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Remote Buddy Forum

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AuthorThread
User

16.03.2009 01:01:43
Wiimote use kills all input devices
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This posting is older than 6 months and can contain outdated information.
Hi there,

I recently set-up my wiimote, love the potential there.

Unfortunately, while it does sometimes work, it seems to randomly cause all input devices (wiimote, IR remote, USB keyboard/mouse) to stop working. Sometimes it does it within seconds of pairing the wiimote, sometimes it teases me by working perfectly for half an hour, then doing it.

The system remains functional--if I use another mac and connect using 'share screen', I can move the cursor around and apps (remote buddy included) appear to be working fine.

But clearly the bluetooth stack (at least) is hosed--if I go to the bluetooth menu and attempt to disconnect the nintendo controller there, the bluetooth menu will remain selected (I imagine it's blocking on some call to the bluetooth stack).

I didn't see anything like this problem in the forums, so perhaps it is something peculiar about my set-up:

* 1st-gen Mac mini (G4), 1GB RAM. 
* D-Link DMB-120 (Rev B3) USB bluetooth adapter, connected via a 4-port USB hub. 
* Mac OSX 10.5.6.

I'd love to get some more mileage out of my old mini and be able to use the wiimote. If there's any way I can help debug, let me know.

Thanks! 

These entries from the FAQ may be relevant to this topic:

Hardware - Apple® Remote
Hardware - Wii™ Remote
User

16.03.2009 09:51:17
Re: Wiimote use kills all input devices
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This posting is older than 6 months and can contain outdated information.
Thanks for asking.

Remote Buddy itself doesn't contain any code that would be able to 
cause that effect. The Wii Remote can't cause this either. This 
strongly looks like a hardware or OS X problem.

I believe this line to be the key to the solution:

* D-Link DMB-120 (Rev B3) USB bluetooth adapter, connected via a 4- 
port USB hub.

 
Why?

a) You don't use an Apple Bluetooth adapter. While there is a standard 
for Bluetooth devices and usually using third party adapters works 
well, not every Bluetooth device may implement it exactly as the Apple 
Bluetooth driver stack expects and thus cause problems. I don't think 
that's the problem here, but I think it's worth mentioning. (BTW: do 
you mean the DBT-120 by any chance? That model is specified for USB 
1.1 and USB 2.0 by D-Link. I couldn't find any reference to a DMB-120 
anywhere on the web, though).

b) You connect the Bluetooth adapter through a USB hub. Try connecting 
it directly to a USB port on your Mac Mini. My experience so far has 
been that not all USB devices work equally well on all hubs. My best 
guess as to why is that either the USB device in question doesn't get 
enough power to run correctly or OS X has a problem with the hub 
itself. I strongly expect that the OS X USB stack (or an instance of a 
hub class of it in the kernel) is hanging here, as essentially your 
entire problem comes down to a USB problem. If USB stops working, the 
USB IR receiver, the USB keyboard and mouse as well as the USB 
Bluetooth stick (and thus also the Bluetooth stack) - all devices you 
mentioned - no longer have any means of communication and will 
naturally stop working, too. Your mention that screen sharing still 
works adds to that theory.

Suggested solution:

Remove the Bluetooth adapter from the USB hub and plug it directly to 
a USB port on your Mac.

Best regards, 
Felix Schwarz 

User

16.03.2009 10:59:28
Re: Wiimote use kills all input devices
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This posting is older than 6 months and can contain outdated information.
 
Thanks for asking.

Remote Buddy itself doesn't contain any code that would be able to 
cause that effect. The Wii Remote can't cause this either. This 
strongly looks like a hardware or OS X problem.

 
Oh yes, I did not mean to imply otherwise. To me it stinks of a bug in apple's USB stack (since it's not just bluetooth that dies, all USB stops working). The kernel obviously ends up in some horked state, such that the machine needs to be forced off by holding the power button.

I believe this line to be the key to the solution:

* D-Link DMB-120 (Rev B3) USB bluetooth adapter, connected via a 4- 
port USB hub.

 
Why?

a) You don't use an Apple Bluetooth adapter.

 
I didn't know there was one! They definitely don't seem to sell one anymore:

on store.apple.com-- 
Search results: bluetooth usb adapter 
No items were found that matched your query.

But the real reason is that I have two that I've used on and off for years with various macs. Now they were mostly gathering dust in a drawer since all my macs except for my mini (well, and my SE-30 ;) have bluetooth built-in.

(BTW: do 
you mean the DBT-120 by any chance? That model is specified for USB 
1.1 and USB 2.0 by D-Link. I couldn't find any reference to a DMB-120 
anywhere on the web, though).

 
Yes! Sorry for the misinformation.

b) You connect the Bluetooth adapter through a USB hub. Try connecting 
it directly to a USB port on your Mac Mini.

 
I think this may have been the problem, in fact, and I'm ashamed not to have thought of it myself. The reason I had it on the hub to begin with was because the mini is inside a cabinet, and I wanted the best bluetooth reception possible (the snakes to the outside of the cabinet).

I connected the adapter directly to the back of the mac mini. I don't want to jinx it, but... it hasn't stopped working yet :) So, perhaps, success!

itself. I strongly expect that the OS X USB stack (or an instance of a 
hub class of it in the kernel) is hanging here, as essentially your 
entire problem comes down to a USB problem. If USB stops working, the 
USB IR receiver, the USB keyboard and mouse as well as the USB 
Bluetooth stick (and thus also the Bluetooth stack) - all devices you 
mentioned - no longer have any means of communication and will 
naturally stop working, too. Your mention that screen sharing still 
works adds to that theory.

 
Yes, exactly what I thought as well. And the fact that it seems to work well so far without the hub would point to power consumption, probably. My guess is that the adapter barely gets enough power and randomly it doesn't, causing it to do something the USB stack doesn't expect, causing the hang.

Thanks for the quick help!

Dan