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Home / Other I-Appliances / Virgin Webplayer LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness Having general USB problems, especially Network adapters.

LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) WordUP Profile I have seen several posts in regards to shakey USB network adapters. After testing several different things, I've concluded that it is a lack of power issue. When using my USB Intellimouse Explorer & the Linksys USB network adapter, I can't even login to the network. Upon login, I am unable to PING anything or browse the network. When I remove the USB mouse, rebooting, I can login to the network and browse for about 5 minutes. Upon transferring large files or anything else, the network connection is lost. This is no better when using a powered hub either. In fact, I can't even login with just the network adapter plugged into the powered hub. I know that USB network cards use a high ammount of power for a USB device and that an 01-23-2001 17:14:54

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) WordUP Profile I just want anyones thoughts / solutions on this problem 01-23-2001 17:46:45

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) aadam12 Profile | Email My desktop pc and WebPlayer both had Windows98 SE running. Both are networked together using the Linksys USB on the WebPlayer. The LinkSys was working fine (showed a green light) and played mp3s fine over the network, also shared an internet connection thru the desktop pc (cable modem). Then I upgraded to both machines WinME (fresh installs) and cannot get it stay stable. I can't get a green light on the USB only amber. It works fine for a little while then the CPU of the WebPlayer gets blazing hot and the USB cuts out. I might try re-installing WinME on the WebPlayer or downgrading back to Win98SE. That might give the CPU a bit of a break. I'm also going to add a Lasagna fan to cool the CPU. The USB connectors are very close to the CPU heatsink so I have a feeling that the heat is causing the problem. 01-23-2001 19:44:21

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) WordUP Profile I am running Windows ME, with a 10 Gig Toshiba HD. This might just be too much of a load for the little webplayer. I have heard that running the DOC alone allows for more USB stability... At this point I think I'll get the fan and see if this helps. If not, I'll just throw Win98SE on and be done with it. Without network connectivity, the thing is pretty useless to me. 01-24-2001 09:58:10

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) WordUP Profile I installed the fan, but this didn't fix the USB Network problems. It drops network connectivity almost at the exact same point every time. If you transfer nothing, or do a short ammount of file transfers or just web surfing you will not notice this problem. Try to transfer a 500 MB file or series of files totaling a large size all at once. This always fails. Its a bit of work for me to rip of WinME and throw on 98SE, so if any one can test this and post their results, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks... 01-26-2001 09:33:37

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) aadam12 Profile | Email Wordup which fan did you install? I just got my Lasagna fan and it has these clips on it designed for the i-opener. Will that fit on the Webplayer once I remove the heat sink? Back on topic . . . I was looking around in the WinME settings for the USB port and there seems to be some kind of percent CPU usage limit on it. It was some internal system setting, can't remember the details now, sorry. But there must be some way to change these default settings. Maybe there is something in the Windoze registry that can be changed. Seems like it's just timing itself out. Drives me crazy because I like to play mp3s from my desktop PC thru my Webplayer and it keeps crapping out. Anybody have any other ideas? Has anybody asked Linksys about this problem directly? I'll send them and e-mail and see what they suggest. 01-26-2001 10:44:15

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) aadam12 Profile | Email The complete users' guide for the Linksys: ftp://ftp.linksys.com/pdf/usb100txug.pdf" Here's the WinME installation page: ftp://ftp.linksys.com/pdf/usb100txug.pdf Turns out that a green light means you are connected at 10Mbps and orange means 100Mbps. So orange is good. Now if we could just get the damn thing to remain ON ... 01-26-2001 11:07:26

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) WordUP Profile I installed he Lasagna fan by removing the clips and just using heat sink adhesive. It runs much cooler and the rest of the machine seems more stable at this point. The LinkSys problem only occurs on the webplayer. I installed it on my regular PC and it transfered several gigs flawlessly. I have heard that the Compaq USB controller that was installed in the webplayer is flakey at best. I'm going to probe around Compaq site for any sort of update. Thanks for the help... 01-26-2001 11:09:55

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) koulouty Profile I have been using the DLink DSB-650 for 2 days now. I've been playing mp3s over the network, and browsing the web with no problems at all. I'm running 98, using the drivers provided on the Dlink diskette. I did notice when other USB devices are connected, performance dropped. I have a USB handheld track ball, and when I use that, internet browsing slows down, and the mp3s played over the network skip once and a while. 02-01-2001 12:57:21

