Re: [tlug] USB devices behaving randomly

[Jim <jep200404@example.com>]

Dave Gutteridge wrote:

> I can verify that the hardware is all in perfect working order,
> because I can boot into Windows where the exact same set up has
> absolutely no flaws. This has to be a Linux settings issue.

It's _likely_ that the hardware is OK, but it is not _certain_. 
Just keep the perfectness of hardware in mind as a _light_ shade 
of grey instead of pure white. 

That things work flawlessly in Windows does not mean that the 
hardware is in perfect working order (although it certainly 
suggests such). Hardware often has bugs. Proprietary driver 
writers often have knowledge of such bugs and 
can code around them, whereas since such bugs are kept secret, 
open source drivers can provoke the bugs. See discussion with 
S3 folks in: 

   http://www.linuxtoday.com/infrastructure/2006010701126NWEV

Since you have so many problems with USB peripherals, 
I would do much swapping work. Does which port a peripheral 
is plugged in change the behavior? When only one USB thing 
at a time is plugged in, does it behave better? Is there some threshold 
number of devices beyond which things get wierd? Does behavior 
change when plugging something directly into the motherboard 
versus plugging into a USB hub? Try using a different hubs. 
Is each device getting enough USB bus power? All the time? 
How do you know? 

You would be correct to point out that such simple things 
should not be an issue, but complex things like USB devices 
developed under too much pressure, can take on demonic 
personalities. Also, sometimes simple problems (like 
power supply droops or sometimes flaky memory) can be 
very difficult to track down. 

Isolate the problem if you can. 

What can you do to change the behavior?