QHY5-II device descriptor failed???

[wuthton]

Hello,

I've been using a QHY5-II as a guidecam for most of this year, all has been fine up until last night when the camera would not connect. 

Windows gave an error along the lines of "the last USB device connected malfunctioned and Windows could not connect". Device manager gives the error as "Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems (code 43)" and "A request for the USB device descriptor failed".

I've tried two different PCs, three USB leads and reinstalled the drivers to no effect. 

I've issued a support ticket with QHYCCD but I thought I'd check here too just in case I'm doing something stupid and whether a tech-guru could point me in the right direction?

Matt. 

[Thalestris24]

Hi

Only to mention that you may need to do a system reset after a problem which is almost always usb-related rather than camera-related per se. Apparently, the camera loads the 'firmware' dynamically into it's memory as a first step so if this fails the camera won't work. I've had trouble with mine not working with usb 3.0 ports on a 32-bit system though work ok with usb 3.0 on a 64 bit system. Bandwidth can be a problem - if usb 2.0, it needs to be connected to a high-speed port (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB) which is preferably not shared though you might get away with sharing with a low-speed device. Cables can also be problematic - good quality, high-speed ones are preferable, kept well away from switching psu mains leads.

Louise

[wuthton]

Hi

Only to mention that you may need to do a system reset after a problem which is almost always usb-related rather than camera-related per se. Apparently, the camera loads the 'firmware' dynamically into it's memory as a first step so if this fails the camera won't work. I've had trouble with mine not working with usb 3.0 ports on a 32-bit system though work ok with usb 3.0 on a 64 bit system. Bandwidth can be a problem - if usb 2.0, it needs to be connected to a high-speed port (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB) which is preferably not shared though you might get away with sharing with a low-speed device. Cables can also be problematic - good quality, high-speed ones are preferable, kept well away from switching psu mains leads.

Louise

Louise,

Many thanks for the reply and your thoughts were the same as my initial suspicions as my astro-pc has a spaghetti of USB connections.

I took the camera inside to test it on my desktop (USB 3.0, 64 bit, no other USB connections) only to get the same result with a good quality, short cable. It was working fine on both machines.

Matt.

[Thalestris24]

Hmm... maybe a dirty/damaged connector on the camera? Does the led come on?

[wuthton]

Hmm... maybe a dirty/damaged connector on the camera? Does the led come on?

No... But I think it only comes on when the camera is operating/taking images. I'm not sure though, I've never really paid attention.

[Thalestris24]

No... But I think it only comes on when the camera is operating/taking images. I'm not sure though, I've never really paid attention.

I think the led should come on once the 'firmware' has successfully loaded and doesn't go off unless you unplug it. I'd double check the camera connector with a magnifying glass. If the connector is ok, maybe the camera has developed a fault...

[wuthton]

I think the led should come on once the 'firmware' has successfully loaded and doesn't go off unless you unplug it. I'd double check the camera connector with a magnifying glass. If the connector is ok, maybe the camera has developed a fault...

I've just had a good poke at it and I'm fairly convinced it's a hardware fault.

I'm slightly miffed that I haven't had a response from QHYCCD today, if it was Atik the camera would be in the post by now.

[Thalestris24]

I've just had a good poke at it and I'm fairly convinced it's a hardware fault.

I'm slightly miffed that I haven't had a response from QHYCCD today, if it was Atik the camera would be in the post by now.

They are pretty slow... I occasionally post queries on their forum but I don't always get a reply. Is the camera still under warranty? If so, Bern at Modern Astronomy should be able to help. I think qhy prefer their dealers to handle most things - well, that's the impression I get.

Louise

[saplomb]

Very much a shot in the dark and probably not relevant given that your camera was working OK but, whilst waiting for QHYCCD support, you might want to try un-installing your 'latest' drivers and installing the 'previous' version. I once resolved a GPS/USB connection problem in this way...

Simon

[JamesF]

Could also be worth checking what USB vendor id and product id are showing for the camera in the device manager (if at all).  If it isn't getting as far as picking up the VID and PID at all then I'd definitely suspect some sort of hardware fault.  If it shows up as VID 0x1618 and PID 0x0920 then the firmware hasn't loaded.  That could be a hardware fault on the camera or it could be a software/driver issue.  If it appears as VID 0x1618 and PID 0x0921 then the firmware has loaded and some sort of software problem would seem more likely.

James

[wuthton]

Could also be worth checking what USB vendor id and product id are showing for the camera in the device manager (if at all).  If it isn't getting as far as picking up the VID and PID at all then I'd definitely suspect some sort of hardware fault.  If it shows up as VID 0x1618 and PID 0x0920 then the firmware hasn't loaded.  That could be a hardware fault on the camera or it could be a software/driver issue.  If it appears as VID 0x1618 and PID 0x0921 then the firmware has loaded and some sort of software problem would seem more likely.

James

Thanks for that, I've pulled this from device manager:

Device USB\VID_0000&PID_0002\6&688a3b8&0&1 was configured.

Driver Name: usb.inf

Class Guid: {36FC9E60-C465-11CF-8056-444553540000}

Driver Date: 06/21/2006

Driver Version: 6.3.9600.16442

Driver Provider: Microsoft

Driver Section: BADDEVICE.Dev.NT

Driver Rank: 0xFF0000

Matching Device Id: USB\DEVICE_DESCRIPTOR_FAILURE

Outranked Drivers: usb.inf:USB\DEVICE_DESCRIPTOR_FAILURE:00FF2000

Device Updated: false

[perfrej]

Yep. USB trouble, and since you tried different computers it points to the camera itself. I have the Orion branded one and the soldering inside was a total mess. I got it working again by just re-heating the connector joints (and a few others).