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) IneedHELP Profile | Email I cannot get my USB port to work. I plopped down a chunk of cash on a USB CD-RW drive and I cannot get a driver for the USB. I have downloaded the drivers from www.larwe.com and am using the webplayer on the internet just fine (free internet acess from American Express card). I am running windows98se and have been to the control panel to install new hardware but the driver wont work. Any link to a driver would be appreciated. 02-01-2001 17:13:39

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) jeepguy Profile IneedHELP UneedTo install the drivers and software for the CD burner to work. You may have problems with a USB CD burner if the only power that it recieves is from the Webplayer since there are power issues with the USB port. 02-01-2001 18:01:31

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) jeepguy Profile IneedHELP Sorry for the second post. The software and drivers that I suggest installing are the ones that came with the CD burner. 02-01-2001 18:04:43

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) bubsdaddy Profile | Email koulouty, Have you ever tried to download a big file using the Dlink-650? I have this usb network adapter and it's fine for net surfing, emailing, browsing, etc. but if I try to transfer a large file over the network or download a large file it will lose the network connection. Could you try to dl a large file and see what happens? 02-02-2001 14:35:55

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) Tero Profile | Email Has anyone tried a USB SCSI adapter? I've got a 4x burner and 12x Plextor in an external case I was thinking of hooking up, but I hate to drop $50 on an adapter that's gonna flake out on me. 02-06-2001 21:01:27

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) BigDog Profile | Email Has anyone tried using a external powered USB hub ? I have a Netgeat 10baseT USB & D-Link 10/100 USB and neither work right. (They work just fine on my i-Opener's) Has anyone cheked with Compaq for differnet drivers for the USB ? My USB shows the description as a Compaq PCI to USB open host controller in the control panel under the detail of the USB. 02-06-2001 21:54:07

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) koulouty Profile bubsdaddy, I downloaded the win2k service pack this morning. It was ~83 MB, and took about 10 minutes. The webplayer took it like a champ. I'm using ME.. are you running 98? 02-07-2001 08:27:19

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) bubsdaddy Profile | Email no...I'm running ME 02-08-2001 00:57:57

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) aadam12 Profile | Email Guys, Did we ever come up with a solution to the USB problem? Did we ever find an updateded driver from Compaq? My Webplayer is running the latest DOC image with 98 micro, Internet Expolrer 5.5 and Winamp-Lite and VNC viewer. I use the Linksys USB ethernet adapter. I can surf the web for a while with no problem (thru internet connection sharing on my desktop pc) but when I stream mp3s from my desktop to my WebPlayer thru Winamp-lite the damn thing quits after like 5 or 6 songs. Drives me nuts! The adapter worked fine when I tested it on my pc so the WebPlayer is the problem. Is heat the problem? Is it power supply? Is it just a crappy driver? Has anybody found an adapter that really works? I see that the DLink DSB-650 seems to work OK. Is this true? If yes, then I'll go buy one. C'mon guys we should be able to figure this one out! MOOKIE - Burnin' Up The Bandwidth! Updated Daily 03-12-2001 11:35:44

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) BigDog Profile | Email I could never find any Compaq drivers. I did have some success loading Windows ME instead of 98se, the Netgear and the dlink work for a while, but after a while they drop and I lose the network connection. I used the same adapters on my i-Openers with no problem (running Win 98se). 03-12-2001 13:45:47

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) Slope Profile If this was power related, couldn't you just use a larger AC unit? I'm not an electronic expert, but wouldn't the board just pull what it wanted? Would this supply the USB part with more power or no? I was looking to get my webplayer on the network (kinda worthless if it can't work reliably though) and would like to find a good way to do this. 03-12-2001 21:33:00

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) kray Profile | Email >> If this was power related, couldn't you just use a larger AC unit? Yep. >> I'm not an electronic expert, but wouldn't the board just pull what it wanted? Indeed. The adapter can take 5A max. In normal condition the webplayer takes only about half of that so that should be more than efficient. However I have noticed with the measurement I performed that the webplayer doesn't like voltage drops at all. Could be the voltage is down to a critical point when using USB, but I don't have any USB peripherals so I can't verify that. Already somebody tried a USB hub with external supply but without success so I guess my thinking isn't right. >> I was looking to get my webplayer on the network (kinda worthless if it can't work reliably though) and would like to find a good way to do this. Me too, but I don't like USB so I'm investigating in using pci- or isa-bus for this purpose. That will take a while though. It hasn't been very successful until now. Another solution is to buy a mini-pci network card. There's a thread of some people who are trying to buy a wireless card in group. K-Ray -- The Journals 03-13-2001 01:23:35

