Whenever I plug in my camera or external harddrive to to one of the USB 1.1 ports on my (aging) laptop, Windows XP merrily informs me that I’d get better performance if I’d only connect it to a USB 2 port: “This Device Can Perform Faster”. And when I click the bubble, the system admits that there are no USB 2 ports on my machine. Then why did it show me the first message? Bad integration, I say.
The only remedy I was able to find means disabling all USB error messages. It’s far from elegant, but it works:
“In Device Manager, click on the USB host controller, click the Advanced tab and then check the box on the bottom of the window that says “Don’t tell me about USB errors.” I think you need to do this for each USB controller listed under USB in Device Manager so that the error message will not appear no matter which controller the device gets plugged into.”
[Recipe curtesy of Kevin Steiger at TechSupportForum.com]
February 8, 2005 at 19:34
Thank you! I’ve been tormented by that for so long! I went so far as to unplug all my usb devices and it still pops up! Yeah, I just wanted to thank you for that helpful hint…
August 16, 2010 at 11:46
Yes, a million thank yous !!!! This has been driving me batty for several weeks after hanging my computer multiple times & potentially causing hardware damage, and I too was about ready to throw my one yr. old HP computer into the trash. With so many users complaining about this, why the he’ck doesn’t Microsoft come out with a patch before their buggy software destroys a few computers….
March 17, 2005 at 5:11
Thanks. This was driving me crazy. Windows XP is an object lesson in how to turn an operating system into an overbearing nagging &#*%~ !
March 23, 2005 at 15:30
Likewise! Thanks for clearing up this horribly, horribly annoying ‘feature’.
March 24, 2005 at 7:57
Thanks! I was about to toss my PC in the trash. It’s annoying garbage like this that gives me more reasons to love my Mac.
April 14, 2005 at 9:48
pain in the aaaaahole, thx dude
May 24, 2005 at 16:19
OH MY GOD!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!
July 18, 2005 at 19:00
Thanks, man! I have an army of USB devices connected through two different USB hubs and into my laptop’s docking station. Every time I redocked, I got that message at least twice in a row. But it is gone now!
July 26, 2005 at 3:22
Thanks, bl**dy annoying that one, you’re having a good day and whoosh, Microsoft ruin it…………………. Was going to disconnect all devices and hub tonight and start again.
Cheers.
October 9, 2005 at 2:53
May the force be with you! Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!
October 13, 2005 at 12:10
It was far worse for me. I have a Dell 1450 wireless usb network adapter. That darn popup would kill my adapter. Rebooting worked but only until the next time! I was just about to go out and get a usb 2.0 pci adapter and still might…
November 26, 2005 at 4:02
Thank you. Yours is the first page that comes up in google after typing in that lovely message.
Thank you.
January 2, 2006 at 11:15
Hi. Read the above and this is not a fix for the problem. The usbs will only be working slow / not usb 2. I had loads of trouble with this issue. Eventualy fixed it by installing sevice pack 2 and booting with no usb devices connected. Then looked in device manager and updated all the usb drivers manualy. Also had a yelloy ? mark higher up on the device manager list – something to do with usb. Updated that driver and everything is fine now. normal usb is only 11mbs high speed is 480mbs so it is important to actually fix this problem properly..
January 5, 2006 at 23:09
Stuart, the recipe above is a solution for the problem I and many others are having on our aging USB 1.1 machines which actually cannot perform any faster no matter how many times Windows XP suggests that it can.
It sounds like you are more fortunate: Your hardware is capable of USB 2, and you’re right that the recipe above is not a solution to any driver problems you may have in that situation.
January 18, 2006 at 5:03
Fair Play jan. I didnt realise that you boys where still in the dark ages lol. I thought xp would be smart enough to know these things lol
January 29, 2006 at 12:06
Hi,
In Device Manager / USB Controllers, when I double-click on any of the USB Host Controller, I get the Properties window. However in this window, there is no “Advanced” tab! The four tabs are: General / Driver / Details / Resources.
I have Windows XP Home Edidition, with SP2 and all the latest security updates.
Any suggestion, because I would really like to get rid of this annoying message.
Thanks.
