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yet another Microsoft blogger

# Tuesday, December 28, 2004

USB Devices

I have always wondered why Windows treats a USB device plugged into one port as a brand new usb device when plugged into another port. My Mac never did this, or at least it was never apparent. However, the fact of the matter is, Windows makes it very obvious to you when you've added new hardware, even if that is a USB KeyChain drive or something. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.

At least I know that this is because the device does not have a serial number (Thanks Raymond for the explanation):

"In other words: Things suck because (1) things were already in bad shape—this would not have been a problem if the device had a proper serial number—and (2) once you're in this bad state, the alternative sucks more. The USB stack is just trying to make the best of a bad situation without making it any worse."

This can pretty much some up most of technology. Compatibility is king.

Posted Tuesday, December 28, 2004    Permalink    Comments [2]  View blog reactions

 

Wednesday, December 29, 2004 7:23:13 AM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)
Thanks for posting this Omar. This is one of the most infuriating things Windows does IMO. I have to take great care to plug devices into the right USB slots to avoid the hassle of going through the whole Hardware Wizard drill again.

And you're right - the Mac OS does not have this problem.
Thursday, December 30, 2004 12:09:06 AM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)
Does anyone else find it strange that you must unmount USB key drives in windows... by clicking on the tray?

it's worse than clicking on start to shut down! (not to mention that windows users never had to unmount drives to begin with)
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