[Tfug] USB bugaboo on Thinkpads

[Bexley Hall]

--- On Thu, 6/12/08, John Karns <johnkarns at gmail.com> wrote:

> Just thought I'd throw out a warning here for the TP
> users here who
> may not be aware of a common issue with the USB ports on
> various IBM /
> Lenovo models.  I didn't find out until after
> experiencing the problem
> first hand, and wish I'd known about it before.  I have
> a T42, but the
> problem seems to affect many T series models, including
> some T6x.
> 
> The problem is that if you suspend the laptop while a USB
> device is
> connected (i.e., without disconnecting it before
> suspending), there is
> a high probability that the USB ports will burn out.  The

Ouch!  I've heard of machines where the USB port crashes
during suspend but never crashes and BURNS!  :-/

> fix is to
> replace the mobo, or you can, of course, use a PCMCIA USB
> card.  I'm
> disallusioned a bit with these machines for that - as
> expensive as
> they are, and the reputation for quality that they have,
> I'd have
> thought that this kind of design problem would not present
> itself.
> Especially as a long running problem which spans several
> generations
> of the machines.

Thanks for the pointer!
--don