USB Thumb Drive

[dreamworks]

Hi guys ..

I have a Samsung 256MB Thumb Drive and when I slot it into the PC in my office, it would automatically restart the PC. Its a Compaq Desktop, running on Celeron 2.6Ghz, and Windows XP Pro installed. However, when I try to use the thumb drive back home on my PC, it works just fine.

Any idea why did this happens? Thanks.

 

[ShepsCrook]

Trying to stick it in your reset button won't work...

I just had to say that.

Anyway, you might want to look at formatting and doing a disk check on it (The flash drive). You also might want to download the flash drives drivers for the XP machine and reinstall those.

Aside from that... there's a few other things that could be the reason. Corrupt windows files, Power Supply, something like that. I say powersupply only because your USB drive will draw power and your system may already be pushing your powersupply too much as it is, and the drive my just take it over the top.

 

[dreamworks]

Ok ... thanks.

 

[jpom]

Are you using the Front USB's or the Rear. I have no idea why but I have had nothing but problems with Older model Compaq/HP machines and using my flash drive in the front USB ports. I have no problem with any other brand of machine, but on HP/compaq I plug it in and either it freezes or reboots the system. If I plug it into the rear slots no problems at all, just the front ports.

James

 

[dreamworks]

The front panel. My system just restart by itself .. but if I plug it in my home PC it works fine rear or front.

 

[jpom]

The only thing I can suggest is try using the rear instead of the front ports on your work pc and see if the system still restarts. Maybe someone can better explain it then I, I assume it has something to do with the front ports somehow shorting something, but either way I have no idea why this happens.

 

[Zedric]

This isn't a power issue, those things draw almost nothing.

I'd say it's some screwed up driver on the computer. When you insert the stick the driver is loaded, Windows bluescreens and reboots. Fun ey?

As for solutions... A reinstall maybe?

 

[Xie]

If its only one set of USB ports perhaps it's a IRQ issue? Are the ports causing the crash using the same IRQ as anything else?

 

[LeeJend]

If plugging a thumb drive into the PC reboots it I'd suspect they wired the front panel plugs wrong. Not suprising consider how damn many different header types there are.

Power supply is a possibility but pretty slim. The USB standard only uses 0.5Adc from the 5V rail.

Drivers are always a possiblity.

With a company PC there is also the possibility your company has installed software to keep you from using the USB ports. Thumb drives are banned where I work. Grounds for termination.

When the PC reboots does the thumb drive work or does the PC keep rebooting?

Very slim possibility, virus on the thumb drive triggering virus protection in the PC bios.