USB Woes - Should I Flash BIOS?

I'm just about at the end of my rope with recent USB problems.

This is on my 4 year old trusty workhorse, Dimension 4550, P4, 2.4GHz,
1024 MB ram, WinXPHome, fully patched. It still runs BIOS version A05
(dated 1/27/03, per the Dell Support reading on my internal page, even
thought the Dell Support web site dates this BIOS version as 3/4/03).
There's since been BIOS versions A06 and A08 issued. I've seen no A07.

I haven't update the BIOS because "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". But
maybe it's time to update now, since the BIOS updates do show some USB
fixes. I just cringe at the thought that a BIOS upgrade may go bad, or
introduce other problems, so I always try other routes first. I've never
had problems with this machine, or reinstalled the OS, and it still runs
as nice as when first started up. Here's the USB problems I have:

The machine has six USB ports, two in front, four in back.

Back is normally occupied with
Seagate USB external hard drive
Canon multifunction printer with card reader
SanDisk Imagemate 5in1 card reader, newly added, with TransferMate
application
Dell keyboard
Front is normally occupied with
Microsoft wireless optical notebook mouse receiver
SanDisk Cruzer Micro flash drive (this is my most used USB device, and I
plug and unplug it all the time)

This all started when I took up the last USB rear port with the SanDisk
ImageMate 5in1 card reader. It seems that now when I plug in the Cruzer
in front, I'll either get "USB device malfunctioned", with an "Unknown
Device" in the Device Manager, or nothing happens. I always get the
'ding' sound when plugging or unplugging it, and the blue Cruzer light
glows, but's that's all. There are two ways that I can get the Cruzer to
be recognized. The first is by Safely Removing Hardware (system tray
icon) the 5in1 card reader. If Safely Removing it doesn't work still
doesn't allow me to install the Cruzer, the only way to get the front
port to recognize the Cruzer is to reboot. As a matter of fact, at this
point, no USB device is recognized by the front port until I reboot.
This is what's hardest to live with...rebooting to use the Cruzer.

I've tried swapping these two USB devices to different ports, no luck.
I've googled and tried different fixes, but still no luck.

Am I missing something obvious? Should I just flash the BIOS and hope
this helps? If I flash the BIOS, what's the best method, floppy or non-
packaged? If I flash the BIOS, is there no going back?

<Boris> wrote in message
news:EZ-...
> I'm just about at the end of my rope with recent USB problems.
>
> This is on my 4 year old trusty workhorse, Dimension 4550, P4, 2.4GHz,
> 1024 MB ram, WinXPHome, fully patched. It still runs BIOS version A05
> (dated 1/27/03, per the Dell Support reading on my internal page, even
> thought the Dell Support web site dates this BIOS version as 3/4/03).
> There's since been BIOS versions A06 and A08 issued. I've seen no A07.
>
> I haven't update the BIOS because "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". But
> maybe it's time to update now, since the BIOS updates do show some USB
> fixes. I just cringe at the thought that a BIOS upgrade may go bad, or
> introduce other problems, so I always try other routes first. I've never
> had problems with this machine, or reinstalled the OS, and it still runs
> as nice as when first started up. Here's the USB problems I have:
>
> The machine has six USB ports, two in front, four in back.
>
> Back is normally occupied with
> Seagate USB external hard drive
> Canon multifunction printer with card reader
> SanDisk Imagemate 5in1 card reader, newly added, with TransferMate
> application
> Dell keyboard
> Front is normally occupied with
> Microsoft wireless optical notebook mouse receiver
> SanDisk Cruzer Micro flash drive (this is my most used USB device, and I
> plug and unplug it all the time)
>
> This all started when I took up the last USB rear port with the SanDisk
> ImageMate 5in1 card reader. It seems that now when I plug in the Cruzer
> in front, I'll either get "USB device malfunctioned", with an "Unknown
> Device" in the Device Manager, or nothing happens. I always get the
> 'ding' sound when plugging or unplugging it, and the blue Cruzer light
> glows, but's that's all. There are two ways that I can get the Cruzer to
> be recognized. The first is by Safely Removing Hardware (system tray
> icon) the 5in1 card reader. If Safely Removing it doesn't work still
> doesn't allow me to install the Cruzer, the only way to get the front
> port to recognize the Cruzer is to reboot. As a matter of fact, at this
> point, no USB device is recognized by the front port until I reboot.
> This is what's hardest to live with...rebooting to use the Cruzer.
>
> I've tried swapping these two USB devices to different ports, no luck.
> I've googled and tried different fixes, but still no luck.
>
> Am I missing something obvious? Should I just flash the BIOS and hope
> this helps? If I flash the BIOS, what's the best method, floppy or non-
> packaged? If I flash the BIOS, is there no going back?
>