January 31, 2006 at 1:18
On my system the tabs display: General / Advanced / Driver / Details / Resources.
Here’s the content of the Advanced tab from XP Pro on the off chance that it will help you locate the setting in XP Home.
February 1, 2006 at 17:58
Hello Jan,
Thanks for the reply. I guess this a drawback of the Home Edition. The Advanced tab is indeed missing in the Properties window.
I you ever come across a solution to disable this message for the Home Edition, let me know.
Best Regards,
Robert.
March 8, 2006 at 22:01
Jan
You are a Legend!! Thanks, I nearly stabbed my screen with a screwdriver every time it popped up. I still cannot figure out the purpose of the message except to annoy the crap out of you and tell you something you should already know!!
Dave
March 11, 2006 at 4:41
I have home edition and also have the advanced tab on my contoller
April 21, 2006 at 15:09
Only a subset of the “USB Devices” under the manager are really chips that have an advanced tab – some will be your mouse or older, dumber “hubs” that aren’t as flexible.
I am grateful for this fix – however the “ignore all errors” seems a bit extreme. I’d be happier if the annoying popup had a check-box “[ ] Don’t show me this again” – assuming the checkbox would actually work.
April 28, 2006 at 20:23
Robert,
I have the home edtion and found the solution… You need to configure the Device Manager to show the advance tab and more detals:
To configure Device Manager to show details:
1. Click Start, click Run, type: cmd.exe, and then press ENTER.
2. Type: set DEVMGR_SHOW_DETAILS=1, and then press ENTER.
3. Type: start devmgmt.msc, and then press ENTER.
Now go to the device manager, expand the Universal Device Controlers, right click on ony of your USB controllers and choose Properties. You will see the Advanced tab now. :^)
May 3, 2006 at 3:14
Where did you learn stuff like DEVMGR_SHOW_DETAILS=1??? I want to take that class!!
May 23, 2006 at 14:59
Superb! Thanks a lot Sir!
May 26, 2006 at 3:02
Keep a good job up!
June 7, 2006 at 11:04
Thank you!! Now that the message is disabled I only get an annoying ‘dinging’ every few seconds!! Does anyone have a solution for that?
June 7, 2006 at 11:12
forget it!! I was testing a new 4 port mini hub. As soon as a attached an actual device to the hub the ‘dinging’ stopped.
June 7, 2006 at 22:13
Well, it still shouldn’t do that, but glad the recipe was of use to you.
July 23, 2006 at 14:21
I have been trying to months now to fix the USB 2.0 message on my T40. I have USB 2.0 ports but Windows wont recognize them as such. I have tried many different solutions but my lapto still will not recognize the ports USB 2.0. Cna you point me in the right direction?
July 23, 2006 at 15:42
Maybe this will help you: A discussion about the same problem on WinDrivers.
Then again, maybe you’re “dmtarr” who entered the question there? 🙂
August 8, 2006 at 23:10
Wow, such an easy fix for such an annoying problem. I have been plagued with it on my aging inspiron 8200 and finally it is gone.
You would think Windows would include some hint at how to turn this off. Gah. Thanks so much for the very clear and useful help.
September 29, 2006 at 13:13
I have this problem due to the USB1.1 inherent in my KVM switch, and no alternative switches on the market for this particular application, and it was driving me nuts to see it every time I switched to the Windows system. This fix (also in the MS KnowledgeBase) does the trick for getting rid of this nuisance. My only concern with this fix is that it supresses ALL error messages, not just this one. There are some messages, I would like to keep getting. For example, if the power plug for a USB hub that needs the power for something connected to it accidentally gets pulled out, I would like to still get a message about it.
It sure seems like there would be a way to alter the registry to have it not check for USB version at all, and leave the other things it checks intact. Maybe it’s not set up to use the registry that way, but that seems like just the kind of thing the registry is commonly used to configure. Does anyone know about this?
December 20, 2006 at 12:25
Babas, you are my hero. Thanks 🙂
January 1, 2007 at 15:09
i entered what babas had said, but still no ‘advanced’ tab 🙁 can anyone help?
