. I have no power saving profiles
> active.
>
> Any advice would be appreciated - and thanks for taking the time to
> read this.
>
did you look at the section "USB-Ports"?? If you have an entry there
showing an unidentified device, delete it and re-boot. May help. also
there, if you have any *external* USB ports (hub or PCI extension card)
delete the Device Manager entries for those, and re-install them on re-boot!
Changing the PCI slot of an extension card often helps with installation
problems!

Another place to look is in your BIOS-Setup - look around for USB ports
and see if there is any setting that you can edit!

reg

SteveG wrote:
> Hi folks, I know this is off topic but I also know there are some
> computer savvy people here too and am hoping for some clues to this
> annoying problem.
>
> After a period of time when my USB peripherals are not used the ports
> appear to go to sleep. For example, I turn on my printer and print
> something, leave the printer switched on but don't use it for (say) 30
> mins. If I try to print again everything works up to the point of
> actually printing (i.e. the application prints to the driver and the
> spooler takes in the job but nothing is transmitted to the printer
> itself). It's not just a printer problem - all my USB devices behave in
> the same way and once the ports have gone to sleep none of them will
> work and I have to re-boot the PC.
>
> I've got an Athlon XP mobo with 512MB RAM and am running Win XP Pro with
> all the updates. Device manager thinks everything is working okay ...
> even when the ports are asleep. I have no power saving profiles active.
>
> Any advice would be appreciated - and thanks for taking the time to read
> this.
>

If the problem is with the printer, or associated with printer use, you
might be able to fix it be cycling the print spooler service off, and
back on. I find this frees the printer on my systems.

On 01.05.2006 03:12 pm, CET - what odd quirk of fate caused Ron Hunter
to generate the following:? :

> SteveG wrote:
>
>> Hi folks, I know this is off topic but I also know there are some
>> computer savvy people here too and am hoping for some clues to this
>> annoying problem.
>>
>> After a period of time when my USB peripherals are not used the ports
>> appear to go to sleep. For example, I turn on my printer and print
>> something, leave the printer switched on but don't use it for (say)
>> 30 mins. If I try to print again everything works up to the point of
>> actually printing (i.e. the application prints to the driver and the
>> spooler takes in the job but nothing is transmitted to the printer
>> itself). It's not just a printer problem - all my USB devices behave
>> in the same way and once the ports have gone to sleep none of them
>> will work and I have to re-boot the PC.
>>
>> I've got an Athlon XP mobo with 512MB RAM and am running Win XP Pro
>> with all the updates. Device manager thinks everything is working
>> okay ... even when the ports are asleep. I have no power saving
>> profiles active.
>>
>> Any advice would be appreciated - and thanks for taking the time to
>> read this.
>>
>
> If the problem is with the printer, or associated with printer use,
> you might be able to fix it be cycling the print spooler service off,
> and back on. I find this frees the printer on my systems.

OP is a bit obscure, as to whether *all* USB ports are lame, or just the
printer... I took his first option:
QUOTE
"........ when my USB peripherals are not used the ports appear to go to
sleep"
UNQUOTE
to mean *all ports*

reg

squaredancer wrote:
> On 01.05.2006 03:12 pm, CET - what odd quirk of fate caused Ron Hunter
> to generate the following:? :
>
>> SteveG wrote:
>>
>>> Hi folks, I know this is off topic but I also know there are some
>>> computer savvy people here too and am hoping for some clues to this
>>> annoying problem.
>>>
>>> After a period of time when my USB peripherals are not used the ports
>>> appear to go to sleep. For example, I turn on my printer and print
>>> something, leave the printer switched on but don't use it for (say)
>>> 30 mins. If I try to print again everything works up to the point of
>>> actually printing (i.e. the application prints to the driver and the
>>> spooler takes in the job but nothing is transmitted to the printer
>>> itself). It's not just a printer problem - all my USB devices behave
>>> in the same way and once the ports have gone to sleep none of them
>>> will work and I have to re-boot the PC.
>>>
>>> I've got an Athlon XP mobo with 512MB RAM and am running Win XP Pro
>>> with all the updates. Device manager thinks everything is working
>>> okay ... even when the ports are asleep. I have no power saving
>>> profiles active.
>>>
>>> Any advice would be appreciated - and thanks for taking the time to
>>> read this.
>>>
>>
>> If the problem is with the printer, or associated with printer use,
>> you might be able to fix it be cycling the print spooler service off,
>> and back on. I find this frees the printer on my systems.
>
> OP is a bit obscure, as to whether *all* USB ports are lame, or just the
> printer... I took his first option:
> QUOTE
> "........ when my USB peripherals are not used the ports appear to go to
> sleep"
> UNQUOTE
> to mean *all ports*
>
> reg
Hard to determine from the post. USB ports are a bit 'interesting'. It
seems there is no convenient way in the OS (WinXP) to reinitialize one,
and they tend to get hung on a device at times. Also, if any device on
a USB port is 1.1 only, then the computer will access all devices that
may be on that port as 1.1, rather than USB 2.0 high-speed. Since I
know of an easy way to reinitialize a USB port that has a printer on it,
I suggested that as a possible fix.