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) mcsant Profile I'm having the same problem as aadam12, using the Win98Lite image on the doc (IE and WinAmp), no HD, and a D-Link DSB-650 adapter. I just got the webplayer yesterday from the co-op, and I'm using it to play MP3's over a network. I get about 3 or 4 songs then the network dies. Unplugging / Replugging the USB cable fixes the problem but its a pain to do this every 10 minutes of network use. I'm no electronics expert, so please feel free to correct anything I may have done wrong or anything I have improperly asumed. Here's what I did. I removed the main board and soldered some wire to the power leads on the bottom of one of the USB connectors. I attached these to a scope, and watched the voltage level for about an hour. Any variances from 5v were negligable. Looking at the D-Link specs, the maximum current draw for the adapter is 75ma, or 0.075amps, or 1.5% of the current that the power supply can put out. This leads me to believe that the USB problem isn't due to a lack of power or voltage variances, it must be something else. Also, while monitoring the voltage, the ethernet adaptor continued to work for the entire hour I tested it while playing mp3's. I had never gotten more than 10 minutes or so before. Two things were different thatn when I was having the problems: 1. The cover on the webplayer was removed. (thus dissapating more heat.) 2. The modem was removed. I put the modem back in, and the problem returned, but after about 45 minutes instead of 10. I'm still not sure what the problem is, but I think its either the modem or a buildup of heat inside the case. I'll continue testing to see what happens. 03-13-2001 15:21:27

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) mcsant Profile well, I don't know what I did before, but now the webplayer is back to usual, dropping the network every 10 minutes or so. I left the modem out and the cover off and put a rather large fan blowing across the top of the main board, but still no luck. Funny how things work when you put them on a workbench to fix them, and they stop working as soon as you put them back in the living room. Now that the problem is back, I'll put the o-scope back on it and measure the voltage again, but I doubt thats it. Before I measured 5.06 volts at the USB connector, and the only flucuation I saw was a 0.02v drop when the music got louder. Hmmm... maybe i'll get a longer ethernet cable and put the whole webplayer in the fridge;) Does anybody out there have their webplayer working with a USB->Ethernet adapter? I'm interested in hearing about their setup. Anybody have problems with USB devices besdes network adapters cutting out after short periods of heavy use (like cd-roms, zip drives, hard drives, scsi adapters, printer adapters...)? Curious to see if the USB problem only exists with Ethernet adapters. 03-13-2001 17:44:52

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) aadam12 Profile | Email mcsant, I am running my WP without the cover and without the modem. Modem seemed to screw things up a bit when I had it installed. I have to add the lasagna fan that I bought. WordUP already tried it with the fan and still has USB trouble. OK here's what we know so far: 1) The adapters work fine when plugged into a desktop computer. - What's different about the WP??? 2) It's not any one particular brand that has the problem - Is it the crappy Compaq USB driver??? 3) It makes no difference if you run Windows from the DOC or Hard Drive - Does Windows do something funky??? 4) Adding a fan seemed to make no difference. 5) A powered USB port didn't fix the problem. I'm going to look thru the Windows settings again and see if I can find anything. I may have been on the right track once before. aadam12 MOOKIE - Burnin' Up The Bandwidth! Updated Daily 03-13-2001 17:51:43

Got mouse to work RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) dnightfly Profile | Email I recently purchased a Logitec cordless mouse and installed it on my IEdoc based webplayer using the logitech drivers on the cd. The mouse would work for about 5 minutes and then die. I bought a usb powered hub and went to try to install it and I corrupted my dic image (lost my smc usb network pod), so I reinstalled the IEDoc and plugged in my mouse again, this time I let win98 install it's plug n play driver , and now it works great, can stay on all day and never die. The cordless mouse makes it so much easier. So, the driver made the difference... maybe logitech has some kind of usb power managment built into their driver? Anyone want to buy a powered usb hub... :) dnightfly 03-13-2001 18:41:14

