hari-bhari

I have a thinkpad R50 and I have been trying to get it to maintain USB power in sleep mode so I can have my GPS mouse maintain my position. Otherwise I have to wait a couple of minutes each time which can be a chore. I went into device manager and went into each usb root hub and disabled the option to power off to save battery. I tried doing it for my 'generic usb hub' to which all my devices are connected, but I don't have the same option there. I also looked through bios and disabled all the power saving features to no avail. I looked under power state mapping of the Generic USB Hub and saw that D1-->S3 and all the following D2 and onwards were also S3. I guess this has something to do with it shutting off. How can I change this option? I used this exact hub on my other computer and it maintained power during sleep so I know its not hub related.

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turbocad6

why don't you just pick up a bu-353, they lock really quick... either that or splice into your gps cable & power it with a 5v pol supply maybe?...

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hari-bhari

because i already have my entire system installed and running.

bearfx

Their probably is not a way to force your thinkpad to maintain USB Power, but their are some alternatives.

1) Buy a powered USB hub and patch it into your vehicle power supply or otherwise provide it power. Plug your components into the hub and the hub into your PC. Your components will maintain power without depending on the PC.

2) Use voltage regulators to convert your vehicle DC to a stable 5V and patch it into the USB cable. This accomplishes the same thing as #1, but can provide a cleaner/smaller solution. I actually did this to provide some USB power ports in my truck... It is an easy way charge my phone/iPod/MP3 player/bluetooth headset.

I actually used three three-terminal positive voltage regulators LM78M05, One to convert vehicle power to a stable 12V with a maximum current of 1amp and that feeds two 5V output regulators at 1amp apiece. Each 5v regulator powers one USB connection.

I really like it when gadgets use a standard miniusb connector to recharge or otherwise power themselves. It helps to cut down on "cable-clutter" when everything charges from one connector and voltage...

FordNoMore

Just FYI, on my desktop PC it actually takes jumper settings on the motherboard to enable USB power during sleep. I'm almost sure a laptop wouldn't have that option, but it's at least another avenue to explore.

Also, if you don't feel comfortable making your own 5V power regulator from scratch, you could consider hacking into a USB car charger (like you'd use for a cell phone or MP3 player). Purpose-built to take messy car voltages and give a nice 5V USB level.

Good luck, anyway. (And don't drain the battery...)

hari-bhari

thanks for the tips guys. ive already got a p2140 power supply, so ill just have to set that to maintain the 5v output. in the updated firmware, this option was gone, so ill either have to revert back or rig it so that it stays on constant

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