Driver for PCI USB 2 Card disappear at shutdown.

Elvincloak · #1 01-02-2009, 04:02 PM

For a couple of years I've used a PCI-USB 2.0 card for the External Hard Drive I use for archiving. In the past I've archived infrequently, but now I want to use a frequently scheduled backup system. Every time I want to use the External Drive I've had to reinstall the drivers. The User manual indicates the Airnet CD Driver Utility has to access Microsoft Update site to retrieve the actual driver due to "Legal Issues", because the necessary drivers are only included in the Service Pack I package. My Windows XP Home Operating System has SD3 Embedded by virtue of the fact that I Autostreamed SP3 to my OEM WinXP Home, which is a Prior-to SP1 release. Here is my System Data:

Date 2009-01-02 Time 11:41
Version EVEREST v2.20.405
Homepage http://www.lavalys.com/
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition 5.1.2600 (WinXP Retail)

Summary

Computer:
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
OS Service Pack Service Pack 3, v.5657
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
Computer Name xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)
User Namexxxxxxxxxxxxx
Motherboard:
CPU Type Intel Pentium 4, 2200 MHz (22
Motherboard Name AOpen AX4BS (5 PCI, 1 AGP, 1 CNR, 3 DIMM, Audio)
Motherboard Chipset Intel Brookdale i845
System Memory 1024 MB (PC133 SDRAM)
BIOS Type Award (11/12/04)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM2)
Display:
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce2 MX/MX 400 (Microsoft Corporation) (64 MB)
3D Accelerator nVIDIA GeForce2 MX/MX 400
Monitor Dell M992 [19" CRT] (4N73635RB8GN)
Multimedia:
Audio Adapter Intel 82801BA ICH2X - AC'97 Audio Controller [C-0]
Storage:
IDE Controller Intel(R) 82801BA Ultra ATA Controller
SCSI/RAID Controller Initio inic1620 S-ATA Adapter
Floppy Drive Floppy disk drive
Disk Drive WDC WD1600AAJS-00B4A SCSI Disk Device (149 GB)
Optical Drive SAMSUNG CD-R/RW SW-252B (52x/24x/52x CD-RW)
Optical Drive SONY DVD-ROM DDU1615 (16x/48x DVD-ROM)
SMART Hard Disks Status Unknown
Partitions:
C: (NTFS) 152625 MB (113759 MB free)
Input:
Keyboard Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse HID-compliant mouse
Network:
Network Adapter MAC Bridge Miniport - Packet Scheduler Miniport (192.168.1.103)
Modem Brother MFC8600 9650 Series Fax Only
Peripherals:
Printer Acrobat Distiller
Printer Auto HP DeskJet 930C/932C/935C on HELEN-PC
Printer Brother MFC8600/9650 Series
USB1 Controller Intel 82801BA ICH2X - USB Controller 1 [C-0]
USB1 Controller Intel 82801BA ICH2X - USB Controller 2 [C-0]
USB1 Controller VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller
USB1 Controller VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller
USB Device Brother MFC8600/9650 Series
USB Device Brother MFC8600/9650 Series
USB Device USB Composite Device
USB Device USB Human Interface Device
USB Device USB Printing Support

Note that the VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller is the USB-2.0 card in question.

Is this problem really telling me that my SP3 file only included updatates issued AFTER THE RELEASE OF SP1?????

I can't figure out why the relevant driver, once installed, is lost when I shut down! I will appreciate any relevant thoughts you might have. Thanks!

unionflag · #2 01-03-2009, 03:43 PM

SP3 includes all updates from the previous two SPs plus a whole lot more, so that's not your problem. You shouldn't need to download any USB drivers from anywhere for the VIA ports. They should be in SP3.

Have a look in the "USB Serial Bus controllers" section of 'Device Manager' which is at the bottom of the list. Expand that category. If the word "Enhanced" does not appear anywhere in the VIA entries then they are not USB 2.0 ports, they are only USB 1.1

You cannot upgrade them to USB 2.0 either with a driver or a service pack.
You need to fit a USB 2.0 card in it's place. If those ports are definiteley USB 2.0, then if the ext. drive is powered from the USB port (instead of from the mains) that could be the problem. The port cannot supply enough power if other USB devices are also connected. You need an ext. drive which can be plugged into the mains.

And what does 'Airnet' have to do with this? They make networking devices don't they, not external drives?

Elvincloak · #3 01-03-2009, 11:48 PM

Thanks for the reply, Unionflag....

This VIA USB2 card has been in my system for almost two years, and the AIRNET CD was packaged with the PCI card when I bought it. I have always had to use it to install the card driver, in which the embedded "Readme" file says it accesses the Microsoft Update site to retrieve the driver if it is not found on the system.

I have only one VIA USB PCI card and it is a USB2 card. After a restart my system identifies it as USB1.1 until I reinstall the proper driver. I do, however have integrated (onboard) USB 1.1 sockets, and so have the standard USB1 drivers. To my knowledge, any USB2 card/system is backward compatible with USB1, so my feeling is that finding no USB2 drivers, the system is installing USB1 drivers. When this happens, I get the following message:

This device can perform faster.

The USB device can perform faster if connected to a Hi-speed USB 2.0 port. For a list of available ports click here. (There none listed.)

That is my cue to reinstall the USB2 driver. I'm having difficulty understanding why proper driver is "lost" if I shut down the system.

After installing the driver, I still show the previously listed USB1 Controller VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller but now VIA USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller follows this listing.

You will note in the Everest Summary, That my AOPEN AX4BS motherboard is a venerable ancestor of many more modern boards, and that it has an Intel Brookdale i845 Chipset, hence there could not be an onboard VIA controller.

I guess your last comment expressed concern whether the external drive was in fact connected to a port on the card in question. It is in fact plugged to one of the five ports on the card. The card also has three other connections, none of which is powered by the card, and only one of which would be likely to be active concurrently with the Maxtor 160GB drive. However the drive enclosure is powered from the mains. All other USB connections are also data-only.

If you have any other thoughts about the problem I will welcome them. Thanks for your response.

unionflag · #4 01-05-2009, 05:43 PM

It may well be the via USB 2.0 card and/or driver is incompatible with a component of SP3. This would not be unusual for a two-year old device.

All I can suggest is you remove the via usb 2.0 card and fit a different one from another manufacturer. I have a 'Belkin' USB 2.0 card fitted which works flawlessly under XP-SP3 with no requirement for any third-party drivers.

Elvincloak · #5 01-06-2009, 03:37 PM

You may be right, but in view of the new "super-speed" USB standard that is expected to be available in a few months, I'm reluctant to throw out the old card until the new standard hardware is available.

I've found a VIA driver (filter) that works without accessing third party sites, so I may just set it up to install on startup. Unfortunately, that would of necessity require automatic rebooting after each startup installation. If nothing better shows up I may start thinking about how to speed up that process.

So for the moment at least I'll have to consider this problem unresolved. I thank you for your contributions, and invite any other thoughts by others to be posted. Thanks Unionflag!