squaredancer wrote:
> On 01.05.2006 11:04 am, CET - what odd quirk of fate caused SteveG to
> generate the following:? :
>
>> Hi folks, I know this is off topic but I also know there are some
>> computer savvy people here too and am hoping for some clues to this
>> annoying problem.
>>
>> After a period of time when my USB peripherals are not used the ports
>> appear to go to sleep. For example, I turn on my printer and print
>> something, leave the printer switched on but don't use it for (say) 30
>> mins. If I try to print again everything works up to the point of
>> actually printing (i.e. the application prints to the driver and the
>> spooler takes in the job but nothing is transmitted to the printer
>> itself). It's not just a printer problem - all my USB devices behave
>> in the same way and once the ports have gone to sleep none of them
>> will work and I have to re-boot the PC.
>>
>> I've got an Athlon XP mobo with 512MB RAM and am running Win XP Pro
>> with all the updates. Device manager thinks everything is working okay
>> ... even when the ports are asleep. I have no power saving profiles
>> active.
>>
>> Any advice would be appreciated - and thanks for taking the time to
>> read this.
>>
> did you look at the section "USB-Ports"?? If you have an entry there
> showing an unidentified device, delete it and re-boot. May help. also
> there, if you have any *external* USB ports (hub or PCI extension card)
> delete the Device Manager entries for those, and re-install them on
> re-boot!
> Changing the PCI slot of an extension card often helps with installation
> problems!
>
> Another place to look is in your BIOS-Setup - look around for USB ports
> and see if there is any setting that you can edit!
>
> reg

Hi squaredancer, yes I've checked the section related to the USB ports
but everything appears in order - no unidentified devices and no old (no
longer used) devices either.

The USB ports are built into the mobo but I do run through a 4-port hub
so I gues that could be the culprit. My monitor has a hub built in so
I'll move everything over to that and see if things get any better.

Thanks for the suggestions :-)


--
Regards

Steve G

Ron Hunter wrote:
> SteveG wrote:
>> Hi folks, I know this is off topic but I also know there are some
>> computer savvy people here too and am hoping for some clues to this
>> annoying problem.
>>
>> After a period of time when my USB peripherals are not used the ports
>> appear to go to sleep. For example, I turn on my printer and print
>> something, leave the printer switched on but don't use it for (say) 30
>> mins. If I try to print again everything works up to the point of
>> actually printing (i.e. the application prints to the driver and the
>> spooler takes in the job but nothing is transmitted to the printer
>> itself). It's not just a printer problem - all my USB devices behave
>> in the same way and once the ports have gone to sleep none of them
>> will work and I have to re-boot the PC.
>>
>> I've got an Athlon XP mobo with 512MB RAM and am running Win XP Pro
>> with all the updates. Device manager thinks everything is working okay
>> ... even when the ports are asleep. I have no power saving profiles
>> active.
>>
>> Any advice would be appreciated - and thanks for taking the time to
>> read this.
>>
>
> If the problem is with the printer, or associated with printer use, you
> might be able to fix it be cycling the print spooler service off, and
> back on. I find this frees the printer on my systems.

Hi Ron. I just used the printer as an example but the problem occurs
with all devices (I have a scanner, printer, pda, mobile phone and
digital camera connected). Squaredancer mentioned a hub in his previous
post and some of the devices are connected via a 4-port hub so this
might be the culprit. I have another 4-port hub built into my monitor so
I'll switch everything across to that one and see if it makes any
difference.

Many thanks for your time :-)

--
Regards

Steve G

SteveG wrote:
> Hi folks, I know this is off topic but I also know there are some
> computer savvy people here too and am hoping for some clues to this
> annoying problem.
>
> After a period of time when my USB peripherals are not used the ports
> appear to go to sleep. For example, I turn on my printer and print
> something, leave the printer switched on but don't use it for (say) 30
> mins. If I try to print again everything works up to the point of
> actually printing (i.e. the application prints to the driver and the
> spooler takes in the job but nothing is transmitted to the printer
> itself). It's not just a printer problem - all my USB devices behave in
> the same way and once the ports have gone to sleep none of them will
> work and I have to re-boot the PC.
>
> I've got an Athlon XP mobo with 512MB RAM and am running Win XP Pro with
> all the updates. Device manager thinks everything is working okay ...
> even when the ports are asleep. I have no power saving profiles active.
>
> Any advice would be appreciated - and thanks for taking the time to read
> this.
>

Sorry my OP was a bit obscure but I was trying to simplify the problem.
It may, or may not, be significant but even if I don't turn any of my
peripherals on when I boot the PC the ports still go to sleep.

The USB options in the BIOS appear to be correctly set-up.

