1. SPS Accounts:
    Do you find yourself coming back time after time? Do you appreciate the ongoing hard work to keep this community focused and successful in its mission? Please consider supporting us by upgrading to an SPS Account. Besides the warm and fuzzy feeling that comes from supporting a good cause, you'll also get a significant number of ever-expanding perks and benefits on the site and the forums. Click here to find out more.
    Dismiss Notice
Dismiss Notice
You are currently viewing Boards o' Magick as a guest, but you can register an account here. Registration is fast, easy and free. Once registered you will have access to search the forums, create and respond to threads, PM other members, upload screenshots and access many other features unavailable to guests.

BoM cultivates a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. We have been aiming for quality over quantity with our forums from their inception, and believe that this distinction is truly tangible and valued by our members. We'd love to have you join us today!

(If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you've forgotten your username or password, click here.)

USB cable question

Discussion in 'Techno-Magic' started by Triactus, Jun 16, 2010.

  1. Triactus

    Triactus United we stand, divided we fall Veteran

    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2002
    Messages:
    1,696
    Media:
    10
    Likes Received:
    49
    Gender:
    Male
    While a collegue was out of town for work, she said she had trouble transferring data from a card reader onto a hard drive. She switched the USB cable and it worked fine.

    I have the cable in hand and I am trying to figure out if it's broken or something. I just tried to transfer data with it and it worked. Is there some tests I can do to see what the transfer rate, etc. is with the cable? Since I was not there when the problem occured, I don't know if it was the operating system or the cable... :nolike:

    (I know I can buy another one, but it's just on principle of not throwing away working equipment)
     
  2. 8people

    8people 8 is just another way of looking at infinite ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran

    Joined:
    Apr 20, 2002
    Messages:
    7,141
    Media:
    74
    Likes Received:
    133
    Gender:
    Female
    [​IMG] Could be a kink in the wire or simple not have held in the socket properly if it was a problem with one device or where it was positioned.

    I tend to use things until they stop working completely so I'd hold onto it until it starts playing silly buggers with irritating frequency.
     
  3. Triactus

    Triactus United we stand, divided we fall Veteran

    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2002
    Messages:
    1,696
    Media:
    10
    Likes Received:
    49
    Gender:
    Male
    Thanks! Yeah, I was going to put it in "quarantine" until further notice, but I was hoping there was tech way to check the workability (is that a word?) of the cable... :)
     
  4. Tarrasque

    Tarrasque Whoever said Paladins had to be charismatic? ★ SPS Account Holder Veteran New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2004
    Messages:
    360
    Likes Received:
    20
    Gender:
    Male
    There probably is a way you can test the component wires electronically by finding out what the 'true values' should be and using a multimeter. By the time you've done all this, it'd have been cheaper (and a lot simpler) to buy a new cable.
     
  5. starfox64 Gems: 12/31
    Latest gem: Moonstone


    Veteran

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2005
    Messages:
    469
    Likes Received:
    8
    Gender:
    Male
    Maybe it's a USB 2.0 cable and her port was just an old Hi-Speed USB port. It wouldn't work. If you have a USB 2.0 port, it would work fine.
     
  6. Morgoth

    Morgoth La lune ne garde aucune rancune Veteran

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2002
    Messages:
    3,652
    Media:
    8
    Likes Received:
    86
    Gender:
    Male
    So this is what it is: Bits come in zeros and ones. Zeros are smooth while ones have sharp edges. Sometimes a one get stuck somewhere and blocks all other ones and zeros. This happens when the cable has many twists and bends. So what you need to do is straighten the cable up and then blow into one of the cable ends. Keep a bucket underneath the cable when you do this because if you're not careful the zeros and ones could all fall out and spill over your floor and you'd have to collect them with a magnet.

    Cheers
     
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2010
    Triactus likes this.
  7. Triactus

    Triactus United we stand, divided we fall Veteran

    Joined:
    Jul 18, 2002
    Messages:
    1,696
    Media:
    10
    Likes Received:
    49
    Gender:
    Male
    LOL :lol: you had me up until the blow part... :p
     
  8. Ziad

    Ziad I speak in rebuses Veteran

    Joined:
    Aug 3, 2004
    Messages:
    4,088
    Media:
    57
    Likes Received:
    47
    Ted, is that you? :D
     
Sorcerer's Place is a project run entirely by fans and for fans. Maintaining Sorcerer's Place and a stable environment for all our hosted sites requires a substantial amount of our time and funds on a regular basis, so please consider supporting us to keep the site up & running smoothly. Thank you!

Sorcerers.net is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products on amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.