You could flash the BIOS (I'd use a brand spanking new floppy or other
reliable media to do so) and that might work.
I've been picking up on what seems to be a minor recurring theme about
SanDisk keys and problems with them. I admittedly haven't drilled down on
the problem as I don't own one.

Since you've got quite a few USB devices, any chance you'd consider dropping
by a local store and picking up an inexpensive USB hub? This might actually
help with the apparent conflict while also giving you a more convenient
option to the poorly-located front USB ports on your machine.

I can't guarantee you'd be able to roll back the BIOS flash, but I'd guess
it's at least a coin toss that you could.

I think I'd try an inexpensive USB hub for less than $25 bucks first just to
see if I could affect a positive result.

Stew

"S.Lewis" <> wrote in
news:09Pqh.26586$:

>
> <Boris> wrote in message
> news:EZ-...
>> I'm just about at the end of my rope with recent USB problems.
>>
>> This is on my 4 year old trusty workhorse, Dimension 4550, P4,
>> 2.4GHz, 1024 MB ram, WinXPHome, fully patched. It still runs BIOS
>> version A05 (dated 1/27/03, per the Dell Support reading on my
>> internal page, even thought the Dell Support web site dates this BIOS
>> version as 3/4/03). There's since been BIOS versions A06 and A08
>> issued. I've seen no A07.
>>
>> I haven't update the BIOS because "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".
>> But maybe it's time to update now, since the BIOS updates do show
>> some USB fixes. I just cringe at the thought that a BIOS upgrade may
>> go bad, or introduce other problems, so I always try other routes
>> first. I've never had problems with this machine, or reinstalled the
>> OS, and it still runs as nice as when first started up. Here's the
>> USB problems I have:
>>
>> The machine has six USB ports, two in front, four in back.
>>
>> Back is normally occupied with
>> Seagate USB external hard drive
>> Canon multifunction printer with card reader
>> SanDisk Imagemate 5in1 card reader, newly added, with TransferMate
>> application
>> Dell keyboard
>> Front is normally occupied with
>> Microsoft wireless optical notebook mouse receiver
>> SanDisk Cruzer Micro flash drive (this is my most used USB device,
>> and I plug and unplug it all the time)
>>
>> This all started when I took up the last USB rear port with the
>> SanDisk ImageMate 5in1 card reader. It seems that now when I plug in
>> the Cruzer in front, I'll either get "USB device malfunctioned", with
>> an "Unknown Device" in the Device Manager, or nothing happens. I
>> always get the 'ding' sound when plugging or unplugging it, and the
>> blue Cruzer light glows, but's that's all. There are two ways that I
>> can get the Cruzer to be recognized. The first is by Safely Removing
>> Hardware (system tray icon) the 5in1 card reader. If Safely Removing
>> it doesn't work still doesn't allow me to install the Cruzer, the
>> only way to get the front port to recognize the Cruzer is to reboot.
>> As a matter of fact, at this point, no USB device is recognized by
>> the front port until I reboot. This is what's hardest to live
>> with...rebooting to use the Cruzer.
>>
>> I've tried swapping these two USB devices to different ports, no
>> luck. I've googled and tried different fixes, but still no luck.
>>
>> Am I missing something obvious? Should I just flash the BIOS and
>> hope this helps? If I flash the BIOS, what's the best method, floppy
>> or non- packaged? If I flash the BIOS, is there no going back?
>>
>
>
> You could flash the BIOS (I'd use a brand spanking new floppy or other
> reliable media to do so) and that might work.
> I've been picking up on what seems to be a minor recurring theme about
> SanDisk keys and problems with them. I admittedly haven't drilled down
> on the problem as I don't own one.
>
> Since you've got quite a few USB devices, any chance you'd consider
> dropping by a local store and picking up an inexpensive USB hub? This
> might actually help with the apparent conflict while also giving you a
> more convenient option to the poorly-located front USB ports on your
> machine.
>
> I can't guarantee you'd be able to roll back the BIOS flash, but I'd
> guess it's at least a coin toss that you could.
>
> I think I'd try an inexpensive USB hub for less than $25 bucks first
> just to see if I could affect a positive result.
>
> Stew
>
Hi, Stew,

