I need help guys, huge problem with new PC

[BlackWolf500.298]

I need help guys, huge problem with new PC

Hey guys,

so my new rig is great and all, and really it worked pretty well up until recently.
The PC starts fine and everything works, don't get me wrong. But as soon as I connect my Fritz Wlan USB stick with my PC (which previously worked just fine and I already installed drivers for (and which still works perfect with my old PC)) the stick activates and deactivates a few times and then all my USB ports stop working.

Now I have to say I had the problem with the USB ports stopping to work previously when I first installed the mainboard drivers, having downloaded all of them to my PC manually (because I thought "hey, the new ones will be better than the ones on the CD"). But it was different there. There I started the PC and the ports did NOT WORK AT ALL from the beginning. It even went as far as having a blue screen, after which I reinstalled Windows completely and installed the drivers of the DVD which was part of the Mainboard package.

After that everything went fine until today, when the problems I mentioned in the first paragraph occurred.
Today - just to mention this - I added a new RAM stick (4GB Corsair) to my rig which just came. Also, today Windows installed a new Service Pack on my PC. Just to note those 2 maybe they play into that.

Anyways, I first adjusted a few things here and there, for example deactivating the "deactivation of USB ports to save energy" in the windows system settings.
Then I tested and found out the following:

- My mouse and keyboard do NOT trigger the problem, no matter in which USB port they are (2.0 or 3.0, no matter in which of the ports I have)
- The problem is triggered either when the Fritz Wlan Stick is connected to a USB 2.0 port where the stick seems to go on and off a few times and then no usb port works anymore or when the Stick is in the USB3.0 port but only the moment you pull the stick OUT OF THE PORT
- A re-activation of the other USB devices is impossible without a restart
- It is not the problem of the specific stick, I have a second Fritz Wlan Stick (same model) and with this one the same is happening

Here is my setup:

Windows 7 x64
Intel i5 4690k 3,5 Ghz
MSI Nvidia Geforce GTX 970 4GB Gaming Edition
MSI Mainboard Z97 Gaming 5
8 GB RAM (of which 4 GB were added today right before the problem started)
WD 1TB HDD Blue
Enermax Thriathlor 80+ Bronze PSU Modular 550W

USB ports:

4 Mainboard USB3.0 ports
2 Mainboard USB2.0 ports
2 PC Case USB3.0 Ports
2 PC Case USB2.0 Ports
(all connected)

installed drivers:

MSI mainboard drivers (don't know specifics)
MSI mainboard USB3.0 drivers (don't know specifics)
Nvidia Graphics Drivers

I really need help, I'm starting to get the feeling my mainboard might be broken somehow, or is it more likely it is the fault of the stick(s)?

 

[Neeedles]

dou you have all right drivers installed?

 

[Thothistox]

Does it happen without the RAM you installed? Does it matter which port your USB is plugged into? What does your motherboard manual say about the USB ports?

 

[CostinRaz]

The way I see it you've got a few options:

Update your BIOS, might fix it. Check your USB options in BIOS first however problem might there. Finally if those don't work reinstall Windows.

 

[Lieste]

I don't like Wireless LAN, I still use Cat5. Doesn't help your problem at all, but just a comment. If I did want to use it, I would contemplate a PCIe card, rather than USB though, don't really like using USB for performance critical stuff.

I assume that your RAM modules are the same (down to part codes on chips?). I haven't very often added chips to a working setup without problems, and I prefer to replace and shuffle modules down through my fleet rather than 'adding' after a few expensive hiccups.

I recently bought 32GB of modules to replace the outgoing 8GB, which I have an intended 'home' for once I can be arsed to crack the old box open... and 4x1GB modules from that to stick in a box somewhere against a possible future system failure (mine or someone else's ... most of my old kit ends up in rebuilds of "dead" archaic machines that need expensive "discontinued" parts, or complete replacement).

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

Try isolating the problem. See if it happens with other OS running (for example Linux from live image). If it's not - it's a driver problem. If it happens all the same - it can be firmware problem (UEFI). In the worst case it can be a flawed motherboard.

