Usb root hub assigned name "unknown device"

[ronaldarjune]

I have a vista basic toshiba laptop (the one I am using now) and I have "unknown device" listed as one of my 4 usb hubs in device manager and I can't get rid of it even when I delete that one and the other hubs and do a restart in safe mode. I think the problem first occured what I connected a .99 cent usb cable I bought from the dollar store to my printer. I see that they say update your usb drivers on the internet at different sites but I am waiting for my credit card application to be approved to pay for "Driver Detective" on the internet hoping it will fix my usb issue. I did a system recovery and the "unknown Device" is still listed as one of my usb ports with nothing connected. I also get the message that, one of the devices connected has malfunctioned and windows does not recognize it, popping up when no usb device is connected to my laptop. I am wondering how to update the usb drivers if the port is labeled "unknown device" in device manager and where I can get free ATI usb driver updates to install and see if that solves my problem. I was told by the Geek Squad of Best Buy that I have a problem with the motherboard but I am hoping that is not so because he could not prove it to me.

Thank You; Ron in distress.

 

[xxdanielxx]

First don't buy any drive detecting software below is a link to a free one

http://www.halfdone.com/Development/...ownDevices.zip

Second although I Hate Geek Squad for being incompetent they may be right this

time which is rare. The link above will let you see the devices installed on your

computer if you have any question's post back

 

[gbhall]

You could look for the latest Vista chipset drivers for your motherboard. They will certainly be improving all the time - it is still early days for Vista. The Toshiba site is the place to look.

Additionally I would myself check for a new bios update, but I hesitate to recommend this step unless you are quite expert. A Bios update failure (or the wrong one), can certainly leave you with an expensive door-stop. I know, I've done it, but I also knew to take a backup copy of the original first, and was back working in minutes.

 

[ronaldarjune]

how do I do a chipset update, I tried the bios update

You could look for the latest Vista chipset drivers for your motherboard. They will certainly be improving all the time - it is still early days for Vista. The Toshiba site is the place to look.

Additionally I would myself check for a new bios update, but I hesitate to recommend this step unless you are quite expert. A Bios update failure (or the wrong one), can certainly leave you with an expensive door-stop. I know, I've done it, but I also knew to take a backup copy of the original first, and was back working in minutes.

How do I do a chipset update. I did the bios update and it did not resolve the problem.

 

[ronaldarjune]

how do I do a chipset update. I did the bios update and it did not work. How do I know my chipset type. Is the chipset update process like the bios update process, that is, I have to boot the software from the CD drive, or I can do in within windows. What is meaning of unzip anyhow. I downloaded a file from toshiba that is about 80 megabites that I think is the ATI chipset update for the display and drivers and tried to run it but it says that "setup will begin after extraction is complete" but I don't know how to start the extraction (extraction of what?)

 

[gbhall]

By 'chipset' we just mean the drivers for your motherboard. They are just drivers like peripheral drivers, but manage the interface between the chips on the motherboard and the rest of the world. You should simply go to the Toshiba site, enter your exact laptop model and operating system then see what drivers are currently available. Chipset will be one of the offerings. What on earth you got hold of I know not, a typical driver is 4Mb or less. They are usually in the form of a self-extracting .exe program, which you just double-click on. First it extracts the drivers to a temporary location often without asking you where, then performs the driver installation. It will usually tell you to reboot afterwards.

 

[LookinAround]

OK. Stop. Catch your breath. And we can restart from the beginning.

For one thing, you didn't indicate your system spec in your TechSpot profile or post just what toshiba laptop model you have. You can get better answers if you are sure to give complete information.

As someone pointed out don't pay for any new software or diagnostics when there's so much you can still do/try on your own.

You started with the right idea by going to the Toshiba website for support and looking up the drivers they have for your laptop model. But sounds like something awry in the process as is rare the proper download from the computer mfr won't work if you downloaded the right thing. (And there's usually instructions too fromthem if not sure how to install their download.

So start by filling out the system spec in TechSpot profile so we know what you have

 

[ronaldarjune]

Thank you very much for your input

By 'chipset' we just mean the drivers for your motherboard. They are just drivers like peripheral drivers, but manage the interface between the chips on the motherboard and the rest of the world. You should simply go to the Toshiba site, enter your exact laptop model and operating system then see what drivers are currently available. Chipset will be one of the offerings. What on earth you got hold of I know not, a typical driver is 4Mb or less. They are usually in the form of a self-extracting .exe program, which you just double-click on. First it extracts the drivers to a temporary location often without asking you where, then performs the driver installation. It will usually tell you to reboot afterwards.

Thank you very much for your answer it really eased my mind. I knew that 80Mb was way too much for the chipset driver. I will have to try to learn the chipset type and where to find the chipset driver. It sounds like installation will be easy once I get the software progrram.

 

[ronaldarjune]

I bought the Driver Detective software but there is no chipset driver available from them or Toshiba--the driver is on the recovery disk. I did a system recovery a while back but that did not help. What DOS commands can I try with the command prompt to fix the problem--I am not familiar with DOS.