USB splitter help

[Deleted User]

Just had a look on Amazon and I think you've got something like this:-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Double-Splitter-Charger-Charging-Another/dp/B01C2OIXL4/ref=sr_1_12?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1548665706&sr=1-12&keywords=usb+splitter+1+to+2

1 port is for data and power, 1 is for power only.

Edit: that must be what @fenlander_uk is referring to, not seen them before myself.

molerat

Colin_Maybe wrote: »

Edit: that must be what @fenlander_uk is referring to, not seen them before myself.

That type of cable is provided with 2.5" HDD caddies, one of the wires is often thinner and is power only. Usually male both ends though unlike your link.

Mistral001

On the subject of USB hubs. I have USB 2.0, 4 port hub that is at least 10 to 15 years old and I have not used it for ages as I bought it in the days when computers came with only one USB port and now all my computers have at least three ports. I now want to use the hub as I am running out of ports, but I have no driver for it. It is an unbranded hub made in China. I have lost the information that came with the hub and cannot get a driver for it.

I get a lot of listings of generic hub drivers when I Google USB hub drivers. So many that I get suspicious that they may be scam sites who want to upload suspicious software along with the hub driver software. Are these sites OK and if they are will I have chance of getting the driver I want. I think the Hub last worked on a windows XP computer. I want a driver that will work on Windows 7 or 10.

unforeseen

I take it you have tried just plugging it in? The majority of hubs don't need additional drivers or the ones built in to the OS do the job.

If you are running Win10 then that is pretty good at finding drivers itself.

Mistral001

unforeseen wrote: »

I take it you have tried just plugging it in? The majority of hubs don't need additional drivers or the ones built in to the OS do the job.

If you are running Win10 then that is pretty good at finding drivers itself.

I have tried that on both computers. On the Windows 7 computer, nothing happens. On the Windows 10 laptop connected to the internet, I get an error message and in the Control Panel under "devices and printers" there is an icon which has the label: "Unknown USB device (Device Descriptor Request Failed)". The icon is linked to the hub as it disappears when the hub is disconnected from the port.

Looks like that is the end of the road for a perfectly good piece of hardware due to obsolete driver/software.

wongataa

Mistral001 wrote: »

I have tried that on both computers. On the Windows 7 computer, nothing happens. On the Windows 10 laptop connected to the internet, I get an error message and in the Control Panel under "devices and printers" there is an icon which has the label: "Unknown USB device (Device Descriptor Request Failed)". The icon is linked to the hub as it disappears when the hub is disconnected from the port.

Looks like that is the end of the road for a perfectly good piece of hardware due to obsolete driver/software.

Or maybe the hub has died and there is nothing wrong with any software. Windows has USB drivers built in. You really don't need any others for most USB devices like this. If it doesn't work it is likely to be faulty or maybe the USB port it was plugged into is faulty.

arciere

Normal USB connections (up to USB 2.0, USB 3 is slightly different) require 4 wires: 5V, data +, data - and ground. If only two of these are connected (like +5V and ground), that will act as a simple charger with no data exchanged. If I am not wrong, data + and - are shorted to tell the system that that is a charging-only device.
There's not much point in a USB 2.0 splitter in my opinion, especially on a laptop, as the current on one port won't be enough to power more than one device anyway.

Mistral001

wongataa wrote: »

Or maybe the hub has died and there is nothing wrong with any software. Windows has USB drivers built in. You really don't need any others for most USB devices like this. If it doesn't work it is likely to be faulty or maybe the USB port it was plugged into is faulty.

I got a few years of good service from the hub. But when I got a new computer with Windows 7 instead of XP, I could not get an updated driver for the hub. that was definitely the problem then. No hardware problem. That was about 10 years ago.

It seems a shame (and very non-moneysaving) to just throw away the hub, but it looks like that is all I can do if I cannot get an updated driver.

wongataa

To be honest is it worth your time trying to source a driver (which you have already tried) when a new hub won't be a lot of money. You have had over 10 years service from the hub now which is a good amount of time.