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AREA 51 7700 - USB Mass Storage... w/ no USB Mass storgae device connected!

post #1 of 34
11/3/07 at 6:39pm
Thread Starter 
Do any other 7700 users see this on their Device manager under Universal Serial Bus Controller?

I think my built-in card readers are registering as a USB Mass storage device??? Not sure though...

I noticed this after trying to do some research regarding the "This device can run faster if connected to a Hi-Speed USB port" problem...

I use this laptop for critical applications that depend on its USB/Firewire capabilities, and this error along with these other weird things that I am encountering are leading me to believe that there is a serious problem.

I already had to stop using my firewire port because it kept disconnecting the External HD that I use. That problem progressed to the point where it was pointless using Firewire, I am worried that USB has begun doing the same thing and will soon leave me in the dumps as well...

Any help would be appreciated, folks!

Bis.

PS:

- XP Pro
- 2GB ram
- P4 Dual Core 3.4ghz
- Antivirus is shut down when critical operations are in use.
- Chipset driver up to date.
- Did BIOS update a year ago or so.
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post #2 of 34
11/4/07 at 12:16am
Not sure if it's helpful, but I've gotten the hi speed usb message with my m9700 a couple times.

I've got a mouse, a Belkin Nostromo, and internet connection on all the time. I've also got the card reader, so that could be it...
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post #3 of 34
11/4/07 at 12:43am
Have you tried reloading the chipset driver?

*EDIT* Just say that at the bottom of your post. (Guess I read too fast).

Just a shot in the dark, but with the 7700's motherboard failure rate, could this be the root cause?
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post #4 of 34
11/4/07 at 3:54pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks to both of you for the replies...

Fisch, if you'll save me the long search through the forum... What are some of the signs I should be looking for in regards to a dying 7700 MoBo? I have heard about inherent problems with it due to overheating and such. I do not seem to have any other issues with the laptop appart from this USB/Firewire rash on problems...

any other ideas, suggestions and comments are appreciated.
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post #5 of 34
11/4/07 at 4:31pm
The most common hints of failure I've seen are charging problems with the battery. You'll know it's dead when it starts refusing to boot, just the small lights and fans will work, but nothing on the screen.
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post #6 of 34
11/4/07 at 5:36pm
Thread Starter 
Cool. I have not seen problems in that regard. In fact I only use the AC inlet for work. The battery is always at 100%.
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post #7 of 34
11/4/07 at 5:53pm
I just had my 7700s motherboard replaced. I had problems with USB like yourself over a year ago, but they went away after a month or so. I reloaded the OS and later tried the same device, that time with success. I was having boot issues like HammerHead stated, where the screen would not come on. After hours of phone support and 2 trips to the depot, I had a new video card and motherboard (though it was only the motherboard that was dead). System works fine now.

Hammer-
I had been having battery charging problems for over a year. I had no idea that was linked to a dying motherboard. Very interesting in hindsight...
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post #8 of 34
11/4/07 at 5:55pm
Have you checked device manager to see if there is a problem with the USB controller?

I had a computer one time that was relegating the USB controller to 1.1 speeds and every I plugged in came up with the "this device can perform faster" message. I got into device manager and changed a setting that fixed it, but I can't recall the exact solution now. Anyways, just another idea for you to look into.
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post #9 of 34
11/4/07 at 8:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BFisch06 View Post
I just had my 7700s motherboard replaced. I had problems with USB like yourself over a year ago, but they went away after a month or so. I reloaded the OS and later tried the same device, that time with success. I was having boot issues like HammerHead stated, where the screen would not come on. After hours of phone support and 2 trips to the depot, I had a new video card and motherboard (though it was only the motherboard that was dead). System works fine now.

Hammer-
I had been having battery charging problems for over a year. I had no idea that was linked to a dying motherboard. Very interesting in hindsight...
From what I understand, the most common failure is a capacitor in the charging system that is located right next to the cpu is the problem. It cooks and eventually fails so the battery won't charge anymore, then for some reason the AC slowly dies eventually leaving the lights and fans working, but nothing else...
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post #10 of 34
11/4/07 at 8:05pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by BFisch06 View Post
Have you checked device manager to see if there is a problem with the USB controller?

I had a computer one time that was relegating the USB controller to 1.1 speeds and every I plugged in came up with the "this device can perform faster" message. I got into device manager and changed a setting that fixed it, but I can't recall the exact solution now. Anyways, just another idea for you to look into.
Indeed, I tried looking for clues in Device manager. This is what it looked like with no USB/Firewire devices plugged into the laptop:


• Universal Serial Bus Controllers
- Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 2658
- Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 2659
- Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 265A
- Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 265B
- Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB2 Universal Host Controller - 2658C
- USB Mass Storage Device
- USB Root Hub
- USB Root Hub
- USB Root Hub
- USB Root Hub
- USB Root Hub

Now, what the heck is a USB Mass Storage Device doing there? There are NO USB devices plugged in! but see here...

On my "Safely Remove a Device" icon on the taskbar I see:

"Safely Remove USB Mass Storage Device - Drives (F:, G:, H:, I"

Clearly these are my card readers that come on the side of the laptop...
Why are they associated with the USB bus?

Do you guys have it like this as well or is it just me?

I tried uninstalling them to see what would happen and they just continue to install under the same USB Storage Device driver or whatever... but after doing that I also notice that sometimes a "new device found" wizard window will pop-up for no reason whatsoever in the middle of a 6 hour session. Makes no sense but I guess something did not get installed properly or fully?

What gives?

