USB 3 Flash Disks/not showing in BIOS

[rosefire]

This is a new problem on a 2 year old PC. The symptoms are:
1. Larger/newer USB drives are not listed as USB devices in the USB Section of the Advanced menu.
2. Larger/newer USB drives are also not listed in the boot menu.
4. The problem occurs only if XMP is enabled when memory is otherwise not overclocked.
5. With XMP enabled, memory still reliably overclocks to over 4000.
6. Enabling/disabling safe boot doesn't help
3. Windows doesn't respond in any way when these drives are plugged into the USB ports,, including relevant event log messages.
5. Multiple passes with off-line memory diagnostic tests find no memory errors.
6. When XMP is not used, Windows 10 and 11 operate USB 3 devices as USB 2.
7. The problem occurs with multiple older BIOS known to be good in the past, including the original.
8. No new hardware was added.

Other co-incident observations that may be unrelated:
1. BIOS reports 3.3V as 3.21V
2. BIOS boot began hanging very occasionally displaying a memory detect message.
3. Computer blue-screens reliably if ASUS Fan Xpert Auto Tuning is run. The blue screen display reports various reasons. Fans all work if tried individually.
4. The problem may have started after upgrading to Windows 11. Enabling/disabling TPM in bios has no effect. Note that windows is not yet running when this problem is occurring.

Obviously, I put in a lot of time trying to solve this problem. I've run out of options I can ideas on what to try. The one I haven't tried is clearing CMOS, but the manual doesn't even mention CMOS. ASUS support said repair under warranty is their only remaining option. It doesn't seem like a hardware error, but I will send it in if needed. Any help you can offer would be great!

-K

[STARRAIN_ROG]

Hi rosefire,
Do you mean if enable XMP and plug into larger/newer USB drives, you cannot boot into windows? Is the larger/newer USB drives OS drive?
Does the USB issue also occur on bios 1403 with bios all default settings except XMP enabled? If XMP enable and memory overclocks to over 4000, there is no USB issue?
Which USB drives do you use and which USB ports do you plug into?
Thank you.

[rosefire]

> Do you mean if enable XMP and plug into larger/newer USB drives, you cannot boot into windows?
No. Windows boots fine, but just like the BIOS, doesn’t respond at all when my larger/newer thumb drives are connected. Under BIOS Advanced -> USB configuration the number of connected drives reported doesn't include the drive.

> Is the larger/newer USB drives OS drive?
What is on the drive has no effect.

> Does the USB issue also occur on bios 1403 with bios all default settings except XMP enabled?
No, only when XMP is enabled.

> If XMP enable and memory overclocks to over 4000, there is no USB issue?
The problem occurs if XMP is enabled regardless of the DRAM frequency. It does not occur when memory is overclocked with identical settings with the overclock tuner set to “Manual”. Notably, I cannot manually change the bus clock to 101.6 so it remains at 100 when manual settings are used.

> Which USB drives do you use and which USB ports do you plug into?
It occurs with a Sandisk Extreme 3.0, Sandisk Extreme Pro 3.1, and with my 4GB Seagate external backup drive. It does not occur with several older/smaller USB thumb drives.
The problem occurs for USB ports on the MB’s USB 3.2 Gen 1 connector and some USB ports at the back of the chassis. It does not occur for USB ports on the USB 3.2 Gen 2 connector and other ports at the back of the chassis.

From the forgoing I suspect that the problem occurs when XMP increases the BUS clock to 101.6. I’ve also noted that the MB reports 3.3V is low at about 3.2V. I’m wondering if the ASMEDIA USB chips are on the 3.3V supply and don’t work correctly when the BUS clock is increased to 101.6. If this is the case, the board's 3.3V regulator needs to be repaired. It is still under warranty. I really don't want to send it in for repair.

[STARRAIN_ROG]

Hi rosefire,
Have you tried with other ram stick?
May I have the following information?
- the serial number of your motherboard via PM
- the brand and model name of you PSU
- photo of USB configuration in bios when the thumb drives are connected
Thank you.

[rosefire]

> Have you tried with other ram stick?
No. I don't have another stick, but can try using one at a time. It is noteworthy that this problem only began recently and didn't follow after a change in hardware. How could the memory cause this? For what it's worth, the memory has passed many test pattern passes both overclocked and not.

> May I have the following information?
> - the serial number of your motherboard via PM
Sent
> - the brand and model name of you PSU
Corsair AXi Series, AX1600i, 1600 Watt

> photo of USB configuration in bios when the thumb drives are connected
I will follow up with this - it requires a reboot.
Photos added.
- XMP not enabled showing 5 drives and 4 hubs.
- XMP enabled showing 3 drives and 2 hubs .
- Picture showing the Bios changes saved in the second case.
The photos were taken with memory overclocked, but the results are the same overclocked or not.

One more added note. When the ports are not recognized, two "Generic Superspeed USB Hubs" are missing from device manager.


-K

[STARRAIN_ROG]

Hi rosefire,
Thank you for your reply and information.
I'll consult our tech team more about your case.

[rosefire]

Ping 🙂

[STARRAIN_ROG]

Hi rosefire,
After consulted our tech team, the issue is related to BCLK OC and the affected USB ports are USBG1_E5~E8 and USBG1_E34.
Please plug your larger/newer USB drives into other USB ports temporarily.
Thank you.

[rosefire]

Starrain, thank you for investigating!
The board is still under warranty and exhibits the problem without increasing the speed of memory or increasing the multiplier. Should I send the board to ASUS for repair? Do you think there is an alternate solution?
Again, thanks!
-K

[STARRAIN_ROG]

Hi rosefire,
Our tech team found the similar issue with motherboard at hand.
After adjust BCLK value, the larger USB devices in USBG1_E5~E8 and USBG1_E34 are nor showing, so we would suggest use other USB ports instead temporarily, and will check the issue further.
Therefore, if the condition and affected USB ports are same as yours, repair probably cannot fix the issue.
Thank you.