USB Devices Freeze Computer

Hello all! I am having an issue with computers at a high school. Many of the teachers have USB Flash drives (of different manufacturers and sizes) and when they plug them in the computer will sometimes freeze up. This doesn't happen all of the time, but it happens enough now that there are more teachers using them. We have unchecked the "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" box on the Power Management tab of the USB Root Hubs in Device Manager, but it doesn't seem to help. They are all running WinXP SP2 with 256MB RAM. They are all Dell GX260s with the latest BIOS. They are all using the front USB ports, not the rear ports. Do you think more memory might resolve this issue? Has anyone else had this happen to them? Thanks!

 

John here, customer advocate at Dell headquarters.

It is possible that the performance problem being noted is related to the amount of memory on the systems, and luckily, there is an easy way to find out. Since I am guessing that these systems are clustered together, it would be a simple matter to strip memory out of one unit to temporarily double the mount of memory in a second unit. If the problem gets better, you probably have your answer.

Another thing to try is to see if the performance is any better when using a key on a rear USB port. I have heard reports that newer, larger keys cause problems on the front ports of these older units. Any key larger than 256MB could cause issues. Do smaller keys cause the problem? If not, that could be your answer as well.

John
Dell Customer Advocate

 

256Mb RAM is inadequate for SP2 in any case. I've just been fixing one of these and advised the owner to have another 256 if she wants to go to SP2.

Hey, DellCA, last time you posted your name was Neil.

 

There are several of us on the team. :drink

Both Neil and I are seen on the vlog on this post:

http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2006/11/19/3648.aspx