Verbatim Store n go usb 3.0 not consistently detected on cold boot

[mellon]

Having a desktop with 2 usb 3.0 drives I thought it a got idea to replace 2 of my external usb 2.0 disks with 2 usb 3.0 750gb Verbatim Store n go disks.

Their specs show they should work under Linux with a kernel 2.6 and higher. They have a FAT32 partition so I expected them to pop up in the Device Notifier when I plugged them in. They did not. Ok, so I kept them plugged in and rebooted. This time they were available. I deleted the partition and put on new partitions. Each first partition on each disks is NTFS-3G. I transferred the data from the old disks and unplugged those. That was all done yesterday. No issue at all. I did not do a cold boot.

This morning I cold booted the PC and the two usb 3.0 disks and their partitions were not detected.  I rebooted about 4 or 5 times and the odd thing is that at least one of them and not always the same one was detected once or twice during repeated reboots.


Solving for the moment
If I actually want to be sure that both disks are detected I have to boot until I get the normal login screen; then I unplug/re-plug them and reboot.

I have no idea why the the re-plugging and reboot works. Is it the disk; the port, the 3.2.18 version 2 pae bfs kernel? The order during boot? Should something be added to a modprobe file? I saw e.g. an entry in modprobe.conf

Code: [Select]

install usb-interface /sbin/modprobe ehci_hcd; /bin/true
Is such a line needed for xhci_hcd as well? Could it explain this strange behavior? (I Have not yet added it to see if it would help)

When the two disks are detected the dmesg output shows short transfer and stalled endpoint warnings. I have no idea how serious these warnings are.  I do not want data loss. I can plug both disks in usb 2.0 ports and they are immediately recognized.

Could is be that usb 3.0 is not yet 100% accurately supported?

Below is the filtered output from lsusb, lspicdrake and dmesg when the disks are not loaded followed by when they are loaded.

Any ideas on how to fix this?

Mellon

Not loaded

data from lsusb
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0922:0017 Dymo-CoStar Corp.
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0409:005a NEC Corp. HighSpeed Hub
Bus 002 Device 003: ID 05e3:0716 Genesys Logic, Inc. USB 2.0 Multislot Card Reader/Writer
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 0409:005a NEC Corp. HighSpeed Hub
Bus 001 Device 006: ID 046d:c318 Logitech, Inc. Illuminated Keyboard
Bus 001 Device 007: ID 046d:c069 Logitech, Inc.
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub

data from lspcidrake
xhci_hcd        : NEC Corporation|uPD720200 USB 3.0 Host Controller [SERIAL_USB] (rev: 04)
ehci_hcd        : Intel Corporation|6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #1 [SERIAL_USB] (rev: 05)
ehci_hcd        : Intel Corporation|6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #2 [SERIAL_USB] (rev: 05)
hub             : Linux 3.2.18-pclos2.pae.bfs xhci_hcd|xHCI Host Controller [Hub|Unused|Full speed (or root) hub]
hub             : Linux 3.2.18-pclos2.pae.bfs xhci_hcd|xHCI Host Controller [Hub|Unused|Full speed (or root) hub]
hub             : Linux 3.2.18-pclos2.pae.bfs ehci_hcd|EHCI Host Controller [Hub|Unused|Full speed (or root) hub]
hub             : Intel Corp.|Integrated Rate Matching Hub [Hub|Unused|Full speed (or root) hub]
hub             : Linux 3.2.18-pclos2.pae.bfs ehci_hcd|EHCI Host Controller [Hub|Unused|Full speed (or root) hub]
hub             : Intel Corp.|Integrated Rate Matching Hub [Hub|Unused|Full speed (or root) hub]
hub             : NEC Corp.|HighSpeed Hub [Hub|Unused|Full speed (or root) hub]
hub             : NEC Corp.|HighSpeed Hub [Hub|Unused|Full speed (or root) hub]