Hmmm...interesting about possible SanDisk related problems. I also have
a Memorex and a Dell flash drive. I'll try those and see, just for fun.

Yep, my next step was to try a powered hub and see if that helps. It'll
give me an excuse to browse the computer stores.

i would definitely upgrade to a08. it specifically address issues with usb
disks/thumbdrives/whatever you want to call them.
"4. Update to USB functionality. Fixes system hangs with some USB
multi-function
printers, USB disk keys and USB CD-ROM drives."
and it is highly unlikely that you encounter a problem from updating the
bios.

<Boris> wrote in message
news:EZ-...
> I'm just about at the end of my rope with recent USB problems.
>
> This is on my 4 year old trusty workhorse, Dimension 4550, P4, 2.4GHz,
> 1024 MB ram, WinXPHome, fully patched. It still runs BIOS version A05
> (dated 1/27/03, per the Dell Support reading on my internal page, even
> thought the Dell Support web site dates this BIOS version as 3/4/03).
> There's since been BIOS versions A06 and A08 issued. I've seen no A07.
>
> I haven't update the BIOS because "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". But
> maybe it's time to update now, since the BIOS updates do show some USB
> fixes. I just cringe at the thought that a BIOS upgrade may go bad, or
> introduce other problems, so I always try other routes first. I've never
> had problems with this machine, or reinstalled the OS, and it still runs
> as nice as when first started up. Here's the USB problems I have:
>
> The machine has six USB ports, two in front, four in back.
>
> Back is normally occupied with
> Seagate USB external hard drive
> Canon multifunction printer with card reader
> SanDisk Imagemate 5in1 card reader, newly added, with TransferMate
> application
> Dell keyboard
> Front is normally occupied with
> Microsoft wireless optical notebook mouse receiver
> SanDisk Cruzer Micro flash drive (this is my most used USB device, and I
> plug and unplug it all the time)
>
> This all started when I took up the last USB rear port with the SanDisk
> ImageMate 5in1 card reader. It seems that now when I plug in the Cruzer
> in front, I'll either get "USB device malfunctioned", with an "Unknown
> Device" in the Device Manager, or nothing happens. I always get the
> 'ding' sound when plugging or unplugging it, and the blue Cruzer light
> glows, but's that's all. There are two ways that I can get the Cruzer to
> be recognized. The first is by Safely Removing Hardware (system tray
> icon) the 5in1 card reader. If Safely Removing it doesn't work still
> doesn't allow me to install the Cruzer, the only way to get the front
> port to recognize the Cruzer is to reboot. As a matter of fact, at this
> point, no USB device is recognized by the front port until I reboot.
> This is what's hardest to live with...rebooting to use the Cruzer.
>
> I've tried swapping these two USB devices to different ports, no luck.
> I've googled and tried different fixes, but still no luck.
>
> Am I missing something obvious? Should I just flash the BIOS and hope
> this helps? If I flash the BIOS, what's the best method, floppy or non-
> packaged? If I flash the BIOS, is there no going back?
>

I always use the Floppy method. Given the presence of USB fixes in the
BIOS changelog I would consider that a viable solution.They provide a
non-packaged update for people to make a bootable cdrom, for instance.

In A08

4. Update to USB functionality. Fixes system hangs with some USB
multi-function
printers, USB disk keys and USB CD-ROM drives.

You have 2 of the 3.

