aspire 1680 usb power surge when plugging in ac

so far im loving this laptop... the only problem ive noticed is that i get a 'power surge on hub port: a usb device has exceeded the power limits of its hub port' error message whenever i plug the ac adapter into the back. this happens even if no usb devices are plugged in. all my devices seem to work fine, but this kinda worries me...

anyone have any ideas? thanks in advance...


edit: fixed usb controller driver problem! just had to automatically search... stupid me.
I reinstalled windowsxp pro on my aspire 1680, which came with xp home. I installed all the drivers that came on 'system cd rev 1.0', however, i still have an error for the 'usb controller' in the device manager, saying that the drivers were not installed. it seems that all my usb devices still work properly.

 

bump. no one has had this?

 

i am like...
see this, maybe help
http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=latit_periph&message.id=163&page=2


Abdurahman A. Almatrodi

 

hmm this could be related...
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;870893#appliesto

im running sp2... however, it happens when im plugging it into the wall, not when i put a usb device in. im on the phone with acer support right now, hopefully theyll tell the appropriate people and have this fixed up.

edit: nevermind... im so disappointed with acer support. theyre just searching off google! no doubt they would find this and try to tell me what im posting here. *sigh* they passed it off as purely a software issue. i hope thats the case...

 

Since they're saying it's possibly a driver/software problem and you're running XP Pro, you may want to reload the original OS onto the system. If the problem persists then it's a hardware problem, since it's still happening with their supplied OS. If the problem goes away, then it's purely an OS/drive/software/config issue. Try reloading the OS in stages and see if it comes up with the same problem.

1. OS base install with minimal drivers
2. Install drivers a couple at a time an retry, if still nothing, move on, but if problem re-occurs, you have narrowed it down to the 2 drivers you just installed.
3. Personally, I'd leave SP2 off the system, causes more problems than it resolves.

Good luck!

-vb-

 

hey,

i have the same problem with the power surge in the hub.
everytime i plug it into the wall (acer aspire 1681wlmi).

i just got that lappy a month ago. i didnt reinstall anything. still running on xp home service pack 2.

the only usb devices that i've ever installed on the machine are my 128 usb drive, and usb mouse, which i rarely use anyway.

on my computer tho, the message "power surge..." shows up, but after about 5 minutes it dissapeares, and everything is back to normal. i dont understand it at all.

 

yeah, it seems to not have any problems. its kind of worrying, but my lappy hasnt shown any problems. im thinking it might just be an annoyance caused by sp2. as for uninstalling it, my university requires me to be up to date or they disconnect me :| what problems has it been causing for people?

 

i had the usb power surge warning a few times on my 1681 too. it seems to be a common problem for these models..
what i am really worried about is that when laptop is plugged in the battery charge is decreassing something like 5% in a few days. it doesnt seem to be a big problem but its frustrating

 

charge dropped to 88% last week
but im not sure thats why i will leave it plugged in for a week to see the result

and yes i am using sp2,
thanks for the reply venom

 

Green,

Are you running XP SP2 on your system or is it still SP1? SP2 is the cause of the problem. Below is the link to Microsoft's site that indicates this issue.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;870893#appliesto

The issue with the battery dropping 5% in a few days on AC may not be too much of an issue. Some systems have a protection system to make sure the battery doesn't overcharge. It'll turn off the charging until the battery drops to a certain point and then kicks back in. If you notice that the battery continues to drop and doesn't recharge, it's possible your charging unit is defective. You should then get it checked out.

-Vb-

 

I have about the same problem with my Aspire 1680, except I have to check if I get this message only when i'm pluged in... I get the message whenever im coming of sleep mode after going on screensaver (95% chances).

 

I have this error as well. I have updated to Xp SP2 Just received the unit a few days ago. Hopefully it's not a big issue. I did get the extra warranty if i ever drop the thing.LOL

 

I have the same problem. Bought an Acer Aspire 1681LCi, had it for less than a month, and each time I plugged in the charger when it's been running on battery power, I get the 'Power surge on USB Hub' error message. To be honest, I don't think it's an SP2 problem - I think SP2 has more sophisticated monitoring tools. I suspect it's something to do with the motherboard. The only device which is an internal USB device is the card reader.

I contated Acer who said they'd never heard of the problem, and that under the warranty I would have to send it back. I recommend that if you have the same problem, you also contact Acer. If it's a problem with the motherboard, then it's not going to go away.

On a related issue - Acer's warranty sucks - well, it does if you're in the Isle of Man. They informed me I have to pay to have the unit shipped back to England. 'But it's your fault.' I protested. 'Ah, but if you read the small print, it only covers mainland UK.' Doh.

 

I know it's a little late to be answering this topic, but better late than never. If you're pluggin your ac adapter to the wall before you plug it to your lappy, that's where the problem is. I have a 1681wlmi and I was having the same problem, but then I tried pluggin the AC first to my lappy and then to th wall and the message doesn't appear. Try that and let me know how it works!

 

Here's a case where common sense should be utilized, especially when you are talking a power sensitive electronic device like a laptop. When using AC power you should ALWAYS plug it into the back of the device before plugging it into the wall outlet, and you should do that before even turning your laptop on (when using battery power).

When the laptop is on and you plug in the outlet you would get a slight surge of power going to your laptop, even if it's ever so slight. Perhaps the power management of Windows show you the message to let you know that it is protecting the system but you shouldn't have to rely on the OS to protect your investment.

Another thing is when you disconnect the outlet plug from the wall (when you shut off or hibernate your laptop), if you look at the green light on the AC convertor you'll notice that the light doesn't go out instantly but slowly dims out. It is basically powering down. This is not the time to just pull the adapter from the laptop but give it some time to complete discharge the power from the converter, that way there's no chance of a surge after the laptop is shut off and you remove the AC adapter from the back.

I've redid my drive and reinstalled the OE OS from the recovery discs and also installed SP2. I've never had any power problem messages appear on my laptop but I'm anal when it comes to proper use of my investment. It's a huge amount of money to spend on a laptop, it deserves the proper care and use from its owner so it will last a long time without any trouble.



T. Chan

Ultinet desktop P3 450Mhz

Acer 1681WLMi

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by SINSE21

 

Surprise surprise... I found this on Acer Site (Singapore) !! [8D]

ftp://ftp1.acer.com.sg/support/files/AcerAspire/AS1680/pwrsurge.htm

====================================================================
Acer Extensa 3002 WLMi - P-M 1.6 GHz Dothan; 1 GB PC2700 RAM; 60 GB HD
15.4" WXGA; Bluetooth; 8 Cell Batery; 3 in 1 card reader; DVD +-RW, +R Double Layer

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by ashugarg

 

thanks for info