My computer is connected to Transact. The box of my computer was too small for a standard network interface card (NIC) so the computer is connected using a USB 10/100 Fast Ethernet Adapter. Everything works well while I am downloading or in a MSN Messenger or NetMeeting session. However, when I have not accessed the internet for 30 seconds or so the connection may go to sleep for up to two minutes. I have turned off MSN Messenger and my firewall but this does not fix the problem. Other people with similar configurations, but using NICs rather than USB connections, tell me they do not have the problem. Therefore the USB connection is the likely suspect, particularly when other people tell me they have similar problems with other USB-connected devices. The computer is running Windows 98 SE.

Windows 98 SE does not attempt to turn off USB devices when they are not needed, unlike Windows XP which does attempt to turn of USB devices, to conserve power. For readers who may be experiencing a similar problem under Windows XP, there is an option in the device properties for ‘USB Root Hub’ (in the Device Manager) which is labelled ‘Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power’. People who have experienced a similar problem to yours, but are running Windows XP, have found this to help in some situations. However, there does not seem to be an equivalent setting in Windows 98 SE. This leads me to believe that the problem may be due to your computer BIOS doing USB power management. The only way to know for sure is to look in your BIOS for a setting related to this issue. The BIOS is quite a dangerous area to poke around in, as changing the settings can cause your computer to become unbootable. If you accept the risk and would like to try, you generally gain access to the BIOS by pressing a specific key during the power-on self test (i.e., when the memory checks, etc’¦ take place after turning your computer on). A message should be displayed, for example, ‘Press DEL to enter setup’ to prompt you to press the key. Remember: If you are unsure about changing any settings don’t risk it! If you do change any settings, make sure you note down the original settings before making any changes so you can reverse the process if needs be. If you are still having problems at this stage, please contact me again, as this is a very tricky problem.