'Unknown device'

On my xpsp2 pc I have a USB connector on the media bay and several on the
rear panel. They all work flawlessly with several USB devices. Today however
I got an MP3 player which was not recognized by the front connection
(unknown device), but worked perfectly on the back connections. Could
anybody give a hint why this happens? Thanks.

Andre,

Your MP3 player should have come with a CD containing the Windows drivers
necessary for communicating with the player through the USB interface. Many
MP3 players also come with application software on the CD that can be used to
transfer songs onto the player.

If your player did not come with a CD you might find the necessary drivers
and other software on the manufacturer's website.

--
John Hensley
www.resqware.com


"Andre De Clercq" wrote:

On my xpsp2 pc I have a USB connector on the media bay and several on the
rear panel. They all work flawlessly with several USB devices. Today however
I got an MP3 player which was not recognized by the front connection
(unknown device), but worked perfectly on the back connections. Could
anybody give a hint why this happens? Thanks.

Thanks John, and indeed I have the CD which keeps saying that only Windows
98 needs drivers, and doesn't install them on my XPSP2. If drivers were a
must, why does the player do all I want when plugged into the back USB
connectors? The front connector itself is OK because there is no problen to
connect a memory stick, an exeternal HDD...

"John Hensley" wrote in message
...
Andre,

Your MP3 player should have come with a CD containing the Windows drivers
necessary for communicating with the player through the USB interface.
Many
MP3 players also come with application software on the CD that can be used
to
transfer songs onto the player.

If your player did not come with a CD you might find the necessary drivers
and other software on the manufacturer's website.

--
John Hensley
www.resqware.com


"Andre De Clercq" wrote:

On my xpsp2 pc I have a USB connector on the media bay and several on the
rear panel. They all work flawlessly with several USB devices. Today
however
I got an MP3 player which was not recognized by the front connection
(unknown device), but worked perfectly on the back connections. Could
anybody give a hint why this happens? Thanks.

Sorry, I should have paid more attention to the details in your original
post. What you are seeing could happen if the front and rear connectors are
on different USB hubs or controller with different chip sets. You might be
able to determine this by looking in the Device Manager.

Have you tried going into the Device Manager and doing a rescan? You might
also try plugging in the MP3 player then restarting the computer with the
player plugged in.

Are you using a cable to connect the MP3 player or does it plug directly
into the USB port? If you are using a cable, the length of the internal cable
to the front media bay plus the length of the cable connecting the MP3 player
may be causing a problem.

--
John Hensley
www.resqware.com


"Andre De Clercq" wrote:

Thanks John, and indeed I have the CD which keeps saying that only Windows
98 needs drivers, and doesn't install them on my XPSP2. If drivers were a
must, why does the player do all I want when plugged into the back USB
connectors? The front connector itself is OK because there is no problen to
connect a memory stick, an exeternal HDD...

"John Hensley" wrote in message
...
Andre,

Your MP3 player should have come with a CD containing the Windows drivers
necessary for communicating with the player through the USB interface.
Many
MP3 players also come with application software on the CD that can be used
to
transfer songs onto the player.

If your player did not come with a CD you might find the necessary drivers
and other software on the manufacturer's website.

--
John Hensley
www.resqware.com


"Andre De Clercq" wrote:

On my xpsp2 pc I have a USB connector on the media bay and several on the
rear panel. They all work flawlessly with several USB devices. Today
however
I got an MP3 player which was not recognized by the front connection
(unknown device), but worked perfectly on the back connections. Could
anybody give a hint why this happens? Thanks.

Thanks again John for your time and advise. It has indeed to do with the
cable length (very strange...). I will report more to morrow...it's over
midnight here..

"John Hensley" wrote in message
...
Sorry, I should have paid more attention to the details in your original
post. What you are seeing could happen if the front and rear connectors
are
on different USB hubs or controller with different chip sets. You might be
able to determine this by looking in the Device Manager.

Have you tried going into the Device Manager and doing a rescan? You might
also try plugging in the MP3 player then restarting the computer with the
player plugged in.

Are you using a cable to connect the MP3 player or does it plug directly
into the USB port? If you are using a cable, the length of the internal
cable
to the front media bay plus the length of the cable connecting the MP3
player
may be causing a problem.

--
John Hensley
www.resqware.com


"Andre De Clercq" wrote:

Thanks John, and indeed I have the CD which keeps saying that only
Windows
98 needs drivers, and doesn't install them on my XPSP2. If drivers were a
must, why does the player do all I want when plugged into the back USB
connectors? The front connector itself is OK because there is no problen
to
connect a memory stick, an exeternal HDD...

