USB 2.0 flash drive isn't PnP with Skylake motherboard?

[jana519]

I just built a new desktop with a Pentium G4500 and Gigabyte H110 motherboard. I want to read my USB flash drives but I plug them in - and nothing happens. This is Windows 7.

Either I have to install a driver, or I need to update to SP2. Really disappointed USB 2.0 isn't PnP and doesn't work out of the box.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Uhh, you've run into the "Skylake / Windows 7 USB XHCI issue".

On the Skylake platform, ALL USB controllers are XHCI, including the supposed "USB 2.0" ports. They may be compatible with USB2.0 devices, but the controllers themselves are USB3.0 controllers, and need the USB3.0 drivers installed to work in Windows 7.

Windows 7's installer, unless suitably modified, only supports EHCI USB2.0 controllers, not XHCI USB3.0 controllers. Thus, your USB ports don't work after it's installed, nor can you install it from a USB flash drive, unless, again, the installer is suitably modified, and the XHCI controller drivers are slip-streamed into the image.

If the rig has a SATA optical drive, and the UEFI / BIOS supports "PS/2 port 60/64 emulation", then enable that, it will get your USB mouse / keyboard working in Win7, and then use the mobo driver CD to install the USB3.0 drivers into Win7, then reboot, and disable PS/2 port emulation".

Otherwise, boot a recent Linux LiveUSB (Mint 18 works), and then download the USB3.0 drivers from the web site to a directory on the windows' filesystem. Then, reboot into Win7, with the PS/2 port emulation enabled, and install the USB3.0 drivers that way. Then reboot and disable PS/2 port emulation.

 

[jana519]

If the rig has a SATA optical drive, and the UEFI / BIOS supports "PS/2 port 60/64 emulation", then enable that, it will get your USB mouse / keyboard working in Win7, and then use the mobo driver CD to install the USB3.0 drivers into Win7, then reboot, and disable PS/2 port emulation".

I'm using the optical drive to load the drivers right now! Luckily, this desktop has one - my G3258 mini ITX system didn't and I haven't used an optical in forever. But I decided to add one this time around because there are some DVD documentaries I want to borrow from the local library.

So Skylake controllers are XHCI USB 3.0? Sweet, I didn't know that. Thanks!