What is plugged into all those USB ports, some device use a
lot more power than others?
You did not say, but I assume you have two optical drives
[CD and or DVD writers]
300 Watts might be low with all that running, but if the
system boots up from a cold start it is probably adequate.
Dell has used proprietary PSU, you should measure the
physical size and check the specs to be sure the new PSU [if
you upgrade] will fit in the case.
Windows power management will turn USB ports off to save
power, whether there is enough power or not, unless you set
each port to stay ON. Check your settings.
| The system is running the follow on a 300W PSU
|
| 256MB Graphics Card using a power source plugged in from
the PSU
| 2 USB 2.0 & 2 IEEE 1394 Port PCI Card using power source
plugged in from PSU
| 6 USB Ports on Motherboard (all occupied)
| 2 X SATA HDD, 1x 300GB and 1x 400GB
| Dual Channel DDR400 Memory running at 2 x 1GB = 2GB
|
| The system is a Dell Dimension 8300
|
| I sometimes have problems with USB devices working,
sometimes and I need to
| unplug and replug it in again to function.
| Looking in Device Manager under USB devices then showing
hidden devices it
| shows 1 item as Unknown Devices but doesn't show the
Yellow ?
|
|
in message
| | > Your PSU is probably not the problem with flash drives,
| > since they use very little power. A weak or undersized
PSU
| > will have problems with hard drives, optical rives and
fans.
| > You didn't give any details about your system, installed
| > RAM, hard drives, optical drives, graphics, CPU or
| > motherboard. How many cooling fans you have installed
and
| > how many add-in cards. All these things draw power.
| > If your computer boots OK and your problem is with flash
| > drives, drivers, software and settings are more likely
to be
| > the problem. Is the USB on the mobo or on add-in cards
or
| > both? Is the BIOS up to date? How many USB ports are in
use
| > and doing what?
| >
| >
| > | > | What are the symptoms of a inadequate Power Supply
Unit,
| > other than not
| > | booting up system
| > |
| > | Some USB devices I run don't seem to work unless you
| > remove them and plug
| > | them in again and some USB devices don't want to work
all,
| > i.e a USB flash
| > | drive would install and detected fine but once you
start
| > using it, it
| > | disappears, wondering if it's time to upgrade my PSU
for
| > an extra 100W
| > |
| > |
| >
| >
|
|
