USB devices die off in 20 min. HELP ?

Got a small problem thought someone here can help before I go crazy.

Im using a Dell latitude c600 to run a lilli, a rikaline 6010 and one of those USB mini keyboards made for playstations. The laptop runs from a modified sine wave inverter. The laptop sits in the trunk along with the inverter. VGA, USB and power cables run from the back to the dash from under the door sill.

The problem: in about 20-30 minutes after starting off, all USB devices starts getting disconnected/connected/disconnected....

Know that noise XP makes when you plug in and out any USB device? well it keeps making that noise as if someones sitting there and pulling out the USB cord randomly.

The laptop does get pretty hot, but the fan does come on, so I feel that should not be the issue though it would explain why it waits 20-30 min to start acting up ..

I have even tried a PCMCIA USB card to make sure the USB port on my laptop wasnt defective. same problem...

Any Help/suggestion is welcome.

bump

anyone ?

Have you tried diabling all your powersave feature in Bios and Windows?

It is annoying on portables, they try to conserver power in case you're on batteries.

Hi anik321,
I think the problem is that your laptop can't give the power required to the USB ports, it starts working but when the 5v regulator gets hot it stops working or starts working irregularily, then the USB devices get disconnected and connected again. If after trying all the power saving options euro320i told you the problem persists I'd buy an external powered usb hub, I'm quite sure it will solve the problem.
See you!

Blanqui and euro,

thanx for the tip! I will turn off all power saving options. But it does run from the inverter and not the batteries so would that still cause the problem ?

I already thought of the USB devices not recieving enough power so I indeed bought a powered USB hub.

I put the hub at the end of the USB extension cable coming from the trunk.

maybe if I put it before the the extension cord...

its a little frustrating if I have to get a whole new computer...

I have a question alone these lines. How is everyone powering their USB hubs? Some of my devices (slim dvd drive) require a hub w/ external power. Should i get this from the car's 12v and step it down, or use the Opus's 5v out that's used for devices like hard drives?

I tried to take 12v from the battery and use a 5v regulator. it was rated for 1A and my hub was rated at 2.5A, and even w/ no devices on the hub, the regulator got very hot. Maybe this isn't the best approach?

Currently i'm running an EPIA M10000, 3.5" harddrive, and 2 micro fans. How much can the PS handle?

i on connected a few USB devices. Right now the touchscreen and GPS are on it, but i want to connect my slim DVD drive and Wifi adaptor.