My laptop is running Windows 7 Ultimate Service Pack 1. I'm using internet through Huawei 3G USB Modem E1550, due to signal issues, I do not connect the modem directly to my laptop, instead, I connect it via USB 2.0 extension cable, now the problem is that, when I attach USB flash drive to the remaining of the USB ports, I get notification bubble that says:
USB Device Not Recognized
One of the USB devices attached to this computer has malfunctioned, and Windows does not recognize it. For assistance in solving this problem, click this message.
And this thing occurs with any port that I try, as long as the extension cable is connected and USB Modem is connected with that. While everything works fine if cable is removed. I tried the same by connecting the modem directly with my laptop ports without cable intermediated, and problem doesn't occur, So there's something to do with the cable. Though my extension cable is not very expensive, but the package says that it supports USB 2.0, and I also tested the data transfer rates of the cable, and it works fine.
I also looked up what device manager displays while flash drive is connected but not working, and all I see under "USB Serial Bus Controllers" category is "Unknown Device" with yellow exclamation mark which clearly suggests some issue with the device.
I cannot use Modem without extension cable since indoor network of my provider is very low.
What can I do to get my Flash drives working under such situation……….??
Best Answer
USB cables weren't designed to be run over long distances (over ~16 feet). The signal degrades over that span and it needs to be boosted.
You want something like: USB 2.0 Booster Extension Cable
Also, like @Hyppy said, you can also use a powered USB hub(separate power cord than the USB that comes from the computer) to provide more power in case the booster cable does not pass the power through to the terminal node on the USB chain.