January 12, 2007 at 16:58
Two years later, and still helping people with this solution! Many thanks!
http://sfwriter.com
February 25, 2007 at 12:59
thanks indeed… i can identfy with the guy who wanted to screwdriver stab his monitor over this. windows seems ok most of the time then stuff like this makes you hate it / want to stab it etc. most annoying message ever.
March 3, 2007 at 18:50
I purchased an external HD today, and when I connect it to my USB port (either one of 2) I get the same problem I do with my Palm T|X. It connects/disconnects then connects/disconnects then connects/disconnects etc. I can tell the HD is doing the same thing because it clicks, then slient then clicks again, then silent then clicks again.
my iPod connects fine, so does my flash (thumb) drive and the device manager says all of the ports are fine. What could be going on here? Any suggestions how to fix it?
March 4, 2007 at 19:04
Thank you SO MUCH for this easy fix!!!
Mike–Sounds to me like your new hard drive is DOA. Have you tried it on another machine? Is it powered by the USB port or does it have an a/c adapter?
March 6, 2007 at 18:11
Yeah, for Mike’s external HD, I’d also suspect it was a power problem. But for the Palm…? Shouldn’t be.
Mike, does it make any difference if you connect the Palm through a USB hub or directly to the computer’s USB?
March 8, 2007 at 8:42
To be clear, there are a number of devices for which USB 2.0 does not buy anything (mouse, keyboard, webcam). This is where the need to disable the @#*($&(!#$ is useful.
March 9, 2007 at 19:33
Thanks for all the help!
The external HD was powered by the USB port. When I connected it directly to the computer it wouldnt work, so I took it back and am thinking of trying one with an A/C power source.
Any ideas about the Palm?
March 12, 2007 at 15:17
Great! That does the trick. I’ve been annoyed with this message the moment I put a new usb-hub on an old P3 machine, but this solution works. Many thanks!
March 14, 2007 at 3:53
Ah! Thankyou sooo much! I was sooo sick of that stupid message!
March 28, 2007 at 16:59
Thanks! I really didn’t want to take my machine apart and install USB2 just for downloading pictures once in a while, so it’s nice to get rid of the message.
April 3, 2007 at 5:09
I have suffered with this stupid message for a long time since buying more up to date printers etc. Every time it pops up it disconnects the printer in the middle of a job too! I now have a brand new computer with allegedly 8 usb 2 ports but the message Still pops up!!! Even though there is a check box in Vista that asks you if you don’t want the message – it still tells you!!!
Am going to try one of your solutions to this very exasperating problem!! Thank you.
April 6, 2007 at 2:36
Great solution!! One of my computers is an “oldie” but it runs XP perfectly. Exept for that &%#)*!@ “perform faster” messages. And since i do not have any need for a fast usb port to connect my printer, scanner and card reader, i can do very well without those freaking messages!! And over 2 years later your solution still rocks!!
May 20, 2007 at 19:59
My Thinkpad is running WinXP SP2 Pro Edition.
It only supports USB 1.1.
I want to stop the annoying “This device can run faster..” message, but there is not advanced tab on any of my USB controllers in device manager.
I even tried the trick for home edition above” Type: set DEVMGR_SHOW_DETAILS=1, and then press ENTER”. Still no advanced tab.
Any help appreciated!
June 9, 2007 at 3:52
Hello all,
My question may be off-topic, but this thread comes closest to what I am looking for…
How do I find out on a Windows box, which usb port is connected to which usb controller?
(don’t laugh, I could not find the answer so far)
Many thanks,
The Boogyman.
June 15, 2007 at 16:08
I’ve had this problem before and its to do with power management settings. To fix this do:
1. Control panel
2. Device manager
3. In the list open up Universal Serial Bus Controllers
4. On the USB Root Hub right click and properties
5. Click on the power management tab
6. Untick allow the computer to turn off this device to save power
This should resolve the issue.
June 16, 2007 at 23:07
Seems my PC is running an hybrid of XP Pro and Hope. It says PRO (should be considering the price) but I didn’t get the Advanced tab.
Following the thread, I found the trick for XP Home, applied it, and it worked for my XP Pro!
Thanks to all of you guys.
