Emachines 220 USB power surge issue

[WobblyWombat]

Hi All

My first post on this site, so thanks for having me (and apologies if this is in the wrong forum)!!

I have an EMachines 220.

I had a power issue, so I had the power unit replaced and the memory upgraded. I'm now having a different problem - I keep getting the message that there's a USB power surge even though there's nothing plugged into the USB port. This message has only appreared since the fix.

I've read somewhere else on here that this could be to do with XP Service Pack 2, but the guys at PC World reckon that one of the rear USB ports (there are 4) is shorting out and that's probably what caused the power problem in the first place.

Their advice to me is that the motherboard will need replacing and that it will probably be cheaper to buy a new PC.

Any advice from you guys out there??

All help very gratefully received.

[Wingit]

Hi,

Go into device manager and look for USB devices. Click on your USB root HUB. There should be a 'power' tab. Can you post what it says?

This is not good. The intent of this message is to warn you that you have plugged a device that draws more current than the USB hub in you PC can provide. Since there is nothing plugged into the USB port there may be an internal short.

[opaper]

install the older variety that doesn't use USB ports, one on one. Thus whatever doesn't bring-up the ewrror message is the culprit. If you're using some fancy USB device like wireless or lighted one, expect more power required. Because the USB in question are so basic to the system, IMHO move away from USB usage for those devices if only to reduce USB load for later devices like camera and such, whatever which I'm sure may cause problems. You can use a "powered hub" then add the devices to to move away from system supplied hub power needing only USB signal strength.

Also, look into a better power supply as anything rated 300W is iffy and 350W or better is desirable. I recommend further into 400W+ as a more stable choice as flaky problem(s) like this and others can cause grieve pointing all over the system, just replace it.