A06 has an important unrelated fix

1. Fixed IDE cable type detection problem which may cause IDE drive
failures.


I would go to A08, and see if any of your issues are resolved. In this
generation, at least, you can go back.



Boris wrote:
> I'm just about at the end of my rope with recent USB problems.
>
> This is on my 4 year old trusty workhorse, Dimension 4550, P4, 2.4GHz,
> 1024 MB ram, WinXPHome, fully patched. It still runs BIOS version A05
> (dated 1/27/03, per the Dell Support reading on my internal page, even
> thought the Dell Support web site dates this BIOS version as 3/4/03).
> There's since been BIOS versions A06 and A08 issued. I've seen no A07.
>
> I haven't update the BIOS because "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". But
> maybe it's time to update now, since the BIOS updates do show some USB
> fixes. I just cringe at the thought that a BIOS upgrade may go bad, or
> introduce other problems, so I always try other routes first. I've never
> had problems with this machine, or reinstalled the OS, and it still runs
> as nice as when first started up. Here's the USB problems I have:
>
> The machine has six USB ports, two in front, four in back.
>
> Back is normly occupied with
> Seagate USB external hard drive
> Canon multifunction printer with card reader
> SanDisk Imagemate 5in1 card reader, newly added, with TransferMate
> application
> Dell keyboard
> Front is normally occupied with
> Microsoft wireless optical notebook mouse receiver
> SanDisk Cruzer Micro flash drive (this is my most used USB device, and I
> plug and unplug it all the time)
>
> This all started when I took up the last USB rear port with the SanDisk
> ImageMate 5in1 card reader. It seems that now when I plug in the Cruzer
> in front, I'll either get "USB device malfunctioned", with an "Unknown
> Device" in the Device Manager, or nothing happens. I always get the
> 'ding' sound when plugging or unplugging it, and the blue Cruzer light
> glows, but's that's all. There are two ways that I can get the Cruzer to
> be recognized. The first is by Safely Removing Hardware (system tray
> icon) the 5in1 card reader. If Safely Removing it doesn't work still
> doesn't allow me to install the Cruzer, the only way to get the front
> port to recognize the Cruzer is to reboot. As a matter of fact, at this
> point, no USB device is recognized by the front port until I reboot.
> This is what's hardest to live with...rebooting to use the Cruzer.
>
> I've tried swapping these two USB devices to different ports, no luck.
> I've googled and tried different fixes, but still no luck.
>
> Am I missing something obvious? Should I just flash the BIOS and hope
> this helps? If I flash the BIOS, what's the best method, floppy or non-
> packaged? If I flash the BIOS, is there no going back?

Boris, I have the same machine and BIOS. Before flashing the BIOS go into
disk management and look for the new card reader. It probably is
conflicting with the too many card readers you already have from the cannon
printer.

Each slot gets assigned a drive letter, so maybe pick U,V,W,X,Y or Z unless
they have already been assigned to another device/drive. My USB thumb drive
was assigned one letter on my one computer, which conflicted with my network
mapped drive on another computer. So I assigned my thumb drive to another
drive letter and voila it works in both. Please post back if that works.