I need help.
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post #11 of 34
11/4/07 at 8:08pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ BIS View Post
• Universal Serial Bus Controllers
- Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 2658
- Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 2659
- Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 265A
- Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 265B
- Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB2 Universal Host Controller - 2658C
- USB Mass Storage Device
- USB Root Hub
- USB Root Hub
- USB Root Hub
- USB Root Hub
- USB Root Hub
I forgot to add:

- Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 2658

and

- Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB2 Universal Host Controller - 2658C

are sharing IRQ 23.

Is this something worthy of taking a look at?
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post #12 of 34
11/4/07 at 8:10pm
The card reader is plugged into a USB connection on the motherboard. That's the way its supposed to be. Everything else looks normal to me. At this point I'd just reload the O/S but that might be a more serious task for you.

I don't know anything about IRQ 23 or in-depth USB details, sorry.
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post #13 of 34
11/4/07 at 8:21pm
Thread Starter 
OK, I appreciate that tid-bit. I guess for starters I will disable the card readers on my "work" hardware profile. That way I can rule out any disagreements with that device(s) and the external HD's that have been encountering problems.

I don't know chit about IRQ's so I am not about to start tampering with that one discrepancy...

If anybody has a feeling as to what it could be, please advice.

I found this on a search I did last week:

http://www.usbman.com/Guides/Cleanup...afe%20Mode.htm

I have been *this* close to actually following the instructions on there... But unfortunately I don't have a backup laptop. If I lose this system to a stupid conflict or error caused by my lack of knowledge I am toast.
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post #14 of 34
11/5/07 at 12:39pm
With my m9700, the hd's are listed as usb devices. Nothing else is, but I've got wirelss and bluetooth disabled.

You should be able to set a restore point with system restore, then try the linked solution to remove usb devices. If it doesn't work, the system restore point "should" return your system to normal.

Hopefully someone else with an m9750 can post about what's showing in their device manager...

Can you remember if this was the way it was when new? If not, a respawn of the OS, or fresh install of the OS might resolve the issue.
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post #15 of 34
11/5/07 at 6:36pm
I think Hammer meant 7700, and as an owner I'll go ahead and post what I have in device manager:
Under Universal Serial Bus controllers
> Generic USB Hub
> Intel (R) 8280 1FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 2658
> Intel (R) 8280 1FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 2659
> Intel (R) 8280 1FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 265A
> Intel (R) 8280 1FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 265B
> Intel (R) 8280 1FB/FBM USB2 Enhanced Host Controller - 265C
> USB Composite Device (MERC Zboard)
> USB Composite Device
> USB Mass Storage Device (External HDD)
> USB Mass Storage Device (External HDD)
> USB Mass Storage Device (External HDD)
> USB Mass Storage Device (Media Card Reader)
> USB Root Hub
> USB Root Hub
> USB Root Hub
> USB Root Hub
> USB Root Hub

I have a 7 port hub attached, plus my cooling pad, which has a USB Y splitter. I imagine at least the hub is part of what's showing up (all my externals are connected to it). Hope this helps though.
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post #16 of 34
11/6/07 at 7:05am
Thread Starter 
So everything looks pretty much the same then...

I don't really trust System Restore, but I guess it might be worth a try.

I randomly keep hearing the damn USB connect/disconnect sound for no reason on the laptop every once in a while... I got no idea what its doing in the background, but its scaring me a little.

I'll keep messing with it and see what happens.
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post #17 of 34
11/6/07 at 8:47am
Have you checked your USB devices on another machine?
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post #18 of 34
11/6/07 at 9:16am
Thread Starter 
Yes, connecting the external HD's onto other systems does not cause any unexpected things to happen like I do on the 7700.
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post #19 of 34
11/25/07 at 8:52am
Thread Starter 

Motherboard Failure on the 7700, finally?

So tonight during an event the laptop tried to boot but it gave the "OS not found" error. Then a "BIOS not installed". Immediately I thought about this thread and the comments on mobo failure.

The curious thing is that not only did the laptop fail to boot sometimes, but that same night, only minutes after I booted my system I tried to boot my external drive and it would not load either, this is what it sounds like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKc4qsrhOB8


Thankfully I was carrying a back-up of my external, but it did not make a difference. The laptop kept freezing to the point that it was useless to even try.

• What are the chances of these two occurrences happening the same night? (Mobo starting to die and External Hard Drive acting up?) The objects have not been subject to abuse and I used all of them last night without a problem!

• Can dirty electric power create or speed up the issue with dying MOBO's?

• Could a static discharge have caused the problem? I travel with all my gear in a non-static resistant foam insulated Pelican case.

I am trying to evaluate all possible things that could be creating or making my problems worse... That way I can watch out for the culprits in the future because I cannot afford to keep losing HD's and laptops. This is the third external HD that I go through experiencing some kind of problem (all Seagate HD's, one of which is only about a month old).

Any ideas would be really appreciated.
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post #20 of 34
11/25/07 at 7:09pm
Yes, dirty AC power and static discharges can (and frequently do) kill electronics.

For the D900T motherborads, though, heat is your number one enemy. For some odd reason, the Promise RAID controllers can't operate when there's a lot of ambient heat, and they eventually break down internally.

Before giving up, try reseating all connections of the hard-drive cable (take out the graphics controller and the hard drive bracket so you have complete access to the motherboard's hard drive connector). If you're one of the rare lucky ones, your problems could be caused by minor corrosion or thermal stress on a poorly seated data pin.

If you have a revision 6.x motherboard, though, chances are good that the RAID chip is dying. "BIOS Not Installed" after a lengthy series of dots while trying to detect drives is a dead giveaway for that.
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