A7N8X extra USB2 headers, why USB1.1 drivers?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Alan Wright
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A

Alan Wright

The extra USB headers on the various A7N8X boards are supposed
to support USB2. However, on my two different vintages of A7N8X
motherboards (1.04 standard, 2.0 -X), and in two different cases, I
always get USB 1.1 drivers (openHCD instead of enhanced) installed
for these devices.

I know this is an old often-reported problem but I have never seen
any suggestions for fixing it, nor any real explanation. I would like
to use my cases front connectors for USB 2 devices, but can't
because of this problem. With one case I get device not recognized
and with the other it works at USB1.1 speed.

Any new insights about this problem? Does ASUS lie about what
is actually supported by their boards? Maybe there is some secret
registry trick to fix this?

Note that I *can* force windows to install the enhanced driver for
this controller, but then the device does not work at all.

Alan
 
rstlne said:
They are usb 2.0. It is much more likely that the usb card in the front of
the case doesnt allow anything to work correctly at usb2.0 speeds.
Click to expand...

Not at all. The USB2 devices work fine in the rear slots. Moreover, since
windows XP chooses the driver whether or not a device (or any wires at
all) is connected, it is completely irrelevant what may or not be plugged
into the connectors.

Clearly the problem lies between the ASUS hardware and Windows XP.
I've seen the same pronblem reported for other Nforce2 boards, so it
may not be a specifically ASUS problem.

Alan
 
Alan Wright said:
The extra USB headers on the various A7N8X boards are supposed
to support USB2. However, on my two different vintages of A7N8X
motherboards (1.04 standard, 2.0 -X), and in two different cases, I
always get USB 1.1 drivers (openHCD instead of enhanced) installed
for these devices.

I know this is an old often-reported problem but I have never seen
any suggestions for fixing it, nor any real explanation. I would like
to use my cases front connectors for USB 2 devices, but can't
because of this problem. With one case I get device not recognized
and with the other it works at USB1.1 speed.

Any new insights about this problem? Does ASUS lie about what
is actually supported by their boards? Maybe there is some secret
registry trick to fix this?

Note that I *can* force windows to install the enhanced driver for
this controller, but then the device does not work at all.

Alan
Click to expand...

They are usb 2.0. It is much more likely that the usb card in the front of
the case doesnt allow anything to work correctly at usb2.0 speeds.
 
Alan said:
The extra USB headers on the various A7N8X boards are supposed
to support USB2. However, on my two different vintages of A7N8X
motherboards (1.04 standard, 2.0 -X), and in two different cases, I
always get USB 1.1 drivers (openHCD instead of enhanced) installed
for these devices.
Click to expand...

Hi Alan,
here is what your device manager should look like.
Those "OpenHCD usb host" should be there.
the "enhanced" tells the story.


Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller
Standard OpenHCD USB Host Controller
Standard OpenHCD USB Host Controller
USB Root Hub
USB Root Hub
USB Root Hub
 
Alan said:
The extra USB headers on the various A7N8X boards are supposed
to support USB2. However, on my two different vintages of A7N8X
motherboards (1.04 standard, 2.0 -X), and in two different cases, I
always get USB 1.1 drivers (openHCD instead of enhanced) installed
for these devices.

I know this is an old often-reported problem but I have never seen
any suggestions for fixing it, nor any real explanation. I would like
to use my cases front connectors for USB 2 devices, but can't
because of this problem. With one case I get device not recognized
and with the other it works at USB1.1 speed.

Any new insights about this problem? Does ASUS lie about what
is actually supported by their boards? Maybe there is some secret
registry trick to fix this?

Note that I *can* force windows to install the enhanced driver for
this controller, but then the device does not work at all.

Alan
Click to expand...
If one of your A7N8X boards came with the optional bracket to put 2
additional USB ports in one of the PCI card openings you can hook it to
the USB 5_6 header and verify if there is a problem with the case
wiring. USB 2.0, while using the same connectors as USB 1.1, needs
cleaner wiring, connections, ect. All this due to the higher transfer
rates. Some wiring in cases doesn't quite meet these requirements,
causing a 2.0 device to fallback to 1.1 or not work at all. Of course,
you may have a board/software/device issue, so this is only one angle.
Some other checks you might try: Do the hard mounted USB ports work at
2.0? If not, are you running the latest nVidia drivers (3.13)?
WinXP/2K? All Service Packs/Updates installed?

Rob
 
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