J G 927 Posted February 2, 2016 Report Share Posted February 2, 2016 I am trying to wire up a new pc. USB is driving me nuts. USB 2.0 devices wont work in USB 3.0 or 3.1 sockets - I thought these were backwardly compatible Long (2Mtr) USB extensions don't work but shorter ones do. Keyboard USB switches, to share a keyboard between two PCs, cause keyboards to 'disappear' when switched out and not re-appear when switched back. Has anyone else had this type of issue? Is there a do's and dont's with USB sockets anywhere? Any advice would be nice. JG Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,488 Posted February 2, 2016 Report Share Posted February 2, 2016 Out of date drivers maybe? Try this free tool JG http://www.iobit.com/en/advancedsystemcarefree.php and this http://www.iobit.com/en/driver-booster.php It has a driver version check and can get the latest drivers for USB and other devices. There is a Pro version but I found the free version worked very well. Link to post Share on other sites
wain 879 Posted February 2, 2016 Report Share Posted February 2, 2016 Totally different issue... but the other week I had usb issues and it was a faulty powered hub...new one purchased and all good...i expect you have tried this though... Link to post Share on other sites
needles 1,010 Posted February 2, 2016 Report Share Posted February 2, 2016 Hey JG, I use a program called InputDirector to connect my two pc's. I run it on both machines,. Set up as Master and Client. Once this is running I can use both keyboard and mouse on both pc's. Once it is set up correctly that is, which is pretty straightforward. http://www.inputdirector.com/ Link to post Share on other sites
J G 927 Posted February 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2016 Hey JG, I use a program called InputDirector to connect my two pc's. I run it on both machines,. Set up as Master and Client. Once this is running I can use both keyboard and mouse on both pc's. Once it is set up correctly that is, which is pretty straightforward. http://www.inputdirector.com/ Looks interesting Brian. do you run this on your FS PC? If so, is there an impact on FSX performance? Do you have the FSX PC set up as the Master PC? Edit: I have installed this on my main work PC and on a server that I have and it works very well. Brian - if it works well with FSX then I will be a happy bunny. The above questions still stand though! Link to post Share on other sites
needles 1,010 Posted February 3, 2016 Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 John, I do have it installed on my fsx PC which happens to be my Master PC. With my hardware upgrade at Xmas, I have fsx locked at 31 fps which is half my monitors refresh rate +1 and I now hardly ever drop below 30fps. I hope this helps you. Cheers Brian Link to post Share on other sites
Bruce (a.k.a. brian747) 142 Posted February 3, 2016 Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 Hi John! USB3 is the only issue I had with my "new" (getting on for a year old, now) PC. It has a plethora of external USB3 sockets. Unfortunately, none of them will run at USB3 speeds when I connect an external hard drive — in fact they run at slightly *below* USB2 speed! All that the vendor (Scan) could suggest was returning the machine for them to check, which seems ridiculous when the problem has every appearance of being a driver issue, and there are no other faults. So in the months following its arrival I spent about five days fiddling with various combinations of drivers, all to no avail. I even, albeit with some trepidation, resorted to a couple of those apps which claim to fix your drivers for you (they didn't, so I restored the disk to its previous state from a backup). I have solved the problem, though: I shoved in an additional internal HD and now do my backups to that. Regarding the points you made: For me, USB2 devices *do* work in the sockets, at USB2 speeds obviously. (Haven't tried a short USB extension, but the long ones are fine as you say; and I don't use keyboard switches so can't compare). Good luck, my friend: USB3 appears to be something of a minefield.... Cheers, bruce a.k.a. brian747 Link to post Share on other sites
J G 927 Posted February 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 Thanks all for your input. I still cant get USB 3.0 and USB 3.1 ports to work with USB 1.0 and USB 2.0 devices, annoying but the installation of a USB 2.0 card with 4 ports has solver one aspect of the problem by providing extra 2.0 sockets. As for the cable length, well that's just weird. I have a couple of 3 metre USB extension cables neither of which work. they are the same make so that may be an issue, my 1 metre cables work just fine. Strangely, when plugging in a 3 metre cable to my joystick, the LEDs light up and then go off after a second or may be less. I have two servers in my setup both using a shared mouse and keyboard. I now have more desktop space as Input Director is now running the servers as slaves and my main work PC as the master. I am going to the same to my two FSX PCs, but as as separate group. This wont save any USB ports on my main FSX PC but will save keyboard and mouse space. I think the long term solution is to get a 7 port USB 2.0 internal card for the PC. Link to post Share on other sites