HTH, Pat

"Christopher Muto" <> wrote in message
news:bjQqh.2859$E35.204@trnddc02...
>i would definitely upgrade to a08. it specifically address issues with usb
>disks/thumbdrives/whatever you want to call them.
> "4. Update to USB functionality. Fixes system hangs with some USB
> multi-function
> printers, USB disk keys and USB CD-ROM drives."
> and it is highly unlikely that you encounter a problem from updating the
> bios.
>
> <Boris> wrote in message
> news:EZ-...
>> I'm just about at the end of my rope with recent USB problems.
>>
>> This is on my 4 year old trusty workhorse, Dimension 4550, P4, 2.4GHz,
>> 1024 MB ram, WinXPHome, fully patched. It still runs BIOS version A05
>> (dated 1/27/03, per the Dell Support reading on my internal page, even
>> thought the Dell Support web site dates this BIOS version as 3/4/03).
>> There's since been BIOS versions A06 and A08 issued. I've seen no A07.
>>
>> I haven't update the BIOS because "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". But
>> maybe it's time to update now, since the BIOS updates do show some USB
>> fixes. I just cringe at the thought that a BIOS upgrade may go bad, or
>> introduce other problems, so I always try other routes first. I've never
>> had problems with this machine, or reinstalled the OS, and it still runs
>> as nice as when first started up. Here's the USB problems I have:
>>
>> The machine has six USB ports, two in front, four in back.
>>
>> Back is normally occupied with
>> Seagate USB external hard drive
>> Canon multifunction printer with card reader
>> SanDisk Imagemate 5in1 card reader, newly added, with TransferMate
>> application
>> Dell keyboard
>> Front is normally occupied with
>> Microsoft wireless optical notebook mouse receiver
>> SanDisk Cruzer Micro flash drive (this is my most used USB device, and I
>> plug and unplug it all the time)
>>
>> This all started when I took up the last USB rear port with the SanDisk
>> ImageMate 5in1 card reader. It seems that now when I plug in the Cruzer
>> in front, I'll either get "USB device malfunctioned", with an "Unknown
>> Device" in the Device Manager, or nothing happens. I always get the
>> 'ding' sound when plugging or unplugging it, and the blue Cruzer light
>> glows, but's that's all. There are two ways that I can get the Cruzer to
>> be recognized. The first is by Safely Removing Hardware (system tray
>> icon) the 5in1 card reader. If Safely Removing it doesn't work still
>> doesn't allow me to install the Cruzer, the only way to get the front
>> port to recognize the Cruzer is to reboot. As a matter of fact, at this
>> point, no USB device is recognized by the front port until I reboot.
>> This is what's hardest to live with...rebooting to use the Cruzer.
>>
>> I've tried swapping these two USB devices to different ports, no luck.
>> I've googled and tried different fixes, but still no luck.
>>
>> Am I missing something obvious? Should I just flash the BIOS and hope
>> this helps? If I flash the BIOS, what's the best method, floppy or non-
>> packaged? If I flash the BIOS, is there no going back?
>>
>
>

It's not a given that the bios update will fix your problems (in fact I
think it's most likely not the bios), but that said the bios is so old
that I would update it. I've done hundreds if not thousands of bios
updates and never had a problem, not even once. But be absolutely
certain that you have the right bios and the right update tool, and DO
NOT use a Windows update tool... bios updates should be done from DOS.


Boris wrote:
> I'm just about at the end of my rope with recent USB problems.
>
> This is on my 4 year old trusty workhorse, Dimension 4550, P4, 2.4GHz,
> 1024 MB ram, WinXPHome, fully patched. It still runs BIOS version A05
> (dated 1/27/03, per the Dell Support reading on my internal page, even
> thought the Dell Support web site dates this BIOS version as 3/4/03).
> There's since been BIOS versions A06 and A08 issued. I've seen no A07.
>
> I haven't update the BIOS because "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". But
> maybe it's time to update now, since the BIOS updates do show some USB
> fixes. I just cringe at the thought that a BIOS upgrade may go bad, or
> introduce other problems, so I always try other routes first. I've never
> had problems with this machine, or reinstalled the OS, and it still runs
> as nice as when first started up. Here's the USB problems I have:
>
> The machine has six USB ports, two in front, four in back.
>
> Back is normally occupied with
> Seagate USB external hard drive
> Canon multifunction printer with card reader
> SanDisk Imagemate 5in1 card reader, newly added, with TransferMate
> application
> Dell keyboard
> Front is normally occupied with
> Microsoft wireless optical notebook mouse receiver
> SanDisk Cruzer Micro flash drive (this is my most used USB device, and I
> plug and unplug it all the time)
>
> This all started when I took up the last USB rear port with the SanDisk
> ImageMate 5in1 card reader. It seems that now when I plug in the Cruzer
> in front, I'll either get "USB device malfunctioned", with an "Unknown
> Device" in the Device Manager, or nothing happens. I always get the
> 'ding' sound when plugging or unplugging it, and the blue Cruzer light
> glows, but's that's all. There are two ways that I can get the Cruzer to
> be recognized. The first is by Safely Removing Hardware (system tray
> icon) the 5in1 card reader. If Safely Removing it doesn't work still
> doesn't allow me to install the Cruzer, the only way to get the front
> port to recognize the Cruzer is to reboot. As a matter of fact, at this
> point, no USB device is recognized by the front port until I reboot.
> This is what's hardest to live with...rebooting to use the Cruzer.
>
> I've tried swapping these two USB devices to different ports, no luck.
> I've googled and tried different fixes, but still no luck.
>
> Am I missing something obvious? Should I just flash the BIOS and hope
> this helps? If I flash the BIOS, what's the best method, floppy or non-
> packaged? If I flash the BIOS, is there no going back?
>

