Device doesn't work on USB hub but works when directly connected to the computer?

Question

I have 2 different devices (a label printer and a digital camara) that work just fine when plugged into one of the USB ports that are built into my computer but don't work when I plug them into my USB hub. I'm out of internal ports (1 for the keyboard/mouse, 1 for the external disk drive, 1 for the USB hub that still has 2 other devices that work on it and 1 for a printer/fax/scanner device).

Will getting a PCI USB Card resolve this problem? Or do I need to play musical-USB-port with all the devices until I find a solution that works? Or is there a way to beef this up so that these more lightly used devices WILL work with the hub?

The USB Hub is powered and only half full (although that shouldn't matter).

As I said, the USB hub is powered. So that isn't the solution.

Will a PCI/Internal card be able to provide more power to the label printer?

Answer 1

It's because your hub doesn't actually give you more ports in the sense that your computer will recognize "Hey, there's more ports." Your computer looks at them all on the same port. Hence, the PC is confused easily. I had the same situation.

Imagine you are talking to someone. All of sudden, they leave, and four new people are there, but they are all the first person, and all are asking for different things. Now while this may sound like something out of a Stephan King novel, this is exactly what your PC is dealing with.

I bought a Belkin USB PCI card at staples for roughly 20 bucks, and don't have any issues anymore. Make sure you buy the actual card that plugs into the motherboard, not just another hub.

Answer 2

It has more to do with the devices than the hub. Some devices seem to need a direct link to the computer while others can be daisy chained and share a port. My Cannon scanner is a good example. It will NOT work through a powered USB hub, but works quite well when it has its own dedicated port. It also says that in their documentation, so obviously they have had many questions about the issue.

A second USB card will add however many new ports as it is designed to have. (I've seen them with from 1 to 6 USB ports) I would recommend using the additional card for the USB hub connected devices and save your primary USB sockets for the devices that need direct connection. You can also run USB hard drives through the hub with no perceptible slowdown. (I have 4 data storage 3 TB drives connected along with using other ports as needed for flash drives, SD card readers, etc. in a 7 port powered hub.)

Answer 3

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I'm guessing your hub is powered directly from the usb port and there's not enough power to power the drive too. You can buy powered hubs and that should solve the problem. You can try to use the shortest, thickest, highest quality cable you have to connect the drive to the hub, and another from the hub to the computer if that one is removable. Cables really can make a difference but I think the problem here is more likely to be power. Another trick might be to check the other (powered) drives and see if any of them have an additional USB port to 'daisy chain' devices. If it does, try plugging the unpowered drive into a powered one instead of into the hub, that might work.

Answer 4

I think MajorTom has hit the nail on the head, non-powered USB hubs can run minimal power usage devices like your mouse or maybe the digital camera, since they are battery powered devices.

But the label printer, which more than likely gets it's power from a "external" power source like a power converter, will need a powered USB hub.

Answer 5

Usb Hub Doesn T Work

Answer 6

First question: is the USB hub a powered or non-powered model? If it is non-powered, it may not be able to provide enough power for the peripherals. Get either a PCI USB card or a powered hub. (PCI preferably)