Strange USB issues [closed]

Question

I just applied this month's Windows Updates to my Intel-based Windows 7 64-bit notebook PC and now get these USB popups:

If I click it before it goes away I get a box indicating it is a device on one of my four port hubs - all the attached USB devices seem to work just fine. This error seems to be self healing and goes away giving me the ba bump sound, does it repeatedly, then stops for a while.

Are these events recorded in Event Viewer? If yes, where?

Is anyone else having USB issues since the recent round of Windows Updates?

I suppose it could be a coincidence but I'd love to blame Microsoft!

Answer 1

I think there are several possible solutions for this kind of problem:

1. Turn off Windows power management using Device Manager

Go to the Start Menu, type Device Manager and run it, then expand Universal Serial Bus controllers. Double click the USB hub of your choice and on the Advanced tab un-check Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.

Then, connect your device, still in Device Manager click on your computer on the very top of the list and click Action > Scan for hardware changes on the menu bar.

2. Reinstall the USB controllers

In a similar manner to the one described above, go to the properties of each of the USB generic hubs but this time to the Driver tab and hit Uninstall and confirm the changes.

After that, same as before, hit the computer on the top of the list in the Device Manager window and then on Scan for hardware changes again. Now just wait for the drivers to get installed again by themselves.

I'm not sure, but I this will also erase any installed Windows updates that could've been causing the problem.

3. Clean the USB port

Simple, clean the USB with some alcohol and a Q-Tip after you turn off the computer (to steer clear from short-circuiting it) and/or use a can of compressed air to blow the dust that has gathered inside it.

4. Disable USB notifications completely

Not quite a solution to the problem, but it certainly works so you can also try it. In the Device Manager and expand the Universal Serial Bus controllers on the bottom and double click to open the properties of the Host Controller devices.

In the Advanced tab check the Don't tell me about USB errors box and accept your settings, then repeat it for each of the other host controllers.

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Sources:

• USB device not recognized when after resuming from standby/hibernation (MS KB871233)
• Additional troubleshooting tips (MS KB310575)
• General troubleshooting of unrecognized devices (a tedious read) (MS KB314464)
• Disable USB notifications (blog link)

Answer 2

Yesterday, I installed Windows updates on my Win7-64 PC and then it would not recognize my Android phone on USB. Same message you got. When I opened up the Unknown Device, it said it was stopped (error 10).

Looking in the update history, I found a driver update for a Silicon Labs serial-to-usb bridge (used for my weather station). I rolled back that driver, rebooted both my PC and my Android (yes, it screwed up the phone!), and all was well again.

So, look at your update history for anything suspicious in the way of USB. Back out the USB driver updates and see if that fixes it.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Perhaps it is a dirty USB port. Try using some cleaning alcohol and a fine paintbrush to clean it up.

Answer 4

Turns out is was a bad usb cable with nothing connected to it, its a mini usb cable I leave plugged in for my various devices that use that size. In the trash can now. First time this has happened to me since they invented usb, I have had them go bad but never gave this error when they where not connected to anything, strange but true.