New Chti
PS: June 07, still happy with my IBM X30 with a 1.1 Mhz proc, good enough for my professional software, I don’t use this PC for heavy graphic games.
August 13, 2007 at 22:29
Thanks! That balloon was making me start grinding my teeth >.
August 21, 2007 at 9:52
Glad my fix was able to alleviate the annoying USB “device can perform faster” message. I had no idea so many people were plagued by this problem!
August 21, 2007 at 23:06
Hi Kevin, I’m glad you stopped by. 🙂
And thanks for the useful hack.
I’ve outlived my own USB 1.1 machine, but yes, people are still finding this post through Google.
August 23, 2007 at 9:50
“stuart // Jan 2, 2006 at 11:15
Hi. Read the above and this is not a fix for the problem. The usbs will only be working slow / not usb 2. I had loads of trouble with this issue. Eventualy fixed it by installing sevice pack 2 and booting with no usb devices connected. Then looked in device manager and updated all the usb drivers manualy. Also had a yelloy ? mark higher up on the device manager list – something to do with usb. Updated that driver and everything is fine now. normal usb is only 11mbs high speed is 480mbs so it is important to actually fix this problem properly..”
Stuart,
I have SP2 installed already. Mine still shows like that. Do I have to reinstall it? Can I even do that? I tried updating the USB Drivers, which where from 2001 or 02, but when doing the automatically online it says there are no better drivers available. Any way to fix it so it operates high speed. I did a 1.24GB transfer, took me 1270 seconds. Less then 1 MB per Second!
Thanks for any help. email me if u want, @ fantabuluos (at) gmail.com
THANKS!
September 13, 2007 at 9:09
I really hope this works.
September 16, 2007 at 13:50
I thought there had to be a way to do this, it’s been annoying me for years!
September 26, 2007 at 12:03
Thanks. This was really beginning to piss me off.
February 20, 2008 at 0:57
"MarP // Aug 23, 2007 at 9:50 “stuart // Jan 2, 2006 at 11:15 Hi. Read the above and this is not a fix for the problem. The usbs will only be working slow / not usb 2. I had loads of trouble with this issue. Eventualy fixed it by installing sevice pack 2 and booting with no usb devices connected. Then looked in device manager and updated all the usb drivers manualy. Also had a yelloy ? mark higher up on the device manager list – something to do with usb. Updated that driver and everything is fine now. normal usb is only 11mbs high speed is 480mbs so it is important to actually fix this problem properly..”Stuart,
I have SP2 installed already. Mine still shows like that. Do I have to reinstall it? Can I even do that? I tried updating the USB Drivers, which where from 2001 or 02, but when doing the automatically online it says there are no better drivers available. Any way to fix it so it operates high speed. I did a 1.24GB transfer, took me 1270 seconds. Less then 1 MB per Second!
Thanks for any help. email me if u want, @ fantabuluos (at) gmail.com
THANKS!"
I am having the same problem. Can anyone suggest any fix for this problem.
Thanks.
April 28, 2008 at 22:22
“#
Dan January 1, 2007 15:09
i entered what babas had said, but still no ‘advanced’ tab 🙁 can anyone help?”
I’m having exactly the same problem
It must be a Dan thing…
July 5, 2008 at 4:39
Thank you, this same stupid pop-up has been coming up
ever since I installed a new Canon printer… arrrggg!
Your advice did the trick! It is no more! Oh, and I
have XP home edition and it has the “Advanced” tab. I had to search for “Device Manager”, but that’s due to
my not dinking around much in that area and not being
familiar with it. Between this “nag” and the “nag”
from AOL to upgrade every fifteen minutes I was ready
to pull my hair out. Both are gone, and hopefully
never to return! You’re the best!
Diana
July 16, 2008 at 10:59
I had this as well, except it turned out that I just didn’t have the proper driver for the USB ports. When I updated the driver, my external HDD was working way better.
November 22, 2008 at 10:17
Thanks for this fix, I have been having to click the “x” on that balloon for the longest time, I never thought to look for the answer on google but I am glad I did. And thanks to Babas for the directions on how to find the Device manager.
