USB port disabled for drawing too much power

Hi, Last night I put my computer to sleep and I woke up this morning to the error message saying

"Because a USB device was drawing too much power from your computer, one or more of your USB devices have been disabled. To prevent damaging your computer, the USB device drawing too much power has been disabled. Other devices may have also been disabled. When you disconnect the device drawing too much power, your other USB devices will be enabled again."

The device that isn't working is a Razer Naga mouse.
It doesn't work on my iMAC nor on my Mac Book Pro.

Doesn't show up on the system profiler either

Maybe others will have different experiences but in my case that message was an indication the device was failing. Initially I was getting the error initially with the Mac Book Pro but with a bit of troubleshooting noticed it on a Mac Pro as well.

The device that isn't working is a Razer Naga mouse.
It doesn't work on my iMAC nor on my Mac Book Pro.

Doesn't show up on the system profiler either

Click to expand...

Slydude is correct. The fact that your mouse refuses to work on both the iMac and MBP and doesn't show up in System Profiler, is a fairly good indication that it may be defective.

I am getting the same message with both my newly replaced Nano as well as my iPod Touch G4. Can they both be defective at the same time? The Nano is about a month old and is the replacement for one that was about 2 1/2 years old still under Apple Care. The iPod Touch was bought in March 2011.

Before I started getting this message the Nano went black when I tried to turn it on. Then I plugged it into the wall socket thinking that the battery was dead. Nothing happened. So I plugged it into my computer and that's when I got the message.

That was several days ago. Now when I plug my Touch into the computer I get the message sometimes immediately after plugging it in and sometimes it might take about 5 minutes during which time I am able to sync it. It's not consistent.

Using the same cable to attach both of them?

Use a different cable. Had the same thing yesterday on the wife's MB connecting her iPhone. Same thing using her cable on two other Macs. Changed the cable and problem went away.

Problem Solved

bobtomay said:

Using the same cable to attach both of them?

Use a different cable. Had the same thing yesterday on the wife's MB connecting her iPhone. Same thing using her cable on two other Macs. Changed the cable and problem went away.

Click to expand...

I tried this and so far it has worked for me. Thanks, Bob. Saved me a lot of money.

Thanks also to the forums. So far each time I have come here with problems they have been solved by information gotten here.

Glad to be of service.

usb port disabled for drawing too much power

I have this same problem with my macbook pro. The device is a SIIG fan/light that plugs into the usb port for power. I've had the fan for awhile with no problems. Today I get the message mentioned by other members. I restarted the mac but I get the same message and the port doesn't power the fan.

Ideas?

Hi all,
I just joined the forum to ask the same question. I have switched to Mac recently and started to get the same message above when connecting an external HDD. I have MacBook Pro early 2011 model.
Each time I plug in my external HDD I get the above message. The ports seems to be working if I connect other USB devices like USB Flash or external keyboard.

I tried disconnecting the battery for several hours but didn't help.
Do you thing guys that it is my HDD or cable that is causing the issue?

Thanks for any help...
Daniel,

You can always swap the cable to check it, however, it sounds more like your hard drive is drawing too much power. What kind and size is it? Also, do not keep plugging it in to your MBP as that could damage the port if indeed something is wrong with the drive.

Thanks for your reply chscag.

Actually the external HDD is the Mac's old HDD which I replaced with SSD drive for performance ( I put the old HDD in a case and use it as external HDD.)

Thanks,

Daniel

OK, thanks for posting back. The carrier case may be at fault. I've run into USB carrier cases that didn't work right. All I can suggest for now is not to use the drive until you can determine what is causing the excessive power draw.

You might want to try another carrier case or perhaps an adaptor. I keep a universal adapter handy for testing plus several different types of carrier cases.

Good advice! I'll try and post back.
Thanks heaps!

Daniel,

Do you get the same message if you connect the drive to a powered USB hub?

hi i get the same message when i connect my external hdd to my mac mini. the external hdd is powered so don't know why its saying drawing to much power. I now have three of the four ports unusable now? how can i get the usb ports working again? will a complete reinstall of os help restore function to them?

Enable USB Ports

To enable the USB ports again, you must follow these steps.

1. Power off your computer
2. Press the power button
3. When you hear the start up chime, press and hold Command, Option, P, and R until you hear the start up chime again.
4. Let go of the keys. This reset the PRAM, (The Parameter Random Access Memory)
5. Let it start up.
6. Then shut it down again and remove all cords. (Even the power cord)
7. Remove battery if your computer has one.
8. Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds.
9. When done, put battery back in and plug your machine back in. This resets your SMC, (Your System Management Controller)
10. You should be good to go.

11. If this does not work, contact Applecare. Your product may be broken.