TUF GAMING Z790 PLUS WIFI - Cannot read USB sticks

[Alcovitch]

So my z790 board refuses to read any USB keys inserted either in the front IO panel or directly into any of the many USB ports on the Mobo IO. 

USB 2, USB 3, doesn't matter the formatting either, zero. 

I had the entire board replaced by Asus and the new board does the same thing. The Keys work just fine in Windows 10 on a different machine. BTW, if I boot into win 10 with that other computers SSD connected to my new pc with the Z790, it will read USBs in Win 10. 

WHat is going on here. Not having access to USB keys is a big issue. 

[JohnAb]

Sounds like possibly a drivers issue. Have you installed everything from your motherboard support pages?

[Alcovitch]

Yes i have. Spent a lot of time with asus support as well. 

[JohnAb]

Right, OK, so if it reads the USB sticks after you boot from a separate SSD, then it can't be a hardware issue. I still suspect that you're missing a driver but if not, then you could try a fresh Windows installation. Can you boot from a bootable USB within the BIOS? Try making a live Linux USB to test. 

If it helps, here are the drivers I have installed (Z690) 

[Alcovitch]

I tend to agree it's likely not hardware. I can read USB keys in the UEFI interface to do bios updates with EZFlash 3. 

If it is a driver, well whatever windows installs by default doesn't work, and Asus doesn't provide it in their list of drivers & support software. 

The usb sticks show up as unknown devices in Device Manager, Disk Management sees the drive but if I click to view properties it says "The operation failed to complete because the Disk Management console view is not up-to-date". Refreshing the view does nothing. 

I'm at a loss. I've tired all the standard solutions for USB issues, none of them do anything. 

[JohnAb]

Very odd. So you have any conflicts or other error indications in Device Manager? Thinking about it, even without extra drivers I would still expect the USB ports to be working. I think a fresh Windows install might be the only option   - it's all I can think of, unless there are some Windows updates pending, but I don't think updates would cause such a problem. 

[Alcovitch]

There are no other conflicts in Device Manager. The ports work for power or for my KB/M Switcher for work etc, but not for USB keys. 

No pending updates. It's happened from a fresh install.

[JohnAb]

The only other idea I have is to install MoKiChU's Thunderbolt drivers (assuming you have Thunderbolt ports) - they include the UCM drivers as part of the package I believe. 

[achugh]

Hi @Alcovitch , what version of Windows are you trying to use? Windows 10 or 11?

Did you purchase a valid Windows license? Where did you download the Windows Installation Media for installation?