Touchstream locks up usb port

[kablooie]

I find my touchstream periodically locks up the usb ports so that everything stops working. If I unplug the touchstream, usb is freed up and works normally. I then replug the touchstream and it works fine also until it decides to lock up the usb again.

Anyone know what causes this and if there's a fix?

[-jeffB]

I find my touchstream periodically locks up the usb ports so that everything stops working. If I unplug the touchstream, usb is freed up and works normally. I then replug the touchstream and it works fine also until it decides to lock up the usb again.

Anyone know what causes this and if there's a fix?

"Locks up the usb ports" so that "everything stops working"? If you have a lot of things plugged into one USB bus, you may be running into power limits. Try plugging fewer things in at the same time, or maybe get a powered USB hub?

[kablooie]

I have a powered port and I've checked by limiting the amount of connections.
I found though, that the right mouse button continues to work. Just the keyboard and left mouse button locks up. Both on the touchstream and regular keyboards and mice.
As soon as I unplug the touchstream everything frees up.
Sounds like some kind of short circuit.

I'm not sure how to search for a short on the touchstream.

[ivanw]

I found though, that the right mouse button continues to work. Just the keyboard and left mouse button locks up...

This could as well be some driver stubbornly locking everything until it completes some right button handling... Unplugging could generate the expected button release which makes it look like terminating a short.

Odds of having an event processing issue are so greater than having a faulty TouchStream makes it you should keep digging around.

I am not sure what tool could help monitoring mouse events but it could help pointing out what happens when this lock occurs.

[Kyrstellaine]

Damn, was really hoping not to find this thread. I'm having a similar issue with something, that I was desperately hoping was not my TouchStream, locking all USB input devices. Can't remember if I tried unplugging & re-plugging the TS.

Running WinXP, have had no problems using the same TS with another box that runs Win2K... The only other USB device plugged into the WinXP box is a cheap Dell keyboard that I was using to verify that all USB was locked, not just the TS.

Desktop suport is claiming that my TS (&/or its driver) is the problem - obviously NOT what I want to hear!

[RAFH]

Just to ease your mind a bit, but if you hadn't told them about the TS but instead mentioned you had a USB card reader, they would have blamed it on that. Or the USB light or the USB charger, or the USB hub or the USB Drive Enclosure.

That's not to say it isn't the TS, but rather to say that you shouldn't pay much heed to Desktop support.

[Kyrstellaine]

Well, after using my old MS natural keyboard & Logitech trackball for nearly 2 days, with the TS unplugged, the computer hasn't locked up, but I've got the tingly-numbness back in my wrist...


If just unplugging & replugging the TS worked as the original poster described, I could live with that, but I have to do a hard-reboot.

[The00Dustin]

That is discouraging, but I find it hard to believe (though not impossible) that the keyboard can be considered at fault when it doesn't lock up other computers' USB ports. Is your WinXP install up to date (Microsoft Update & Whatnot)? What kind of computer is it? WinXP has native USB support, but I wouldn't put it past some coputer brands to install their own proprietary USB driver into WinXP. Does it seem to consistently lock up due to the same action? The only device the TS functions as that isn't supported natively by WinXP's HID is the "Multi-Touch USB Devices: TouchStream ST/LP," and I know that te keyboard and mouse functions work fine without that driver. Unfortunately, even if you uninstall that with Device Manager, WinXP will put it right back when you're not looking, so you could try uninstalling it, but a subsequent lockup wouldn't prove it wasn't the cause. If you can find documentation on how to completely remove the driver so that Windows can't automatically reinstall it, that would solve the problem if it is a FingerWorks driver issue & prove that it wasn't otherwise. If you haven't checked already, you should find out the answer to this question: does it lock up your computer's USB the same way regardless of which USB port you use? (if you're really desperate, trying each USB port wouldn't be that much of a stretch, and it would certainly eliminate a factor, and if you got really lucky, you might be able to get WinXP not to install the FingerWorks driver when you plug the TS into some port it's never been plugged into before)

[Kyrstellaine]

Day 3 of not having the TS connected, the box locked up again (with "standard" equipment), so in my mind the TS is clear. Unfortunately, now IT knows I have it, and that it's essentially unsupported. I've been told that I have to work through their ergo people to find something that -is- supported.

Anyway, the relevant part for everyone else is that the TS appears to be fine, and not be the source of the problem.