USB stuff going bonkers - is my mobo / G15 keybd / PSU dying?

[RostokMcSpoons]

Hi,

I've got a problem. Last night my modem kept disconnecting, every 20 minutes or so... I wondered if it was my ISP... nope, no-one else having problems. Was it my exchange? No way of telling.
I tried rebooting, and found my mouse froze in the login screen. Examination of the Device Manager revealed my Logitech G15 keyboard was marked as 'device not started'. It was working, but obviously something amiss.

At that point I started shuffling my connections around, to see if a duff USB port was to blame.
No difference.
This is where it gets interesting: I eventually remembered if too many devices on the same line draw too much power then USB stops working properly - so, just for a 'laff', I switched off the back-light on the G15 keyboard. *Bingo*, no more dropped connections!

Obviously that isn't ideal - my pc has been operating fine with the exact same configuration, and now it suddenly won't. And the Logitech keyboard isn't easy to use without a backlight!

So what's up? Is my motherboard on the way out? The Keyboard? The PSU? Is there something else that might be to blame - how do I find out?

Should I buy a PCI USB2 card? Or a powered hub? I don't like working around a failed component, but keeping my pc working (playing) through Christmas *is* my first priority. I haven't got much spare dosh at this time of year though.

Any ideas from wannabe Sherlock Holmes would be very much appreciated



My kit:

ASROCK Dual SATA Mobo
A64 3700+, Zalman fan
Antec Case + 350W PSU
Radeon X800Pro @ XT-PE speeds, Arctic Silencer fan
Logitech G15 Keyboard
Logitech MX518 Mouse
Alcatel Speedtouch 330 USB modem
60GB HD
80GB HD
DVD CDRW
Win XP Home

 

[mikeymike]

get a pci usb2 card and see if that sorts it, they are cheap, even from the place with the evil purple Tshirts, so you can get one today to see if it works, and atleast it may be useful at some point in the future, that or carefully open it then return it in a couple of weeks as an unwanted xmas pressie ...well unless its in that awful plastic you have to cut through to open

 

[RostokMcSpoons]

get a pci usb2 card and see if that sorts it, they are cheap, even from the place with the evil purple Tshirts, so you can get one today to see if it works, and atleast it may be useful at some point in the future, that or carefully open it then return it in a couple of weeks as an unwanted xmas pressie ...well unless its in that awful plastic you have to cut through to open

Yeah, it's the cheapest way to go first. Cheers!

 

[RostokMcSpoons]

Damn. I decided to try a powered hub first, cos I hate dragging my pc around on the carpet to get at the back.

It's made no difference Even with power being fed from the mains, the modem wouldn't work properly (no dial tone)

I've tried moving the modem to one of the mobo's ports to seperate it from the hub, that works for a bit before failing. So I have to switch the backlight off again (or use my old non-USB keyboard.

Luckily I went to that other electronics shop to buy it, and before I handed over the dosh they agreed they'd let me swap the hub for a pci card if needed. I'll report back tomorrow if that works any better.

Btw... after the modem disconnects I can hear a faint, but audible high pitched squealing. I'd imagine it sounds a bit like baby hamsters being strangled after dosing them on helium Does sound rather terminal, doesn't it?