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    Freezes with USB devices

    Discussion in 'HP' started by Stringer2, May 27, 2008.

  1. Stringer2

    Stringer2 Notebook Guru

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    When I'm using this 8710w notebook with the advanced docking station, it has a nasty habbit to sometimes freeze. I mean a total freeze where not even mouse cursor moves. It doesn't product bluescreens or anything like that.

    As this is rather new machine, I don't know for 100% certainty that the cause is the docking station. However, the station has been in the picture everytime the freeze has occured. These are the situation where the freeze has occured:

    1) notebook connected: freeze when trying to power-up. Cause perhaps the fact that the notebook wasn't locked to the station very good. Btw, took some time to figure that the docking station should be little bit higher than desktop level compared to the notebook for it to lock well.

    2) trying to undock while power on

    3) notebook connected and powered: connected a 512MB USB flash stick to one of the notebook's left side's ports. That stick was never before connected to this computer. I took the stick out of the port and made cold-restart (power off/on)

    4) notebook connected and powered: connected the same 512MB USB flash stick to one of the docking station's ports. After freeze and restart I did insert the flash to the same port and now it worked. Vista said that there might be a problem (meaning file structures) with the flash and wanted to perform a chkdsk to it. It didn't find any problems. The stick has survived several plugs/unplugs since without causing freezes.

    5) notebook connected and powered: connected another 4GB USB flash stick to one of the docking station's ports. After freeze and restart I did insert the flash to the same port and now it worked. Vista said that there might be a problem (meaning file structures) with the flash and wanted to perform a chkdsk to it. It didn't find any problems. The stick has survived several plugs/unplugs since without causing freezes.


    Does anyone see a pattern here? Too bad I don't have a third flash stick right now to test. However, I want to point out a fact that I have connected the 4GB stick before directly to the notebook (without docking station even at the same house) and there was not problems back then. On the other hand, that was time when the OS was still the pre-installed Windows XP. Anyway, both of my external HDs have been working just fine too. And those without docking station as well.
     
    Stringer2, May 27, 2008
    #1