Vista USB 2.0 PCMCIA Lock-up

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Guest

Hi,
I recently bought a genaric usb 2.0 pcmcia. It works perfect in XP SP2
(duel-boot) but not in Vista home premium. ANYTIME i insert the card it locks
the computer up, i could be booting the system, have the card in the system
at boot or inserting it when vista is running. When it locks there is no BSOD
or anything, i have to force a shut down. Im running on a gateway solo 9550.
512 ram, 32 vram, 1066 mhz.
thanks
 
tjb1991,

Some folks have had good luck resolving issues like you have by deleting the
INFCACHE.1 file, which can get corrupted with bad data and cause issues. The
file is located at C:\Windows\inf. There, scroll down to the INFCACHE.1 file
and right click it and select delete. To do this, you will likely have to
give yourself permission to delete it, because of Windows built-in security
you know. Just right click the file, select Properties and then click on the
security tab. Let us know whether this procedure does anything. Sometimes
it does and sometimes not. Post back on the results. If needed, we'll try
something else.
 
hey,
Well, i deleted it, inserted the card, and the system actually stayed
alive a little longer than usual. it was about 10 seconds instead of 5, i
think your close.

Thanks for your quick help
-tjb1991
 
tjb1991,

I don't know whether we're close or not. Check to see whether the
INFCACHE.1 file got reestablished. If it did, delete it again.

If that doesn't work, check a report in which Vista records error
conditions: Start > All Programs > Maintenance > Problem Reports and
Solutions. Peruse the report and note any error conditions contained
therein. Focus on report recommendations for corrective action to take.
Post back. There are still other things that can be done.
 
Nope, the file didnt get reestablished, and the records did not have any
errors concerning that.

thanks
 
tjb1991,

This next step is a little more involved and may take more time and effort,
but what can you do. The following site was established by HP to aid its
customers in troubleshooting USB issues. Since USB is a universal standard,
the steps involved at the site can be used by anyone:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/genericDocument?lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&docname=c00820197

I'm assuming that the pcmcia USB card is Vista compatible, since it should
be in compliance with the universal USB standard, but there is always a
possibility that it's not. If you can't resolve this problem, you might
start checking from that point of view.
 
The box it came in made it look as if it had been made before Vista was
released, and does not say anything about vista. The card is in compliance
with the universal USB standard.
 
tjb1991,

Well, at this stage of the issue I'm still thinking it should work with
Vista. There is another side to this issue I didn't mention previously.
That is, the pcmcia device isn't really a USB device as such. It's actually
a USB hub which attaches via the pcmcia interface. Do I understand correctly?

In that event, the issue you face could be different from that which we have
been discussing. The issue could be that Vista isn't recognizing the device
as a USB hub connected via pcmcia interface. After thinking about this, that
could be a horse of a different color.

Check out this point in WinXP. Look in Device Manager to determine how
WinXP recognizes the device. What is it? The answer may provide a clue as
to how to proceed with this problem.
 
Well, it is a 4 port usb 2.0 pcmcia. It connects to the computer
through pcmcia and at the other end of the card is a 4 port usb hub, there is
no connecting device. its all the same device. Yes, if thats what you mean.

In device manager this is what came up for XP when i inserted the card:

USB Root Hub
USB Root Hub
USB Root Hub
VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller
VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller
VIA USB Enhanced Host Controller

Thanks-
tjb1991
 
tjb1991,

Roger, dodger, that's what I mean. We're trying to connect a USB hub, not a
USB device, so that HP troubleshooting guide don't apply. I had a moment of
insanity, but I back sane now.

WinXP should have an entry in Device Manager for that pcmcia USB hub apart
from that shown under Universal Serial Bus controllers. That's the item you
want to identify, because that's the item you will want to see in Vista
Device Manager. When you see that item in Vista, you will have it installed,
or at least identified as a device if not actually installed. That is, if
not installed, it could be identified as an Unknown Device, or a some sort of
problem device. So, take another look in WinXP Device Manager to try to
identify it and then we know what we're looking for.

In addition. with the device attached, check Vista Device Manager to
determine whether it shows up in some manner (Unknown Device, Problem with a
yellow !, whatever). I think we're on the right track now.
 
hi,
When i inserted the card when divice manager was open it froze the
system, but when i pulled the card out the system became normal again and
said that my VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller was installed
and ready to use. I inserted the card after that and it completely froze. I
then forced a shut down. It does this every time. There was nothing else in
xp for a usb pcmcia or anything like it.
thanks again
-tjb1991
 
tjb1991,

I'm now thinking that the PCMCIA hub has some sort of incompatibility with
Vista. I'm not sufficiently well versed in these matters to say exactly what
the issue involves, but from what you tell me about what Device Manager
discloses makes me think that. You have a VIA chipset and it appears to not
be of recent vintage. In fact, it may not support USB 2.0. To be USB 2.0
compliant, the chipset and its drivers must support it. I have no way, short
of doing research on the question, of knowing exactly what your system
supports

In any case, you can research this further. You can start here:

http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx?PageID=5&ArticleID=68&P=3

That site contains a wealth of information about VIA chipsets and their USB
configuration. You could also check the Vista hardware compatibility list to
confirm whether your hub is listed. You can find the list by using google.
That's my conclusion. Post back to let us know what you learn.
 
Well. I installed the vista upgrade adviser on my xp partition, vista is
compatible with the hub. So now i think its an issue with my system and
vista. I will try the card on a different vista laptop at work tommorow and
post my results.
thanks again
tjb1991
 
tjb1991,

On second thought, that HP website for troubleshooting USB issues may be a
good read afterall. Though the hub has a PCMCIA interface, Windows must
configure its USB ports. It's possible that that's where the rub is. That
HP site has a lot of information about the various USB standards (1.0, 1.1
and 2.0) and issues related to Vista recognizing those. Just some more
thoughts to confuse the matter. This stuff can get tough.
 
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