HELP wanted: Brand-new VCI-100SE won’t turn on and is not detected by MBP or PC!
I just received my VCI-100SE a couple of days ago, and I think it could be D.O.A. right out of the box. 
Here’s what I’ve done so far:
-
Plugged it directly into the front USB port of my late 2008/early 2009 MBP: I get the “Device has been disabled because it is drawing too much power” error message.
-
Plugged it in via a Multi-TT USB hub (without plugging in the AC adaptor): no response at all from the MBP, and doesn’t show up in System Profiler.
-
Plugged it in with the same hub but with AC power: same result as above, but I observed little sparks when connecting the USB hub’s cable to my MBP.
-
Repeated the above 3 steps on a PC laptop: the VCI-100SE doesn’t get detected at all.
-
Using an AC adapter connected directly to the VCI-100SE: no response from the MBP or PC.
-
Opened the back cover to check if the piece of cardboard on the circuit board with the USB and power connectors is still there: yep, it’s still there.
At no point did I see the pretty LEDs on the VCI-100SE light up at all.
Can anyone help, please? It’s a new unit right out of the box, and I haven’t gotten it to turn on at all.