magicJack and magicJack Plus Support, Reviews, FAQs and Hacks

VanguardLH · MagicJack User Joined: 04 Aug 2008 Posts: 38

When Windows is started, the USB drives for MagicJack are missing. This prevents anything from MagicJack from starting. The cdloader2 program can't find the 2nd drive (the data drive with the magicjack subfolder).

The 1st USB drive created is the program drive. It emulates a CD device. It's autorun is used when plugged in to start the install or setup for the software. The 2nd USB drive is the data drive where contacts, call history, and login info is kept. Since the software gets installed on the hard drive (under %userprofile% although it can be elsewhere), the lack of the 2nd USB drive with the data and login credentials prevents the magicJack processes from starting. All problems stem from the lack of the magicJack USB drives on Windows startup.

I spent a week and 7 hours in multiple chats with tech support. After getting past the scripts that the 1st level call tech could recite, I would get transferred to an engineer. We formatted the 1st USB drive (the program drive) after replugging it in. We cleaned the registry of the enum keys for the MJ and TigerJet devices along with removing all software files (so the host was clean) and then tried a fresh install. There were lots of other actions tried but none worked. Eventually they agreed to do an exchange warranty replacement (they charge me, send another unit, I send back the old one, they refund me).

The new unit worked for about 2 weeks, the same as the prior one. Then the USB drives stopped appearing after starting Windows. Powering down and leaving the computer and USB dongle powered down for 5 minutes and then powering up did not get the USB drives to appear. I have to wait until after Windows had loaded and after I login to then unplug and replug the USB dongle to get the 2 USB drives for magicJack to show up (and for the software to then load successfully).

When the hardware is scanned, the USB dongle is discovered but provides no representation data to identify itself. As a result, it is listed as "unknown device". I've tried uninstalling the USB device in Device Manager and performing a rescan of hardware. The device is found but won't initialize and comes up again as "unknown device". So far, the only way to get the dongle to get recognized is to unpower it (by unplugging it) and powering it back up (after plugging it back in), and that must be done after Windows has already loaded (won't work if I power down the computer and dongle and then power up).

Something about the dongle won't identify itself properly if it is powered up while Windows is loading. I have to wait until after logging in and then unplug and replug the dongle (to power it off and on) before it properly reports itself. A software "reset" by uninstalling and rescanning for the device doesn't init the device. I suppose that I could create a specialty USB extension cable where the 5V line has a switch that I could bring to the front of the case (the dongle is in a USB port on the backside) where I could do the power cycling without having to pull out the case to unplug and replug the dongle but that's going to be a last resort.

Unless I get those USB drives to show up on Windows startup, nothing of magicJack is going to work. I have read another thread here where the software and data folders are moved to the hard drive so magicJack's software can be loaded without the presence of the dongle; however, that assumes the user wants to use a headset connected to the computer. I'd rather use a cordless telephone connected to the dongle.

mphixson · Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 7:23 pm Post subject:

What OS? There is a known issue with Vista, where upon returning from sleep some USB devices do not respond without plugging them in again.
The fix was to modify the registry and add a key to it, something like FORCEDETECTIONON = 1. I can't remember the exact wording as it's on my Quad box and I'm on the dual core today.
Anyways if you are using Vista, that could be the problem.
If you are using vista, reply and I'll see if I can find the Knowledgebase article which tells how to modify the registy.
I did the fix and it works on 4 ports. it didn't work on the port that shares the microsoft wireless desktop receiver (wireless keyboard and mouse). But that's another known issue..

If you are using Vista, here is the fix I used, but it's not for the faint of heart..
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928631/en-us

VanguardLH · MagicJack User Joined: 04 Aug 2008 Posts: 38

Windows XP Professional SP-3

I can uninstall the "unknown" USB device in Device Manager. I then rescan for hardware changes. The dongle gets detected but doesn't properly identify itself so it becomes "unknown device" again. So the scan can find the hardware. It's the hardware (dongle) that doesn't provide the required info for Windows to know how to manage the device.

