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Crashes when I use USB 2.0 devices

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gfngfgf

Member
I'm not quite sure what's going on here. My computer consistently locks up when I use a USB2.0 device. Specifically, I can't copy files to my external hard drive for longer than about 5 minutes before the computer locks up (sometimes giving a BSOD "MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION", sometimes just locks up). I have tried a lot of things but can't seem to figure this out. The only solution which seems to work is to go into BIOS and change the USB option to "v1.1 only", but then my devices are insanely slow. (My specs are in my sig)

I've RMAed the motherboard, but the problem persists. I've tried many different BIOS versions and nForce driver versions (with and without the IDE driver...never have installed NAM).

I've checked the RAM with memtest86 as well as tested the computer with one stick at a time.

I've reinstalled Windows and uninstalled and unplugged all hardware except the essentials (CPU, RAM, hard drive, DVD drive, video card). This happens even on a fresh install.

The external hard drive works perfectly with my laptop and my parent's computer. I guess the problem could very well be my hard drive or CPU, but I'm very cautious about going through another RMA process. Has anybody heard of this problem before?

edit: typo
 
If it only happens when copying to/from the external USB and your system is otherwise stable, the problem is with your USB port. Could be your mobo needs the firmware updated, could be you need to update the mobo drivers.

The Epox 9NPA is an nForce4 mobo. Which nForce mobo drivers did you install? I do not recommend downloading the generic ones from NVidia's site. You are much better off downloading the latest driver from the mobo manufacturer's site - that driver will be specifically designed to work best with your mobo.

Are you going through a HUB? I so you shouldn't. External HDDs should always be connected directly to the USB port.

Could be some other USB deivce interfering. I've seen this happen a lot. Disconnect all your USB devices except keyboard and mouse and see if the problem persists.

I have also seen some mobos that just don't implement USB 2.0 well and have problems with high-speed devices like HDDs. While nForce4 mobos really shouldn't have that problem, you never know. It's probably worth spending $15 on an add-on PCI USB 2.0 card and try connecting the external drive to that and see if it behaves.

Hope this helps...

 
thanks for the tips. I've used nforce4 drivers 6.39, 6.53, 6.66, and 6.70, but I've always used the generic ones from nvidia. I will try out the ones from epox's website.

No hub, and I've tried running with nothing else connected except the hard drive in question. Perhaps the add-on PCI card is an option I need to explore.

Thanks again for your advice.
 
You know, I have the exact same problem. If I try to copy anything that will take longer then 10 minutes it will crash. This machien uses an epox 8kha+.
At first I couldn't even get the thing to boot up with USB ebabled, but some new mobo drivers and a USB 2.0 PCI card fixed that. Now I have this crashing problem.
 
What OS and service pack? Have you checked to see if everything is working properly and installed in the device mangler? It could still be they need a bios fix, e.g. In september, MSI released a new bios for the K8N SLI that addressed USB 2.0 issues with certain devices. Couldn't hurt to e-mail them about it. Might want to try another USB cable as well.
 
FlyingPenguin: just installed the nforce4 drivers from epox's website, and still the same thing.

Crud, forgot to mention OS. I'm on WinXP w/ SP2. I've e-mailed tech support about it, which is what ultimately led to the RMA. No errors or in device manager. I also have two usb2.0 hard drives, and it's the same story with both of them.

I guess my next step is to get a USB2.0 PCI card.
 
Yeah I'd try that next. You can always return the card, and they're cheap. It'll answer a lot of questions. If it doesn't crash with the card then you know it's a hardware or driver issue with the onboard USB. If it crashes with the card then it's either a problem with the external HDD that just doesn't show up on the other system you tried it on, or it's a problem with the OS on your system.

I see problems like this all the time on older mobos, but it's supriseing to see it on an nForce4 mobo.

My server for instance is an old IWill chipset mobo and it has issues with any high speed USB device. I'd get delayed write errors when using an external USB HDD and transferring large files. So I wound up buying a Belkin PCI USB 2.0 card and that solved the problem.

Good luck.
 
Quick update: over the weekend, I picked up a PCI USB2.0 card, and, as I expected, I haven't had a crash since. I've got three weeks to return this card, so I'll probably do some more troubleshooting when I have the patience. Either that, or I'll take the easy route and just keep the card and forget about the onboard USB.

I'll keep everyone updated.
 
For anyone else experiencing this problem: I just received an e-mail and phone call today from Epox support regarding the following link from Microsoft. They claimed that the patch fixed the problem for them:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=822603

The kicker is that it only installs for Windows XP SP1. If you have SP2 installed (like me), you can't install this patch. Anyway, I mention it in case it helps anyone.
 
I'm having a similar problem on the same MB. I havn't tried the PCI card fix, but doesn't anyone else see this as insane? A top of the line chipset from Nvidia that's used on dozens of motherboards doesn't do USB2 without freezing everything in sight?

There just has to be a better answer...
 
Well, dress me up and call me Sally, I think I've fixed it! I'm gonna keep trying through the night, but here's what I did: I changed the S3 USB jumper (the one by the PCIe 1x slots) to cover pins 1-2, and it seems like I don't have any more crashes. I'm going to keep copying to my external drive over and over to make absolutely certain, but this is great! Especially since Sunday is the last day I can return the PCI card 😛
 
Okay, so I was...umm, how do you say?....wrong. Still crashing. I'm just really eager to find a fix, that's all 🙁 sorry if I got anyone else's hopes up.
 
My Abit A8N SLI has exactly the same problem. Disabling USB 2.0 support in the BIOS has fixed it. Thanks to this helpful thread I'm now using a PCI USB 2.0 card, and it's working great. Before I was getting MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION every 10-15 minutes, just from my USB mouse. If they don't fix it soon I'll switching to a Via chipset with the new M1575 (e.g. the Asus A8R-MVP).

--------------------
Processor: Athlon X2 4200+
Motherboard: Abit A8N SLI
RAM: 4x512Mb Kingston PC3200 DDR400 dual channel
Video card: Leadtek PX6800TDH
Hard drive: Hitachi 7K250 250Gb
 
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