USB 2.0 Scanner

[WA9SVD]

Here's one I haven't run into before...

K6-2/450 MHz processor, 256 MB PC-100 memory, Win98SE, internal 5-Port USB 2.0 PCI card.
JUst added an Epson scanner, and the system runs S--l--o--w--l--y. Unplug the scanner (the USB cable) and reboot, and system seems to run at normal speed; plug scanner back in, and system slows down again. Plugging in a USB Zip Drive doesn't affect the system speed, and the scanner appears to function properly. (I.E., it scans.)
Work around is to disconnect the scanner when not in use, but that's not the way USB is SUPPOSED to work.
Any ideas or suggestions?

[WD4CHP]

You might try installing the maximum ram that the motherboard and processor can handle. You also might install a video card that has it's own video ram to free up memory for the processor.

Any other suggestions from the gallery??

[KD0ANV]

I'd think about reinstalling the scanner drivers. Take a quick look on Epson's site and see if they've released a new version of the software for your scanner model.

Can't say I've seen a scanner do that before.

[KD6NIG]

Yep. Gotta be the drivers. They won't load if the device is disconnected.

Why the drivers would eat so many system resources is beyond me, but I'm sure if you checked you would see them doing so. Or they are just eating enough memory that your system is being forced to swap memory to disk and back, causing your slowdown.

If you don't use it that much, just keep it disconnected unless you need it. Or, you can upgrade the system to handle the additonal load, if the new driver does the same thing.

[WA9SVD]

The dirvers from Epson's site seem to be the same version.
The video card ( ATI All-In-Blunder) has 128 MB of video memory on the card; it's not shared with system memory.

256 MB memory should be more than enough the USB interface shouldn't be THAT memory hungry; Epson said 64 MB memory for system requirements; that's barely enuf for Win98SE, but 256 should be plenty. (The MB can take up to 512 MB of PC-100, so it's not maxxed out.)

[KD0ANV]

Quote[/b] (wa9svd @ May 07 2007,23:04)]The dirvers from Epson's site seem to be the same version.
Rats.

Did this start recently, or has it been doing it a while? Did you happen to notice the slowdown after adding another device or piece of software?

[AG3Y]

I just bought a nice little Gateway computer from a hock shop ( ! ) and am really enjoying the improvement in performance that I am experiencing over my old 450Mhz Win98 II machine! It is a very modest machine by today's standards ( 3 Ghz uprocessor 256Mbyte ram, all I/O on the motherboard ) but it runs circles around the old computer.

The least I would recommend would be for you to change to the XP operating system and up the RAM to 500 Mbytes. I'm planning a modest RAM upgrade to this new machine, myself.

I learned several years ago in Novell CNE training that the answer to all slow operating file servers was "MORE MEMORY!" I think that the concept is valid for other applications, too ! RAM upgrade first, and if that doesn't help, change to XP ! ( Stay away from "Vista" until Service Pack II is introduced. By that time, they should have the major bugs worked out )

Good luck, 73, Jim

[WA9SVD]

Quote[/b] (KD0ANV @ May 08 2007,06:12)]Quote[/b] (wa9svd @ May 07 2007,23:04)]The dirvers from Epson's site seem to be the same version.
Rats.

Did this start recently, or has it been doing it a while? Did you happen to notice the slowdown after adding another device or piece of software?
The problem "started" as soon as I installed the scanner. No other hardware or software was installed. (In fact, all I instaslled was the TWAIN client, not the photo editing applications that came with the scanner; I perfer PaintShop Pro for all that work.
The USB (1.1) ZIP drives (100 MB or 250 MB) do NOT slow down the system (seems to rule out the USB interface card itself!) but a couple of "thumb" drives (USB 2.0) also cause the slow down. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif

I have been hesitant to try it on the XP laptop yet, because of the problem.

Is there a known problem with USB 2.0 and Win98SE? The devices that slow things down are all USB 2.0 devices, but the same thumb drives don't cause a slowdown of another K6-2 machine with USB 1.1 ports. It seems peculiar to this machine.

I'm putting together an AMD dual-core machine with XP Pro and 1.5 GB, but that's at least a couple of weeks until I get a Round TUIT.

