my keyboard keeps disconnecting, and reconnecting, when it happens you hear the sound as if a usb device was physically being unplugged and plugged back in. At first I thought it was my old keyboard, mx5000, which was wireless, when I got my G15 I thought my disconnect problems were over, but no, it still does the same thing. What kind of problem could be causing this? Could it be the bios?

thanks for any help,
df

Did you try a different USB port? Maybe one is going bad.

If it happens with multiple external ports, your internal mobo connector block(s) could have worked loose or been jostled loose when you installed/uninstalled something. Could cause an intermittent power-off/on. Sometimes labeled on the motherboard as something like "JUSB1" and "JUSB2". Or, could be a fault in the internal wiring harness.

It could also be the keyboard(s) taking more than the 500mA maximum allowed by USB port. The port will shut-down temporarily if over-loaded. If near the 500mA value, it can appear to be a random failure.

If keyboard(s) have an external power supply, use it. If keyboard is connected through a USB hub, make sure the Hub's external power (if available) is plugged-in and the external power switch enabled.


edit to add-some notes on external USB hubs:
Some hubs come with a power supply that can NOT supply the full 500mA to every port. For example, a 7-port hub may come with a power supply that outputs a max of 2Amps. That means either 4-ports at 500mA each, or 7-ports at 285mA, or other add-up-to 2000mA combination.

Some USB hubs will sometimes provide slightly more than the specified 500mA before the protection kicks-in, however the most you are specified to get is still 500mA. In such cases the external hub may give you the few extra milli-amps needed to power the device...but it's not guaranteed.

As John said, I believe it may be a USB power problem. Unplug any additional USB devices from your computer MB and see if the problem goes away. If it does, get a powered USB Hub and plug it into the MB and your other devices into the HUB.

Gerritt

Mark Curtis said:

Yes, I've tried different ports, even an internal one seperate from the rear panel. I remember hearing something about a usb hub, this keyboard has a lcd screen and backlit keys, so I'm sure it's drawing a lot of power. I will check that out, I'm hoping to not have to get another mobo right now, or rma this one.
thanks,
df

Gerritt said:

Thanks, I think that is the problem. I've disconnected another item that would draw a lot of power from usb, and I haven't had the prob for the last few days.

Some hubs say vista compatible, some don't. Does that matter though, for usb?
df

Damon F said:
That is a strictly marketing thing, using the magic 'Vista compatible' words to draw customers away from USB product that don't put that on their packaging or in their ads.

USB ports and hubs that are compliant with USB1.x and USB2.0 standards don't care which OS they are on as long as the OS supports the standard. However, bad or incomplete compliance with the standards can make it seem like an OS-related failure.

An example: let's assume your USB hub works fine on your old mobo running WinXP. But, you find you have to buy a new mobo to run Vista. Then you find the USB hub doesn't work on the new mobo running Vista, but other USB devices do work OK on the same USB port. It appears that the hub doesn't work because you now have Vista. But the problem is likely due to a USB chipset incompatibility.

I've not had any trouble with years-old USB hubs and major standard USB devices (like HDD USB adapters) that use generic USB drivers in Vista.

However, remember that a specific USB-connected device may not be compatible with Vista, but it won't be because of the USB connection. Although it connects via USB, it may still require a special OS-specific device driver.

There are other factors that can cause a USB port or device to fail, including which chipset was used to make the item. Some USB chipsets, even though both claim to support the same USB standard (e.g. USB2.0) can fail to work together due to hardware implementation differences. A specific PCI2USB mobo firmware may require a revision due to implementation issues. For a good item on chipset issues, refer to:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/fastFaqLiteDocument?lc=en&cc=uk&dlc=en&docname=buu01860

More general info on USB available from:
http://www.lvr.com/usb.htm
http://www.usb.org/about/faq/
http://www.usbman.com/USB_Guides.htm


edit-add example

Like John said, the Vista compatable thing is just marketting smoke.
Just make sure it is a POWERED USB HUB, and that it supports the USB 2.0 Standard.
There are some hubs, typically made specifically for mobile solutions, that do not have power (an additional wall plug/brick), and these will continue to draw the same from the MB mounted USB drivers, and thus have the same limitations, if not moreso, as the hub itself requires power.
4-7 port powered USB 2.0 Hubs are cheap:
http://tinyurl.com/6jtb7o
and can save you a lot of heart-ache. I'd recommend only having KB, Mouse, and Powered HUB connections to your MBs built in USB, with the possible exception for a Solid State USB Drive for Booting purposes. Put everything else on powered hubs....I run two, as one powered hub doesn't support all of my gadgets.

Gerritt

Yeah, I disconnected my wireless receiver to try and see if that would make a difference, and show that it's a power problem, but it's still doing it. The only other things connected to it now are a laser mouse, a printer, and an IR receiver, it's hard to test it by unplugging those things, especially the mouse, as the problem is intermittent, it could happen zero to several times a day. I will still try the powered hub though.
thanks,
df