220-1102 Question 586
Single answerUSB controller resource warningsA user reports that several USB devices connected to a Windows 10 desktop intermittently disconnect. In Device Manager, one of the USB host controllers shows a yellow warning icon, and the device status indicates that the controller cannot find enough free resources to use. The PC recently had an older PCI expansion card installed. Which action should the technician take FIRST to most likely resolve the USB controller resource warning?
- A
Move the PCI expansion card to a different slot or remove it temporarily, then reboot and allow Windows to reassign resources
- B
Disable USB selective suspend in Power Options so the controller remains active at all times
- C
Replace the USB keyboard and mouse with PS/2 versions to reduce the number of attached USB devices
- D
Uninstall all USB root hubs in Device Manager and manually assign a new IRQ to the USB controller
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
This scenario reflects a classic resource conflict that can appear after installing legacy or older PCI hardware. In Windows Device Manager, a yellow warning icon with a message about insufficient free resources indicates that the operating system could not allocate the required hardware resources to the device. When the issue begins after new hardware is added, best practice is to start with the change that introduced the problem: remove, reseat, or relocate the newly installed card and reboot so the BIOS/UEFI and Windows Plug and Play subsystem can renegotiate assignments. Microsoft troubleshooting guidance for Device Manager errors and general PC hardware best practices support checking for hardware conflicts, removing recently added devices, and allowing the system to re-enumerate hardware. Power settings such as USB selective suspend may help with disconnects caused by sleep states, but they do not fix a true controller resource warning. Likewise, manually assigning IRQs is not typically the first or preferred step on modern ACPI/Plug and Play systems.
- A. Correct.
Correct. A USB controller resource warning after adding older expansion hardware commonly points to a resource conflict involving IRQs, memory ranges, or other system resources. Reseating the PCI card in another slot or removing it temporarily is a practical first troubleshooting step because PCI slot placement can affect resource allocation by the motherboard and BIOS/UEFI. After reboot, Windows can redetect devices and attempt to assign nonconflicting resources.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. USB selective suspend addresses power management behavior, such as devices sleeping or failing to wake properly, but it does not resolve a true resource allocation conflict reported by Device Manager. A controller warning about insufficient free resources indicates a hardware/resource assignment problem rather than a power-saving configuration issue.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Reducing the number of attached USB peripherals is not the primary fix for a host controller resource conflict in Device Manager. The warning is not typically caused by too many low-bandwidth devices like a keyboard and mouse; instead, it points to system resource contention between installed hardware devices.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Uninstalling USB root hubs may force redetection, but manually assigning IRQs to modern Plug and Play USB controllers is generally not the normal or supported first step in current Windows systems. Resource assignment is usually handled automatically by firmware and the operating system. The better first action is to address the recently added PCI hardware that likely introduced the conflict.