the USB device drawing too much power has been disabled.

Anthony, did the SMC reset change anything?

Courcoul has sensibly reminded the assembled multitude following this thread that the built-in keyboard, trackpad, camera, SD card reader, and possibly other internal things I'm forgetting (because I'm posting from my iPad and not my MBP) are all USB devices, and if one of those is malfunctioning it could be drawing excessive power. The culprit need not be external.

I also just started having the same problem. I've had my macbook pro less just less than a year and about 2 weeks ago started getting this message when I plug anything in. All I ever plug in are my iphone or ipad to sync or recharge them, and never both at the same time. I even get this message now if just the cable is plugged in but there's no iphone on the end of it. Also, it DOES disable the usb port because my iphone stops charging then. Surely an iphone should not be drawing "too much power"...?

I fixed it. I had the exact same problem, rebooted several times, no Joy. Just swapped my USB (white) lead and hey presto it works fine again. Interstingly the plug on the white lead also felt hot.

Good luck

I solved my problem (see earlier post) by checking all the USB cables going into a D-Link powered hub. One of the USB cables going to an external hard drive was just slightly unseated. I haven't had any further warnings or shutdowns. The problem wasn't a lack of power despite the warning - it was simply a loose connection.

I'm getting the same message with my iphone. I tried a bunch of stuff mentioned here, then I borrowed a friends phone, plugged it in and it worked fine. So my problem seems to be with the phone. I restarted it and still is acting the same.

I came to the conclusion that having exhausted all possibilities, i.e. cables, connections and so forth that it had to be a software problem. On trying a restore on iTunes, which hung halfway giving an error message, I headed off to my phone supplier (True Move Thailand). The operative on the service desk who upon hearing my sorry tale simply laughed, connected it to his computer, fiddled with his keyboard, then after eight minutes or so, handed me my phone saying that should be it. It was! My phone has worked flawlessly since.

I hope this is of some help!

I have a 24 inch iMac Mid-2007. And I have been getting the same message for some time. I have my keyboard conntected; my mouse connected to the keyboard. And a white connector usually not connected to anything; but available for my iPhone or iPod to synch. I also have a hub that was a freebee from a conference. It has 4 ports avaialble; but I get the message when nothing is connected to it. Can these cause a problem even if nothing is connected. I have no Apple Store near me. And I am obviously past warranty.

What should I try?

Thanks for replying so quickly. I am going to start with ruling out stuff and keeping it simple. So I have unplugged the hub as the only change even though nothing plugge in and monitor what happens. If I can make 1 change a time with the USB cables perhaps I will be able to isolate the issue.

I just had the same problem with my Imac while downloading photos to iphoto. Got the "usb drawing too much power" message and I too had a white iphone cable with nothing attached, a backup hard drive and the camera. But the screen then went black and would not power off or power on until I unplugged for 15 seconds. It restarted fine, but I am wondering if I need to do anything else besides get a new white cable for my iphone.

I stopped using my white cable and I don't get the problem any more. Cause and effect? Not sure. But the message has stopped. I also stopped using a 4:1 usb extender hub. That could have been it too.

I am having this same problem but no USB devices plugged into either of my two USB ports. I know some people said it was the "white cable"? I'm not sure what that is. Could someone explain it to me? I've tried SMC reset, PRAM reset, rebooting. Nothing seems to work.

I'm having this problem on a Late 2008 MacBook Pro Unibody.

Just bumping this issue. This message comes up every time I reboot my 13'' 2009 MacBook Pro. I have nothing plugged in to my USB ports. The left USB is not working if I try to connect stuff.

Resetting stuff (PRAM etc) doesn't work. Hardware test OK. Haven't tried reinstalling everything from scratch.

Has anyone in this situation been able to fix it? Very grateful for any advice.

Bumping Issue. I'm having a problem with my Wacom Bamboo Fun Tablet Cable. I bought a new one, and my Macbook Pro 13 inch (Mid 2009) gave me the message. It's the same cable model as the old one, but the message only pops up when I plug in the new cable.

I've tried resetting and the hardware test, but everything came out OK

How the problem was fixed for me:

I had the same exact problem. My new iPhone 5 when plugged into my macbook gave a message, "Because a USB device was drawing too much power..." It did not charge. When I plugged my iPhone 5 to an outlet it using the same usb cord, it still did not charge.

I switched with using a friend's USB cord (lightning) and it worked: it charged from my macbook and outlet. I think it's the cord's problem.