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USB Disconnects Shuts Computer Down


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#1
Bluebeard

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I have a fairly old Dell Dimension 4800 running XP SP2. All is well except...

Disconnecting a USB device (thumb drive, camera, etc.) from any connector on the computer causes a shutdown just as if the power were shut off. I AM following the procedure to deactivate the device (clicking the little green thingy in the lower right corner and the subsequent box selection).

This has been going on for some time although it hasn't always been this way. There are NO yellow question marks in Device Manager.

Otherwise, USB devices work properly and all else seems fine with the computer. Maybe a port problem? If so, I don't know what to do.
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#2
dsenette

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there could be a short somewhere in the system...if the USB ports are really old they could be wiggeling around in the case and creating a short in the PSU when you unplug something...

with a USB device plugged in...if you wiggle the connector around will it shut down?
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#3
Bluebeard

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Well I'm a knucklehead and I apologize. I've completely mis-characterized the problem. I had not used the USB connections for some time. When I checked to see if wiggling a USB connector would replicate the problem I discovered my error.

No, the problem doesn't appear to be a loose connection. I didn't think that was the case because the problem affects the connectors on both the front and rear of the computer case.

Now, to describe the problem correctly: When I click on the green icon to disconnect a USB device I get the menu box showing devices to be disconnected. Upon clicking on the device to be disconnected I get a blue screen full of white text beginning with something like, "Your computer has encountered an problem and Windows has shut down. If this is the first time you have encountered this message..." The text ends with words to the effect, "Memory is being dumped to disk."

Once again I apologize for the incorrect description.
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#4
dsenette

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well that's a horse of a different color

can you recreate the issue and write down exactly what the error says
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#5
Bluebeard

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Here's the error message:

"A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.

CRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

If this is the first time you've seen this stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again follow these steps:

Check to make sure any new hardware or software is properly installed. If this is a new installation, ask your hardware or software manufacturer for any Windows updates you might need.

If problems continue, disable or remove any newly installed hardware or software. Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing. If you need to use Safe Mode to remove or disable components, restart your computer, press F8 to select advanced startup options, and then select safe mode.

Technical info:
Stop:/0x0000000A (0x0000000, 0x00000002, 0x00000001, 0x804E6DES)

Beginning Dump of Physical Memory
Dumping physical memory to disk: ___"(here there's a counter)

I may have gotten the Technical info wrong. If it's important, let me know. The computer kept restarting as I was copying the above.

This was really the first time I've read the entire message. Each time I saw "Dumping physical memory" it scared the crap out of me and I forced a shutdown immediately.

In order to get this error message I repeatedly forced the failure using my camera and noticed a couple of additional clues. Sometimes the camera was recognized as Drive H (according to the shut down menu), sometimes as Drive G, and sometimes as both simultaneously.

Additionally, there seems to be no problem if I connect the camera, the camera is recognized by the computer BUT I PERFORM NO "FILE" OPERATIONS and then disconnect it. However, if I open a program to view a photo then go through the normal shutdown the problem occurs. I have not tried sticking a thumb drive in and then removing it without any file operations but bet the result would be the same. The computer does crash after actually performing file operations with a thumb drive and then removing it.

Thanks for your patience.
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#6
dsenette

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as a test....can you try just unplugging a device, not going through the normal "stop device" operation.. both after transferring a file and not transferring a file
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#7
Bluebeard

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Unplugging following NO file transfer - No problem, however green USB icon still present in lower right and clicking on it indicates device still present after unplugged.

Unplugging following file transfer - Carsh.

Following restart after crash, the aforementioned green icon was present and clicking on it showed the device to be still present even though it was not. Selecting "Remove" eliminated the icon.
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#8
dsenette

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so any time you remove a drive...either with the "stop device" method or just by yanking it out after a file transfer the whole machine goes down
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#9
Bluebeard

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Yes, so long as there has been file activity.
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#10
dsenette

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plug in a USB drive, and open up my computer, right click on the usb drive in my computer and choose properties, go to the hardware tab, find the USB drive in the list, highlight it and press properties, go to the policy tab. Which option is selected?
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#11
Bluebeard

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Sorry for the delay. We had a power outage.

Optimize for quick removal is selected.
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#12
dsenette

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hmm....this one's pretty funky...

go here and download the Windows Memory Diagnostic utility and follow their instructions for running it...run it for at least two passes and report the results
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#13
Bluebeard

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I ran the standard suite of tests per instructions through two passes and then the extended suite once. "No errors."
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#14
Bluebeard

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ANOTHER CLUE?

As you know, proper operation of the Windows Memory Diagnostic requires that program together with a boot program be placed on a CD or floppy and the machine to be tested then booted from that media.

I had not used my floppy drive in ages, and when I attempted to format a floppy disk I got the same sort of error we've been discussing. As it turned out, the disk was already formatted.

After completing the testing I decided to try to duplicate this error while formatting a floppy disk and could not. However, upon completion of formatting and clicking on OK the error once again occurred. The message is exactly the same as the one quoted in the lengthy earlier description except that the Technical Info is different, and this time I nailed it:

Stop: 0x0000000A (0x02540193, 0x000000FF, 0x00000000, 0x804E3589)
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#15
dsenette

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this is getting annoying hehe..

open up my computer and right click on your C drive and choose properties, then choose the tools tab, press the check now button under to error checking, check both boxes and press OK....it'll tell you that it can't do it while the drive is in use and ask you to schedule the check on reboot....say yes and reboot. let this run to completion and report any errors
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