--
Regards

Steve G

On 01.05.2006 09:22 pm, CET - what odd quirk of fate caused SteveG to
generate the following:? :

> squaredancer wrote:
>
>> On 01.05.2006 11:04 am, CET - what odd quirk of fate caused SteveG
>> to generate the following:? :
>>
>>> Hi folks, I know this is off topic but I also know there are some
>>> computer savvy people here too and am hoping for some clues to this
>>> annoying problem.
>>>
>>> After a period of time when my USB peripherals are not used the
>>> ports appear to go to sleep. For example, I turn on my printer and
>>> print something, leave the printer switched on but don't use it for
>>> (say) 30 mins. If I try to print again everything works up to the
>>> point of actually printing (i.e. the application prints to the
>>> driver and the spooler takes in the job but nothing is transmitted
>>> to the printer itself). It's not just a printer problem - all my USB
>>> devices behave in the same way and once the ports have gone to sleep
>>> none of them will work and I have to re-boot the PC.
>>>
>>> I've got an Athlon XP mobo with 512MB RAM and am running Win XP Pro
>>> with all the updates. Device manager thinks everything is working
>>> okay ... even when the ports are asleep. I have no power saving
>>> profiles active.
>>>
>>> Any advice would be appreciated - and thanks for taking the time to
>>> read this.
>>>
>> did you look at the section "USB-Ports"?? If you have an entry
>> there showing an unidentified device, delete it and re-boot. May
>> help. also there, if you have any *external* USB ports (hub or PCI
>> extension card) delete the Device Manager entries for those, and
>> re-install them on re-boot!
>> Changing the PCI slot of an extension card often helps with
>> installation problems!
>>
>> Another place to look is in your BIOS-Setup - look around for USB
>> ports and see if there is any setting that you can edit!
>>
>> reg
>
>
> Hi squaredancer, yes I've checked the section related to the USB ports
> but everything appears in order - no unidentified devices and no old
> (no longer used) devices either.
>
> The USB ports are built into the mobo but I do run through a 4-port
> hub so I gues that could be the culprit. My monitor has a hub built in
> so I'll move everything over to that and see if things get any better.
>
> Thanks for the suggestions :-)
>
>
if your external hub is not an "active" one (with its own power supply)
*that* may cause trouble.... on an "active" hub, a faulty power
converter may also be a problem, if the output isn't up to 2,5 amperes
(IIRC, each port requires 0.5 ampere)

reg

squaredancer wrote:
> On 01.05.2006 09:22 pm, CET - what odd quirk of fate caused SteveG to
> generate the following:? :
>
>> squaredancer wrote:
>>
>>> On 01.05.2006 11:04 am, CET - what odd quirk of fate caused SteveG
>>> to generate the following:? :
>>>
>>>> Hi folks, I know this is off topic but I also know there are some
>>>> computer savvy people here too and am hoping for some clues to this
>>>> annoying problem.
>>>>
>>>> After a period of time when my USB peripherals are not used the
>>>> ports appear to go to sleep. For example, I turn on my printer and
>>>> print something, leave the printer switched on but don't use it for
>>>> (say) 30 mins. If I try to print again everything works up to the
>>>> point of actually printing (i.e. the application prints to the
>>>> driver and the spooler takes in the job but nothing is transmitted
>>>> to the printer itself). It's not just a printer problem - all my USB
>>>> devices behave in the same way and once the ports have gone to sleep
>>>> none of them will work and I have to re-boot the PC.
>>>>
>>>> I've got an Athlon XP mobo with 512MB RAM and am running Win XP Pro
>>>> with all the updates. Device manager thinks everything is working
>>>> okay ... even when the ports are asleep. I have no power saving
>>>> profiles active.
>>>>
>>>> Any advice would be appreciated - and thanks for taking the time to
>>>> read this.
>>>>
>>> did you look at the section "USB-Ports"?? If you have an entry
>>> there showing an unidentified device, delete it and re-boot. May
>>> help. also there, if you have any *external* USB ports (hub or PCI
>>> extension card) delete the Device Manager entries for those, and
>>> re-install them on re-boot!
>>> Changing the PCI slot of an extension card often helps with
>>> installation problems!
>>>
>>> Another place to look is in your BIOS-Setup - look around for USB
>>> ports and see if there is any setting that you can edit!
>>>
>>> reg
>>
>>
>> Hi squaredancer, yes I've checked the section related to the USB ports
>> but everything appears in order - no unidentified devices and no old
>> (no longer used) devices either.
>>
>> The USB ports are built into the mobo but I do run through a 4-port
>> hub so I gues that could be the culprit. My monitor has a hub built in
>> so I'll move everything over to that and see if things get any better.
>>
>> Thanks for the suggestions :-)
>>
>>
> if your external hub is not an "active" one (with its own power supply)
> *that* may cause trouble.... on an "active" hub, a faulty power
> converter may also be a problem, if the output isn't up to 2,5 amperes
> (IIRC, each port requires 0.5 ampere)
>
> reg

I think this might be the problem. The hub I've been using is powered
from the USB port itself. I've just switched everything over to the
monitor hub (which is powered from the monitor power supply) and will
wait to see if the problem goes away.

Huge thanks for your time and advice :-)


--
Regards

Steve G