One USB 3.0 Port on front panel malfunctioning

[TrantaLocked]

I have a 3rd party 5.25" front panel with two USB 3.0 ports. Each port goes to a single cable that connects to the USB 3.0 20-pin header on the motherboard.

Both ports usually work fine with different USB devices. But for my hard drive enclosure, it connects fine to one of the USB 3.0 ports but not the other. This is given the fact that the left port works fine with other things like USB drivers and game controllers, and that both ports have equal cable length to the motherboard header. So I really cannot think of why this would be happening. The enclosure works fine on the back USB 3.0 ports, so I assume this isn’t an issue with the enclosure.

[veeg]

Hello

Please give us your complete pc spec’s,especially on that mobo..

@Bruce @phillpower2

[TrantaLocked]

MSI Z97M-G43
i7-5775c
G.Skill 16GB DDR3 RAM
EVGA GTX 1070
EVGA SuperNova 550 G2

[Bruce]

first thing to check if you haven’t already is remove the cable from the mobo header and check all the pins are straight and making a connection.
then do the same on the 5.25" front panel (if you can).
may be as simple as a bent pin or bad connection.

what size hard drive enclosure are you using, a laptop sized drive or desktop sized?

[jmarket]

Sounds like it’s time to invest in another usb3 front panel enclosure. These are really cheap and the quality reflects that.

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[TrantaLocked]

The pins are all fine but maybe there is a disconnect in the traces. It’s a 2.5" enclosure by Orico which uses a USB C to USB A cable.

[Bruce]

cool, so power draw shouldn’t be a factor.
which leaves the device itself.
time for a new one.
or get an extension cable to bring one of the back ones to front for easy access.

[phillpower2]

Any update TrantaLocked?

[TrantaLocked]

I’ve also realized that the speed is bad on these ports, possibly running at USB 2.0 speeds. It doesn’t make much sense because it’s just an extension cable from the header to the ports, no extra circuitry like a lot of USB front panels.

[Bruce]

time for some pictures.
post some shots of the USB3 header on the mobo and of the front panel device as well.

[jmarket]

Are you sure this is usb 3 and not usb2? Yes pictures please.

[TrantaLocked]

It’s USB 3.0 but I’m nearly sure it was a connection problem at the 20-pin header. The 20-pin port for USB 3.0 in general is a very poor design especially when it’s installed sideways rather than vertically on the motherboard, but even worse is that the port on my motherboard has a plastic shell that easily comes off when you remove the cable from the port. It’s quite hard to put it back on and it’s possible something about that was causing connection issues.

I was able to temporarily get it to run at USB 3.0 speeds today but then as I went to replace the plastic shell again one of the pins got bent to the point of not being fixable. It may be a blessing in disguise because I’d rather not play the guessing game of whether or not my USB device will work with my front panel USB 3.0 ports. I still have rear USB 3.0 for fast transfers but it’s just not as convenient.

There could be a way to use my m.2 slot but I’d need some kind of cable that connects directly to it. The m.2 adapter cards with the USB 3.0/3.1 port attached onto the PCB won’t fit underneath my GPU and I can’t move my GPU. So it would need to be a low profile direct PCIe to USB 3.0 cable without the extra height that the usual m.2 adapter cards have, unless the port is on the side of the card facing sideways and not up, then maybe I could attach the cable I currently have. I’m also open to buying a front panel for USB 3.1 that connects to the m.2 adapter so I can ditch the absolutely awful USB 3.0 20-pin cable design. USB 3.0 design sucked and the people who designed it were idiots. If anyone has suggestions let me know.

[Bruce]

what about a USB3 hub.
just make sure it’s powered.
something like this; TP-Link 7 Port USB3 Hub (UH700) - Umart.com.au

[jmarket]

There is nothing wrong with usb3 motherboard headers, been around a long time and millions of them in use with no issues.
What about a usb 3 card?

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[TrantaLocked]

I’m using all of the slots that are able to be used. There is a second x1 slot covered by the GPU, but even if it weren’t covered the manual says I can’t use more than one x1 slot at a time anyway. So I’d need a way to connect something to the m.2 slot, which I believe uses PCIe x4. I don’t do USB hubs and probably never will.

There is something else that could possibly work though. If I can get a wifi card that fits in my m.2 slot, that would free up the x1 slot to put in that USB 3.0 PCIe card. https://static.bhphoto.com/images/im...23_1056236.jpg

I’m not 100% sure if a perfectly flat card would fit under the GPU. I’ll need to check later.