Dell Optiplex Issues with USB Ports?

JaneSong on 31/07/2022 - 12:21

Does anyone notice their refurbs they purchased hang when they are transferring files from an external portable ssd on the usb 3.0 ports?

e.g. mouse and keyboard (usb wifi) are inoperable/cursor does not move, whilst files are being transferred from an attached external ssd?

Apparently this affected the products when they were new, so this is not a new issue.

It is a wonder how these products were usable in the office. I always wondered why the PC at work was so garbage and we couldn't print unless someone unplugged and plugged in the USB cable every print job.

Computing Dell

Comments

  • FLICKIT on 31/07/2022 - 12:37

    On my 9020, if I use an external drive on the front ports it stuffs up the other front ports, I have no issues with the rear ports though…

    • JaneSong on 31/07/2022 - 13:01

      Thanks, that works!

      Any idea why the front ports are like that?

      • FLICKIT on 31/07/2022 - 13:31

        The front ports are connected to the motherboard with a cable so I assume it's a bit of a bandwidth issues, the rear ports are connected straight to the motherboard… (Edit: I should have mentioned the front port issue only shows up while I'm transferring files via USB-3 on one of the front ports)

        Unrelated… One of my 9020's I had issues with random USB port over-current errors, even when nothing was plugged in… It turned out to be a faulty front panel, when I unplugged the front USB port cable from the motherboard the issue went away.. I got the seller to send me a new front panel and I haven't had that issue since…

      • 7ekn00 on 31/07/2022 - 13:56

        Just the way the internal motherboard is configured to support USB ports!

        Generally with PCs, the back USB ports are more stable because their power comes directly from the 5V line of the power supply, but the front ports generally get power from the motherboard chipset that is also running many other devices, so power supply is less stable!

        • Russ on 31/07/2022 - 14:35

          but the front ports generally get power from the motherboard chipset

          No, they get their power from the same 5V as the rear ports do, and a multimeter (with the PC turned off and disconnected from mains) will confirm that.

          However, the front ports aren't connected directly to the motherboard, they get their power through a cable with skinny wires. Wires have resistance, and portable HDDs draw quite a bit of power, so there will be less voltage available to the HDD. The 5V from the motherboard drops down to 4.5V or so at the HDD, which is marginal for correct operation of the HDD. It doesn't help that some HDDs have unusually long USB leads, that makes even less voltage available.

          Sometimes, substituting a shorter USB cable (from a different portable HDD) will improve the situation. Otherwise, you can buy USB hubs that fit into an unused floppy-drive bay, that have a connection directly from the PC's power supply. Or use a powered external USB hub.

          • FLICKIT on 31/07/2022 - 15:42

            @Russ: I'm not sure it's a power issue, I have the same issue if I'm transferring files off a SD card also, the SD-USB adapter would have minimal power usage…

            (for clarity, the issue I have when doing USB-3 file transfers from the front USB ports is that it makes my Logitech-Unified mouse and keyboard very flakey, I have that dongle plugged into one of the other front ports… It's not a big deal IMO, I just use rear ports for high bandwidth tasks)

            • Russ on 31/07/2022 - 15:53

              @FLICKIT: If the card reader fails, and things on adjacent ports also fail, then it could be the cable connecting your front panel to the motherboard. Possibly the connectors aren't making good connection. Worthwhile unplugging and re-plugging that cable (with the PC turned off), that often helps if the contacts are dirty.

              • FLICKIT on 31/07/2022 - 16:03

                @Russ: The file transfers dont fail with HDD or SD, it's just the other ports that end up flakey while the file transfer is underway…

                • Russ on 31/07/2022 - 18:53

                  @FLICKIT: That could be just USB, for data transfers it doesn't have much in the way of "sharing" so all USB devices get some data through. There is an exception though: USB supports "isochronous" transfers, and devices that use this type of USB transfer are guaranteed to get a small amount of data on a regular basis. If you have USB headphones, they usually use isochronous transfers, try them. If the headphones continue to work during file transfers, then the USB is fine, just your card reader and HDD are a bit more aggressive at claiming transfer slots than your other devices.

                  Non-gaming keyboards and mice also "sleep" between transfers, which makes them even slower.

                  More info here: https://superuser.com/questions/1568394/does-polling-of-a-us…

  • Mechz on 31/07/2022 - 13:15

    I have a Dell laptop where the keyboard doesn't work when you plug in the USB-C charger. Must be something with their controller firmware.

  • harshbdmmaster718 on 31/07/2022 - 17:27

    Hey buddy. I had a similar "hanging" issue when using a Wireless USB dongle and drive with the front ports on my PC. Except it was with an external HDD not SSD.

    Turns out the problem was with the connection between the wireless USB dongle and the mouse/keyboard. For some reason there was increased signal interference when plugging in an external drive. I used a 30cm USB extension cable to distance the mouses USB dongle from the computer/HDD and it solved the issue completely. Give it a go and see if it fixes it.

    I know it doesn't look too good at the front, but you can plug the extension in the back if you would like to conceal it better. Just make sure you straighten the cable a bit and have the USB dongle some distance away from the PC like 20cm or so.

  • bargaino on 31/07/2022 - 17:50

    What operating system? I did have some problems with older Optiplices like that, and assumed it was the Linux driver.
    Mouse/keyboard were plugged in at back, so not as bad as you describe.

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