[Barnyard]

I have an iMac Intel duo with 512MB RAM. After about two weeks of things running smoothly, I got the following error message:

USB Over Current Notice
A USB device is currently drawing too much power. The hub it is attached to will be deactivated.

I was using a USB hub that draws irs power from the computer, so I disconnected it and bought a Belkin 2.0 hub that has its own power source. That seemed to solve the broblem, but now, a bout ten days later, the problem is back and I am getting the same message. When it happened the second time, I was using Apple's bluetooth keyboard, so the only USB devices connected were: the 2.0 self-powered Belkin hub, an Apple Mightymouse, a Dazzle card reader and, occasionally, an iPod Mini and a Polaroid digital camera.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

BTW my room mate's G4 Power Mac (mirror doors) has been running for a couple of years without such a problem--in fact, he has been using Macs for over 20 years (i.e. throughout the USB period) without encountering this problem.

[ThunderPoit]

i ran into this problem with belkin hubs before. on the side, there is a little switch that determines if it uses its own power or bus power, at least, on the tw that i own, there is.

[FFL]

the iPod mini will definitely cause such a message on an underpowered hub. Maybe you should try hooking it up directly.

not sure about the Dazzle, but it might also have problems.

First thing to try, though, is the switch on the hub that ThunderPoit mentioned.

[Windowsrookie]

make sure the hub is pluged in.

[Chris A]

Thanks for the tips. None worked and neither did the attempts dictated to me by Apple.

Update: Today, at Apple's suggestion, I brought my iMac in for a diagnosis. It turns out that the problem lies with the logic board--the Tek-Serve technician told me that this particular problem is not uncommon in the Intel duo core iMacs. It will take a week to replace the logic board.

Bernard (using a friend's Mac)

[Chris A]

I thought I had put this problem behind me, but--even after Tekserve replaced the logic board--it came back. I called Apple and spoke to reps in India as well as California, but none had a solution. If this is, indeed, a recurring iMac Intel problem, they are not about to admit it. When I thought the over-powered hub was my external one, I replaced it with a better one, but it turned out to be the internal hub that caused the problem. When I got the iMac back, supposedly with a new logic board, it worked fine, but could not communicate with my HP Laserjet 1200, which previously had not been troublesome. I therefore bought a new HP printer for my new logicboard. Well, that worked well all day yesterday, but not this morning. Whenever the printer was plugged in (directly to the back of the iMac) the "over current" message popped up and told me that it had disengaged my hub (the internal one). Thus I could only use wireless keyboard and mouse, which I happened to have on another machine). The moment I unplug the printer, the dreaded message disappears and the machine works normally. This morning, I took the machine back to Tekserve.

If it doesn't work this time, does anyone out there think Apple can be persuaded to replace the iMac--has anybody had such an experience?

Barnyard (Bernard)

[bassplayinMacFiend]

Your iMac has to fail with the same problem 3x before Apple will think about replacing it.

Does it count that so many other people are having the exact same problem?