try removing the card reader in device manager and if you installed drivers
for it remove those first.
then with the card reader no connected to the machine reboot and see if the
usb's come back.

<Boris> wrote in message
news:EZ-...
> I'm just about at the end of my rope with recent USB problems.
>
> This is on my 4 year old trusty workhorse, Dimension 4550, P4, 2.4GHz,
> 1024 MB ram, WinXPHome, fully patched. It still runs BIOS version A05
> (dated 1/27/03, per the Dell Support reading on my internal page, even
> thought the Dell Support web site dates this BIOS version as 3/4/03).
> There's since been BIOS versions A06 and A08 issued. I've seen no A07.
>
> I haven't update the BIOS because "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". But
> maybe it's time to update now, since the BIOS updates do show some USB
> fixes. I just cringe at the thought that a BIOS upgrade may go bad, or
> introduce other problems, so I always try other routes first. I've never
> had problems with this machine, or reinstalled the OS, and it still runs
> as nice as when first started up. Here's the USB problems I have:
>
> The machine has six USB ports, two in front, four in back.
>
> Back is normally occupied with
> Seagate USB external hard drive
> Canon multifunction printer with card reader
> SanDisk Imagemate 5in1 card reader, newly added, with TransferMate
> application
> Dell keyboard
> Front is normally occupied with
> Microsoft wireless optical notebook mouse receiver
> SanDisk Cruzer Micro flash drive (this is my most used USB device, and I
> plug and unplug it all the time)
>
> This all started when I took up the last USB rear port with the SanDisk
> ImageMate 5in1 card reader. It seems that now when I plug in the Cruzer
> in front, I'll either get "USB device malfunctioned", with an "Unknown
> Device" in the Device Manager, or nothing happens. I always get the
> 'ding' sound when plugging or unplugging it, and the blue Cruzer light
> glows, but's that's all. There are two ways that I can get the Cruzer to
> be recognized. The first is by Safely Removing Hardware (system tray
> icon) the 5in1 card reader. If Safely Removing it doesn't work still
> doesn't allow me to install the Cruzer, the only way to get the front
> port to recognize the Cruzer is to reboot. As a matter of fact, at this
> point, no USB device is recognized by the front port until I reboot.
> This is what's hardest to live with...rebooting to use the Cruzer.
>
> I've tried swapping these two USB devices to different ports, no luck.
> I've googled and tried different fixes, but still no luck.
>
> Am I missing something obvious? Should I just flash the BIOS and hope
> this helps? If I flash the BIOS, what's the best method, floppy or non-
> packaged? If I flash the BIOS, is there no going back?
>

"Pat Conover" <pat conover at comcast dot net> wrote in
news::