Bruce (a.k.a. brian747) 142 Posted February 3, 2016 Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 Regarding your extension cables — I seem to recall (it was over six months ago that I was messing with this issue) that I had a buy a specifically USB3 extension cable. Something about the cable's specification? Just in case it helps.... Cheers, B. Link to post Share on other sites
MyPC8MyBrain 273 Posted February 3, 2016 Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 you need a powered usb hub with Active (Repeater) Extension, not a plain USB splitter with standart USB cable!also note that USB cable exceeds about 10ft (3m) the USB 3.0 hub will revert to USB 2.0 speeds.It has to do with the current USB3.0 chipsets used that doesn't allow a longer cord to be used.If you take notice just about every USB 3.0 hub is sold with a 10ft (3m) length cable for this very reason. Active (Repeater) Extension Cable:USB active extension cables contain electronics that regenerate the USB signal. Active cables are essentially 1 port USB hubs. You can use a regular USB cable in conjunction with an active cable as long as the regular cable is not more than 5 meters (16 feet and 5 inches) long for 2.0 devices and not more than 3 meters (9 feet and 10 inches) long for 3.0 devices. Note: Typically, active cables are bus-powered cables. To ensure you receive the full 500mA power of a USB port, consider purchasing an active cable that includes a separate power adapter. more readinghttp://www.yourcablestore.com/USB-Cable-Length-Limitations-And-How-To-Break-Them_ep_42-1.html Link to post Share on other sites
Bruce (a.k.a. brian747) 142 Posted February 3, 2016 Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 Hi Chris! Just to clarify: > "...just about every USB 3.0 hub is sold with a 10" length cable..." Er, 10" is read in this country as ten inches. Surely you mean ten feet (10')? Cheers, bruce a.k.a. brian747 [Later edit — quote from the reference you gave: "The 3.0/3.1 specification does not specify a maximum cable length between USB 3.0/3.1 devices (SuperSpeed or SuperSpeed+), but there is a recommended length of 3 meters (or about 9 feet and 10 inches). However, the biggest limitation to the length of the cable is the quality of the cable". ] 1 Link to post Share on other sites
J G 927 Posted February 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 Chris, that's very helpful. I had never come across the concept of active USB cables before. One to remember for sure. How can you tell if an cable is active? (Besides looking at the box - which has been chucked a long time ago!) Bruce, I think Chris means ten inches. I have never come across a USB hub with a useful cable length. Quality of the cable may be an issue. I don't recall paying much for my 5 metre extension cables, and definitely not buying active ones. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
MyPC8MyBrain 273 Posted February 3, 2016 Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 sorry about that guys; i meant 10ft (3m); fixed original post as for identifing active vs standart cable; have a look below usually the end is a female male instead of male male, the cable type should also spesify active! (usually comes with an independent power supply) Link to post Share on other sites
J G 927 Posted February 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 Okay that is interesting. My extension cables are 3 metres and have no mention of being active. I guess they must be of poor quality then. Link to post Share on other sites
MyPC8MyBrain 273 Posted February 3, 2016 Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 your 3m cables should work fine off a USB v2 port, you can go up to 3m with no power supply from a USB v3 port; depends on material resistance and conductivity; a good quality cables will maintain stable resistance up to 3m, Link to post Share on other sites
J G 927 Posted February 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 @ Brian. I have input director setup for my FS PCs. However Input Director wont let me access the slave PC until I have logged in to that PC. This defeats the purpose of the software as I have to have a keyboard and mouse plugged in to log in before I can pass control to the server PC. Am I missing something? J. Link to post Share on other sites
MyPC8MyBrain 273 Posted February 3, 2016 Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 you can setup auto login on that pc, Run > control userpasswords2 highlight the user you want to auto login and uncheck the checkbox that says "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer" Click the Advanced tab and uncheck "Require users to press Ctrl + Alt + Delete" Click OK When the dialogue box pops up, type in your username and password (if you do not have a password, leave it blank) Link to post Share on other sites
J G 927 Posted February 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 Thanks Chris. That worked! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
MyPC8MyBrain 273 Posted February 3, 2016 Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 Glad i could help to ensure Windows never Launch Startup Repair during boot time on the remote PC(in case of power failure or unexpected shutdown or ctd)you can also run this In cmd, type the following bcdedit /set {default} recoveryenabled No bcdedit /set {default} bootstatuspolicy ignoreallfailures Link to post Share on other sites
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