Emachines 1401 Hanging

spacebiscuit · Oct 27, 2011

Hi,

I have an emacines 1401 desktop and I am using a a switched USB hub to share a keyboard and mouse between to this PC and another.

When I power up the emacines with the switch turned on for this PC to the emachines logo screen hangs. If I unplug the usb it boots. But initially it hangs.

Any ideas what could be causing this? If I plug the devices in directly it works ok and the other PC does not hang when I power it up.

Thanks in advance.

plodr · Oct 27, 2011

Check the BIOS on the eMachine and see how high up booting from a USB device is. That could be what is causing the hangup. It looks to see if there is anything bootable hooked to the USB port and you wait while it looks and decides.

spacebiscuit · Oct 27, 2011

The boot order is set as follows:

Harddrive
Optical Drive
LAN
Removable Device

The machine hangs before the POST so I don't think that it is a boot issue as I don't get the POST beep until I unplug the USB.

Thanks.

plodr · Oct 27, 2011

switched USB hub
Click to expand...

Do you mean a KVM switch? If so, what is the brand?
I run two KVM switches but mine are PS/2 not USB.
Is it attached to the problem computer on a front or rear USB port?

spacebiscuit · Oct 27, 2011

yes it is a KVM switch. I've tried it in all USB ports - same result. The 1401 doesn't realy have rear and front ports as it is a diamond shape sitting on one corner.

Thanks again.

plodr · Oct 27, 2011

And the brand of KVM?

spacebiscuit · Oct 28, 2011

It seems to be unbranded. It just says model MT-201UK

plodr · Oct 28, 2011

Found it http://www.goodluckbuy.com/mt-201uk-mini-2-ports-manual-usb-2-0-auto-kvm-switch-box.html
Manufacturer: Genica which leads me here http://www.genica.com/services.html.

Here' part of a review I found

For around ten bucks, the switch sounds pretty good so far. But its positive features end there.

"USB 2.0" is printed right on the switch's face, so you'd think it would run well and not impede your desktop's performance. But I constantly found the switch slowing my mouse down to the point where the pointer would freeze up for a couple of seconds before slowly dragging a little farther across the screen. This temporary lag would last ten seconds or so, then everything would run well for a while, until it happened again.

The mouse that I used with this switch was a Dynex wireless mouse, which I'd used on both computers many times before the switch was installed and never encountered a problem. I also found that I would often have to repeat-click on something to get the computer to recognize that I clicked on it, because the first (or sometimes even second) time, nothing happened.

The first day I set up this switch, it worked fine for a while and then suddenly the USB ports stopped responding. I plugged the mouse and keyboard variably into all three ports, but couldn't get either of them to work. Every time I plugged the mouse receiver into a port, the active computer would switch as if I had pressed the switch's button. Rebooting both computers resolved this problem, and it hasn't recurred since.

When the computer hooked into the left side of the switch is active, the display will go black every now and then for a couple of seconds. The screen will reappear, then go black again, then reappear. This happens several times an hour, but only on whichever computer is hooked into that side.

If a few inconsistencies don't bother you, and you don't need a switch that performs optimally, then you might want to consider this switch. (It's currently only $10.19 on Amazon from BestDealUSA.) But if you get frustrated easily or you can't afford the wait times and hassles that this switch could potentially create, then you might want to consider buying a slightly pricier switch made by a reputable brand.
Click to expand...

Bottom line, it is probably the switch.

spacebiscuit · Oct 28, 2011

yes but it works without any problems in my Dell - from powering up to general use.

It works fine on the emachines once Windows has booted. The fact is hangs before posting says to me that it is something within the BIOS making it hang.

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Emachines 1401 Hanging

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