Am I right in thinking there are 2 USB connections now? Mate has asked why one of her friends PCs is working out. Seems new USB devices don't work so I told her he probably had the old one. Is there a fix?

If it isn't that and software related does he have to reinstall XP?

She just said it works with his nano which is USB2 so I'm not sure at all now?

Well there's USB 2.0 and 1.1 - is that what you mean by two connections?

As you probably know, they're the same physical connection but two different speeds. They're compatible though so if you plug a fast device into a slow port it should still work, and if you plug a slow device into a fast port that should work too.

What do you mean by "new" devices? Have you got any other examples of what works and what doesn't?

also usb 3, at least the socket and chipset on new motherboards. Not sure if there are many peripherals, except a few extyrernal hard drives

I'm sure I read something about USB 3 not being compatible with 2.0 and 1.1 devices, I could me wrong though.

USB3 is backwards compatible, the old plug fits in fine.

It would seem that any USB devices bought pre 2010 work and anything that he's purchased during 2010 it can't seem to locate drivers, even if you point it to a disk with drivers on, or use the setup/install.exe file on a disk.
The device works fine on one of my machines that is still running Windows XP.

I take it the BIOS and motherboard drivers are up to date?

Welcome to the forum by the way!

Yep, fair enough, I was wrong.

Thanks.

Yes I believe they are up to date, haven't seen the machine for a while due to a short term mobility issue, so was trying to help him over the phone.

What operating system is being used and is the device definitely geared for it?

Only ask cos I've just encountered a keyboard that doesn't like Windows Vista/7, whichever of the two my sister has (think I'll maybe start a thread of my own)

He's still using Windows XP, one of the devices I was able to successfully use on my works laptop with XP installed, and the USB sticks that he bought the manufacturer confirmed that they should work on XP after a phone call to them.

What are the devices, and how many different types of device have you tried? You mentioned flash memory - how about a printer, optical drive or network card?

A list of devices that work, and a list that you've tried and can't get working would be great.



So when the device is plugged in, does it appear in device manager but just refuse to install drivers that you point it to?? Or does the device not appear to device manager and/or the installer?

I'm guessing it appears in the device manager, as from what he's read out to me over the phone when you plug the device into the machine, it says new hardware found, trys to locate the drivers, he then points it to the drivers on the supplied disc and it still tells him unable to install the device.
In the latest instance it was a micro video recorder in the shape of a remote fob.

As to what he already has installed, I'm not sure of the make as its been a while since I've physically looked at his set-up but I know he has a printer and scanner installed on the machine and these have been working without issues, as is the connection to his digital camera and to download pictures from his phone. He has older flash memory that he has been using for a while and these still work, as I say it seems to be anything new, its definetly something to do with his actual computer, as the device successfully found the drivers and installed on my works XP machine and on my vista machine without issues.

A dodgy USB port? Maybe try it around the back of the machine?

I've seen this before on a few devices.
Reinstall the usb root hub drivers & it should be fine.