Losing communication with hardware

Have you updated your BIOS ?
Have you gotten the newest W98 Service pack and other patches installed ?
Have you run msconfig and removed all of the unnecessary programs from  starting up ?
I hope this helps.

Hi Don,

Unfortunately it is a combination of the Bios, USB port and the scanner software (polling to be exact). Some motherboard bios's are not current enough to poll the scanner connection as the software requires, therefore when no response is received by the scanner software, it drops off-line. The only Bios's that I have seen that accomodate this are very recent AMI or Award Bios's. The only effective workaround I have found is to insert a cheap scsi card and then use a scsi cable.

Dennis

Well, here's some info that might be of help.  By the way, I have a USB compatible 22" Mitsubishi monitor, HP scanner, and camera.  Though I have and can use the SCSI for the scanner, I'd like to try and use the USB ports for their intended purpose.  Award bios V4.51, dtd 3/1/99.  Bios model FC1, Chipset VIA-0597.  Guess I should try the Epox motherboard home page and see if there are any updates.

Don, how many of these USB devices are on line at any one time? There are two more issues here then. Its possible that there isn't enough USB line power to maintain the connection with the scanner or theres a problem with the scanner or its software. Since you just received it recently, have you contacted HP?

you might also make sure that you have the IRQ routing patch installed..
this will keep the VIA chipset honest with its IRQ reporting, and clear up any issues related to a possible routing error that is causing an unreported conflict.  This can be installed from most motherboard drivers disks, or you can get it directly from the motherbboard manufacturer.

Den, always have had problem with scanners, whether it co-shared the LPT port or was used as a stand alone on one USB port.  Currently I have a camera on one port and the scanner on the other.  I removed the camera for a week or so before I posted this question and it made no difference.  I then removed the scanner from the loop to see if it would have a positive impact on the USB camera problem, but it didn't.  I checked last evening to see if there was any info available from Epox on my MVP3 motherboard on this problem and there wasn't.  I noted there was a minor bios patch that I downloaded but haven't installed yet that had to do with making DIMM's more compatible with K6-2 450 Mhz chips.  There were no USB issues referenced.
Don
Oh, one other comment though I'm not sure it'll be helpful.  If I turn on my HP870 printer, before, I boot up the computer Win98 always tries to load new drivers.  I just click it off and everything works just fine.  Is this normal?

Don, the problem is that USB has not really matured yet. In this case, I do suspect that it is a combination of the Bios and the port connection. As an example, fully ported items such as USB mice and keyboards signal via duplex the motherboards USB bus 50 times per milli-second, which cameras only signal when they come on line. As for scanners, most scanner manufacturers have tried to build the signaling into the software as to do so in the scanner itself would raise the price enormously. This rarely works though as to signal the scanner and have the scanner echo that signal creates enormous overhead for the system. We ran some testing a couple of months ago on various USB equipped scanners and found that in nearly all cases the scanners dropped off-line one USB, but on a port such as COM or LPT they were fine, and on SCSI the performance was excellent. As for the printer, that sounds as though there are either multiple entries in the reg (device manager-safe mode) or the dynamic side of the bios isn't reporting the presence of the device on the port correctly.

Den, well I guess that leaves me pretty much no better off than I was before the post; except that I might be expecting more from USB at this time than I ought to.  I'm going to go back and check for multiple entries regarding my printer.  Ya know, something just came to mind.  I have a half dozen programs that I can use with my HP scanner.  All of those programs continue to give me the option of choosing two other scanners, an Epson or Canon, that I once had, but were eventually sold with the software being uninstalled.  I wonder if there is a conflict there somehow?  Should I check for multiple entries for them as well, in the same fashion?  Why would the OS continually reflect this hardware after it's been uninstalled correctly?
Don