On Tue, 2008-01-22 at 08:23 +0800, Ed Greshko wrote: > Craig White wrote: > > On Mon, 2008-01-21 at 15:22 -0500, Lamar Owen wrote: > >> On Monday 21 January 2008, Craig White wrote: > >>> The guy from tech > >>> support told me that he was unconcerned and that if the cable appeared > >>> to be undamaged, it in all likelihood wasn't the problem and that in his > >>> view, all commercially available USB device cables (6 foot and less) > >>> were suitable for using with their USB 2.0 drives. > >>> I have seen nothing to disprove that statement, either from my own > >>> experience nor even the anecdotal experience of others. Only Tim's > >>> theories and Tim is long on theories. > >> > >> There was a slip of paper in the box with my 80GB WD PassPort drive that > >> warned to always use the supplied cable, and that the drive might not work > >> with other cables, and to not use extensions. My own experience trying to > >> use another cable, one that was the same length but had been supplied with a > >> USB multi-card reader (SanDisk branded), indicated that this was in fact > >> true, as the PassPort did not spin up with the SanDisk USB 2.0 cable, but > >> would with the supplied WD cable. > >> > >> Please see > >> http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1336&p_created=1112290978&p_sid=cVO3XkWi&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9Mjk2LDI5NiZwX3Byb2RzPTAmcF9jYXRzPTAmcF9wdj0mcF9jdj0mcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT1hbnN3ZXJzLnNlYXJjaF9mbmwmcF9wYWdlPTEmcF9zZWFyY2hfdGV4dD1zdXBwbGllZCBjYWJsZQ**&p_li=&p_topview=1 > >> and > >> http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1297&p_created=1102368573&p_sid=cVO3XkWi&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9Mjk2LDI5NiZwX3Byb2RzPTAmcF9jYXRzPTAmcF9wdj0mcF9jdj0mcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT1hbnN3ZXJzLnNlYXJjaF9mbmwmcF9wYWdlPTEmcF9zZWFyY2hfdGV4dD1zdXBwbGllZCBjYWJsZQ**&p_li=&p_topview=1 > > ---- > > the cable that they suggested not to use was a specific type of cable > > that doesn't use normal shielding. > > > > But thanks...you did find a cable that didn't work properly. What do you > > suppose was the problem with the cable that didn't work properly? > > Gee....are you saying "Tim was right"? ---- If I am compelled to offer an yes/no answer, I'll still punt. Tim's was being pejorative and frankly I'm a bit confused as to why you have jumped on with him but so be it. What Lamar didn't say is that the WD Passport is not a typical USB drive but happens to be one that draws power in addition to transfer signal via the USB bus and so the demands on the cable are clearly greater. As it was pointed out in the first link, it is recommended to only use the supplied cable so it is not entirely clear that just any USB 2.0 cable would be sufficient at all. Aren't you just the least bit troubled by the fact that this discussion has gone on for greater than a day and only one anecdotal report of an insufficient cable has appeared? And even that one is not a typical device? If the exception proves the rule, then clearly by your inference I would be right but this discussion was never about right or wrong as I saw it anyway...the thread started with Summerfield stating... > > Speed aside, they're interchangeable (though perhaps the older cables > might not be up to 2.0 spec). to which I replied... > I had the service manager from Edge Technologies (appeared to be > knowledgeable) tell me that all standard USB cables are suitable for > USB > 2.0 and Tim proceeds to do technical specification dump on USB specifications which I have no dispute with whatsoever except that my real life experiences have mirrored that which I was told...a decent USB cable should work for his standard USB 2.0 drive. What your axe is here, I don't know but myself, I tire when hearing people dump endless technical detail that has proved to be irrelevant in my experiences. Interestingly enough, every other technology that you tried to drag in were significantly flawed and problematic in crossing boundary standards but personally, I have not had problems with USB cables - period. Craig