"John Hensley" wrote in message
...
Andre,

Your MP3 player should have come with a CD containing the Windows
drivers
necessary for communicating with the player through the USB interface.
Many
MP3 players also come with application software on the CD that can be
used
to
transfer songs onto the player.

If your player did not come with a CD you might find the necessary
drivers
and other software on the manufacturer's website.

--
John Hensley
www.resqware.com


"Andre De Clercq" wrote:

On my xpsp2 pc I have a USB connector on the media bay and several on
the
rear panel. They all work flawlessly with several USB devices. Today
however
I got an MP3 player which was not recognized by the front connection
(unknown device), but worked perfectly on the back connections. Could
anybody give a hint why this happens? Thanks.

Strange things happen...
When I add to the 3 feet USB cable another 3 feet extension cable, the
device is being recognised (most of the time), BUT, when I connect with the
short cable the devise is no longer recognised as an"unknown device" but
apparently Windows shuts off the connection, even for other USB devices
when connected to the bay. And even more strange is that after this USB
shutoff my computer doesn't shutdown anymore (keeps prompting "computer is
shutting down"). I have to keep the powerswitch pressed to shut it down.
Why is all this happening? Bad USB MP3 player?...but works perfect on two
other computers..Thanks for any advise.

"Andre De Clercq" wrote in message
...
Thanks again John for your time and advise. It has indeed to do with the
cable length (very strange...). I will report more to morrow...it's over
midnight here..

"John Hensley" wrote in message
...
Sorry, I should have paid more attention to the details in your original
post. What you are seeing could happen if the front and rear connectors
are
on different USB hubs or controller with different chip sets. You might
be
able to determine this by looking in the Device Manager.

Have you tried going into the Device Manager and doing a rescan? You
might
also try plugging in the MP3 player then restarting the computer with the
player plugged in.

Are you using a cable to connect the MP3 player or does it plug directly
into the USB port? If you are using a cable, the length of the internal
cable
to the front media bay plus the length of the cable connecting the MP3
player
may be causing a problem.

--
John Hensley
www.resqware.com


"Andre De Clercq" wrote:

Thanks John, and indeed I have the CD which keeps saying that only
Windows
98 needs drivers, and doesn't install them on my XPSP2. If drivers were
a
must, why does the player do all I want when plugged into the back USB
connectors? The front connector itself is OK because there is no problen
to
connect a memory stick, an exeternal HDD...

"John Hensley" wrote in message
...
Andre,

Your MP3 player should have come with a CD containing the Windows
drivers
necessary for communicating with the player through the USB interface.
Many
MP3 players also come with application software on the CD that can be
used
to
transfer songs onto the player.

If your player did not come with a CD you might find the necessary
drivers
and other software on the manufacturer's website.

--
John Hensley
www.resqware.com


"Andre De Clercq" wrote:

On my xpsp2 pc I have a USB connector on the media bay and several on
the
rear panel. They all work flawlessly with several USB devices. Today
however
I got an MP3 player which was not recognized by the front connection
(unknown device), but worked perfectly on the back connections. Could
anybody give a hint why this happens? Thanks.

Many cables that are bundled with hardware are not of the highest quality.
I've run into lots of problems with inexpensive USB cables that only worked
some of the time and I believe it has to do with the cable's internal
impedance. This could explain why you were able to get it somewhat working by
adding an additional 3 foot extension cable. When dealing with the high
frequencies associated with USB 2.0 transfers it is important that the
impedance of the cable matches that of the device and hub.

--
John Hensley
www.resqware.com


"Andre De Clercq" wrote:

Strange things happen...
When I add to the 3 feet USB cable another 3 feet extension cable, the
device is being recognised (most of the time), BUT, when I connect with the
short cable the devise is no longer recognised as an"unknown device" but
apparently Windows shuts off the connection, even for other USB devices
when connected to the bay. And even more strange is that after this USB
shutoff my computer doesn't shutdown anymore (keeps prompting "computer is
shutting down"). I have to keep the powerswitch pressed to shut it down.
Why is all this happening? Bad USB MP3 player?...but works perfect on two
other computers..Thanks for any advise.

"Andre De Clercq" wrote in message
...
Thanks again John for your time and advise. It has indeed to do with the
cable length (very strange...). I will report more to morrow...it's over
midnight here..

"John Hensley" wrote in message
...
Sorry, I should have paid more attention to the details in your original
post. What you are seeing could happen if the front and rear connectors
are
on different USB hubs or controller with different chip sets. You might
be
able to determine this by looking in the Device Manager.

