rossibIT Posted May 17, 2021 Posted May 17, 2021 Hi Guys, I have had several SMART boards around the school that have the USB connection sound going off constantly. The only solution I have found so far is disconnecting the SMART boards but of course you lose all capabilities. I have tried updating the firmware & software but to no avail. These SMART boards are several years old but for several of them to go at once seems like another issue going on. Many thanks for any help.
3s-gtech Posted May 17, 2021 Posted May 17, 2021 What USB cable is being used with them, and how long is it? They're flakey with some extensions and some active cables - I've found that some passive extensions are better than others too up to a max of about 5m.
rossibIT Posted May 17, 2021 Author Posted May 17, 2021 All the USB cables are one with no extensions cause of the reputation of them being flakey. I am awaiting for a new cable as a test but I do not think it is that because of the the SMART boards have been working for years and now several have gone down with the same issue.
3s-gtech Posted May 17, 2021 Posted May 17, 2021 Does seem strange. Any changes to the host PCs? Extra load on their USB ports from other devices? Do they connect reliably from a short cable into a device with nothing else attached? 1
the_quick Posted May 17, 2021 Posted May 17, 2021 We had this issue suddenly appear after working for a long time. Not sure if it is something with Windows update. Anyway, replacing cable with and USB active cable (with a chip in the middle) sorted out the issue 1
andy_b Posted May 17, 2021 Posted May 17, 2021 Several of ours stopped work one day and the only way to solve it was to replace the cables. Dont Work: Do work:
notsogenius Posted May 17, 2021 Posted May 17, 2021 I go round most summers at my school and I find usb cables regularly that don't work even though they look immaculate. Although we've got wall boxes in the mix that sometimes get broken as well. First point of call for us is generally to replace the cable from wall box to laptop. We have had some issues with Ryzen HP laptops where the Smartboard wouldn't work correctly if the lead from board to socket and from socket to laptop was beyond a certain length. Presumably a power issue on the USB port themselves?
ticktock Posted May 17, 2021 Posted May 17, 2021 Try a powered USB hub. Once had this a good few years back with a batch of HP laptops. Seemed to cure the problem.
rossibIT Posted May 18, 2021 Author Posted May 18, 2021 Thank you guys for the responses. We have ordered some new cables to be on the safe side but got a feeling they are going to be the same that we have got which means that we will have the same problem further down the line. @andy_b what is the difference with the cables that you says works?
rossibIT Posted May 18, 2021 Author Posted May 18, 2021 (edited) Thank you guys for the responses. We have ordered some new cables to be on the safe side but got a feeling they are going to be the same that we have got which means that we will have the same problem further down the line. @andy_b what is the difference with the cables that you says works? Are they the active USB cables? Edited May 18, 2021 by rossibIT
andy_b Posted May 19, 2021 Posted May 19, 2021 Thank you guys for the responses. We have ordered some new cables to be on the safe side but got a feeling they are going to be the same that we have got which means that we will have the same problem further down the line. @andy_b what is the difference with the cables that you says works? I'll be honest - I have no idea. Just noticed that all the ones that seemed to stop working were of one type and all the working ones were of a differenet type. So bought some replacements from ebay and they worked first time.
rossibIT Posted May 25, 2021 Author Posted May 25, 2021 Have just replaced the USB active cable. On one machine it has worked but on the other 2 that I have tried it on it has not worked and the sound remains. This has to be a software issue as have had another 3 smartboards go since original post.
DavR Posted May 25, 2021 Posted May 25, 2021 Does it make a difference if you're plugging these into USB2 or USB3 ports? We had a mare with some old Promethean boards where we had to make sure we only used them on USB2 as they just couldn't hack USB3, even though it should be backwards compatible. Depending on whether this is actually having an operational impact, you could always just cheat and disable the device connected / disconnected sound.....
SamanthaD Posted May 25, 2021 Posted May 25, 2021 Might have something to do with the USB power settings in Windows. I've had lighting desks suffer similar connection dropouts, but if you disable the power saving on Windows it fixed the issue. Article here
rossibIT Posted May 25, 2021 Author Posted May 25, 2021 No it does not. It would explain why multiple boards are going around the school but it has not solved it unfortunately.
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