USB 3 Not working

[miramar]

Yes, it was the cheapest on Amazon.
But I guess for 10 euros, the 8GB, there is no reason to buy the 6€ cheap USB2 (stupid me!)

Thanks, it's always good to be able to compare.

It's my first hack, and I am always wondering: do I get as good as the real Mac, or it's limited?
Or anyway, it would also this speed on a mac mini?
etc.

I admit, it's really stupid, but I can't stop thinking.

No, it's not. I have to admit also that I get obsessed with the same thing sometimes.

I will probably rerun some of the speeds on a real Mac if I had the chance. I actually had a brand new MBP 13" the other day but I totally forgot about doing it.

I just had a look at the USB 3.0 flash drives available at my local shop. They have:

Apacer AH350: Even cheaper than the JF700 but worse performance.
Kingston DT Ultimate G2 USB3: Almost double the price of the JF700 but good speeds.
Sandisk Cruzer CZ80: About USD10 more than the JF700 and pretty good speeds though not as fast as the Ultimate G2. I might pick one up tomorrow just to try it out.

As promised, here is a test of my Seagate Expansion 500GB (ST500LM012 HN-M500MBB). Bear in mind, it was almost full, 8GB free space. I deleted the first batch of stuff that I copied onto it, about 50GB, so the test should be near the front of the disk.

 

[miramar]

I got a 4-port USB 3.0 hub and things that didn't work previously when plugged into the onboard USB 3.0 ports, such as USB 2.0 USB HDs and flash drives, now works fine with the hub.

Also managed to pick up a new Sandisk Extreme USB 3.0 64GB flash drive. This thing is fast.

 

[PJALM]

Ok so you got USB2 media devices working fine in the USB 3.0 ports? How did you do it? Yes they work on my MBP but not any hack I have tried that uses the Intel Series 7 USB 3.0. I did get it to work on a ASMedia and NEC but they both have sleep issues. How did you fix the USB2 issue?

Only reason I tell people its an issue is because of how many people I have helped in chat who have this issue.

 

[miramar]

Ok so you got USB2 media devices working fine in the USB 3.0 ports? How did you do it? Yes they work on my MBP but not any hack I have tried that uses the Intel Series 7 USB 3.0. I did get it to work on a ASMedia and NEC but they both hav sleep issues. SO again how did you fix the USB2 issue?

Only reason I tell people its an issue is because of how many people I have helped in chat who have this issue.

No, I haven't. USB2 media devices still do not work with the motherboard's USB3 ports. They do work when plugged into a USB3 hub.

 

[DBP]

Note that some of the USB3 ports on some motherboards are connected to on-board USB3 hubs. It would be interesting to hear if these behave properly with USB2 devices.

For example the documentation for the GA-Z77X-UP5 TH board says that:

• 2x USB3 ports on an internal header are connected directly to the Z77.
• 4x USB3 ports on the rear panel are connected to VIA USB3 hubs.
• 4x USB3 ports on internal headers are connected to the USB3 hubs.

On that board it would be interesting to clarify:

• Whether the 4 rear USB3 ports work OK with USB2 devices without needing an external hub.
• If so, which of the internal USB3 headers has ports that work with USB2 devices without needing extra hubs.

Also if there are 4x USB3 ports on the Z77 and two of them go to hubs, which ports are connected to which hub? In some cases you might want to spread devices across the ports so they weren't having to share bandwidth on the same hub (although this was more of an issue with USB2 than USB3).

There are no internal hubs in my H77N-WIFI, so it's a bit simpler.

 

[DBP]

I just did a review of this thread and checked some specs. It seems that:

• [EDIT: removed comment about ovb1's P67 board].
  
• The GA-Z77X-UD5H used by the_gael has 2x Z77 USB3 ports on an internal header, 4x "hubbed" USB3 ports on the rear panel, and another 4 hubbed ports on internal headers. the_gael reports USB2 devices work OK on the rear panel but not on the F_USB30_1 internal header. They work OK on the F_USB30_2 header (and presumably also F_USB30_3).
  
• Anyone (including me) who's connected a USB3 hub to their USB3 ports has found that USB2 devices all work fine.

So with these data points there seems to be a trend. Some classes of USB2 device don't work unless connected through USB3 hubs.

I'm prepared to make at least a small wager that most (if not all) of the Apple machines route their USB3 ports through internal hubs and thus we're seeing "normal" behaviour.
EDIT: Maybe not. Just looked at a 2012 MacBook Air and couldn't see any sign in System Information of an internal USB3 hub. Oh well.

 

[miramar]

FWIW, the USB 3.0 hub that I'm using shows this. Seems to be a VIA chipset.

4-Port USB 3.0 Hub:

Product ID: 0x0810
Vendor ID: 0x2109 (VIA Labs, Inc.)
Version: 3.88
Speed: Up to 5 Gb/sec
Manufacturer: VIA Labs, Inc.
Location ID: 0x14c00000 / 2
Current Available (mA): 900
Current Required (mA): 2

 

[ovb1]

Hi just to clarify the USB 3 ports on my P67 motherboard have never actually worked! All kexts enable the super speed bus but they do not work with any USB 3 device. Also wake from sleep is usually bricked with the USB 3 kexts loaded. I've given up trying to make them work tbh
I have updated all the VIA hub firmware and Renesas chip firmware.

I just did a review of this thread and checked some specs. It seems that:

• The GA-P67A-UD5-B3 used by ovb1 which has working USB3 ports may route them through onboard VL810 hubs.
  
• The GA-Z77X-UD5H used by the_gael has 2x Z77 USB3 ports on an internal header, 4x "hubbed" USB3 ports on the rear panel, and another 4 hubbed ports on internal headers. the_gael reports USB2 devices work OK on the rear panel but not on the F_USB30_1 internal header. They work OK on the F_USB30_2 header (and presumably also F_USB30_3).
  
• Anyone (including me) who's connected a USB3 hub to their USB3 ports has found that USB2 devices all work fine.

So with these data points the trend seems clear. Some classes of USB2 device don't work unless connected through USB3 hubs.

I'm prepared to make at least a small wager that most (if not all) of the Apple machines route their USB3 ports through internal hubs and thus we're seeing "normal" behaviour.
EDIT: Maybe not. Just looked at a 2012 MacBook Air and couldn't see any sign in System Information of an internal USB3 hub. Oh well.

 

[DBP]

Gotcha. Elided the comment about your board, thanks.

 

[Middleman]

I can confirm on Ivy Bridge, the USB 3.0 sockets on my Gigabyte Z77X-UP5-TH work absolutely fine with USB 2.0 devices. You need to update to firmware F11 and change XHCI to AUTO, and Preboot XHCI detection to enabled, as well as enabling USB 3.0 and USB legacy support. Through my method you can get it to recognise at boottime with 10.8.2. As long as you select NO USB DRIVERS AT ALL WHEN INSTALLING MULTIBEAST THE FIRST TIME, it'll work.
If it doesn't work for you, a clean install most certainly will if you set it to the above settings...

The only thing is now my Sandy Bridge board Asus P8Z68 V Pro. Yes I am having the same symptoms as everyone else here and sorting it out. I have an Asmedia board which is using the Caldigit driver. Cannot see USB 2.0 devices, only 3.0 devices at the moment...