MSI MAG X870E TOMAHAWK WIFI - USB 2.0 ports

Jarous1

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I don't know how to describe it exactly, but is there any way to force the USB 2.0 ports on this board to work with the correct specifications that USB 2.0 has?
What I mean is, I have a device that can be updated fairly regularly via USB from a computer. Of course, it requires namely a USB 2.0 port, as stated in the manual. For USB 3.0, there is a clear warning that it should not be used...However, it doesn't work at all with this motherboard; it always ends in failure, and the device completely freezes... I've tried both the rear and front ports, but it still behaves the same way.
For now, I'm using an old, unused laptop that only has USB 2.0 ports, but that's not a solution for the future. I'd like to throw it away; I'm not going to keep it at home just for this one thing...
So my question is: is there any way to fix this, change something in the BIOS, or something else?
 
I have a several questions for you. Are you using the latest BIOS? Do the Windows Logs (Event Viewer) give us a clue? Is this problem unique to this particular device? Can you tell what device it is?

I am surprised the manufacturer of the device warns not to use USB 3.0. USB is always backwards compatible. Is there an FAQ article explaining why not to use USB 3?
 
This is how it behaved with all BIOS versions, probably since version A60... Except for beta versions, which I never used.
And yes, I have the latest version, AA0...
It never occurred to me to check the event log :angel: But it all connects together, Windows detects the device, the firmware updater does too, but after starting the update, it stops after a few seconds of progress and the device is then completely dead. Fortunately, there is a recovery process (not published anywhere by the manufacturer :angryfire:) that can revive it. And again, but only with the help of forced blind firmware upload via USB 2.0.
Of course, I really have no idea why it behaves this way. On my previous PC, with a motherboard from a different manufacturer, AM4 platform, it also refused to correctly work on USB 3.0. But it worked on the USB 2.0 ports.

It is a cylindrical battery charger SkyRC MC3000. However, I am currently unable to find any information on their website or in their latest manuals about the need to use only a USB 2.0 port... But I am quite sure that it used to be there, otherwise I would not know about it. And it did not behave as I describe.
 
Do the logs log an event around the moment the firmware updater starts and stalls?

There are a couple of USB BIOS settings that may be worth playing with: XHCI-Handoff and Legacy USB support.
 
So I'll try to investigate something from the event log sometime. Once the new firmware is available again. I don't want to disable the charger right now, as I have a bunch of batteries here to test and charge... This weekend will probably be too short for that :-)
Legacy support is enabled. I also checked something about XHCI-Handoff there. Just so that it works properly with old USB devices. Well, as we can see, it doesn't work with some of them.
Anyway, thank you for now for guiding me where to look next.
 
So I found another device at home that doesn't like the behavior/specifications of today's so-called USB 2.0 ports...
And I also can't flash its firmware on this motherboard. In this case, all you have to do is upload the firmware file to its internal storage, disconnect it, and restart it... But even the upload process itself doesn't go through correctly :angryfire:
A long time ago, on a completely different computer running a different version of Windows, I got a similar error when I was copying that file using Total Commander. Back then, though, all I had to do was perform this "operation" using File Explorer, and everything went smoothly... WTF?
 
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Did you try with USB3 ports?

  1. 6. If the update stops and you get any vector error codes, you must try multiple different USB ports until the update works. Contrary to popular belief, you can use USB 2.0, 3.0, and even 3.2 Gen2 10g USB ports. Mine just so happened to work with a 3.2 Gen2 10g USB port.
 
I admit I didn't try every single one of my unused USB ports... But aside from USB 4.0, I still tried flashing the firmware through every possible port with different USB specifications that this motherboard has. Even through the USB 3.1 Gen 2 and 3.0 ports used by the internal card reader... But it just didn't work on this computer :(
 
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