I cannot confirm this.

I have a Logitech USB Headset [actually it is a PS2 USB headset (was a special offer at $9.95 on clearance) - but OS X 10.4 reports it as "Logitech USB Headset"] and regularly plug it in and out, regardless of the status of Skype, without any problems. System: G5, 1.8 Ghz, Single Processor, OS X 10.4.7, Skype 1.4.0.49

I have also used the headset on a Powerbook G4, 1.33 GHZ und 10.4.6 and 10.4.7 without any issues, but I am not sure what the Skype status was at those times.

I've had the same freezes with OSX 10.3.9 - 10.4.7 on PPC G5 and Intel Macbookpro and it is predictable:

- plugging in or out the Logitech USB headset when you have an open application that uses audio (all of them: itunes, skype, x-plane)

It is very annoying. I learned to not touch the headset anymore, which is annoying too.

Any solution would be great!
Caribou

I get the same thing on an iMac G5. Happens quite regularly even with the latest updates applied etc.

I can confirm this. I think it may only happen on Intel Macs as I never saw it on PPC. It also never happened on Intel Mac before the Universal Binary of Skype came out so I suspect it requires latest Skype and Intel Mac.

Also, though it does hang the system (mouse frozen) it is only temporary - about 20-30 seconds.

I'm the hint submitter ... and yes, I've got an Intel. It's often <I>not</I> temporary as one hinter suggests below, though.

I have an ICBM iMac, and I have no issues with my iMac freezing or crashing if I plug my Logitech USB Headset (Socom for PS2) in after Skype is launched.

I just have to go to system prefs and mute and unmute the headset for it to work (for some odd reason.)

This isn't happening on my machine (a G5 Powermac -- most recent Skype and a Logitech headset). Might very well be an issue with the Intel Macs, as other posters have suggested.

This is a bogus generalization. I have a Logitech headset and have _never_ had a system freeze with Skype. It may be your system, other audio drivers, or something else, but it's certainly not a problem that affects everyone.

---
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No problem here too.
Tested on two different DUAL G5 (2.0 & 1.8 Ghz). From osx 10.3.9 to 10.4.6 no problem occurred.

Single processor G5, powerbook and imac g4 all work fine with a USb 350. Skype open/closed doesn't matter.

This doesn't happen to me, I have a Logitech Premium USB Headset and an Intel iMac, there's no adverse behavior whatsoever when I plug in the headset while Skype is running.

I've not had this problem either. In fact, I've noticed that Skype automatically changes the audio i/o to the headset when you plug it in with the app running (if you've previously set to use it).

... that's on a dual g5 and on a g4 powerbook.

Yes i have this system-wide-freeze problem too, from osx 10.4.2 and up till now 10.4.7, on a Dual 1.8ghz PPC G5.

I have a Logitec USB headset and use Skype. My freezing problem that I have is if I leave the headset plugged in to my Intel Macbook and close the laptop, when I reopen the laptop my Mac always kernel panics. Other than that I have not had any issues. Just need to remember to unplug the USB connnection before closing the lid.

Never encountered this.

Don't know whether this is related, but there is an issue with Skype and some headsets (including mine) -- sometimes, for no apparent reason, plugging the headset in switches you from two-channel 16-bit audio input to one-channel 8-bit. The person on the other end will hear scratching and popping. It's easily fixed in Audio MIDI setup. If there's something different about how audio is handled in the Intel machines, maybe the same bug has worse consequences.

Or maybe they're totally unrelated.

I have found that it seams to be a bit unpredictable on my systems.
It will lock up my G5 and one iMac DV but not the other.
It will lock up my G3 iBook but not a G4 iBook or B&W G3.

Lock ups may occur in other programes as well (mostly games) if pluged in or removed.

I have had this issue and it is the first time my Mac has ever locked up.

I had put the system to sleep with the Logitech usb headset plugged in. When it woke up and I tried to Skype I noticed that the headset was not detected in the system.

With Skype still running I unplugged the headset and plugged it back in. Full system freeze ensued. The mouse was unresponsive and I could not type anything. A full power cycle was required.

One other thing about skype: I suspect that the latest update (day before yesterday) might overwrite your DNS. After installing the update, I could no longer access anything other than Google. I had to delete the code so the system would return to my normal ISP.

For interest, the DNS was changed to: 83.170.64.2