3rd October 2000

Serial devices don't need milk; they stay crunchy throughout the day. USB peripherals, on the other hand, may need a bit of digital sopping to stay smart. As the number of USB-compliant hardware has increased, so has the amount of interfacing problems. Can't seem to get that device to work? Consider plugging it into another (open) USB slot. Out of room? Get a multi-port USB hub. Another possible solution: make sure each device is getting appropriate power. Hit the WINKEY+PAUSE keyboard combo and flip to the Device Manager tab. Pull up the properties for a USB device and make sure the 'Power' allocation is correct (according to its official specs). Still having headaches? Consider flushing; delete the 'Universal Serial Bus controllers' section in your Device Manager. Windows should recognize the installed components upon the next boot.