The New Beginner's Guide to USB Port Configuration

[Say Heading]

As far as I can see your motherboard features an extra "add-on" USB chipset by ASMedia, complimenting the Intel ones built in. The ASMedia ports are the PXSX ones. They do not figure in the 15-port limit.

That sounds promising! You are right, two ASMedias, each with 4 additional ports PRT1-4 and HS01/02+SS01/02.
So I do my mapping just on the XHC controller and should be fine (hopefully).
Only checking the result might take some time as I´m still struggling with the change from an ancient (quirkless) Clover install with Catalina into the cold waters of OpenCore 0.7.7 and Monterey.
An interesting but still frustratingly unsuccessful journey

The more general question about whether or not the 15-ports relates to all controllers or just per controller is a point on which I disagree with most. Suffice to say Apple haven't produced a mixed controller set-up. Yes, you can add a PCI controller card from NEC, ASmedia and a few others etc., but they are always treated as "external".

Well, who cares - as long as they are working! Thanks for your input!

 

[UtterDisbelief]

That sounds promising! You are right, two ASMedias, each with 4 additional ports PRT1-4 and HS01/02+SS01/02.
So I do my mapping just on the XHC controller and should be fine (hopefully).
Only checking the result might take some time as I´m still struggling with the change from an ancient (quirkless) Clover install with Catalina into the cold waters of OpenCore 0.7.7 and Monterey.
An interesting but still frustratingly unsuccessful journey


Well, who cares - as long as they are working! Thanks for your input!

Remember the XhciPortLimit quirk does not work with macOS versions since Big Sur 11.3.

 

[Say Heading]

Remember the XhciPortLimit quirk does not work with macOS versions since Big Sur 11.3.

Yes, that´s why I want to have that map ready beforehand (and I need a break from fighting the USB installer´s setup...). Or should I interpret this as hidden hint to better stay below a total of 15 including the Asmedias?

 

[UtterDisbelief]

Yes, that´s why I want to have that map ready beforehand (and I need a break from fighting the USB installer´s setup...). Or should I interpret this as hidden hint to better stay below a total of 15 including the Asmedias?

I hide nothing!

No, for now ignore the PXSX ports. Just map the XHCI and keep to 15. The ASMedia ports can look after themselves.

 

[Say Heading]

So finally I followed your advice. But at first I followed the Dortania guide and also mapped both ASMedia controllers (PXSX) simply because the USBMapSample.kext had templates in it.
Works.
But after that I deleted them from the final USBMap.kext and the result is the same. All ports there (IOReg), all of them working.

There is just an issue with an NVMe (Samsung 970PRO M.2) in an external USB-housing (my former OS drive previously connected to the NVMe motherboard connector, Catalina, Clover) that now freezes the finder and/or Blackmagic Disk Speed Test, even with NVMeFix.kext. Hopefully no mapping fault from my side, effects both the fully mapped system as well as the XHC-only mapped one.

 

[manolo2001]

Hi,

I'm in need of some help. I have for some time now been trying to install Monterey in a setup I have.

Supermicro X10SAE motherboard, it`s a C226 chipset
i7-5775C CPU
AMD WX Pro 4100 GPU
SMBIOS iMac 16,2

I have followed the guide and managed to map every USB port, (both USB 2 and 3), they all work properly. Nevertheless, I am not being able to boot my Monterey USB Drive properly, and a test drive I made and upgraded to Big Sur 11.6.4 will not boot either.

I am attaching screenshots of IORegistry Explorer and Hackintool, that show what I have working, and a copy of my EFI.

I have 15 ports mapped in Hackintool, but IO Explorer shows a whole bunch of other ports, including two AppleUSB20InternalHUBs that have a bunch of other USB ports, I can't see in Hackintool.

I also see some PXSX ports.

The boot process for the Monterey Installer stops when it is going to show the Install GUI. And neither mouse nor keyboard work.

I have checked the Dortania guide extensively and tried various things but nothing gets me past the boot process into the GUI. I am also attaching a copy of the dumped txt file.

Any help is welcome,

Thanks

Manolo

 

[Nodarkthings]

Hi @UtterDisbelief ! Hope you're fine.
Across the years, I think I've tried on my Z68 every available method, and the closest I got to a working USB3 is yours... But still, it doesn't work: AFAICT, Hackintool shows what's expected, Apple Info too (though the 2nd USB3 shows the same values as the 1st one), but IOREG doesn't fit with your indications.
Is the Z68 doomed for USB3? Or is this some additional trick I could try?

