Hello Ron,  What I meant by "self-powered USB hub" was a USB hub that DOES
have its own source of power coming from an AC adapter provided with the
hub.  Specifically, to fix the problem with our two HP 5200 scanners that
just quit working, we connected each of them to their own Linksys ProConnect
USB 4-port hub Model USBHUB04.  One of the listed features of this hub is
"Runs in both Bus-powered and Self-powered mode - Hub draws power from your
computer or the included AC power adapter."  You can view more regarding
this hub at many web retailers sites, e.g.:
http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.asp?EDC=114202

Of course, because our problem with both scanners was created by weak USB
power from the PC, we powered the hub with the AC adapter to provide the
necessary boost.  HTH, Anthony

===============
> Thanks for the reply.
> Dumb question: What is a self-powered USB hub?
> ron
> > the drivers did load properly the scanners didn't work through the USB,
> but the drivers loaded fine and the scanners worked fine when we tried
> parallel...   Just before giving up and tossing them we thought maybe
> there
> might be a weak USB power problem... and so it was - we hooked each of
> them to their own self-powered USB hub and all began to work flawlessly
> once again.  Worth a try.  HTH, Anthony
>

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