Deneb repair?

[mingle]

Hi,

My 'new' A4000 came with a nice Deneb USB 2.0 card, but unfortunately the external USB ports don't work (the ones that attach to the header on the card itself).

Does anyone know if there cards can be repaired and if so, who should I contact?

Please forgive (in advance!) the number of A4000-newbie questions I'll be posting over the next few days! :-)

Cheers,

Mike.

[ElPolloDiabl]

Don't you need to install software to get it to run? Windows 98 needed USB drivers.

[mingle]

It's working fine on my A4000 - just the internal port though...

I've managed to contact e3B and ask about repairs... Let's see what happens!

 (Win98?!?)

[mboehmer_e3b]

My 'new' A4000 came with a nice Deneb USB 2.0 card, but unfortunately the external USB ports don't work (the ones that attach to the header on the card itself).

I think this issue is clarified, the previous owner of that DENEB seems to have attached the external USB header in the wrong way, so a repair shipment is needed.

Regardings "questions": put them, in most cases problems arising were already solved, so asking is better than trial-and-error(-and-burn-hardware) attempts :-)

Michael

[kolla]

Sometimes it would make sense to use plugs that cannot be inserted the wrong way - or at least make it _very_ obvious which way is the correct way. :p

[Tumbleweed]

I think this issue is clarified, the previous owner of that DENEB seems to have attached the external USB header in the wrong way, so a repair shipment is needed.

Regardings "questions": put them, in most cases problems arising were already solved, so asking is better than trial-and-error(-and-burn-hardware) attempts :-)

Michael

And I thought I was the only one to have doene that! The internal USB port works fine so I "fixed" the external ones by using a USB four port adapter plugged into the internal port and then plugged two leads into the 4-port hub to the external ports. Its not very pretty but it works.

Weed

[mboehmer_e3b]

Sometimes it would make sense to use plugs that cannot be inserted the wrong way - or at least make it _very_ obvious which way is the correct way. :p

Sometimes it would make sense that people read the manual before doing such a thing - or at least take a short look into the schematic drawing showing the correct cabling.

USB cables for DENEB must use what's available on the mass market to get them at decent prices (and allow people to connect internal drive bays, hubs, card readers). So going for a custom made (non reversable) connector would make the card more expensive, getting spare parts more complex and forbid connecting standard internal USB hardware.
So - not a good solution.

BTW, the SUBWAY/HIGHWAY/ALGOR uses the same connector, and we never had wrong attached cables there - so I thought this concept would also work on DENEB, but for some reasons this seems not to be the case (while the number of such incidents is still small compared to the number of DENEBs out there).

Michael

[mingle]

Hi Michael,

My Deneb will be on its way to you tomorrow - be gentle with it! :-)

Keyed connectors would be nice, but I know that I'll have to be 110% careful plugging the header connectors on...

Cheers,

Mike.

[guest7146]

USB cables for DENEB must use what's available on the mass market to get them at decent prices (and allow people to connect internal drive bays, hubs, card readers). So going for a custom made (non reversable) connector would make the card more expensive

Ummm.... well, you wouldn't need to use a "custom" connector.  There are plenty of connectors out there whose polarity is dictated by a plastic moulding.  I'd be surprised if a suitable one couldn't be found.

In any case, it's probably something to remember in case the board is ever up-issued!

FYI... even the USB cabling in my PC can be connected both ways around, so it does seem to be an industry accepted standard that one must first read the manual before connecting.  Shocking.  Who'd have thought such a thing?? :lol:

Apple Hammer

[mboehmer_e3b]

Ummm.... well, you wouldn't need to use a "custom" connector.  There are plenty of connectors out there whose polarity is dictated by a plastic moulding.  I'd be surprised if a suitable one couldn't be found.

I guess you mean the 2x5 pinheaders. I know them, but they are available in at least four different style:

(1) all pins used, same pins as neighbours
(2) all pins used, different orientation
(3) as (1), but one pin moulded (ASUS early motherboards?)
(4) as (2), but one pin moulded

Doesn't look better...

FYI... even the USB cabling in my PC can be connected both ways around, so it does seem to be an industry accepted standard that one must first read the manual before connecting.  Shocking.  Who'd have thought such a thing?? :lol:

I agree - a strange idea... ;-)

[Trev]

Hmmm. Every motherboard I've ever owned used a 2x5 with one shared ground and a "missing" ground pin acting as a key. Maybe I'm not buying cheap enough motherboards? Fortunately, I haven't fried my Deneb yet. ;-) My two A1200 motherboards have not been so lucky, although one arrived broken from the dealer, who shall remain nameless even though they ignored my requests for support.