Windows 7 - Possible USB hub overload?

My pc is about 4m away from my tv so i run a cable under the carpet which has a 4way hub connected to the other end. and its worked perfectly.

Today i received a Saitek Cyborg V7 keyboard. I plugged that into my hub and installed the drivers and it worked great.

All of a sudden the keyboard started flashing, as did the lights on my mouse and then all stopped working.

Unplugging it solves the problem for a while but it returns.

Is this an overload on the hub? as it takes both keyboard and mouse out thats plugged into the hub

I'm only guessing, but it certainly does sound like it's drawing much more power than before, causing an issue. Is it safe to say your hub isn't powered? Why not just go with a wireless combo?

They do make a A/C powered Usb Hub splitter. I have one made by Stratitec. I don't use it because I found the Microsoft Bluetooth wireless keyboard and mouse works better.

This gives a good explanation of the USB power spec.

USB - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Your devices could cause the voltage to drop below the voltage threshold. Just the wire length alone will have about a 3% drop. As the load increases, so does the voltage drop. When it gets above the +/- 5% threshold, the devices will exhibit low power symptoms--Like shutting down. As mentioned, a powered hub should solve the problem.

Thank you very much for your help! I never considered a powered hub.

A wireless setup didn't seem viable as I'd only just bought the keyboard! And my previous wireless experienceshave resulted in a lot of charging. Plus I like back lit boards, and the idea of a usb port and audio sockets on the cyborg were appealing.

I've bought a new 5m cable and a new splitter, as it worked last night on a seperate extention. If that doesn't work ill get a powered hub.
Ill be getting a wireless mouse, just hope running it off the usb port on the keyboard doesn't over load it further.. Powered hub it is! =)