from dmesg
iTCO_wdt: unable to reset NO_REBOOT flag, device disabled by hardware/BIOS
[xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: PCI INT A -> GSI 17 (level, low) -> IRQ 17
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: setting latency timer to 64
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: xHCI Host Controller
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: new USB bus registered, assigned bus number 3
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: irq 17, io mem 0xfbcfe000
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: irq 43 for MSI/MSI-X
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: irq 44 for MSI/MSI-X
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: irq 45 for MSI/MSI-X
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: irq 46 for MSI/MSI-X
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: irq 47 for MSI/MSI-X
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: irq 48 for MSI/MSI-X
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: irq 49 for MSI/MSI-X
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: irq 50 for MSI/MSI-X
usb usb3: New USB device found, idVendor=1d6b, idProduct=0002
usb usb3: New USB device strings: Mfr=3, Product=2, SerialNumber=1
usb usb3: Product: xHCI Host Controller
usb usb3: Manufacturer: Linux 3.2.18-pclos2.pae.bfs xhci_hcd
usb usb3: SerialNumber: 0000:02:00.0
xHCI xhci_add_endpoint called for root hub
xHCI xhci_check_bandwidth called for root hub
hub 3-0:1.0: USB hub found
hub 3-0:1.0: 2 ports detected
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: xHCI Host Controller
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: new USB bus registered, assigned bus number 4
usb usb4: New USB device found, idVendor=1d6b, idProduct=0003
usb usb4: New USB device strings: Mfr=3, Product=2, SerialNumber=1
usb usb4: Product: xHCI Host Controller
usb usb4: Manufacturer: Linux 3.2.18-pclos2.pae.bfs xhci_hcd
usb usb4: SerialNumber: 0000:02:00.0
xHCI xhci_add_endpoint called for root hub
xHCI xhci_check_bandwidth called for root hub
hub 4-0:1.0: USB hub found
hub 4-0:1.0: 2 ports detected

Loaded
lsusb

lsusb
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0922:0017 Dymo-CoStar Corp.
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0409:005a NEC Corp. HighSpeed Hub
Bus 002 Device 003: ID 05e3:0716 Genesys Logic, Inc. USB 2.0 Multislot Card Reader/Writer
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 0409:005a NEC Corp. HighSpeed Hub
Bus 001 Device 006: ID 046d:c318 Logitech, Inc. Illuminated Keyboard
Bus 001 Device 007: ID 046d:c069 Logitech, Inc.
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 002: ID 18a5:022e Verbatim, Ltd
Bus 004 Device 003: ID 18a5:022e Verbatim, Ltd

lspcidrake gives

Code: [Select]

lspcidrake
xhci_hcd        : NEC Corporation|uPD720200 USB 3.0 Host Controller [SERIAL_USB] (rev: 04)
ehci_hcd        : Intel Corporation|6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #1 [SERIAL_USB] (rev: 05)
ehci_hcd        : Intel Corporation|6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #2 [SERIAL_USB] (rev: 05)
[color=green]hub             : Linux 3.2.18-pclos2.pae.bfs xhci_hcd|xHCI Host Controller [Hub|Unused|Full speed (or root) hub]
usb_storage     : Verbatim|Portable USB 3.0 Drive [Mass Storage|SCSI|Bulk (Zip)]
usb_storage     : Verbatim|Portable USB 3.0 Drive [Mass Storage|SCSI|Bulk (Zip)]
[/color]
hub             : Linux 3.2.18-pclos2.pae.bfs xhci_hcd|xHCI Host Controller [Hub|Unused|Full speed (or root) hub]
hub             : Linux 3.2.18-pclos2.pae.bfs ehci_hcd|EHCI Host Controller [Hub|Unused|Full speed (or root) hub]
hub             : Intel Corp.|Integrated Rate Matching Hub [Hub|Unused|Full speed (or root) hub]
usb_storage     : Genesys Logic, Inc.|USB Storage [Mass Storage|SCSI|Bulk (Zip)]
hub             : Linux 3.2.18-pclos2.pae.bfs ehci_hcd|EHCI Host Controller [Hub|Unused|Full speed (or root) hub]
hub             : Intel Corp.|Integrated Rate Matching Hub [Hub|Unused|Full speed (or root) hub]
hub             : NEC Corp.|HighSpeed Hub [Hub|Unused|Full speed (or root) hub]
hub             : NEC Corp.|HighSpeed Hub [Hub|Unused|Full speed (or root) hub]

