WD Element and USB hub workability

hnQ · 11-27-2009, 11:05 AM

Hi all,
I am planning to have:
[1] Western Digital External Hard Drive, supplied 12V and USB 2.0 type B port.
[2] Western Digital Live Media Player, supplied 12V/1.5A and USB 2.0 port.
[3] PC (XP)
Given [1] & [2] are compatible (said by manufacturer).
And [2] & [3] will never access to [1] at the same time, by choice.

Question:
I will have an USB hub at [1] end, tee-off to [2] & [3], so will the USB hub work?
If not, is there anything else I can do to make them to work together without the physical attach/re-attach routine? (Networking is not an option, sorry)

Thanks

Dogg · 11-27-2009, 11:26 AM

No. Hubs have one input which attaches to the source, and then multiple ports for connection to other devices. You can't attach the source to an end device.

There are no switches or other devices that I'm aware of for sharing a single devices to multiple sources.

**raptor_pa** · 11-27-2009, 11:47 AM

There may be a USB type switch similar to a KVM switch or the old printer switches, but I haven't seen one, of course, I hadn't looked for one either... the devices definitely need to be switched, and even at that, changing the data source maqy require rebooting the USB drive

11-27-2009, 11:05 AM	#1 (permalink)
hnQ Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 6 OS: XP	WD Element and USB hub workability Hi all, I am planning to have: [1] Western Digital External Hard Drive, supplied 12V and USB 2.0 type B port. [2] Western Digital Live Media Player, supplied 12V/1.5A and USB 2.0 port. [3] PC (XP) Given [1] & [2] are compatible (said by manufacturer). And [2] & [3] will never access to [1] at the same time, by choice. Question: I will have an USB hub at [1] end, tee-off to [2] & [3], so will the USB hub work? If not, is there anything else I can do to make them to work together without the physical attach/re-attach routine? (Networking is not an option, sorry) Thanks Last edited by hnQ; 11-27-2009 at 11:17 AM.

11-27-2009, 11:26 AM	#2 (permalink)
Dogg Tech Hardware Team Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: St Louis, MO Posts: 3,351 OS: XP sp3 My System	Re: WD Element and USB hub workability No. Hubs have one input which attaches to the source, and then multiple ports for connection to other devices. You can't attach the source to an end device. There are no switches or other devices that I'm aware of for sharing a single devices to multiple sources. __________________ Google is your friend !

11-27-2009, 11:47 AM	#3 (permalink)
raptor_pa Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Central PA Posts: 5,814 OS: XP	Re: WD Element and USB hub workability There may be a USB type switch similar to a KVM switch or the old printer switches, but I haven't seen one, of course, I hadn't looked for one either... the devices definitely need to be switched, and even at that, changing the data source maqy require rebooting the USB drive __________________