GA-Z87X-UD4H - Not all USB ports active at boot time? (anyone else?)

[tbessie]

Hi folks!

I just configured a new system using a new Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD4H, and noticed several odd things about it, having to do with the USB ports:

1) Only the bottom (or leftmost) 4 USB ports on the back of the motherboard are seen by the BIOS at boot time; the top 2 USB ports, and ports attached to the USB 3.0 header (#1 - I haven't tried header #2) are not visible at boot time. Any device plugged into anything but those 4 ports is invisible at boot time - keyboard is not seen, flash drive is not seen, etc.

2) When booting from a flash drive on one of those 4 active ports, the motherboard sometimes reports "MACHINE CHECK ERROR" in large block letters at the top of the screen, and stops responding.

I'm running a pretty robust system, all the various parts check out, memory is good, I've built lots of computers before and haven't seen anything like this.

Has anyone seen this before? Why would only those 4 ports be available at boot time?

After installing Windows, all USB ports (both all I/O external ports and those attached to the USB 3.0 header #1) work fine.

I wonder if this is a bug with this kind of motherboard, or something wrong with this particular unit, or even something having to do with the controller for those particular ports vs the others; older Gigabyte motherboards I've used have had their own USB controllers on them, which weren't activated until drivers for them were loaded (but the native Intel chipset USB ports were active).  If the latter - isn't it kind of late in motherboard development to lack BIOS support for all provided USB ports and headers?

Can anyone else reproduce this?

- Tim

PS One of the most annoying parts of this is how I cannot use the front case USB ports for booting from a flash drive, for example, due to the above.  I could potentially used the USB2/USB3 converter cable that came with the case and use one of the USB 2.0 headers to make this work, but that kind of defeats the purpose to me.  If the motherboard contains native Intel USB 3.0 support, shouldn't that work at boot time, and shouldn't at least one of the USB 3.0 headers be one of them?

[OUT FOX EM]

Not sure if you already figured this out or not, but I'll post the solution anyway just in case anyone else has this issue.

If you can make it into the BIOS, turn off Fast Boot/Ultra Fast Boot and change it to Normal Boot instead.  Then it will scan all USB ports during boot up.  

[tbessie]

Not sure if you already figured this out or not, but I'll post the solution anyway just in case anyone else has this issue.

If you can make it into the BIOS, turn off Fast Boot/Ultra Fast Boot and change it to Normal Boot instead.  Then it will scan all USB ports during boot up.  

Thanks for your suggestion - I've never had Fast Boot or Ultra Fast boot enabled - it's always been normal boot.  The same problem continues.

It's making think of just waiting around until Gigabyte puts on a new revision of this board with revision C2 chipsets and other bugs hopefully worked out, since I don't want to send the current board back to Gigabyte and maybe risk getting a refurb back, etc.

- Tim

[dmdilks]

I don't want to send the current board back to Gigabyte and maybe risk getting a refurb back, etc.

I have done about 4 RMA's with Gigabyte. I have got all the boards that I sent in back. Getting a refurb is about 5 to 10%.

I have seen a lot of things on mother boards. But that has to be odd's thing I even heard. Don't work at boot up but fine in windows.

When you 1st installed windows did you have to install USB3 drivers. Like some of the older boards. If you did, that is why they don't work at boot up.

Yes they are Intel, and yes they should work. But if you have to install drivers. Then they will not work at boot up.

USB3 Came out in November 2008. You would think that it would be standard by now.

[tbessie]

I have done about 4 RMA's with Gigabyte. I have got all the boards that I sent in back. Getting a refurb is about 5 to 10%.

So they've usually fixed the board you sent in and sent it back, instead of a new one? I wonder what they do - unsolder chips and solder on new ones?

I have seen a lot of things on mother boards. But that has to be odd's thing I even heard. Don't work at boot up but fine in windows.

When you 1st installed windows did you have to install USB3 drivers. Like some of the older boards. If you did, that is why they don't work at boot up.

Yes they are Intel, and yes they should work. But if you have to install drivers. Then they will not work at boot up.

USB3 Came out in November 2008. You would think that it would be standard by now.

Nope, didn't have to install special drivers when I installed windows - I plugged the USB stick that I had my windows installer on into one of the 4 back USB 3.0 ports that work at boot time (tho' I haven't tried that without having a keyboard simultaneously plugged into one of those same 4 ports - for all I know, the "keyboard needs to be plugged in at the same time to the same USB 3.0 header" problem may effect those as well).

Yes, I would think ALL USB 3.0 headers and ports on the motherboard would work at boot time, but on this motherboard they don't.

I wish I had someone with another one of these boards that could test to see if they see the same problems, but nobody has replied who has one and wants to run a few tests. :-(

I'm guessing it's tied to which USB 3.0 ports/headers are directly connected to the USB 3.0 controller, and which go through the Renesas hub, but Gigabyte said they couldn't tell me which did which - you'd think they'd KNOW that, since they make the damn things, eh?

- Tim