Also, stuff stopping can be an indication of underpowered system. May be your PSU is too weak or something is wrong with it as well.

 

[BlackWolf500.298]

Thanks for all the help and advice guys, so I am going to post what I posted somewhere else already. It's pretty long so bare with me.

I looked around a little already and I didn't find that specific problem anywhere. Might be because the stick is pretty old (around 8 years) (not in terms of age but in terms of when it was designed). Could that be a problem? That the sticks hardware and software (no new drivers in the last years) is really that old that it is incompatible with the mainboard which was designed almost a generation later?

How likely is it that my mainboard is the problem? Because I made tests with programs like Prime95 (1h45min) without any errors as well as test with graphical benchmarking programs such as Uningine Heaven. I also tested my mouse (USB Wireless AND Wire (Razer Mamba)) and keyboard (HP standard keyboard, non-USB) on the PC and they work perfectly fine no matter how often I plug or unplug them. Only if the Stick comes into play the whole thing seems to have a problem. Hell, the last times my PC even completely froze (no reactions from anything anymore).

Should I just get an internal Wlan card?

Which hardware problem would that be then?
Not enough power in the PSU?
Broken PSU?

Cause I can tell you I ran tests before and all worked well.
Metal Gear Solid V Extra High Settings (max pretty much) on my 1680x1050 resolution screen with a temperature of CPU ~ 42°C and GPU ~58°C, benchmarks perfect, etc.

Are USB ports THAT power heavy?
I mean I got 10 USB ports obviously, then there is the mainboard, the processor, the MSI Gaming graphics card, the case which has 3 big fans of which 2 have LEDs, then there is 1 HDD and 1 DVD Burner. External devices are 1 mouse and 1 keyboard as well as either headphones or a 5.1 sourround system based on situation.

I also did (a few days before the problems started) transfer a lot of data from my external hard drives (I got 2 from WD) to the new PC and it worked just fine. Good transfer speed, everything went smooth as butter.

So I don't know.

I'm just really insecure. My first self-build PC and I already got problems right of. I mean I think you might be able to imagine that thinking back to the first time you build your own PC.

I just don't want my maiboard or powe supply to be insufficient or broken somehow. How likely is that?

Thanks for the answers so far, I'll definitely try to test and do what you said so far to look what the real problem might be....

I stuck it in the backpannel of the motherboard as well as the front pannel of the case and in both cases I tried the USB 2.0 and the 3.0 ports. Small difference there, on the USB 2.0 port the Stick deactivates and activates uncontrollable every 3 seconds or so and after a while all USB ports stop to respond (same in both Case and MOBO USB 2.0 ports), while if I stick it into the 3.0 ports the Stick WORKS, but as soon as I REMOVE the stick all USB connections cease to work and my PC freezes and I have to hit the power switch and start it new.

I tried a few things (none of which worked) since I last posted. Here is what I did:

- Removed the RAM Stick I had installed that day and tried it again. Same problem as before (so the added RAM doesn't seem to be the problem)
- Did install a Windows 7 Update that was said to "fix" a problem concerning a bug in Windows 7 Service Pack 1 where USB devices have problems. Didn't work either. (So despite the fact that I started to notice the problems right after the installation of Service Pack 1 it seems the problem has nothing to do with it. In fact I know I experienced a similar problem 1 time before in the beginning of setting up my PC where when Windows started no USB device would work. At the time I didn't think of the fact that the reason might be my Wlan Stick, but judging from the things I found out by testing now everything seems to indicate that)
- Tried the Stick on almost all the USB ports, 2.0. as well as 3.0, frontal as well as internal mainboard backpannel ones
- Tried up to 5 USB devices at the same time (2 external hard drives, my keyboard and mouse (Razer mamba) and an Xbox for Windows Controller) They all worked perfectly and without any problems and you could remove them and put them in again without any freezes or USB problems, data transfer rates were good (so suffice to say the problem is not power shortage....I think....)
- Re-Installed all drivers of the USB stick. Didn't help either
- Played MGSV (only game installed at the moment) on the PC, everything worked absolutely fine without any problems.

