USB hub kills laptop

Ian, there are several different types of 3rd party USB Hubs on the market, ranging from USB 1 to USB 1 Powered. USB 2 and USB 2 Powered.
The newest and latest of course being the USB 2 Powered, which by the way is reverse compatible and can use the older USB 1.
I am quessing from your post that you are plugged direct to your computer without the benefit of the Power Adapter to give the device enough power to operate, and thus draining your computer of power to run the HUB.
You need a USB 2 Powered Hub with the Power Adapter.
This will make sure you aren't using computer power to operate.
Cheers Don

Ian - USB hub problems aren't unknown. About 2 years ago my boss (the penny pinching little....) got a great deal on powered USB hubs. I grabbed several for my labs and my office. About that same time I began experiencing failure to wake problems. It took me about a week to link the two issues. I subsequently learned that USB/wake issues are well known.

I suggest you borrow a hub (or buy another from a source that accepts returns) and test it (as well as trying out its cable with your current hub). If a second hub also causes a wake failure then it will be time to call Apple.

Note: Almost all Macs HATE having a USB device disconnected while asleep. Be certain this isn't the root cause of your problem.

Ian - this isn't a Mac issue. Windows users have experienced the problem too. It is more likely a USB or a USB cable issue.

No what he is saying is that if you leave a HUB connected 24-7 and have multible periperals hooked up it will not recognise many unless you reboot with the item plugged in.
It is not uncommon after switching from a printer to a scanner to a camera and then going back to another to loose communication and the only way to regain it is to do one of 3 things, Unplug what isn't being used. Plug in the single item you are wanting to use and restart your computer and it will reconize it and make it useable again.
This is not at all uncommon, More often than not it is a low power issue with the USB Hub and or a communications error. Don

Ian - It doesn't happen often but I have had complaints similar to yours from both Mac and Windows users. In almost every case when I switched hubs and/or cables the issue was resolved. I only recall one instance that was hardware (computer) related.

And again, I want to repeat my warning about unplugging USB devices while the computer is asleep. A large number of the "waking up dead" work orders I see turn out to be narrowed down to the user unplugging a device from the hub while the computer is asleep.

Ian, I am not sure if this will help explain about USB connections or not.
USB connections are temperamental and can sometimes cause several different disruptions.
I will give you a few of the anomalies that I am sure USB connections to peripherals can cause. This includes just about any including Camera's Scanners, Printers, and External Zip Drives.
More often than not You need to have the devices plugged in before you start your computer before it can be recognized. This is not always true but it happens, so this is a contradiction, It can work either way but this is the reason they recommend not to disconnect a USB devise while your devise is plugged in. There seems to be a disruption in the connection and if you do unplug it and then plug it back in it will not remount unless you, re- boot, or restart your computer before it will work again and recognize the devise.
It appears that USB devices are normally good in there operation when plugged in directly to your computer, rather then a HUB.
After reading the different posts in these forums on the inconsistency, and from personal experience in there use.
It is know wonder that there is such poor performance in the use of USB Modems, and everyone recommends Ethernet or Firewire connections over USB.
USB is and can be functional, if you remember the simple rules to follow on connection and disconnection of the devises, and special care is taken.
Yes I know we as users feel that we should be able to just plug and play but this is not always the case.
Don