USB problems

[ninelogical]

Hello,

I am experiencing USB 2.0 and 3.0 failures on my Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 rev.1.0. Does anyone know if there is some kind of test software for USB ports that i could use to see if the hardware is ok or not or if the ports are compliant to the standard?

I think the problems have existed since i bought the mother board. The first symptom i saw, right from the beginning since i bought it, was that on the usb 3.0 ports when i had a external usb3.0 hard drive connected (or usb3.0 memory stick), after about 20 - 30 minutes of usage (watching a movie) it would freeze the drive/stick access for a few minutes, then it would work again. This problem exists on both USB 3.0 back ports on the mother board and the 2 front panel ports (using the connector on the left of the TPM header). I tried upgrading to newer usb 3.0 drivers and newer bios but that didn't solve the problem. My solution was to use the USB 2.0 ports, those didn't freeze the hard drive but the speed was obviously lower...

The second symptom appeared when i bought a linksys usb 300mb/s wifi adapter. At first when browsing the internet nothing would go wrong, the problem is that when trying to transfer lots of data at high speed the wifi stick would stop working, the connection would be lost and no more network would be detected although there are a few wifi networks around and the led on the wifi stick keeps on blinking. This problem happens on all USB ports (2.0 and 3.0). I tested the linksys USB wifi stick under the same network access load, on my father's laptop and my girlfriend's laptop (with their internal wifi adapters turned off) with the same driver (for the stick) and operating system and it does not fail.
It has been almost a month since i bought the usb wifi stick and the problem has gotten worst, now the usb fails even if i try to open an email.

I have also tried reinstalling windows 7 and windows 8 but the problem is still there.

Searching the internet i found that the power supply can be to blame, so i also tested it on my old PC and the usb wifi does not fail.

What can i do?

Thank you very much

[Gloup_Gloup]

Hi adrian.os86,

Keep contact for answer...

The Usb key or External Hard Drive are functionnal on USB2? I see yes it is okay , but slow....

About Windows:
Try to create a new account (user account)...
How to:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-hk/windows7/create-a-user-account

When a new account are created, reboot, and enter to new account... Keep this account for make a tests....

Now try your Hardware USB3 , like Usb key, Wifi ....

Come here, for news about this solution...

Gives us more details, about your hardware configuration, like PSU, RAM, SSD, Monitor, ....
Version of Bios motherboard, details if you are in RAID situation, Overclocking situation...

What is your Revision of motherboard?
Because he exist many version :
GA-990FXA-UD3 (rev. 1.0)   to (rev. 3.0)
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3894#ov
Check in manual page 3 for How to check ....
http://download.gigabyte.us/FileList/Manual/mb_manual_ga-990fxa-ud3_e.pdf


Have you  install drivers about USB3 on the Gigabyte web site?

By exemple, Here are drivers for windows 7 - 64bit for  GA-990FXA-UD3 (rev. 1.0)
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3894#dl

What is your actual Windows, exactely... like Windows Ultimate 7 with Service Pack (SP1) by exemple....

[ninelogical]

Hello Gloup_Gloup,

I double checked today as the manual shows on page 3. I have a GA-990FXA-UD3 rev. 1.0. I have also tried to solve the problem with an updated to the bios to version F9, but the problem is still there.
I used windows 7 64bit business for almost an year. I tried re-installing it after a complete format but the error was there again.
Now i'm using windows 8 64bit professional and the error is still here.
Yes the drivers i used for usb3.0 are from the Gigabyte website and they are for my motherboard model and revision.

The usb HDDs or memory sticks work great on the USB2.0 ports, they sometimes hang in the usb3.0 ports, only the Wi-fi adapter fails on both usb 2.0 and 3.0 as i said in my previous post.

I have tried today what you have asked, after the new user account has been created and a restart, after i log into the new account and start web browsing the usb port of the wifi adapter fails again.

More details about my system:
PSU: Seasonic X-760

CPU: AMD FX X8 8120 no overclocking

SSD: Kingston V+200 120gb (bios ahci mode set; no raid)

GPU: PowerColor Radeon HD 6850     AX68501GBD5-S3DHG

RAM: Kingston KHX1866C9D3K2/8GX     http://www.kingston.com/datasheets/KHX1866C9D3K2_8GX.pdf
For the ram i tried the default automatic bios configuration of SPD JEDEC DDR3-1333 CL9-9-9 @1.5V and the manual bios configuration DDR3-1866 CL9-11-9-27 @1.65V but the problem is in both cases.

Monitor: LG IPS235V-BN

I am out of ideeas please help
Thank you very much

[Gloup_Gloup]

Hi again, 

Have you in the past time, installed Service Pack of windows?

I think is important to make it...

[ninelogical]

Hello

Yes under windows 7 i had service pack 1 installed and the it didn't solve the problem.
In winodws 8 there is no service pack

[Gloup_Gloup]

Hi again, 

I go to talk with the Moderator of forum.

I send a private message to him about your situation.

Maybe he check your message Tomorrow.. but I am not sure....

[absic]

Hi there,

not sure what is going on with your system and this kind of problem can be really frustrating to resolve and sometimes, sadly, it can't be.

A fairly easy way to test if the basic hardware is OK is to run a live version of Linux, something like Ubuntu or Mint. You don't need to install this to the hard drives as it will run from the CD or USB stick. If the problem with USB and Wi-Fi are still present then the problem is probably a hardware fault. If everything works OK then it is more likely to be down to software. I would do this first and then post back with the result of your test.

[ninelogical]

Hello again,

I didn't get a chance to test a live linux until this weekend. I tried Ubuntu but i couldn't test the wifi stick because it does not have drivers for linux.
The usb hdd or memory sticks seem to hang but that could possibly be due to the linux being a live version from the cd.

Is there any third party application/software for windows i could use to test the USBs?
I want to do a test or something before i send the motherboard in for warranty service (an authorized service should have hardware devices for testing that i don't want to buy such as a USB3.0/2.0 loopback plug).

Thank you

[ninelogical]

Hello again,

I was walking by a computer store today and i thought to my self why not try a PCI USB card. So i went in and i bought on for less than 10 euro.
It was no surprise to me when i installed it and the USBs on it worked great with the wifi stick at high speed for long periods of time. So its confirmed the motherboard is to blame. I test the USBs on the motherboard again and they failed in the same load as the PCI USB card.

What did surprise me was that i noticed something shiny on a portion of the motherboard. I think its some liquid maybe from the capacitors (but they should be solid capacitors as the motherboard specs say...) or maybe thermal paste from the small gray heatsink of the motherboard (the one between the AM3+ slot and all the external connectors of the board).
I would clean it myself but i don't think it will do any good.
I mabe some pictures:

http://i39.tinypic.com/2ylslkn.jpg
http://i43.tinypic.com/2ujo0pd.jpg
http://i42.tinypic.com/wv7eyt.jpg
http://i44.tinypic.com/2eq5atz.jpg

Now, can someone please tell me if this constitutes enough reason for a RMA?

Thank you