> Boris, I have the same machine and BIOS. Before flashing the BIOS go
> into disk management and look for the new card reader. It probably is
> conflicting with the too many card readers you already have from the
> cannon printer.
>
> Each slot gets assigned a drive letter, so maybe pick U,V,W,X,Y or Z
> unless they have already been assigned to another device/drive. My
> USB thumb drive was assigned one letter on my one computer, which
> conflicted with my network mapped drive on another computer. So I
> assigned my thumb drive to another drive letter and voila it works in
> both. Please post back if that works.
>
> HTH, Pat
>
> "Christopher Muto" <> wrote in message
> news:bjQqh.2859$E35.204@trnddc02...
>>i would definitely upgrade to a08. it specifically address issues
>>with usb disks/thumbdrives/whatever you want to call them.
>> "4. Update to USB functionality. Fixes system hangs with some USB
>> multi-function
>> printers, USB disk keys and USB CD-ROM drives."
>> and it is highly unlikely that you encounter a problem from updating
>> the bios.
>>
>> <Boris> wrote in message
>> news:EZ-...
>>> I'm just about at the end of my rope with recent USB problems.
>>>
>>> This is on my 4 year old trusty workhorse, Dimension 4550, P4,
>>> 2.4GHz, 1024 MB ram, WinXPHome, fully patched. It still runs BIOS
>>> version A05 (dated 1/27/03, per the Dell Support reading on my
>>> internal page, even thought the Dell Support web site dates this
>>> BIOS version as 3/4/03). There's since been BIOS versions A06 and
>>> A08 issued. I've seen no A07.
>>>
>>> I haven't update the BIOS because "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".
>>> But maybe it's time to update now, since the BIOS updates do show
>>> some USB fixes. I just cringe at the thought that a BIOS upgrade
>>> may go bad, or introduce other problems, so I always try other
>>> routes first. I've never had problems with this machine, or
>>> reinstalled the OS, and it still runs as nice as when first started
>>> up. Here's the USB problems I have:
>>>
>>> The machine has six USB ports, two in front, four in back.
>>>
>>> Back is normally occupied with
>>> Seagate USB external hard drive
>>> Canon multifunction printer with card reader
>>> SanDisk Imagemate 5in1 card reader, newly added, with TransferMate
>>> application
>>> Dell keyboard
>>> Front is normally occupied with
>>> Microsoft wireless optical notebook mouse receiver
>>> SanDisk Cruzer Micro flash drive (this is my most used USB device,
>>> and I plug and unplug it all the time)
>>>
>>> This all started when I took up the last USB rear port with the
>>> SanDisk ImageMate 5in1 card reader. It seems that now when I plug
>>> in the Cruzer in front, I'll either get "USB device malfunctioned",
>>> with an "Unknown Device" in the Device Manager, or nothing happens.
>>> I always get the 'ding' sound when plugging or unplugging it, and
>>> the blue Cruzer light glows, but's that's all. There are two ways
>>> that I can get the Cruzer to be recognized. The first is by Safely
>>> Removing Hardware (system tray icon) the 5in1 card reader. If
>>> Safely Removing it doesn't work still doesn't allow me to install
>>> the Cruzer, the only way to get the front port to recognize the
>>> Cruzer is to reboot. As a matter of fact, at this point, no USB
>>> device is recognized by the front port until I reboot. This is
>>> what's hardest to live with...rebooting to use the Cruzer.
>>>
>>> I've tried swapping these two USB devices to different ports, no
>>> luck. I've googled and tried different fixes, but still no luck.
>>>
>>> Am I missing something obvious? Should I just flash the BIOS and
>>> hope this helps? If I flash the BIOS, what's the best method,
>>> floppy or non- packaged? If I flash the BIOS, is there no going
>>> back?
>>>
Pat,

Thanks for the reply.

Using disk management, I re-lettered all card reader and flash drive
letters that have ever been used to never used letters towards the end of
the alphabet. The new letters took effect immediately, but still didn't
allow me to use a previously used, but Safely Removed, USB port. I
rebooted, the new letters were still available and running the devices on
them fine. I could now plug in to the previously used USB port, and the
device worked fine, but once I Safely Removed it, it was no longer
available without a reboot.