USB stick is said to support Windows 7 but the last driver update of the stick was 2011 I think and the driver support has been quit, so they do not plan on develop new drivers for the stick. So like I said, the problem could be the age of the hardware/software of the stick.

The thing with the USB HUB I will definitely try.
Someone else also pointed out that it might be the "PowerCharge" function of my MSI mainboard that is incompatible with the hardware.
So I'll try deactivating that next time.

I really don't get it you know. Games, Benchmarks (porcessor and graphic benchmarks) and normal programs, everything works on that PC. Just the damn Stick causes a **** ton of trouble.
How high is the chance this is a broken mainboard? Pretty low right? I mean the benchmarks (especially Prime95 which tests processor and mainboard) or games would have shown something unusual, the other USB devices would have the same problems. Right? I mean that makes sense, or doesn't it?

So the only possibility that is left is that this specific piece of hardware, the Wlan stick (since I tested 2 sticks of the same model) is causing the problem on it's own, either because of a software problem (maybe Win7, probably not; could be the PowerCharger, or it could simply be that the Stick is so old that it does simply not work well with my new Gaming mainboards hardware...). Does that conclusion make sense?


My options IMO are now 2:

1. An internal WLAN network card (I have enough room for that)
2. Powerline Adapters for Eathernaet over power sockets

Anyone made any good experiences with one of the two? Also, how do they compare to the sticks in terms of signal range, because my stick would give me some pretty low signal speeds sometimes (52 Mbit/s) (the router is one room next to me and then up (2 walls).

And regarding Powerline....
How exactly does that work?

Does it depend on the type of your cables and power system if it works efficiently?
Can anyone use it with any electricity system (post 90s) or do you need a specific setup?
Does it work like Lan or rather like Wlan?
How is the speed?
Are there power limitations?
And last but not least - how do you install it? Just plug it in and done or is there more to it?


The only worry I have in the back of my head is that it is a mainboard failure after all and that my mainboard is broken somehow and I don't realize it until it's too late to give it back, or that there might be other hardware problems coming up in the future with other USB devices....
I wonder if I should just go to a hardware shop nearby and let it check from head to toe so I can be sure.....

EDIT: I tried everything now and nothing works.
It's just hopeless.

Plus a new problem showed up. I never realized it before, but it seems that my second frontal USB 3.0 port does only detect SOME UBS devices. (must have been that way since the beginning, I just never checked those devices at this specific frontal USB3.0 port).

My new (3.0) External Hard Drive (WD) and my USB 3.0 Stick (Corsair) can both be detected but my Old (2.0) External Hard Drive (WD) and my Mouse (Razer Mamba) don't seem to be even noticed when plugged into the frontal USB 3.0 port. Plus the main power LED of the case doesn't seem to work.

All seems like a problem of the case intself since the OTHER USB3.0 of the case works perfectly fine and detects all devices. On the other hand if you see it in the context of the Fritz Wlan Stick problem I had I don't know what to think about it.....

I think I'll just take it to a nearby hardware store and let it get checked out from head to toe and then I decide if I send the whole crap just back and tell them to get me some compensation for it or if I keep it....

I absolutely hate this and I don't get it. I buy one PC the first time since 6 years and everything just goes to hell.
I mean either the Mainboard has a problem with the Wlan Stick AND the Case is broken (at least the USB port and the frontal LED of it) or my Mainboard goes haywire OR the PSU doesn't work properly (though the latter is unlikely considering those 2 problems are both VERY specific).

Games work 100% fine on the PC still. Played 3 - 4 hours this morning.
But the USB stuff just gets worse and worse.

Now I have a Wlan Stick having problem with EVERY USB port and shutting down my PC if plugged in an removed again, AND I seem to have a faulty USB3.0 front pannel port which does only detect SOME USB devices.....

I'll try re-installing windows completely but that is my last effort of doing anything. That thing goes to the nearest hardware store for a checkup and then (if something is wrong) probably right back to the shop I bought it.