November 24, 2008 at 22:01
I have an internal webcam with my laptop that is 2.0 but is not connected to the 2.0 hub. I have 1 2.0 hub and 5 1.x hubs plus the webcam. My problem is that even when I turn of the error messages for the hubs my webcam still gets disconnected because it is 2.0.
The thing is that it runs fine untill this error occurs. Now turning off the error message did not stop MS$T from stopping the camera. How can I stop it from thinking this is an actual error? I just want my webcam to work for longer than 2 minutes.
I am using XP Pro SP2. I tried updating to SP3 but that just leads to an endless hang and I do not think SP3 has any usb controller updates.
Please let me know if you have any ideas that may help.
And btw this worked well on my parents computer Thank you.
Dave
December 17, 2008 at 14:29
I too get the message “This device can run faster if connected to a USB 2 port” whenever I plug in my iPhone to sync with my six-year old ThinkPad T-40 (2372-72U/XP SP3). Some discussion on the ThinkPad forums suggest the problem is a failing motherboard, a condition called “flexing”–where the soldered joints on the motherboard are deteriorating with mobo failure imminent. (UTube has some videos showing heatgun treatment to cure the problem.) Yet I did not discover any reference to “flexing” in this thread. How can I tell if the message relfects deteriorating hardware or a software mixup–or both? 2075rps
December 17, 2008 at 16:05
Hi Russ,
Do you mean that your USB port is a USB 2 port that is behaving as a USB 1 port (thus causing the message to display) because of a loose connection? That sounds unlikely seeing as (as far as I know) USB 1 and 2 have the same plug and connectors, so a loose connection would lead to failure, not to “downgrading” of the port.
December 18, 2008 at 8:11
Unless, I suppose, there’s something mysteriously tricky in the software that makes this message come up, something triggered by a loose connection. I don’t know any way to tell whether the drive is working at 11 or 480 mbs. Also, I now notice that when I plug in a travel drive (either a Memorex 16GB or a San Disk 4GB) the same message comes up as with the iPhone. I’m told by the balloon that the device (iPhone or flash drives) could perform faster if plugged into a USB 2.0. But, presumably, they already are–since the ThinkPad T-40 has two such ports. Switching ports made no difference. I did install SP3 for XP around the same time. BIOS shows that USB is enabled, but I don’t know how to tell which IRQ is involved or if that even matters. Kind of you to respond.
March 22, 2009 at 0:14
the trick went fine but also transfering files to my USB is very slow like 600kb/sec and please help me out. and is this the driver problem???
March 30, 2009 at 10:39
NAREN,
If you indeed have USB 2.0 hardware AND you are running Windows XP with SP3 installed, then try to install Microsoft hotfix KB945436. This should help you for sure.
March 31, 2009 at 14:55
THANK GOD! That was SO annoying, I didn’t think anyone else had the same problem :). Thanks a MILLION.
July 13, 2009 at 13:57
Unfortunately this solution won’t work on Vista or on XP systems for which you are not an admin (locked down by company IT, etc).
Here’s a solution I figured out which will work for both XP and Vista and does not require admin privileges: http://aminsabet.tumblr.com/post/140989970/this-device-can-perform-faster-usb-2-0-a-solution
November 18, 2009 at 10:55
I have a French version of Windows XP home, and I’m missing the advanced button there… I have an USB 2.0 wireless network adapter connected, and usually within 2 hours of turning the pc on it gives me the “this device could work faster” message and my pc crashes after 5 sec, really annoying. Any ideas anyone?
January 6, 2010 at 23:31
Thank you for your great tip. Annoying XP be gone.
.-= Wulton´s last blog ..From Nature – Kangaroom Bamboo Laptop Stand and Charging Station Review =-.
March 15, 2010 at 10:29
5 years after the original post (!) … just picked up a cheap dock for my old Thinkpad and got this error. Thanks for helping me get rid of it.
July 31, 2010 at 11:37
ROLF! I guess some things are just not worth the time!!!
March 27, 2012 at 15:42
This is great, I’ve been dealing with this problem for years, and have searched in vain for a solution several times before. I hope your useful fix continues to rank highly in the search engines so others can find it. Thanks a million.