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) BigDog Profile | Email Here's something to note: My Webplayer running WIn98Lite on the DOC ran the D-Link 10/100 ethernet adapter with no problem. Adding a 6.4Gb IBM Travelstar and load Win98se I had no success getting the D-Link adapter to even work right at all. Upgrading the Win98se to Win ME helped, all my usb devices work, the Dlink worked for 5-10 minutes and then the lights on the LED's on the D-Link flashed and the network connection dropped. I then tried a powered USB hub and nothing better happened, I did notice that when the USB D-Link adapter drops, all the lights on the USB hub flashed including the power indicator. Are the any diagnostic tools available for for USB other than Intel USB checker that checks to see if your USB ports are up to snuff to run? I would think there would be somesort of hardware or software utility to better monitor the USB. If I can't get the USB functioning, then my WebPlayer is going up for grabs on eBay or I ma trading it for a iOpener. 03-13-2001 18:44:16

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) brown234 Profile My webplayer has the Famewolf image on the doc and everything else is stock. I have an smc ethernet adapter and a usb mouse plugged into the usb ports and I haven't noticed any problems. 03-13-2001 19:09:20

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) mcsant Profile I might be totally off on this one, but when I had the main board out today I happened to follow the traces on the board from the USB connectors to the chip and they went directly to the geode chip on the bottom of the board. Isn't the geode chip made by Cyrix, not Compaq? Are we sure that the compaq driver is the correct one? Windows doesn't always detect hardware correctly, and this may be one of those situations. In this case, the USB driver at http://www.viatech.com/drivers/index.htm (cyrix is owned by VIA) might be the correct driver. My WP networking is so screwed up right now that I can't connect to the network to download it and try. Its going to be a few days before I can use a HD to dump the driver onto the DOC. Just a thought. 03-13-2001 22:11:56

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) mcsant Profile Well, nevermind. Not Cyrix, but National Semiconductor. http://www.national.com/pf/CS/CS5530.html 03-13-2001 22:19:18

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) aadam12 Profile | Email Well here's the National Semiconductor USB info but no driver: PAGE 1 PAGE 2 MOOKIE - Burnin' Up The Bandwidth! Updated Daily 03-14-2001 08:53:12

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) aadam12 Profile | Email Sorry for the dead links. Here's the correct USB page: http://www.national.com/ads-cgi/viewer.pl/ds/CS/CS5530.pdf?page=135&frame=page&mode=sbpig4100 03-14-2001 19:37:53

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) carnagecjb Profile I'm not sure if this has any bearing on anything at all or not, but my USB didn't work at all. :( If I enabled legacy USB in the bios, the computer would hang during POST. I couldn't get into setup to fix it, and had to remove the battery and reset the BIOS to get it to boot. :P With legacy disabled, and normal USB enabled, Windows 98SE would hang during the hardware detection part of the install. So I had to disable it to get windows installed. After windows was installed, if I ever tried to enable it, the system would just lock. (That wonderful autodetection of new hardware and all.) So that was absolutely no good. I tried it with the CPU running at 200, 233, and 266, with worse results as the clock speed increased. (At 266, windows couldn't even install. It would either just die, or segfault out.) I've tried to be as scientific about all this as I could... I've tried it with/without the modem, with/without the heatsink (switching it with a fan, I'm not quite dense enough to leave the CPU naked. ;) I'm stumped. Eventually, since I couldn't make the USB work AT ALL, I just sold it to a friend. He uses it for dialup and loves it. (He's never had a computer before, so he's in heaven.) Now I have a network adapter that I can't use for ANYTHING. :( It's a Belkin 10T. I thought perhaps something different should be tried since there were so many problems with the others that have been used. But since the USB never became functional, I never got the chance to use the adapter. It's only 10T, but since USB specs only go up to 11 or 12 Mbps, I didn't really see any need for 10/100. If that info helps anyone, great. If not, oh well. :P -Me P.S. Anyone wanna buy a perfectly good USB 10T adapter? :) 03-15-2001 02:47:06

RE:LinkSys USB Network / General USB Shakiness (modified 0 times) BigDog Profile | Email I'm had it with my Webplayer, without the USB being a little more stable I am letting it go. I've spent weeks trying to get the USB to behave and when my GPS worked through the USB to serial converter I thought everything was cool, but now it stopped working for whatever reason. (But Windows says it's working..?) If anyone is interested you can find it here: http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1222496878 03-17-2001 08:01:48

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