USB Power Management Settings for Windows XP

5/19/10

By Scott Friend

Until recently it was not widely known that the Power Management settings of Windows XP allowed for the ability to dynamically reduce the power consumption of any number of your computer devices or of your entire system. In most cases for laptop users this was a good thing since it allowed for the extension of battery life. What is NOT good (for reporters anyhow) is that there is also a setting that will allow the computer to turn off the USB Ports randomly, which is NO good if you use a USB Writer or USB to Serial Adapters.

 Here are the instructions to disable this feature.

These settings only apply to Windows XP

• Click on START
• Now right-click on MY COMPUTER and left-click on MANGE
• On the menu that appears left click the DEVICE MANAGER listing
  1. The window to the right will change
• Scroll to the bottom of that right side and left click on the plus next to UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS CONTROLLERS
• When you click on the plus next to UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS CONTROLLERS, you should see an entry that says USB Root Hub
  1. If you have more than one, you will have to repeat the following steps for each one in the list
• Double-click the first USB ROOT HUB
• In the PROPERTIES window that appears, click on the POWER MANAGEMENT tab at the top
• Uncheck any check boxes that you can on this page
• Click APPLY and then OK
• Repeat this process for the remaining entries that read USB ROOT HUB

Category: Technology Tips & Tricks

Tags: laptop usb windows xp