What are exactly drivers for USB3 on case panel?

[Siegfried.m]

Yes, it's a stupid question but the problem is this:
I've received the replacement for the front panel I/O of my Corsair 550D, but the problem remains. Left Usb3 port, doesn't work.
Maybe I've to re-install drivers? But in device manager there isn't devices without drivers.
If I've to try to reinstall drivers, what are them on driver CD, exactly? Because there are 2-3 different USB3 drivers.
And what I've to uninstall?

[parsec]

I have the same ASR board as you, and a Corsair case (500R) with two USB 3.0 connections on the front panel. My front panel USB 3.0 connectors are working the same way as yours, one works and the other does not. I'm not sure if there is a problem with the USB 3.0 front panel connections on the case, but I'll need to explain this to you, and answer your questions.

Our board has two different chips that provide USB 3.0 support, the Intel Z77 and a ASMedia 1042. Each has there own driver, and their are only two USB 3.0 drivers on this boards download page, one for the Intel, the other for the ASMedia. If you check Programs and Features in Windows, you'll see each USB 3.0 driver listed.

Each of these chips provides two USB 3.0 ports on the rear I/O panel, for a total of four there, and according to the specs in the mother board manual, the Intel Z77 chip provides one USB 3.0 header for the front panel. So it's the Intel chip and driver that provides the front panel USB 3.0 header support.

Notice the specs say one USB 3.0 front panel header. Does that mean one USB 3.0 connection, or two? A front panel could have four USB 3.0 ports for example, would they all be supported? I'm thinking that the spec means only one USB 3.0 connection is supported, but I'm not certain.

I'm not certain because according to the specs of the Z77 chipset, it can support up to four USB 3.0 ports. We know two are used on the rear I/O panel. So the questions are:

Does the front panel USB 3.0 connection on this board only provide one connection on the front panel? Is ASRock not using all four that are possible according to the Intel spec? There are valid reasons why they might not be (they use a PCI-E 2.0 lane for each connection.)

Does the Corsair connector for the USB 3.0 front panel ports that connects to the mother board provide connections for two USB 3.0 ports? I think that it does, since if not that is a rather blatant hoax or lie (it connects to two port but only one works.)

Or, is the Corsair front panel I/O connector defective? Since you have two examples that work the same way, and mine works the same way, IMO that means it isn't defective.

I'll ask about this situation in Corsair's forum, but I'm not sure if we can get more information from ASR. Does this make sense?

[Siegfried.m]

So, in the end, we are ****ed, right? I tried to re-install the two different usb drivers, but nothing change..
Maybe we can ask to AsRock to check for this issue.

[parsec]

So, in the end, we are ****ed, right? I tried to re-install the two different usb drivers, but nothing change..
Maybe we can ask to AsRock to check for this issue.

Siegfried, I was checking into this some more, and found more information that changes what I posted earlier.

I'll post that very soon, just wanted to let you know right away that I was wrong about some of the things I said.

[Siegfried.m]

Siegfried, I was checking into this some more, and found more information that changes what I posted earlier.

I'll post that very soon, just wanted to let you know right away that I was wrong about some of the things I said.

Ok, thanks mate.

[parsec]

Siegfried, Sorry, but I made a mistake about one thing in my first post, which I will correct now. Actually, it is good news (in a sense) because it seems it is Corsair's fault that both USB3.0 ports do not work! Let me explain...

As I said earlier, the Intel Z77 chipset supports up to four USB 3.0 ports. Two are on the rear I/O panel, and the spec for the front panel connector on the board is this, taken directly from the ASR Z77 Extreme 4 manual (page 8)

"1 x Front USB 3.0 header by Intel® Z77 (supports 2 USB 3.0 ports), supports USB 1.0/2.0/3.0 up to 5Gb/s"

So we have our answer, this board states it provides two USB 3.0 ports on its connection for a front panel I/O connector!

Here is something else for you to try: put a USB 2.0 flash drive in the working USB 3.0 front panel port. On my case, it won't appear in Windows, it won't be seen. Only USB 3.0 flash drives are recognized. I found posts about this in the Corsair Case forum, along with dead USB 3.0 ports (I think I saw a post you wrote too!)

This is really ridiculous. USB connections are not some exotic thing, they are designed to be simple. A USB 2.0 plug has four connections, and two are for power. USB 3.0 has nine connections, is compatible with USB 2.0 (has the same four connections) but adds five more. When have you ever had problems with a USB header on a PC case? I have seven PC cases, and the only one that has USB connection issues is the Corsair. It is true that USB 3.0 is new, and most cases don't have these connections yet. But I have an external USB 3.0 hub that work perfectly. Corsair has been having some issues with their factories it seems, the QC is not good. Plus the plugs themselves are not solid IMO, which I've never seen before.

So I guess we may be screwed until Corsair recognizes their problems with this. I post there regularly, so I'll add some more wood to this fire. Maybe we can get a reaction out of them.

It's hard for me to see how a driver is causing this issue, but I suppose in theory it could. The Z77 chip supports "port disable" in the USB features, and is backwards compatible to USB 1.0. It's really true that all PC things are not simple.

Anyway, if you can use the back panel USB 3.0 plugs, they work fine. Can you get a long USB 3.0 cable, or an external hub (not cheap) to use for a while?

[Siegfried.m]

no, for me the working usb 3.0 port recognizes also 2.0 devices. Anyway, thanks for your explanation. So, I think that is useless to ask for another replacement of front panel I/O.

Another thing: the case (at least 550D) is badly constructed. The hole in the rear of I/O panel (that where goes cables when you screw the panel), is too small, and the two usb cables must be unnaturally bent to fit in it.

[parsec]

I'm not sure how the cables are routed in my 500R, their are two rather thick cables, similar to coaxial video cables in size.

So USB 2.0 flash drives work for you? That's something at least. This is a weird issue, it must be some electronics in the circuit board that fail, or some bad connection somewhere.

[Siegfried.m]

I'm not sure how the cables are routed in my 500R, their are two rather thick cables, similar to coaxial video cables in size.

So USB 2.0 flash drives work for you? That's something at least. This is a weird issue, it must be some electronics in the circuit board that fail, or some bad connection somewhere.

Yes, but only in the working port. Whit it works usb 2.0 and 3.0. The bad port doesn't work.

[CRRacer]

I have my z77 extreme4 in a Cooler Master 692 II Advanced USB 3.0 case. Both my front panel I/O USB 3.0 ports work as they should. The front panel plugs in to the mother board header, and that mother board header is controlled by the Intel Z77 chipset, not the ASMedia chipset.

I know Corsair was a little late in providing MB header USB 3 connections, so I don't know if either of the cases you two are talking about have that option or if yours came with pass through to plug in to the rear exterior USB 3.0 ports.