and dmesg gives

usb 4-2: new SuperSpeed USB device number 3 using xhci_hcd
sd 5:0:0:2: [sde] Attached SCSI removable disk
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: WARN: short transfer on control ep
sd 5:0:0:4: [sdg] Attached SCSI removable disk
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: WARN: short transfer on control ep
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: WARN: short transfer on control ep
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: WARN: short transfer on control ep
usb 4-2: New USB device found, idVendor=18a5, idProduct=022e
usb 4-2: New USB device strings: Mfr=10, Product=11, SerialNumber=3
usb 4-2: Product: Portable USB 3.0 Drive
usb 4-2: Manufacturer: Verbatim
usb 4-2: SerialNumber: 200521200534
sd 5:0:0:3: [sdf] Attached SCSI removable disk
scsi7 : usb-storage 4-2:1.0
scsi 6:0:0:0: Direct-Access     Hitachi  HTS547575A9E384  0100 PQ: 0 ANSI: 2 CCS
sd 6:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg8 type 0
sd 6:0:0:0: [sdh] 1465149168 512-byte logical blocks: (750 GB/698 GiB)
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: WARN: Stalled endpoint
sd 6:0:0:0: [sdh] Write Protect is off
sd 6:0:0:0: [sdh] Mode Sense: 28 00 00 00
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: WARN: Stalled endpoint
sd 6:0:0:0: [sdh] No Caching mode page present
sd 6:0:0:0: [sdh] Assuming drive cache: write through
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: WARN: Stalled endpoint
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: WARN: Stalled endpoint
sd 6:0:0:0: [sdh] No Caching mode page present
sd 6:0:0:0: [sdh] Assuming drive cache: write through
 sdh: sdh1
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: WARN: Stalled endpoint
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: WARN: Stalled endpoint
sd 6:0:0:0: [sdh] No Caching mode page present
sd 6:0:0:0: [sdh] Assuming drive cache: write through
sd 6:0:0:0: [sdh] Attached SCSI disk
scsi 7:0:0:0: Direct-Access     Hitachi  HTS547575A9E384  0100 PQ: 0 ANSI: 2 CCS
sd 7:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg9 type 0
sd 7:0:0:0: [sdi] 1465149168 512-byte logical blocks: (750 GB/698 GiB)
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: WARN: Stalled endpoint
sd 7:0:0:0: [sdi] Write Protect is off
sd 7:0:0:0: [sdi] Mode Sense: 28 00 00 00
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: WARN: Stalled endpoint
sd 7:0:0:0: [sdi] No Caching mode page present
sd 7:0:0:0: [sdi] Assuming drive cache: write through
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: WARN: Stalled endpoint
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: WARN: Stalled endpoint
sd 7:0:0:0: [sdi] No Caching mode page present
sd 7:0:0:0: [sdi] Assuming drive cache: write through
 sdi: sdi1 sdi2 < sdi5 sdi6 sdi7 sdi8 sdi9 sdi10 >
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: WARN: Stalled endpoint
xhci_hcd 0000:02:00.0: WARN: Stalled endpoint
sd 7:0:0:0: [sdi] No Caching mode page present
sd 7:0:0:0: [sdi] Assuming drive cache: write through
sd 7:0:0:0: [sdi] Attached SCSI disk

[T6]

fat32?  what size is the partition?  the whole 750 gbs?

when you recreated the partition on ntfs did you wiped the hard disk completely?

the usb 3.0 disk, are you connecting them to the ports of the mainboard or do you have front usb 3.0 ports in the case?

[mellon]

Both drives were pre-formatted as FAT32 with some software on them for mac and pc (Nero etc.). I completely removed the FAT32 partition.

Here is what they look now. On both disks a large portion is not yet partitioned.

fdisk -l
Disk /dev/sdi: 750.2 GB, 750156374016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 91201 cylinders, total 1465149168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xc2f5d332

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdi1   *          63   536860169   268430053+   7  HPFS/NTFS

Disk /dev/sdj: 750.2 GB, 750156374016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 91201 cylinders, total 1465149168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xc2f5d332

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdj1   *          63   314568764   157284351    7  HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdj2       314568765   943674164   314552700    5  Extended
/dev/sdj5       314568828   629137529   157284351    7  HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdj6       629137593   733993784    52428096   83  Linux
/dev/sdj7       733993848   786413879    26210016   83  Linux
/dev/sdj8       786413943   838833974    26210016   83  Linux
/dev/sdj9       838834038   891254069    26210016   83  Linux
/dev/sdj10      891254133   943674164    26210016   83  Linux

The ports are both on the mainboard (manufacturer GigayByte).

Mellon

[menotu]

As they are removable devices you could try going to

Configure Your Desktop > Hardware > Removable Devices

and tick Enable Automatic mounting of Removable Devices and tick other options to suit.

The Device Overrides window is for setting individual devices

[mellon]

The problem is that devices are not consistently available, so they are not listed and cannot be mounted.  One of them has an entry in fstab and on boot the mount fails because the device is not detected.

The only consistency is that once booted to the login screen, then disconnecting and reconnecting the disks, followed by a reboot makes both devices always available and the one in fstab is mounted  It is the cold boot after a power off that does not detect one or both of the disks. The ports are detected on a cold boot, but the devices not always. Most of the time none of them are detected, but sometimes one.

What makes the difference between a cold boot and a reboot in relation to these usb 3.0 ports and the devices? Could they be detected after a boot?

What I also do not understand is that unlike for the ehci_hcd module no entry is found in modprobe.conf for xhci_hcd.
I tried a mkinitrd with a -v option and did see a xhci_hcd module in the build. I added it via the preload option and it was then visible on a new mkinitrd run, but that did not solve the issue on cold boot. The devices were still not found.

Mellon