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USB devices hang system, what can i check?

netreg
Grafter
Posts: 114
Registered: ‎24-08-2007

USB devices hang system, what can i check?

Hi all,
I know this is one of those 'how long is a piece of string' questions but thought i would try.
Some friends have a pc running xp home.  When they plug a usb device (camera, mp3 player, memory stick) it totally locks up the pc.
The only exception to this is their printer which seems ok. 
It also seems that about 6 months ago they had some virus and trojan issues which they say have been sorted ( not 100% convinced myself  Undecided ).
I have recommended that the machine is rebuilt, but before they go that route, has anyone got any other suggestion i could get them to look at first... 
thanks in advance
3 REPLIES 3
HPsauce
Pro
Posts: 6,998
Thanks: 146
Fixes: 2
Registered: ‎02-02-2008

Re: USB devices hang system, what can i check?

I've seen variations on this theme quite a few times recently, even in some cases machines that won't get through the BIOS POST with specific USB devices connected.
The symptoms have been similar but the causes have varied - faulty device, faulty USB hub, corrupted drivers/registry.
In this case it sounds like the last area is most likely so I'd start there - get the system properly cleaned of viruses/spyware etc., do a registry cleanup too and see what happens. Next I'd probably try a "repair install" of XP if your version allows it and finally a full clean reinstall.
Njal
Grafter
Posts: 290
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: USB devices hang system, what can i check?

There's some general advice from MS here:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310575
Regards,
Neil
netreg
Grafter
Posts: 114
Registered: ‎24-08-2007

Re: USB devices hang system, what can i check?

Quote from: Njal
There's some general advice from MS here:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310575
Regards,
Neil

i got them to uninstall the usb entries in device manager a little while ago, but they are still getting the same, so i think that its definitely gonna be a rebuild...  my mind is that if they had viruses, not knowing which ones they had, it will be hard to detect what damage has been done..  Undecided
thanks  Wink
thanks