USB madness

**BCNZ** · 24-06-08, 09:48 PM

I think I've killed two USB thumb drives in one go.

Both of them worked perfectly last night.

Today I went to a client's place and needed to transfer some files from his laptop to his main PC.
I plugged first of all my Apacer 4GB drive into his Sony VAIO laptop and copied some files to it. No problems.

Went to plug it in to his main PC and it threw up some kind of error (can't remember).
So then I tried my Transcend drive and a similar problem. Now neither of them want to work.
The Apacer at least has *some* life - if I plug it in to my PC it gives the "klong klang" sound (when a device is connected) then immediately the "klang klong" sound (when a device is disconnected).
Then I get "USB unrecognised device - a device has malfunctioned bla bla bla" - alternating with the message "This device can perform faster on a USB 2.0 bla bla bla".
The LED in the drive seems to flash now and then but not very brightly.

I think I must be jinxed. These are the second lot of drives that have died on me - the first was a HUKE brand 2GB approximately 3 months ago.

I've Googled the various error messages and tried some of the "fixes" to no real avail.

Has anyone else had such a bad run from these pieces of junk?

**best4less** · 24-06-08, 10:06 PM

Mate you are 100% jinked with USB's LOL

**rob916** · 24-06-08, 10:44 PM

I have never had one play up. I just totally abuse them, in out in out.
I fdisk'd one but managed to fix it.

**Adobe** · 25-06-08, 01:08 AM

I've killed one because someone had connected their front usb ports incorretly to the mainboard. They had wired 5 volt supply the wrong way round. I was able to pull apart the usb thumb drive and by pass the fuse protection to get the data off it. So as a rule I now always connect to the rear USB ports that are soldered to the mainboard.

Adobe

**BCNZ** · 25-06-08, 10:30 PM

Originally Posted by Adobe

I've killed one because someone had connected their front usb ports incorretly to the mainboard. They had wired 5 volt supply the wrong way round. I was able to pull apart the usb thumb drive and by pass the fuse protection to get the data off it. So as a rule I now always connect to the rear USB ports that are soldered to the mainboard.

Adobe

Can you tell me how you did this? Do all thumb drives have this fusible link? I'm gonna have to get some serious magnification to see the pcb close enough but I'm up for the challenge - any advice is appreciated!

I wouldn't mind betting this is what killed my drives.

**best4less** · 25-06-08, 11:43 PM

Originally Posted by Adobe

I've killed one because someone had connected their front usb ports incorretly to the mainboard. They had wired 5 volt supply the wrong way round. I was able to pull apart the usb thumb drive and by pass the fuse protection to get the data off it. So as a rule I now always connect to the rear USB ports that are soldered to the mainboard.

Adobe

LOL been there a couple of times

**BCNZ** · 09-07-08, 06:04 PM

Ok small update on this situation. I was back at my client's place and I took the liberty of pulling the side off his main PC to check how the front USB ports were wired up.

Well well, what did I find but the cables that come back to the board don't terminate into one moulded plug - the individual wires have their own small connector allowing the wires to be plugged into any combination of the pins on the board.

This was a disaster waiting to happen - and as it seems, incorrect termination of the plugs caused two USB thumb drives to fizz up.

Needless to say I pulled the offending plugs out of the board and left them sitting on the bottom of the computer case.