[ka5piu]

Hello.

Do NOT do windows 98e and USB 2.0!
Windows 98se has some real issues with the faster USB.
Windows 98se was the first windows to do USB, so the implamentation is not that good, add to it a version of USB that did not exist at the time and there is trouble.

[WA9SVD]

Quote[/b] (ka5piu @ May 09 2007,00:14)]Hello.

Do NOT do windows 98e and USB 2.0!
Windows 98se has some real issues with the faster USB.
Windows 98se was the first windows to do USB, so the implamentation is not that good, add to it a version of USB that did not exist at the time and there is trouble.
That's what I was wondering. Any documentation about conflicts from Microshaft, or just anecdotal reports?

USB 1.1 devices (Zip drives) work OK with the USB 2.0 PCI Interface card; it's the USB 2.0 devices that bog down the system.

Actually, Windoze 95 OSR2 has rudimentary, if incomplete support for USB. It would run ZIP drives, at least.

[kf6rdn]

Quote[/b] (wa9svd @ May 08 2007,20:39)]Quote[/b] (KD0ANV @ May 08 2007,06:12)]Quote[/b] (wa9svd @ May 07 2007,23:04)]The dirvers from Epson's site seem to be the same version.
Rats.

Did this start recently, or has it been doing it a while? Did you happen to notice the slowdown after adding another device or piece of software?
The problem "started" as soon as I installed the scanner. No other hardware or software was installed. (In fact, all I instaslled was the TWAIN client, not the photo editing applications that came with the scanner; I perfer PaintShop Pro for all that work.
The USB (1.1) ZIP drives (100 MB or 250 MB) do NOT slow down the system (seems to rule out the USB interface card itself!) but a couple of "thumb" drives (USB 2.0) also cause the slow down. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif

I have been hesitant to try it on the XP laptop yet, because of the problem.

Is there a known problem with USB 2.0 and Win98SE? The devices that slow things down are all USB 2.0 devices, but the same thumb drives don't cause a slowdown of another K6-2 machine with USB 1.1 ports. It seems peculiar to this machine.

I'm putting together an AMD dual-core machine with XP Pro and 1.5 GB, but that's at least a couple of weeks until I get a Round TUIT.
If any USB 2 devices slow the system down, that points to the card to me.
Also win98 (any version) was new to support USB1. I would update anything windows you can, update the drivers for the card.
Get it to work with something as simple as a thumb drive.


I wouldnt worry about the XP lap top, it should be new enough to run that scanner.

[ka5piu]

Hello.

There are quite a few documents on USB 2 and windows 98se, plain 98 does not support USB.
Bottom line, short of a major rewrite of the OS it will not support fast USB.
Microsoft simply came out with a later OS, no support for this.

[WA9SVD]

Quote[/b] (kf6rdn @ May 09 2007,19:25)][
If any USB 2 devices slow the system down, that points to the card to me.
Also win98 (any version) was new to support USB1. I would update anything windows you can, update the drivers for the card.
Get it to work with something as simple as a thumb drive.


I wouldnt worry about the XP lap top, it should be new enough to run that scanner.
The Card (with no USB devices attached doesn't affect performance of the machine. (At least noticably.) For example, the dialer (I's still stuck with dial-up) comes up in 2 seconds or less.

With the USB 1.1 devices I have, (A ZIP 100 MB and a ZIP 250 MB) there's again no performance degradation.

When I use a USB 2.0 thumb drive, MP3 player, or the scanner, the system slows to a crawl; the dialer will take 20-30 seconds to come up after a double click. Unplug the USB 2.0 devices, and all's fine.

The USB thumb drive and MP3 player boith work without a hitch on a similar machine (also Win98SE) with built-in USB 1.1 ports. (I haven't had a chance to try the scanner on that machine yet; it's in a different location.)

If I can even find a USB 1.1 add-in PCI card (anymore) I'll try that; but the machine is scheduled for near-mothballing in a few weeks, so I don't want to spend too much time of money on it. It'll serve as a backup, and maybe dedicated station compluer; no need to have it online much.