guidox / Hardware
Read the **USB** event log entries right after the message, disconnect everything, then add devices back one at a time. A hub with too many bus-powered devices is the usual cause.
The notification names the hub, not the device. The event log carries the controller and the port number, which narrows it to one socket.
Get-WinEvent -LogName System -MaxEvents 100 | Where-Object Message -match 'power surge|USB' | Select-Object TimeCreated,ProviderName,Id,Message -First 5
Get-PnpDevice -Class USB | Select-Object FriendlyName,Status,Problem,InstanceId | Select-Object -First 15Disconnect every USB device except a keyboard and mouse, then check whether the message returns. A clean bus is the baseline every later test compares against.
Get-PnpDevice -PresentOnly -Class USB | Select-Object FriendlyName,Status
Get-CimInstance Win32_USBController | Select-Object Name,Status,DeviceID
Get-CimInstance Win32_USBHub | Select-Object Name,Status,DeviceIDA device that draws more than the port can supply triggers the message when the bus is otherwise idle. Adding one device per test identifies it in minutes.
# plug in one device, wait two minutes, check for the notification
Get-WinEvent -LogName System -MaxEvents 20 | Where-Object Message -match 'power surge' | Select-Object TimeCreated,Message -First 1
Get-PnpDevice -PresentOnly -Class USB | Select-Object FriendlyName,StatusAn unpowered hub splits one port's current across several devices. A bus-powered drive on a hub with a keyboard and a phone is the classic overload.
Get-CimInstance Win32_USBControllerDevice | ForEach-Object { [wmi]$_.Dependent } | Select-Object Name,Status | Sort-Object Name
Get-CimInstance Win32_PnPEntity | Where-Object { $_.Name -match 'Hub' } | Select-Object Name,Status,DeviceID
# prefer a powered hub for drives and docksA port with a bent contact or a short reports a surge with nothing attached. That is a hardware fault, and moving to another port is the test.
Get-PnpDevice -Class USB | Where-Object Status -ne 'OK' | Select-Object FriendlyName,Status,Problem
Get-CimInstance Win32_USBController | Select-Object Name,Status,ConfigManagerErrorCode
# move the same device to a different port and repeatThe message can take hours to return. A day without it, with the same devices on a powered hub, is the confirmation that the budget was the issue.
Get-WinEvent -LogName System -MaxEvents 500 | Where-Object Message -match 'power surge' | Measure-Object
Get-PnpDevice -Class USB | Select-Object FriendlyName,Status
Get-CimInstance Win32_USBHub | Select-Object Name,StatusThe port or the controller is faulty. Test the same port with a known-good device, then disable that port in the firmware or the device manager.
That device draws too much or has a shorted cable. Try it on a powered hub and with another cable.
Windows powers the port down until reboot. Restart to reset the controller, then avoid the device that caused it.
The port's current limit is lower on battery. Use a powered hub for anything that draws more than a phone.
The controller shuts the port down to prevent damage. Repeated surges are still a reason to stop using the device.
Yes. A dock negotiates power over USB-PD, and an undersized power supply produces the same symptom.
Sometimes. Controller firmware fixes have addressed spurious surge reports on some laptop models.
Nothing is changed by testing. Reconnect the devices you need, and keep the overloaded combination off the same hub.
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