usb Problems

[rfjk]

I'm having trouble with my usb connections- a lot of the time my software will tell me my devices aren't plugged in. My Motherboard ( don't know the make) Has a VIA MVP4 chipset and four usb ports on board. I was wondering
1. Are there any known usb problems with this chipset.
2. Is there any free software for diagnosing usb problems
3. can I chage the usb sockets over to the other usb ports on the board without geting out a soldering iron
4. is there anything else I haven't thought of?

 

[ashobe]

Have you tried the newsest drivers for the VIA chipset yet? Also what OS are you using?

 

[Seegee]

The thing I dislike about USB is there is not a way to securley fasten the plugs to the ports. It doesn't take much effort to knock one loose. If you think the ports may be bad,there is a PCI card (you can buy that costs $20 - $30 at walmart, may be able to get it cheaper other places) that has 2 usb ports on it. Also it could be the devices that are connected to the ports. it's possible but not likely. I have found that if you tend to unplug the USB cables alot the ports get kinda worn. As far as diagnostic software I don't know of any. You can try looking on

http://www.downloads.com

for utilities. In order to change out USB ports on the motherboard, you would probably use a soldering gun, but that would be more trouble than it was worth unless your trying to save some money and fix it yourself, which I don't recommend taking a soldering gun to a motherboard unless you are experienced with motherboard tweaking. Which I'm not..yet. Hope this helps.

 

[rfjk]

I haven't tried the latest VIA drivers as I have been told they might make other things in my system worse,
I am using windows 98 linux and BeOS, But the main problems occur with windows
The device I really having trouble with is a usb webcam (I changed my printer over to parallel for convenience)
The webcam works fine on other computers