/per

[JamesF]

Thanks for that, I've pulled this from device manager:

Device USB\VID_0000&PID_0002\6&688a3b8&0&1 was configured.

Driver Name: usb.inf

Class Guid: {36FC9E60-C465-11CF-8056-444553540000}

Driver Date: 06/21/2006

Driver Version: 6.3.9600.16442

Driver Provider: Microsoft

Driver Section: BADDEVICE.Dev.NT

Driver Rank: 0xFF0000

Matching Device Id: USB\DEVICE_DESCRIPTOR_FAILURE

Outranked Drivers: usb.inf:USB\DEVICE_DESCRIPTOR_FAILURE:00FF2000

Device Updated: false

That doesn't look good at all

James

[wuthton]

Yep. USB trouble, and since you tried different computers it points to the camera itself. I have the Orion branded one and the soldering inside was a total mess. I got it working again by just re-heating the connector joints (and a few others).

/per

That doesn't look good at all

James

Many thanks for the help! I wonder if Windows will ever give error messages in plain English.

It'd be nice if we could go from:

"Device USB\VID_0000&PID_0002\6&688a3b8&0&1 was configured. usb.inf:USB\DEVICE_DESCRIPTOR_FAILURE:00FF2000."

To:

"Sorry mate, whatever you plugged in then is knackered. If you'd like to waste ten minutes of your life try clicking diagnose problem."

Thanks again to everybody for the help, Matt.

[Stardust]

MIne played around a few times, in the end a powered usb cable into a different usb socket solved the problem, don't think I'v unplugged it since. I used to use On Camera but forgot that lead and now it works fine attached just to the pc.

Once I get something working I tend to leave it alone.. 

[malc-c]

There have been some recent issues with counterfeit FTDI chips used in some devices when the drivers are updated.  FTDI chose to write a line or two of code in the installer that checks to see if the chipset is genuine, and if it finds it gets the wrong result back over-writes the descriptor ID to zero, rendering the device useless.  Now I'm not saying that QHY have knowingly used non-genuine FTDI chips in the camera, but a lot of manufactures (more so with cheap USB to serial devices) have been caught out having purchased through normal wholesale chain.  This could be one reason why the camera stopped working.

http://www.zdnet.com/ftdi-admits-to-bricking-innocent-users-chips-in-silent-update-7000035019/

[JamesF]

There have been some recent issues with counterfeit FTDI chips used in some devices when the drivers are updated.  FTDI chose to write a line or two of code in the installer that checks to see if the chipset is genuine, and if it finds it gets the wrong result back over-writes the descriptor ID to zero, rendering the device useless.  Now I'm not saying that QHY have knowingly used non-genuine FTDI chips in the camera, but a lot of manufactures (more so with cheap USB to serial devices) have been caught out having purchased through normal wholesale chain.  This could be one reason why the camera stopped working.

http://www.zdnet.com/ftdi-admits-to-bricking-innocent-users-chips-in-silent-update-7000035019/

I can't see that this is likely to be the issue here.  Whilst there are cameras that use FTDI chipsets (some of the Atik models, for instance), the QHY5-II (and perhaps all of the QHY cameras -- certainly all the ones I've looked at thus far) are built around a Cypress chipset that is completely different.  Nothing FTDI-related should be going anywhere near these particular cameras.

(There is other astro hardware based on FTDI chipsets too, such as the Xagyl filter wheel.)

James

[wuthton]

There have been some recent issues with counterfeit FTDI chips used in some devices when the drivers are updated.  FTDI chose to write a line or two of code in the installer that checks to see if the chipset is genuine, and if it finds it gets the wrong result back over-writes the descriptor ID to zero, rendering the device useless.  Now I'm not saying that QHY have knowingly used non-genuine FTDI chips in the camera, but a lot of manufactures (more so with cheap USB to serial devices) have been caught out having purchased through normal wholesale chain.  This could be one reason why the camera stopped working.

http://www.zdnet.com/ftdi-admits-to-bricking-innocent-users-chips-in-silent-update-7000035019/

Well worth knowing but I can definitely vouch for QHY and say that this isn't what happened. It requires a Windows update and I am shockingly lax at getting round to it with my imaging PC.

[malc-c]

James, that's good to hear.  Like I said I wasn't suggesting that this was the cause, just a possibility if FTDI chips were used...

Hopefully the windows update Wuthon has suggested will resolve his issue

[wuthton]

James, that's good to hear. Like I said I wasn't suggesting that this was the cause, just a possibility if FTDI chips were used...

Hopefully the windows update Wuthon has suggested will resolve his issue

Sadly a Windows update will not solve my issue as I'm pretty sure that the camera is kaput. Bern at Modern Astronomy has kindly offered to test the camera and either replace or repair if required.

The FTDI driver update was included in a Windows update which I haven't done in months (naughty, naughty) but it's a moot point anyway.

[wuthton]

Well.... What can I say.... Bernard at Modern Astronomy is a star. I posted the faulty camera back on Tuesday and received a replacement today (Thursday). I couldn't be more impressed.