Note that I've renamed PXSX to XHC_ in OpenCore (50585358 > 5848435F) as a last attempt...
I've also tried SSDT-EHCx_OFF.aml but my USB2 ports were unavailable...

I'm currently running Mojave and I'd be glad even to use the USB3 ports as USB2 if it worked...
Until 10.11, I've been using GenericUSBXHCI.kext or CalDigitUSBxHCI.kext with good enough results.

 

[Feartech]

Hi @UtterDisbelief ! Hope you're fine.
Across the years, I think I've tried on my Z68 every available method, and the closest I got to a working USB3 is yours... But still, it doesn't work: AFAICT, Hackintool shows what's expected, Apple Info too (though the 2nd USB3 shows the same values as the 1st one), but IOREG doesn't fit with your indications.
Is the Z68 doomed for USB3? Or is this some additional trick I could try?

Note that I've renamed PXSX to XHC_ in OpenCore (50585358 > 5848435F) as a last attempt...
I've also tried SSDT-EHCx_OFF.aml but my USB2 ports were unavailable...

I'm currently running Mojave and I'd be glad even to use the USB3 ports as USB2 if it worked...
Until 10.11, I've been using GenericUSBXHCI.kext or CalDigitUSBxHCI.kext with good enough results.

View attachment 543452

View attachment 543451

View attachment 543450

do the doubles light up in green when you attach a device to them? also HS01 and HS02 would normally be set to USB3.0

then delete the ones not in use to be in the 15 limit

 

[Nodarkthings]

do the doubles light up in green when you attach a device to them? also HS01 and HS02 would normally be set to USB3.0

then delete the ones not in use to be in the 15 limit

Here's what I get when plugging a USB2 key (HS01 and HS02 light up), then a USB3 (SS01 and SS02 light up). I don't know why there are doubles, they are not in my USBMap.kext but they always appear in Hackintool...
As for the EH all light up except for HP11 and HP13 (they are not in USBMap.kext but are always there anyway...)

N.B.: the info.plist from USBMap.kext is attached to my first post, as you can see, only 11 connectors are defined for EH and 4 for XHC, so I'm already in the 15 limit.

EDIT: I've tried your suggestion to set HS01 and HS02 to USB3.0 (ans SS01 and SS02 to USB2), Hackintool reflects those changes but I still have doubles and nothing mounts in the Finder, as before...

 

[Edhawk]

I always thought the Etron USB controllers (ET168) were treated as 'External' USB ports, i.e. not counted within the 15 port limit, as they are not Intel ports/controller, as is the case for Asmedia USB ports? Also how a MacPro treats a PCIe USB card's ports.

I can't recall a Z68 board having any Intel USB3 ports. The USB3 ports on a Z68 board usually are provided by Asmedia, Etron or another third-party.

Using the PXSX to XHC_ rename patch means you now have 5 x XHC controllers:
(/_SB/PCI0/RP04/XHC),
(/_SB/PCI0/RP05/XHC),
(/_SB/PCI0/RP06/XHC),
(/_SB/PCI0/RP07/XHC) and
(/_SB/PCI0/RP08/XHC).

Only RP05 and RP06 are generating any usable USB ports.

Do the 8 x ports (4 x USB2 and 4 x USB3), which should all be set with the connector Type USB3, show up if they are not renamed to XHC?

I have taken a number of screenshots from the manual for your Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3, to show which USB ports are USB2 (Intel RED) and which are USB3 (Etron BLUE)

These are the USB ports present in your Z68 system:


You seem to have 8 x USB2 ports showing up, without needing to do anything. Are these the 8 x USB2 physical ports on the rear I/O plate?




The Internal ports on your motherboard can be found in locations 16 (USB2 headers) and 17 (USB3 header) on the image below:


Are any of the Internal USB2 ports (Red rectangle) connected to your case front ports/card reader or Bluetooth module?

Is the USB3 header (Blue rectangle) connected to 2 x USB3 ports on the case front?

You need to identify which physical port or header port works with each port shown in Hackintool. This may be easier to see if you also observe which ports are activated in IORegistryExplorer.

What might also help is using the comment column in Hackintool to state which port is associated with each port shown. The screenshot below shows an example of what I mean.



The Comment column can be populated by right-clicking in the empty field for any port, and then typing the location of the USB port. It helps, and the comments are also included in any exported USBPorts.kext etc.