To summarize:

- The problem exists on all ports
- The problem only occurs for the Wlan Stick. I tried my second Stick (same model) and had the same problems
- I tested 5 USB devices at the same time (2.0 and 3.0) and it worked without any problems
- I tried re-installing drivers, re-setting windows to previous settings, uninstalling some drivers, resetting BIOS, updating BIOS (which did not work since apparently MSI has no x64 bit versions of the BIOS updates on their page)
- I went to the cables again, saw that I forgot to plug in one of the Molex cables, did it, didn't make a difference
- I disabled "MSI Super Charge"
- I played MGSV for straight 3 - 4 hours without problems
- I tested MB and CPU with Prime95 for 2 hours - no errors
- I tested my graphical capability with Uningine Heaven - no problems

- A new problem occurred being that one of my 2 frontal USB3.0 ports does only detect SOME USB devices (the newer ones), not all of them (this problem might have existed from the get-go. It's possible I just didn't see it because I had those devices plugged in that actually ARE detected by the port)

To be honest guys, I don't know anymore what to do.
Everything seems to indicate I have 2 isolated problems here

1. A faulty USB3.0 port on the front pannel (part of the case)
2. A hardware incompatibility of the Wlan Stick with this particular mainboard

OR

The other possibility is my mainboard is slowly going to shit and dragging the USB ports with it into the abyss.

OR

A massive fuck-up of driver-installation (which would not be my fault since I only had standard drivers from the DVD installed when the program started and then in an attempt to solve the problem started to download and install the newest drivers which didn't work either).

The only thing I can now do is re-install windows, check if it works and afterwards (since it seems the main power LED of my case does not work either (I mean wtf!?)) get it evaluated at a nearby hardware specialist.

 

[GuyNwah]

My money's on a hardware or driver incompatibility due to the Wlan Sticks.

Occasionally USB 3 ports are troublesome and won't recognize specific devices. But if it also doesn't work on known good USB 2 ports, that smells like it's the stick's fault. Conflict between the built-in driver and your newer hardware is my best guess.

 

[BlackWolf500.298]

My money's on a hardware or driver incompatibility due to the Wlan Sticks.

Occasionally USB 3 ports are troublesome and won't recognize specific devices. But if it also doesn't work on known good USB 2 ports, that smells like it's the stick's fault. Conflict between the built-in driver and your newer hardware is my best guess.

I figured as much by now, thanks for the answer.
I got a new problem though.

As for the USB port, the problem still exists. I refrained from doing anything further with the Fritz Wlan Stick, it is clearly an incompatible piece of hardware.

But one of my frontal USB3.0 ports still does only detect SOME of the USB devices I put on there, namely the USB3.0 devices it detects, the USB2.0 ones not.
The crazy thing is the USB3.0 port RIGHT NEXT TO IT hanging on the SAME CABLE is fine and works with said device and all other devices I have.
Also my frontal USB2.0 port seems to not detect my USB3.0 Corsair Stick.

I'm lost here really. Updated all MSI (MB) drivers and installed all Windows updates successfully, even updated the MSI Bios.
It seems in the BIOS Menu the Mainboard does NOT register the device in question (My Book WD USB2.0 hard drive) if I stick it in the front pannel USB3.0 port, in every other port it is detected immediately though. Same goes for the USB3.0 stick and the front pannel USB2.0. There seems to be some serious cross-compatibility issue with the front pannel USB ports considering USB2.0 => USB3.0 and the other way around.

ANY idea what the problem could be?
I mean the USB3.0 pin is a LITTLE bit diagonal in the internal USB3.0 connector slot of the mainboard (though I am 100% sure I did NOT stick it in backwards since it has an indicator and the OTHER USB3.0 front pannel port hanging on the same connection pin works just fine) and I could check again if I connected the USB2.0 pin the right way (of which I am 99% sure), but otherwise there is nothing I can do anymore.

Anyone got an idea?

Is it possible my mainboard or PSU just slowly destroy each USB port because they are broken and the fact that only front pannel USB have problems and detect some devices and others not is a COINCIDENCE or do you still believe in an unresolved driver issue or a fault PC case?

EDIT: I just noticed that the 20pin connector of my maiboard for the USB3.0 connection only has 18 (!!!) pins. Isn't that normally supposed to have 19 pins?

Something is seriously off here....