Is there a sporadic USB issue with the keyboard, webcam, or mouse?
Is there a sporadic USB issue with the keyboard, webcam, or mouse?
The USB ports sometimes stop working, affecting the keyboard, webcam, and mouse. The computer is about a year old, and the only new update was the Super Flower PSU that resolved an earlier problem. This raises questions about what's happening with the USB connections.
In Device Manager, navigate to 'Universal Serial Bus controllers' and then select all USB Hubs one by one. In Properties, turn off Power Management. On most computers, there might be around 10 USB Hubs.
By default, Windows turns off USB hubs to conserve energy. Certain devices may fail to restart correctly after being powered down.
There are roughly seven units in mind. Among them, four successfully enabled the option to shut down the device for power conservation. That seems correct.
This could suggest your power supply unit isn't providing enough capacity.
Yes, simply remove all the check marks in the boxes.
No, this doesn't mean your PSU is underpowered.
Shutting down USB hubs when they're not in use saves a few hundred milli-watts, and if done globally across millions or billions of devices, it becomes a meaningful effort to help slow the melting of ice caps.
It's a shame it affects some peripherals that don't recover smoothly after being off for a while.
It totally makes sense. All check boxes are off. Then the camera would strobing and I had to unplug/replug it, which is pretty normal. I restart the machine a few times a week, otherwise I leave it on. It might be fine now but I'm not sure. Could this be related to a driver issue?
The USB cable length might be the issue, even though I haven’t encountered this problem with webcams. Often, long and poorly made leads of 0.5m or more cause difficulties, particularly when transferring photos from SD and CF cards in USB3 card readers or portable hard disks and SSDs. These cables tend to be unsuitable.
I prefer using 20cm (8in) USB-C connectors and 30cm (1ft) USB-A connectors during file transfers to minimize data loss risks.
It’s not advisable to use a webcam with a 30cm (12in) cable, but you could try removing any extra hubs or extension leads and connecting the webcam directly to the computer’s rear panel. If your webcam supports USB2, this might enhance stability, especially if your PC has a USB2 port.
The webcam driver could also be the cause, but it depends on the software developer’s constraints. Look for updated drivers and check if other users have reported issues with your specific model. If the camera is very inexpensive, you may need to tolerate its limitations. Good luck.