Diagnosing USB issues

firstborn

firstborn

firstborn

Soldato
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I have an ASUS P5B-E Plus. For the last few months I've had issues with some devices connected via USB; Logitech BT MX500 KB/mouse keeps dropping connection (i.e. you hear the device disconnected/connected system sounds several times before it works again), my Garmin GPS watch is no longer recognised, the multi card reader built into my monitor drops the USB connection in a similar manner to the MX5000 and a logitech G5 mouse isn't recognised either.

I've done a clean install and updated all relevant device and mobo firmware and bios - but still the problem persists.

Any ideas on how I can pin down the cause of the problem?

Cheers
 
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I've had a similar issue, with just a keyboard, logitech G15. It drops every now and again and reconnects itself (unusuable during this time) I put it down to being the keyboard but as its quite infrequent and I haven't got down to diagnosing it exactly yet. I'd be ****** if it was my motherboard as it is only just past its warranty :X Be interested to see how this thread develops.
 
I had this with a KVM Switch, one day got the USB device has malfunctioned message, then even after new clean installs it doesn't work. Although it works on other computers.
 
i am having a similar problem, i have a p5b deluxe - which i had problems with when building my rig.

the problem has only started recently (about a month) but has been getting worse to the point where it seems to stop at least once an hour. sometimes if i un-plug the device and re-plug it in it works, sometimes it dosent.

i have now got the problem of external usb devices, both flash drives and hard drives, where they are not given any driver, yet vista thinks they have the most up to date drive installed :s these work on an xp machine.

has everyone else recently started to get these problems (vista update?)
 
have u tried changing the setting for the usb in the BIOS ? as most new boards have "Full speed" and "high speed" one of which is the correct USB 2.0 speed and the other is a slower older speed i think 240mbps vs 480mbps


My P5k3 intel P35 chipset board has the option to set it lower...

give it a try and see if it helps at all...
 
Could the USB issues be related to an overheating ICH?

Does your southbridge feel scorching hot?

The only other thing I can think of is when the computer goes into standby then sometimes the USB devices don't always wake up properly when you resume
 
Power consumption of the devices is important too, if you have 2 devices drawing the maximum allowed (500mA each I think) from one header it might be too much drain. I had this problem with 2 Datasafe CD Librarys - wouldnot work plugged into one motherboard header. Splitting them up worked but eventually I plugged a PCI USB card in to spread the load and all OK again. There were (are) a lot of other USB devices plugged in and maybe the total load was too much. The order in which they're enumerated can cause issues too if a string of hubs are involved - in which case juggling them around to different positions can help. You'll see this as a big delay on boot.
 
In device manager select the properties of the items under Universal Serial Bus. You can check the percentage of power going to a usb device and also see what is required from the device currently plugged in. Also, you might want to check there thats its not set to powersave mode.

I tend to use the usb ports attached to the board rather than ones extending via cables. I've found in the past that it doesn't supply enought power for the device. Newer cases should be alright.
 
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thanks for the info, but so far i can rule out:
Temperature - not overclocked in a 900 case, the max temp i ever get is 40C
Too much Power to the usb - i checked on device manager, i am only using 170mA and 3% bandwidth
This problem occures with all usb slots (i usually use mobo slots) but they all black out at the same time.
I have not checked the usb BIOS yet, i will report back what settings i had/changed to after i restart.

Cheers
 
ok, ive checked and changed the bios:
i am now using HI speed rather than Full speed and have enabled "port 64/60 Emulation" (i dont really know what this is), there are also options for legacy USB support ( on Auto) and options for "BIOS EHCH Hand Off" (Enabled), i dont know what either of these and have left them as they were.
 
ive been thinking that the trouble could be caused could be caused by a vista update. i found this update which appears to coincide with the date when the trouble started, Any thoughts?

Update for Windows Vista (KB941600)

Installation date: ‎14/‎11/‎2007 22:50

Installation status: Successful

Update type: Recommended

This update resolves some reliability issues in the USB core components on the Windows Vista operating system. You can achieve better reliability in various scenarios by installing this update. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.

More information:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/941600

Help and Support:
http://support.microsoft.com
 
Finally given up on mine, after another install USB was still being dropped and now with the occassional blue screen.

So ordered a P5Q Pro a few hours ago, which should be with my tomorrow :)

A rushed descision so hope this choice was ok....
 
Hey ant2221, just a few more thoughts.

I've had a rogue USB device before that caused issues when connected, pretty long shot I know but have you tested for a misfunctioning USB device?

I've heard that in some rare examples the USB ports/block on the board can suffer from Dry-Solder/Dry-Joint? I don't really know what this means but it was something a tech support guy told me back in 2003 when I was troubleshooting a USB device that kept disconnecting.

Has the board been knocked recently? have you tried pushing down on the USB-Ports/Block, the downwards pressure may heal a bad joint a little maybe?

Good luck! :)
 
i have had the usb trouble for a while now (randomly disconnecting) but i have only just got the not accepting any usb storage device problem.

thinking about it, i do alter a lot of things in my rig often, and i moved the rig home from uni the day before the problem of not accepting any usb storage device became apparent.

i have checked all of the connectors onto the mobo, but i cant figure out how all usb devices disconnect at the same time.

thanks for the help, i will recheck all connections and have a general sort out of cabling.

cheers
 
sorted - i think

i had a good clear out yesterday night, took all of the wiring out and hard drives. cleared all he dust and other crap that accumulates, then put it all back. i had a few error messages which prevented windows starting but not i sorted those i think its all fine.

i haven used the system for long so havent found any small intermittent problems yet, but it now takes usb storage devices fine.

cheers for the help
 
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