In order to get accurate, and useful replies to your question, you need to provide as much information about your problem as possible.
Instructions for...
All Devices
Please provide the output of "dmesg" (at least the lines relating to the hardware in question) and the output of "lsmod".
USB Devices
1 - Disconnect the device, and reboot your system (or turn it on)
2 - Open a terminal, and type "su -" (no quotes) to gain temporary root privileges
3 - Run the following command "tail -f /var/log/messages" (again, no quotes)
4 - Plug the USB device into your computer
5 - Provide any output on the terminal as part of your post
5 - Run "lsmod" and "lsusb" and provide the output in your post
PCI Devices
Please provide the output of "lspci"
In General
Obviously, you should also provide information such as the distribution you are using, the kernel version (if you know it) and any relevant product codes
for the hardware. eg, "The onboard audion on my motherboard isnt working" is not very helpful, but "the onboard audio on my Chaintech 7KJD isnt working"
is much more useful.
It is far better to provide us with too much information, than too little
Revised 22/05/2006 by DS2K3