<Boris> wrote in message
news:2--...
> "Pat Conover" <pat conover at comcast dot net> wrote in
> news::
>
>> Boris, I have the same machine and BIOS. Before flashing the BIOS go
>> into disk management and look for the new card reader. It probably is
>> conflicting with the too many card readers you already have from the
>> cannon printer.
>>
>> Each slot gets assigned a drive letter, so maybe pick U,V,W,X,Y or Z
>> unless they have already been assigned to another device/drive. My
>> USB thumb drive was assigned one letter on my one computer, which
>> conflicted with my network mapped drive on another computer. So I
>> assigned my thumb drive to another drive letter and voila it works in
>> both. Please post back if that works.
>>
>> HTH, Pat
>>
>> "Christopher Muto" <> wrote in message
>> news:bjQqh.2859$E35.204@trnddc02...
>>>i would definitely upgrade to a08. it specifically address issues
>>>with usb disks/thumbdrives/whatever you want to call them.
>>> "4. Update to USB functionality. Fixes system hangs with some USB
>>> multi-function
>>> printers, USB disk keys and USB CD-ROM drives."
>>> and it is highly unlikely that you encounter a problem from updating
>>> the bios.
>>>
>>> <Boris> wrote in message
>>> news:EZ-...
>>>> I'm just about at the end of my rope with recent USB problems.
>>>>
>>>> This is on my 4 year old trusty workhorse, Dimension 4550, P4,
>>>> 2.4GHz, 1024 MB ram, WinXPHome, fully patched. It still runs BIOS
>>>> version A05 (dated 1/27/03, per the Dell Support reading on my
>>>> internal page, even thought the Dell Support web site dates this
>>>> BIOS version as 3/4/03). There's since been BIOS versions A06 and
>>>> A08 issued. I've seen no A07.
>>>>
>>>> I haven't update the BIOS because "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".
>>>> But maybe it's time to update now, since the BIOS updates do show
>>>> some USB fixes. I just cringe at the thought that a BIOS upgrade
>>>> may go bad, or introduce other problems, so I always try other
>>>> routes first. I've never had problems with this machine, or
>>>> reinstalled the OS, and it still runs as nice as when first started
>>>> up. Here's the USB problems I have:
>>>>
>>>> The machine has six USB ports, two in front, four in back.
>>>>
>>>> Back is normally occupied with
>>>> Seagate USB external hard drive
>>>> Canon multifunction printer with card reader
>>>> SanDisk Imagemate 5in1 card reader, newly added, with TransferMate
>>>> application
>>>> Dell keyboard
>>>> Front is normally occupied with
>>>> Microsoft wireless optical notebook mouse receiver
>>>> SanDisk Cruzer Micro flash drive (this is my most used USB device,
>>>> and I plug and unplug it all the time)
>>>>
>>>> This all started when I took up the last USB rear port with the
>>>> SanDisk ImageMate 5in1 card reader. It seems that now when I plug
>>>> in the Cruzer in front, I'll either get "USB device malfunctioned",
>>>> with an "Unknown Device" in the Device Manager, or nothing happens.
>>>> I always get the 'ding' sound when plugging or unplugging it, and
>>>> the blue Cruzer light glows, but's that's all. There are two ways
>>>> that I can get the Cruzer to be recognized. The first is by Safely
>>>> Removing Hardware (system tray icon) the 5in1 card reader. If
>>>> Safely Removing it doesn't work still doesn't allow me to install
>>>> the Cruzer, the only way to get the front port to recognize the
>>>> Cruzer is to reboot. As a matter of fact, at this point, no USB
>>>> device is recognized by the front port until I reboot. This is
>>>> what's hardest to live with...rebooting to use the Cruzer.
>>>>
>>>> I've tried swapping these two USB devices to different ports, no
>>>> luck. I've googled and tried different fixes, but still no luck.
>>>>
>>>> Am I missing something obvious? Should I just flash the BIOS and
>>>> hope this helps? If I flash the BIOS, what's the best method,
>>>> floppy or non- packaged? If I flash the BIOS, is there no going
>>>> back?
>>>>
> Pat,
>
> Thanks for the reply.
>
> Using disk management, I re-lettered all card reader and flash drive
> letters that have ever been used to never used letters towards the end of
> the alphabet. The new letters took effect immediately, but still didn't
> allow me to use a previously used, but Safely Removed, USB port. I
> rebooted, the new letters were still available and running the devices on
> them fine. I could now plug in to the previously used USB port, and the
> device worked fine, but once I Safely Removed it, it was no longer
> available without a reboot.
>

ironic how many flash their bios despite there being nothing detailed in the
update that specifically address the problem at hand. and yet here the exact
opposite is happening. flash it. you can still try these other
troubleshooting techniques if it doesn't resolve the issue for you.