Windows complains about no driver; unit does not work.

1

When I plug in my plugable 10 port usb 2.0 hub, windows wants to install a driver. If I select automatic, it fails. Either way, it doesn’t work, and in my Device Manager, it shows up as an ‘Other Device’ and ‘USB 2.0 Hub [MTT]’, with a big yellow question mark next to each one. Any ideas on how to make this work? thanks,
Mike

2

Hi Mike,

Thanks for posting! What you are seeing is unusual. The Plugable 10 Port Hub like any standard USB 2.0 Hub does not need any third party drivers as the hub drivers are integrated in the operating system.

At a high level, this hub is matched to the proper drivers in \windows\inf\usb.inf and the main driver loaded to control the hub is \windows\system32\drivers\usbhub.sys.Both of these are Microsoft-provided system files.

Let’s figure out why Windows is asking for a driver. Some quick questions-:

  1. Which version of Windows is installed on the system?

  2. What is the error code/ message that the device manager is displaying for this device?

Once you post back with this information, we will figure out the next steps.

Thanks for your patience while we figure this out!

Regards,
Roze

3

Hi Roze,

Thanks much for your quick reply. Here are my answers:

  1. Which version of Windows is installed on the system?
    Windows XP Professional 2002, SP3. Dell Latitude D620 laptop

  2. What is the error code/ message that the device manager is displaying for this device?
    In Properties, under the General tab, there is a Device Status box. It says,
    "No drivers are installed for this device.

If you are having problems with this device, click Troubleshoot to start the troubleshooter."

-Mike

4

Also, note that there is no file c:\Windows\inf\usb.inf.

there is usb2demon.inf, usbdemon.inf, usbport.inf, usbprint.inf, usbstor.inf, usbvideo.inf.

-Mike

5

Mike,

That explains everything! Windows is unable to match the Plugable 10 Port Hub to the right driver because c:\windows\inf\usb.inf is missing.

If you have access to another Windows XP system, copying the c:\windows\inf\usb.inf file from that system into the c:\windows\inf\ directory should fix this issue as long as other system files are not missing.

If you do not have access to another Windows XP system, just let us know. We will send usb.inf file from our Windows XP system.

Regards,
Roze

6

If you could send it to me that would be great. Seems strange, though, that all my other USB devices are working.

Regardless, I’m happy to give it a try. Thanks!

Mike

7

Mike,

I’ve emailed it to you. The \windows\inf\usb.inf is used only the first time a new device is plugged in to match it to the appropriate driver.

The fact that other USB devices are working properly means that probably this file is the only file that got deleted accidentally.

Do copy the file to the directory c:\windows\inf\ and let us know how it goes.

Regards,
Roze

8

That fixed it. Thanks for your help, Roze! Awesome customer service, I’ll always look at your products first now!

-Mike

9

Mike,

Thanks for the kind words! Glad to know that copying the missing usb.inf file to c:\windows\inf\ fixed the issue.

Do feel free to post back here or shoot us an email at support@plugable.com if you ever need any help or information regarding any our products. We are here to help!

Regards,
Roze

10

Hi Roze,

I am having a very similar problem; I am using a Dell Inspiron 8200 laptop, running XP Home edition SP3. I am trying to install a 10m USB cable, but the cable is listed under ‘other devices’. There is no driver details listed. My Windows installation does have the USB.INF, USBHUB.SYS and USBPORT.SYS files, but they are all dated from 2001 (for some reason!). Can you please email me the up-to-date versions of these files (I believe they would be 2008 dated, or later)? Then I hope to be able to solve this interface problem.

Thanks, David.

11

David,

Thanks for posting here! The Plugable USB2-10M Active Extension Cable can be listed under ‘Other Devices’ on Device Manager due to any one of the following:

  1. The connection to the system is not tight enough.

  2. The port on which it is plugged in, is faulty

  3. The right driver is not matched to the unit because of corruption on the system files.

  4. The unit itself is faulty.

Some quick questions to narrow things down-:

  1. Unplug the Plugable USB2-10M and plug it into another inbuilt USB 2.0 port on the system making sure that the connection is tight enough. Does ‘Device Manager’ continue to list it under ‘Other Devices’?

  2. If you have access to another system, please connect the Plugable USB2-10M to it. Is the unit recognized by the OS or do you continue to see the issue on this system too?

If you continue to see the issue on two systems, just email us a screenshot of the ‘Device Manager’ at support@plugable.com along with your Amazon Order ID and a link to this thread and we will take care of the issue.

Regards,
Roze

12

Hi Roze,

Thanks for your prompt reply. To answer your questions:

  1. There are 2 inbuild USB ports on my laptop; both perform in the same manner. (I will email a screen shot of the device manager to you).

  2. The cable is correctly identified on another laptop (Sony VAIO) and I can connect a camera to the end and download photos ok.

The cable was bought on ebay last year. The problem with using the cable on my laptop was identified early on but only now I have time, and the need, to resolve it.

David

13

For the benefit of anyone who is interested:

Copying the usb.inf file to c:\windows\inf\ fixed the issue for David.

14

Hi Roze,

… and this new .inf file works a treat; the cable has performed perfectly since.

Many thanks for resolving this problem for me. I am a ‘happy camper’ again

Kind regards,

David

15

David,

Thanks for the kind words! If you ever need any help or information regarding any of our products, please do feel free to post back here or shoot us an email at support@plugable.com. We are here to help! :slight_smile:

Regards,
Roze