The host didn't go into a low-power mode (standby, sleep, or hibernate). Typically I do something that requires the host be rebooted. It is after the reboot that I notice the USB virtual drives are absent and the USB device is "unknown". Even a cold boot doesn't work.

Other USB devices, like a printer and scanner, work okay for detecting them on Windows startup on the same USB ports as the magicJack dongle. Moving the dongle to different USB ports does not eliminate the problem (and merely adds more enumerations to add the VID to the other ports).

mphixson · Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 6:46 am Post subject:

I'm pretty sure there were issues with SP3, in fact that little ad panel in the softphone told us NOT to install SP3..

Did you have this problem on SP2?

that's funny though as many of my devices still worked without the fix on vista, i.e. printer and thumb drives. just the magicjack and some joysticks would not come back to life.

haven't tried sp3. still sounds like a usb port issue to me. for Xp pro i'm only running 32 bit SP2 and 64 bit. No SP3.

VanguardLH · MagicJack User Joined: 04 Aug 2008 Posts: 38

I had SP-3 on the Windows XP host before I got the MagicJack product. So I've never tested it under SP-2.

Printer, scanner, and thumb drive all function properly on all the USB ports when I start Windows (i.e., they initialize okay and are identified properly after bootup and login).

Tomorrow I'll be doing a couple additional tests. One is to copy the programs from the 1st magicjack drive (that emulates a CD device) and the \magicjack folder from the 2nd magicjack drive (the data drive) to the hard disk, get rid of cdloader2 in the Run registry key, reboot, login, and run magicjack.exe from the hard drive with parameters that have its softphone use the data store folder on the hard drive. Another is to disconnect the phone from the dongle, reboot, login, and see if the USB virtual drives show up for MagicJack. Another is to disable power management options on the USB root hubs in Device Manager to see if that is causing the problem (although that should only be effected when the host goes into low-power modes, not when rebooted).

JFrey · MagicJack Newbie Joined: 20 Jul 2009 Posts: 1

VanguardLH,

Did you ever fix this problem?

I am having a very similar problem and haven't had much luck correcting it.

JFrey

VanguardLH · MagicJack User Joined: 04 Aug 2008 Posts: 38

Never solved it. Looked to be a defective dongle as it wouldn't properly issue its presentation data (how it defines itself) and would get listed as an "Unknown" USB device (which meant it wasn't accessible).

I had to reinsert the dongle after Windows had loaded. I then used info here to eliminate the dongle and copy the config and user data to the hard drive from the 2nd emulated drive for the dongle, and using command-line parameters to the softphone let me run it all from the hard drive (i.e., no dongle needed). I then switched from using a phone (attached to the dongle) to using a headset and configured their softphone to use the headset. Their service ran great until a month ago when they pushed an update that fucked up my software-only setup. I couldn't recover and their software won't install without the dongle so I sent it in as defective. Besides, it started making loud clicking noises (that I heard only on my end and got bad enough to interfere with the dial tones) that made conversations near impossible. I didn't do the exchange replacement (they charge, they send, I send back the old one, they refund) but instead they said to ship it in and have it replaced. I included a copy of the chat where I worked with the reps on trying to fix the device and them telling me to ship it in. As yet, I'm waiting for them to send back a replacement so I've been without their VOIP service for over a month. If they don't ship before my subscription ends on Aug 2 (and I receive it a day or two ahead of time to ensure it works), I'll let the subscription lapse and find an alternative phone service.

Their service works very well for me. If they ever send a replacement, that will be the 3rd dongle. Their hardware sucks. Their service is atrocious (pack of idiots reading a database of shotgun troubleshooting tips). I suspect they severely undercut their fees to provide a decent personnel infrastructure for supporting their service and products (hardware and software).

cell14 · Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2009 11:41 pm Post subject:

magicJack and magicJack Plus Support, Reviews, FAQs and Hacks

USB drives for MagicJack do not appear on Windows startup