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Church and H.O.W. – Forums for HOW Sound and AV - Your Displayed Name Must Be Your Real Full Name To Post In The Church and HOW Forums => H.O.W. AV => Topic started by: Stephen Swaffer on July 16, 2015, 10:19:57 pm

Title: iMacs and USB port issues
Post by: Stephen Swaffer on July 16, 2015, 10:19:57 pm

We started using an iMac for our main media computer last winter.  Two issue with usb I have run into.

First, incompatibility with USB hubs.  I have all USB ports in use, plus plugging in to the back is a pain.  I bought a hub that was supposed to be Mac compatible, but the iMac refuses to recognize it.  Recommendations for a reliable hub?  Preference is with its own power supply.

Secondly,  last Sunday with no changes between a video preview on Sat night and Sunday AM, our Scarlett 18i20 refused to connect.  Ultimately, swapping USB cables did not help-and plugging the mouse into the port the Scarlett had been attached to seemed to indicate that port was dead.  Eventually, I got the Scarlett to work on a different port-and then finally on the original port.  No software or setting changes.  Obviously, I have my misgivings in relying on the current status quo going forward.

Thoughts?

Title: Re: iMacs and USB port issues
Post by: Milt Hathaway on July 16, 2015, 10:39:14 pm

If it's an iMac with Thunderbolt capability I would look into running something like a Thunderbolt dock or Thunderbolt to USB adaptor. This will give you external USB ports that are not dependent upon the (apparently flaky) ones internal to your iMac.

There are a number of Thunderbolt docks out there that in addition to giving you additional USB 3.0 ports will also add more external display ports, firewire ports, and ethernet ports.