Intel Corporation Desktop Boards & Windows 7 vs. USB3

Hi,

I'm certain the subject of the USB3 channel on the latest motherboards and their problems in Windows 7 have been discussed many times already, and I'm certain all discussions are not the same. So here goes my version:

At the time of this discussion I'm on my third Intel Desktop board, being under warranty my supplier changed my board three times. [what a grand Supplier!]

The first and second boards were: DH67BL boards and the third board, which is current, DQ67SW - I've been having USB3 problems with all three boards

I'm 100% certain it's a Windows 7 issue and not the Intel drivers that ship with these boards.

My reason for saying this is as follows: testing was done on the latest board:

1. I switched off my PC and installed Win7 Ultimate on a blank 500gig drive - then I tested my USB2 & USB3 devices on both USB2 & USB3 channels without any drivers or SP's installed - no problems, both the USB2 & USB3 devices functioned without a hitch.
2. Then I installed [and restarted] all the latest drivers previously downloaded from the official Intel Support Download Centre Website - tested both USB2 & USB3 channels with both USB2 & USB3 devices - and Win7 prompted me after I've inserted said- devices into the USB2 port/channel, about the fact that "this device will work/perform faster if inserted into a USB3 port/channel" - the very same happened when inserted into the USB3 port/channels.
3. Then I installed the Win7 SP1 restarted my PC, and tested the USB devices as before and Windows prompts me that "this device will perform/work better when inserted into a USB3 port, whether inserted into the USB2 or USB3 ports.

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I must admit that this is a very frustrating issue, especially since I've spend loads of money on this new technology. If windows 7 is not the culprit, where do I go from here. I've made doubly certain that the firmware is up to date on my external Western Digital 1TB Passport drive, my 8gig flash stick obviously don't have firmware updates. Both these devices are USB3 devices, and reported to be USB2 backward compatible. Are we going to see a SP2 for Win7 in the near future with better support for the USB3 standard? These prompts I get, are they MS or Intel related?

Well.

Nick.

On my ASUS Z68 board, the USB 3.0 seems to work fine, and I use a USB 3.0 external drive.

I do not use the 3.0 turboboost utility that is available, but I do load the USB 3.0 drivers, in my case, Asmedia. I also do not have the charging cabability enabled.

I see your latest board does have a USB 3.0 driver (Renesas), which I will assume you have installed. It appears you are aware of which USB ports are 3.0 capable.

What do you show in the Device Manager as far as USB 3.0 controllers/devices?

Both the Renases Electronics USB 3 Host Controller & Host Hub are present and in order in the Device Manager. And, the USB 3 Host Controller utility reports that the Driver version is 2.1.28.0 and the firmware version is: 4015 - as far as I can make out it is the latest.

Maybe a typo, but the latest 3.0 drivers are 2.1.28.1.

The latest bios for the board seems to be 0062.

Did you load the Chipset drivers, or let Windows 7 do it?

You only have the 2 (blue) back panel USB 3.0 ports, as do I. But my board is a different chipset, so it may be different regarding USB 3.0. It would be hard for me to think Intel had built a board with 3.0 that did not work in Vista, or Windows 7.

I will be doing some speed tests on my USB ports later today and also rechecking the bios settings. If I find anything, I will let you know. But right now, if I connect my external drive to USB 2.0 ports, I do not get a message. Maybe mine are not even working correctly, but the speed tests should verify that.

I have now down some testing, using a Windows 8 .iso file that is around 3.3 GB. Copying the file from an SSD to the external USB 3.0 device using the 3.0 cable.

With the external drive in a 2.0 port, uploads are 34 MB/s and downloads start at 200MB/s and drop to 40 MB/s

Using the 3.0 port, uploads are 128 MB/s and downloads start at 700 MB/s and drop to 140 MB/s

Again, I do not have the 3.0 accelerator software installed, but I might try that after I make a backup image.

I did find some things I was not really aware of prior to your post. USB 3.0 can only be used for storage, which you are doing, and the 3.0 ports are not useable unless the OS and drivers are installed. I can verify this last statement because when I try to use the 3.0 ports to restore a system image, Windows Backup cannot find the external drive until I move it to a 2.0 port.

No typo on that version of the USB3 driver I have installed - do you perhaps have the link for 2.1.28.1? Funny thing is, this is the exe I've downloaded of the Intel site: USB3.0_allOS_2.1.28.1_PV.exe - it's a self extracter - after installing it I did notice that it says 2.1.28.0 though, mmm... strange. Despite the prompts I get from win7 - copying speeds are as promised on the USB3 port/channel. Last but not least, my board does in fact only have the two blue USB3 ports at the back, onboard that is - and I've learned to live with it in the hope that MS is going to wake up, put heads together with Intel and all the other oaks, and Renesas and come up with a solution.

You can try this.

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Sear...p+Board+DQ67SW

I think I got the messages about getting better speeds for a while. Maybe they will go away after some time. If you have the correct chipset drivers, and the latest Bios, you should be set.

I am not suggesting you update the bios, unless you see something mentioned about the USB controller.

If you speeds are as advertised, you should be fine, and maybe an update from one source will stop the annoying messages.

The boards' BIOS is up to date: SWQ6710H.86A.0062.2012.0418.1112 - I've used and always use the chipset drivers from the CD of the board or updates from the website. Nothing is mention about the USB controller other than the driver version and firmware version. I also regularly do updates that Win7 finds at the MS update centre. I've used your link, thank you for that - downloaded the file installed it but it still prompts me that is version 2.1.28.0... thank you for your input, I'll live with it for now as it is working despite the annoying messages.