USB card reader installation problem

[Rob M.]

I've run into a problem installing a PeriPower 32 in 1 internal card/reader-writer. My system runs on an Asus A7V8X-X motherboard which has a VIA KT400 chipset. It's powered by a AMD Athlon XP 2500+ CPU.

The PeriPower unit includes a card reader/writer, 2 USB ports and a FireWire port. No instructions came with the unit, and PeriPower does not list the product on its website, much less provide a user manual there. The product shown at <http://www.cancomputer.com/index.php?sku=3615> appears to be the same product other than the colour. Anitec also lists it, but without picture or specs.

The USB ports, FireWire port, and card reader have separate connection cables for motherboard headers. Both of the USB ports in the PeriPower work fine when the appropriate cable is connected to the motherboard's USB headers, but when the card reader is connected to either of the same USB headers, the system hangs at the system splash screen. The POST results do not appear.

The system doesn't get as far as loading the boot manager, much less an operating system, so I assume it's a hardware issue, not a software or OS driver issue. Is there a BIOS setting I've overlooked? Perhaps the card reader in the PeriPower is defective -- but what other possibilities exist, and how can I check them out? Unfortunately, testing the PeriPower unit on another system is not a readily-available option.

[risk_reversal]

I note from the specs that this unit is self powered, always a bad start.

In the first instance do you have any other usb devices connected to your pc apart from the 32 in 1 card reader when your rig locks up.

The usb ports communicate with your mobo via the soutbridge. Your mobo has a Via chipset. What could be happening is that there could be some type of early conflict in between the card reader and chipset when connected though the mobos usb ports.

I appreciate that your immediate question would be ...'but it works fine when I connect the unit to the usb headers on the mobo'...I am not that knowledgeable as to how usb mobo headers interact with the hw but hopefully someone with greater insight will shed light on this aspect.

Good Luck

[chapincito]

I Am not an expert either, but I had read some other units and said that this units should be pluged in a USB port in the mobo and in a ready available infrared port in the motherboard; this is why I can not use one of these units in my comp.

[Rob M.]

Originally Posted by risk_reversal

I note from the specs that this unit is self powered, always a bad start.

Noted. But why is that? Are we talking about limitations on power for devices connected to the USB ports provided by the unit, or are there problems with connecting a USB card reader directly to the motherboard?

It might be as well to keep in mind the PeriPower unit provides both the 32-in-1 card reader, and USB/Firewire ports. The reader and the ports seem to be independent of one another. I've looked inside the case of the unit; the circuit board behind the card reader slots and the circuit board behind the USB and Firewire ports are electrically independent. There is no connection between the reader and the ports or their circuit boards. It seems that you can connect the USB ports to one or both of the motherboard headers, or you can connect the card reader slots to one of the motherboard headers, or connect all of those if you have enough USB headers on your motherboard. I don't.

In the first instance do you have any other usb devices connected to your pc apart from the 32 in 1 card reader when your rig locks up.

The Asus A7V8X-X mobo provides 4 USB ports at the rear, and headers for two more on the motherboard. The ports at the rear have the following items connected on a more-or-less continuing basis: mouse, backup power supply unit, and Bluetooth dongle. They were connected when I tried connecting the card reader.

The usb ports communicate with your mobo via the soutbridge. Your mobo has a Via chipset. What could be happening is that there could be some type of early conflict in between the card reader and chipset when connected though the mobos usb ports.

The PeriPower card reader was connected directly to the motherboard through one of the USB headers. It does not connect through a port. So I'd agree that a conflict may be the cause of the problem. If there's a way to resolve that conflict, I'd love to hear about it.

I appreciate that your immediate question would be ...'but it works fine when I connect the unit to the usb headers on the mobo'...I am not that knowledgeable as to how usb mobo headers interact with the hw but hopefully someone with greater insight will shed light on this aspect.

I'm not sure what you're getting at here, risk_reversal. The system boots OK when USB ports in the reader are connected to the motherboard headers, but won't boot when the card reader is connected to either of the headers. I think all that says is that the motherboard headers are not likely to be defective - and if that's the case, the conflict you suggested seems to be the most likely problem. So my question comes back to "how do I resolve that conflict?"

Comment, anyone?

[faceless_el]

Originally Posted by Rob M.

I've run into a problem installing a PeriPower 32 in 1 internal card/reader-writer. My system runs on an Asus A7V8X-X motherboard which has a VIA KT400 chipset. It's powered by a AMD Athlon XP 2500+ CPU.

The PeriPower unit includes a card reader/writer, 2 USB ports and a FireWire port. No instructions came with the unit, and PeriPower does not list the product on its website, much less provide a user manual there. The product shown at <http://www.cancomputer.com/index.php?sku=3615> appears to be the same product other than the colour. Anitec also lists it, but without picture or specs.

The USB ports, FireWire port, and card reader have separate connection cables for motherboard headers. Both of the USB ports in the PeriPower work fine when the appropriate cable is connected to the motherboard's USB headers, but when the card reader is connected to either of the same USB headers, the system hangs at the system splash screen. The POST results do not appear.

The system doesn't get as far as loading the boot manager, much less an operating system, so I assume it's a hardware issue, not a software or OS driver issue. Is there a BIOS setting I've overlooked? Perhaps the card reader in the PeriPower is defective -- but what other possibilities exist, and how can I check them out? Unfortunately, testing the PeriPower unit on another system is not a readily-available option.

I have somewhat a similar problem. the usb port on the peripower card reader works well however the card reader itself doesn't. When I plugged it on the USB header on the mobo it recognized the new hardware installed and also showed 4 extra drives however it won't read or even format any memory cards i put it.

[Rob M.]

Originally Posted by faceless_el

I have somewhat a similar problem. the usb port on the peripower card reader works well however the card reader itself doesn't. When I plugged it on the USB header on the mobo it recognized the new hardware installed and also showed 4 extra drives however it won't read or even format any memory cards i put it.

Thanks for your comments, faceless_el. (And BTW, welcome to Major Geeks...).

Your situation is even stranger than mine -- it seems that your system recognises the card reader (mine never got that far), but won't use it. The four extra removeable drives is what I'd expect from a multi-slot card reader, but the inability to read or write to a card in any of the slots is a puzzlement.

For me, it's now of academic interest. I've removed the PeriPower unit in favour of a Bayone Extreme. It was a bit more expensive (it includes features I don't need or want, but it was handy and has a couple of neat features.) Its connections to my mobo are very similar to the PeriPower unit -- but it works just fine. There's a detailed review of the product here.