How to Check the Power Usage for a USB Device

Since USB became the standard method for connecting devices to a PC the number of USB ports has steadily increased over the years. On my desktop computer I have 10 USB ports and 7 of them are in use at any given time. What many users aren't aware of is that there is a limit to the amount of power that can be consumed by the USB ports. If you hit the limit of the power available to your USB ports then some of those can be shut down, causing your USB devices to fail. So users need to be aware that there is a limit to the amount of power and should know how to check to see what level they are at. In this article I will explain how to check the USB power usage in Windows 7.

First it is good to know that most USB devices aren't going to be that power intensive; a keyboard, mouse and webcam won't use all of your power, and you really have to be trying in order to use up the allotted amount of power (500 milliamps) slotted for your USB devices. This problem isn't that common of an occurrence but, users should know that if they are having problems with USB devices and have several plugged in; power consumption might be the problem.

So how do you check to see the amount of power being consumed by your current USB devices? Simple just follow these steps:

1 - Click Start
2 - Click Search bar (Click Run in Windows XP)
3 - Type Device manager
4 - Hit Enter
5 - Double Click one of the Root USB Hub options
6 - Click Power Tab

In the power tab it should tell you everything that is plugged into this USB hub and how much power is being consumed by the devices or devices. You will now be able to see if your USB devices are using more power than is allotted to them in the device manager.

Well I hope this will help you to troubleshoot any USB problems you might be having, sometimes power consumption can be an issue with USB devices, and this is a quick and easy way to check.