How to hotswap

[tinyjo]

I've been encountering a perplexing thing with my palm and my laptop. Occasionally when I plugged the visor into the USB port and started syncing it would start up a whole "Found new hardware" thing. Which was annoying, because it wasn't new hardware, but at least it did find the drivers without me having to dig the CD out. I was a bit perplexed by this as, as far as I was concerned, you weren't supposed to have to leave USB things plugged in all the time. But suddenly, in the last couple of days, I've had a brainwave. I have 3 USB ports at the back of my computer, which are all very close together and which I use more or less randomly. I think what's happening is that when I connect the Visor to a different port than last time, it thinks it's a new device. And, very possibly, deletes it from the old port when it installs it to the new port. This explains why I don't have that problem on my work computer, where it stays plugged in all the time. In conclusion, Windows is poo.

Comments

[sparkymark.livejournal.com]

I've seen that problem docking my iPAQ with Windows 2000: the cradle is always in the same USB port but maybe one working day a month (or less) it thinks it is new hardware.

I have not seen the same problem with my random-USB-port connection to my laptop at home (Windows XP) but I hardly ever synch there.

[soulsong.livejournal.com]

I dont think it deletes it from the old port, but it definitely has to install it afresh on each new USB port you plug into. Confused me for awhile too.

Yes Windows *is* poo, but there are worse things

[applez.livejournal.com]

Take my very nice and pretty Rio MP3 player I bought a couple of years ago to replace my buggered Sony Discman. The software had some idiotic time limit and failed to load again after I moved. So I can't synch. So went to Rio website, and as they've moved on to new products, their new fixed 'PMP300' software is 'pending.' They don't even offer old patches to restore old function.

The bastards.

So functionally, I have a near-worthless MP3 player that has had the same tracks on it that I put on it before leaving Canada over a year ago.

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