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I have trouble with an older video capture device. The windows 10 troubleshooter Wizard suggest the device is not compatible with usb 3.0 port.

Some people suggest a usb hub can make this device work, is this true?

What would make such a hub work? Which ones are likely to work? Powered or unpowered? Which chipset, brand, vendor, manufacturer has the best USB 2.0 emulation?

Andyz Smith
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  • So what is the make and model of device? – Moab Jul 12 '18 at 19:34
  • What exactly is your problem/trouble? What did you do and what were the results. Also you should change your headline, you are not asking about compatibility but about USB 2.0 Hubs... I find that rather confusing. – Albin Jul 12 '18 at 19:35
  • USB 2.0 should be backward compatible to usb 2.0, maybe try a different usb cable...https://superuser.com/questions/437687/is-usb-3-0-backwards-compatible – Moab Jul 12 '18 at 19:38
  • Should be, unless the existing equipment doesn't exactly conform to the spec. See answer. I'm not going to get into the specifics device here that's not my question; I have tried most reasonable efforts to get the device to work on USB 3.0 port. I need a general solution that should accommodate many 'out-of-spec' 2.0 device in the future are. – Andyz Smith Jul 12 '18 at 20:01
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    @AndyzSmith there is no general solution for manufacturers who disregard specs (which they did if it's not compatible) because they don't do in in a predictable way. If they would design in a predictable way they most likely would adhere to the specs - unless it is absolutely necessary but then there will also be a defined answer to the compatibility issue for that specific device) So you probable will have to go into specific device details here. I'll tried to explain that further in my answer. – Albin Jul 12 '18 at 21:07
  • @AndyzSmith you can disregard my previous comment, I updated my answer. – Albin Jul 12 '18 at 21:15
  • There is no "USB 2.0 emulation", hubs are all hardware based. – Ale..chenski Jul 16 '18 at 06:41

3 Answers3

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Some people suggest a usb hub can make this device work, is this true? What would make such a hub work?

In most generic form, the answer could be:

Modern PC systems have only xHCI USB 3.0 controller. The xHCI USB 3.0 controller has native support for USB 2.0 functionality. Older USB 2.0 handling over EHCI at root hub level is different form xHCI handling. Having a hub would force the system to load another part of USB stack, which uses more generic hub interface.

Or your "older video capture device" might have a sloppy-written driver that might be using some proprietary hooks to ECHI controller, which are not there for xHCI. That's why a generic hub might make a difference, resorting to more common generic interface.

Again, any particular problem with USB compatibility would require a deep debug effort using a good USB protocol analyzer, and/or careful examination of OS kernel messages. Generic answers are all speculations since you refuse to submit precise details of your system.

Ale..chenski
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First of all, I don't think that this should be here, but here goes nothing..

I think "this" would help, but I don't think it's gonna work one way or another.

There should be another USB Port (Probably 2.0) that should work for the device.

Zombie Chibi XD
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  • Yeah I like that. Having a hub port specifically labeled for 2.0 should go over well with supervisory purchasing to fix this problem. – Andyz Smith Jul 12 '18 at 19:46
  • Hope it helps! But it doesn't make sense, why would USB 3.0 have errors with backwards compatibility? It doesn't make sense – Zombie Chibi XD Jul 12 '18 at 19:49
  • Sure, as long as EVERY device ever produced for USB 2.0 adhered to the very TINIEST detail, EVERY single specification in a 900 page spec, then, yeah, new USB 3.0 controllers would have no problem emulating a 2.0 port for compatibility. – Andyz Smith Jul 12 '18 at 19:57
  • To clarify - the Syba hub device with three USB 3.0 ports AND four USB 2.0 ports is the recommendation here. – Andyz Smith Jul 12 '18 at 21:37
  • Welcome to Super User. Just FYI, link-only information is undesirable. Outside the SE network (not in this case), there is a risk of link rot. But in general, the information can't be indexed to make it easy to find, and it means that the reader has to go chasing around just to have a clue what you're referring to. Posts should generally be self-contained. Include all important information here and use links for attribution and further reading. – fixer1234 Jul 13 '18 at 02:05
  • @fixer1234 Oh yeah... Sorry. But in this question, he was asking for a product, that's why I said the question shouldn't be here... Just to clarify. – Zombie Chibi XD Jul 14 '18 at 08:23
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I think you might be going about this the wrong way. USB2 devices should be compatible with USB3 ports/controlers: Are all USB-2 devices compatible with USB-3 port? BUT: it all depends on the implementation as others pointed out correctly (damn I took to long to write this answer! ;)

So you can try using a hub because it might "bypass" the implementation issue, but this will happen by "accident" (by chance) so there is no general advice that can be given for video capture devices. BUT: there might be a sure workaround for your specific device.

Update: In my experience powered hubs work better then unpowered and I usually have better results brands that give you the "most technical and most thorough" information on the product and give the best warranty. But then again, those are the most expensive ones. So if I would have to start a "solution guessing game" I would rather start with the cheapest option.

Albin
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  • Well, my bet is that the chipset in a hub product that explicity labels the ports USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 will be more "accidentally" working with my device (((than my stupid chipset in my motherboard, but whatever))) We'll see. See Answer. – Andyz Smith Jul 12 '18 at 21:02
  • @AndyzSmith ah, ok I see. I updated my answer according to your comment. – Albin Jul 12 '18 at 21:14
  • @AndyzSmith, I am afraid the problem needs thorough debug before rendering a definite answer. You will need to get a USB protocol analyzer and collect traces, and determine what's going on. If this is related to your "my device", it is likely your fault in hardware, or in driver. Or it could be in "stupid chipset". If you are hesitant to disclose what these devices are, help is unlikely. – Ale..chenski Jul 16 '18 at 05:49