Have you tried going into the Device Manager and doing a rescan? You
might
also try plugging in the MP3 player then restarting the computer with the
player plugged in.

Are you using a cable to connect the MP3 player or does it plug directly
into the USB port? If you are using a cable, the length of the internal
cable
to the front media bay plus the length of the cable connecting the MP3
player
may be causing a problem.

--
John Hensley
www.resqware.com


"Andre De Clercq" wrote:

Thanks John, and indeed I have the CD which keeps saying that only
Windows
98 needs drivers, and doesn't install them on my XPSP2. If drivers were
a
must, why does the player do all I want when plugged into the back USB
connectors? The front connector itself is OK because there is no problen
to
connect a memory stick, an exeternal HDD...

"John Hensley" wrote in message
...
Andre,

Your MP3 player should have come with a CD containing the Windows
drivers
necessary for communicating with the player through the USB interface.
Many
MP3 players also come with application software on the CD that can be
used
to
transfer songs onto the player.

If your player did not come with a CD you might find the necessary
drivers
and other software on the manufacturer's website.

--
John Hensley
www.resqware.com


"Andre De Clercq" wrote:

On my xpsp2 pc I have a USB connector on the media bay and several on
the
rear panel. They all work flawlessly with several USB devices. Today
however
I got an MP3 player which was not recognized by the front connection
(unknown device), but worked perfectly on the back connections. Could
anybody give a hint why this happens? Thanks.

Thanks John. And it remains strange that a corrupted USB connection can
lock-up the computer.

"John Hensley" wrote in message
...
Many cables that are bundled with hardware are not of the highest quality.
I've run into lots of problems with inexpensive USB cables that only
worked
some of the time and I believe it has to do with the cable's internal
impedance. This could explain why you were able to get it somewhat working
by
adding an additional 3 foot extension cable. When dealing with the high
frequencies associated with USB 2.0 transfers it is important that the
impedance of the cable matches that of the device and hub.

--
John Hensley
www.resqware.com


"Andre De Clercq" wrote:

Strange things happen...
When I add to the 3 feet USB cable another 3 feet extension cable, the
device is being recognised (most of the time), BUT, when I connect with
the
short cable the devise is no longer recognised as an"unknown device" but
apparently Windows shuts off the connection, even for other USB devices
when connected to the bay. And even more strange is that after this USB
shutoff my computer doesn't shutdown anymore (keeps prompting "computer
is
shutting down"). I have to keep the powerswitch pressed to shut it down.
Why is all this happening? Bad USB MP3 player?...but works perfect on two
other computers..Thanks for any advise.

"Andre De Clercq" wrote in message
...
Thanks again John for your time and advise. It has indeed to do with
the
cable length (very strange...). I will report more to morrow...it's
over
midnight here..

"John Hensley" wrote in message
...
Sorry, I should have paid more attention to the details in your
original
post. What you are seeing could happen if the front and rear
connectors
are
on different USB hubs or controller with different chip sets. You
might
be
able to determine this by looking in the Device Manager.

Have you tried going into the Device Manager and doing a rescan? You
might
also try plugging in the MP3 player then restarting the computer with
the
player plugged in.

Are you using a cable to connect the MP3 player or does it plug
directly
into the USB port? If you are using a cable, the length of the
internal
cable
to the front media bay plus the length of the cable connecting the MP3
player
may be causing a problem.

--
John Hensley
www.resqware.com


"Andre De Clercq" wrote:

Thanks John, and indeed I have the CD which keeps saying that only
Windows
98 needs drivers, and doesn't install them on my XPSP2. If drivers
were
a
must, why does the player do all I want when plugged into the back
USB
connectors? The front connector itself is OK because there is no
problen
to
connect a memory stick, an exeternal HDD...

"John Hensley" wrote in message
...
Andre,

Your MP3 player should have come with a CD containing the Windows
drivers
necessary for communicating with the player through the USB
interface.
Many
MP3 players also come with application software on the CD that can
be
used
to
transfer songs onto the player.

If your player did not come with a CD you might find the necessary
drivers
and other software on the manufacturer's website.

--
John Hensley
www.resqware.com


"Andre De Clercq" wrote:

On my xpsp2 pc I have a USB connector on the media bay and several
on
the
rear panel. They all work flawlessly with several USB devices.
Today
however
I got an MP3 player which was not recognized by the front
connection
(unknown device), but worked perfectly on the back connections.
Could
anybody give a hint why this happens? Thanks.