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Why do some apps misbehave when connected to a USB HUB

I have found that some apps misbehave when plugged into a port in a HUB.  Plugging a misbehaving app directly into a USB port results in it behaving correctly.

Is this common?  Is there a way to know, without trail and error, to know what sort of apps this will happen with?
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djmounce553
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If the Hub is not powered, adding multiple devices to the hub can cause the power draw to be insufficient for all the devices connected. Self powered hubs would eliminate this problem.
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I only had two apps plugged into my 4 port HUB.

The last time I experienced this problem I had an external drive plugged into the HUB.  It was working fine and continued to work properly, as far as I could tell,  when I plugged in my printer.  

When the printer was plugged into the other port a document would print but during the process I would get 2 consecutive "doc failed to print" errors and the print cue showed: "error", but cleared when the doc finished printing.  When I plugged the  printer directly into a USB port all that stopped.

Could that be a power supply issue; with two free ports?
When chaining USB devices, the chain should have a powered device every other link. So unpowered, powered, unpowered, powered, and so on. If the power draw is low enough you can squeek by, but it's not a good idea.
Well, once again I question that theory; and would like to get a second opinion on it.

It seems to me like most of the multi-port HUBs I see in catalogs and on-line stores are non-powered.  If using them consistently creates the kind of problems I have experienced then why are so many of them being manufactured and sold?  Why have I not seen far more powered multi-port HUBs than non-powered HUBs?  

I just don't understand why manufacturers would develop non-powered, multi-port USB HUBs that are guaranteed to fail with more than one device plugged into them?  
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