I am a little confused. I bought a new dual band wireless adapter and connected it to my desk top through a USB cable. It wouldn't recognize it at all. When I plugged it directly into a USB port it was ok. That is on a computer in the grand children's room. On my computer I have a wireless adapter on a USB cable and it works fine. Both are G and N adapters. Why is this?
probably depends on the inbuilt usb hub ability. it it works via cable good but generally it is better to plug it in direct (devices like wife or bluetooth)
I have the CD that came with the adapter. It is that the computer won't recognize the adapter if it is connected via a USB cable. When I plug the adapter directly into the the same USB port on the computer it recognizes it.
William, I have that issue too with USB devices and some of my cables. Some cables work, others don't.
If you're using the cable on a front port, maybe try it on a rear - if I understand right, they are more 'powerful' and maybe the front can't push enough power via a cable...
Since the device works directly connected, it is not a driver issue. My first thought is to try a different cable.
Sorry, I missed this before. It is NOT true one is more powerful than the other. The USB specifications are the same, regardless where the port is located. What is true, however, is often the front and back use separate controllers. And one may be having problems. For this reason, it is always good to try a different pair of USB ports. Also, front panel connections are often used much more often - in some cases, several times a day, something is inserted and removed. Over time, this can weaken then tension in the connector, making the mechanical connection weak or sloppy. And a solid mechanical connection is essential for a good electrical connection. There may be some motherboards that came out during a transition period - that is, when the world was transitioning from USB 1.x to USB 2.0, or from 2.0 to 3.0 and the motherboard maker may decide to support both. But that is a case by case situation - not an industry standard thing. So while it may appear the front is stronger than the back, it is more likely one pair of connectors, or the controller behind it, is just bad.
I didn't know that Bill - learned something there If we assume that there are no bad controllers, could the front ports seem to be 'weaker' because they are cabled to the motherboard rather than directly integrated? Could that be a voltage thing that means some devices won't work? philby
This particular computer is an old Dell that I installed a PCI USB 2 card. It is plugged into one of those.
No. You cannot make that assumption. Yes, "in theory", because the current must pass through two connectors and 18" inches of wire there is some added resistance, so again, "in theory" it would be slightly weaker. But USB is designed to be "daisy chained", that is, device C is connected to device B which is connected to device A, which is connected to the USB port on the computer, often with cables several feet long. So the degradation with the short internal wire is negligent. Of course, there is nothing that says that internal wire is not damaged either. But then if damaged, it seems the problem would have surfaced earlier. And in practice, daisy chaining several devices, especially those that get power through the cable, has been problematic and for that reason, a self-powered USB hub is often recommended.
