[Cialug] OT: USB Issues

Thu Nov 18 20:50:49 UTC 2021

I have a PC power supply tester that give you a reading on all of the
voltages. Also have a multimeter, and we have an o-scope (I'm not qualified
to run but others are) at Area515.

I'd suggest testing your PSU, and maybe swapping in another one temporarily
to see if that's causing the issue. Also would try removing everything
extra / nonessential, temporarily unplug fans etc to see if one of those is
causing the noise.

So if you can't figure it out, we can set up a time for you to bring it to
the Makerspace and we can play with it.

-dc

On Thu, Nov 18, 2021 at 1:23 PM jim kraai <jimgkraai at gmail.com> wrote:

> interesting offer!  makes me wonder if one of the Area515 folks might be
> able to take a look in the same manner
>
> On Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 17:06 Jared Brees <fromj2sitsme at msn.com> wrote:
>
> > A multimeter and a scope would be my recommendations. If you bring it to
> a
> > CIALUG meeting I can bring my scope! it's nothing fancy but should
> capture
> > what we're looking for if there's an issue
> >
> > [Sent via Pixel 3a]
> > ________________________________
> > From: Cialug <cialug-bounces at cialug.org> on behalf of Scott Yates <
> > Scott at yatesframe.com>
> > Sent: Monday, November 15, 2021 12:48:50 PM
> > To: Central Iowa Linux Users Group <cialug at cialug.org>
> > Subject: Re: [Cialug] OT: USB Issues
> >
> > Just a quick note:  Usually power supply issues are not caught by most
> > software diagnostics.  They can cause VERY odd issues, and can seem very
> > subtle.
> > I try to keep a high quality 850w PS around just to test things like
> this.
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Nov 15, 2021 at 12:47 PM Tim Wilson <tim_linux at wilson-home.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > It’s a little over 2 years old. So not old enough to cut my losses.
> > >
> > > I dug out my 550 watt PSU. I’m not sure if it is powerful enough, but
> > > hopefully it will at least be enough to determine if it is the PSU.
> > >
> > > I didn’t smell any magic smoke. This is the second time it’s happened.
> > The
> > > first time fried the surge protector. I guess it did it’s job. This
> surge
> > > protector is older, so it may have been hit and degraded the
> protection.
> > >
> > > I don’t have a scope. I could probably hook up a multimeter. I’d have
> to
> > > research what pins and voltages.
> > >
> > > I’ll run some diagnostics. I thought I had already, but I would’ve
> > thought
> > > that the USB/power issue would’ve been flagged.
> > >
> > > Or I might bite the bullet and take it somewhere for them to look at.
> > Any
> > > suggestions?
> > >
> > > On Sun, Nov 14, 2021 at 11:49 PM Andrew Denner <linux-list at upeke.com>
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > > > The first question I always look at is how old is the computer and
> how
> > > easy
> > > > is it to work on? If it is a pain and older, at some point cutting
> your
> > > > losses may be the best option. I agree with Shane, I would first look
> > at
> > > > the output of the power supply. Depending on what tools you have, is
> > the
> > > > voltage close to what you expect, are there any visible scorch marks
> or
> > > > parts that don't look right, does anything smell like the magic smoke
> > is
> > > > leaking, how clean of a signal is coming out on the oscilloscope?
> > > >
> > > > Also as another aside, if lightning did nibble on the power supply,
> and
> > > you
> > > > can replace it, what else did it stress beyond specs that are waiting
> > to
> > > > fail? What does running a full diagnostic on the disk's SMART, memory
> > > > tests, etc say?
> > > >
> > > > On Fri, Nov 12, 2021 at 1:02 PM Shane Nehring <shane at ntoast.com>
> > wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > My first instinct would actually be to suspect some damage to the
> PSU
> > > > > (maybe just the 5v supply) or perhaps the MB (assuming the usb is
> > > onboard
> > > > > the motherboard). It could be the PSU is only slightly damaged and
> is
> > > > just
> > > > > making a bunch of noise on the 5v lines and that's only adversely
> > > > impacting
> > > > > sensitive usb devices. Failing PSUs can cause all sorts of
> difficult
> > to
> > > > > track down weirdness.
> > > > >
> > > > > On Fri, Nov 12, 2021 at 12:40 PM Tim Wilson <
> > tim_linux at wilson-home.com
> > > >
> > > > > wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > > Hi all, this is OT from Linux, but hopefully someone can help.
> > This
> > > is
> > > > > > probably TL;DR, but I think details are important.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > A couple of months ago, an overnight lightning storm struck close
> > to
> > > > our
> > > > > > house.  When I started working the next morning, I could hear a
> > noise
> > > > > that
> > > > > > sounded like a fan was going out on my gaming PC.  I shut down
> the
> > > PC,
> > > > > and
> > > > > > the noise went away.  After further investigation, I discovered
> > that
> > > > the
> > > > > > noise was coming from my USB powered speakers.  They get power
> > from a
> > > > USB
> > > > > > port on my PC, but are connected to a monitor so it will get
> audio
> > > from
> > > > > > whichever input is selected (home or work).  I plugged the
> speakers
> > > > into
> > > > > a
> > > > > > charge pack, and the noise went away.  This made me think I had
> > > larger
> > > > > > issues.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I had a WD external drive and a USB capture device hooked up.
> The
> > > > drive
> > > > > > has issues, I tried plugging it into my laptop and it wasn't
> > > > > recognized.  I
> > > > > > still need to try the capture device.  It does not work on the
> > gaming
> > > > PC.
> > > > > > Both the mouse and keyboard work.  But plugging an optical drive
> > in,
> > > > does
> > > > > > not seem to work.  The optical drive does work on my laptop, so
> I'm
> > > > sure
> > > > > > it's fine.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > This sounds like some part of USB is fried.  No USB-C, but it has
> > USB
> > > > 3.1
> > > > > > ports.  The external drive and capture device were plugged into
> the
> > > top
> > > > > USB
> > > > > > ports.  I've disconnected those, hoping the others would start
> > > working.
> > > > > > Are there any tools you would recommend, or any suggestions?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > TIA!
> > > > > > --
> > > > > > Tim
> > > > > > Required reading: http://bccplease.com/
> > > > > > _______________________________________________
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> > > > > >
> > > > > _______________________________________________
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> > > > >
> > > > _______________________________________________
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> > > >
> > > --
> > > Tim
> > > Required reading: http://bccplease.com/
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Cialug mailing list
> > > Cialug at cialug.org
> > > https://www.cialug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/cialug
> > >
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