USB Turning itself off and on

So, basically from time to time throughout the day (every day) all of my USB devices randomly stop working. Similar to what you would expect if you instantly disconnected every single USB device at the same time, and then they'll turn back on after a few seconds.

My Windows Version: 20H2 build 19042.1165

I've tried updating my drivers. I even saw there was a USB bugfix a while back in my mobo's bios so I updated bios to latest version as well, was actually really hopeful about that but no dice. Would appreciate any help.

EDIT: This includes both USB devices connected directly to the motherboard, and USB devices connected to the case ports via the mobo's USB headers.

Bump?

Are there any reports in Reliability History covering the usb shutdowns?
Go to Device Manager and expand the ---universal serial bus controllers---
Double click on each of the controllers,one at a time and click on the ---Power Management---tab for each.
Then uncheck the box---allow computer to turn off this device to save power---
Next click---OK---
See if operations are normal,that is no shutdown.
Jf so,then re-enable each one separately to find out which,if any,is causing the problem
It sounds as though it is a power drain,perhaps too many connected or one with a high power requirement.
Can't think of anything else.

joeandmarg0 said:

Are there any reports in Reliability History covering the usb shutdowns?

Nothing that seems related. Just a bunch of garbage from asus bloatware. I've more thoroughly gotten rid of it all now.

joeandmarg0 said:

Go to Device Manager and expand the ---universal serial bus controllers---
Double click on each of the controllers,one at a time and click on the ---Power Management---tab for each.
Then uncheck the box---allow computer to turn off this device to save power---
Next click---OK---
See if operations are normal,that is no shutdown.
Jf so,then re-enable each one separately to find out which,if any,is causing the problem
It sounds as though it is a power drain,perhaps too many connected or one with a high power requirement.
Can't think of anything else.

I actually did this a while back. All usb controllers have had the power saving feature disabled for a while now and it did not help.

---

Another thing to note is, my keyboard seems to have died. My keyboard is the only thing that would randomly disconnect and reconnect throughout the day. Probably because the cable (which is hardwired at the keyboard end) was dying or whatever. After a bit of keyboard disconnecting and reconnecting is usually when all of USB would go down for a little bit. Maybe it's related to that.

There is an adapter which allows converting a usb keyboard into the older PS/2 connection.
Providing your motherboard has that fitting,give it a try and see if the usb devices now remain connected.
The adapter is cheap.

idgat said:

Change the power settings options

Control Panel > Device Manager > expand Universal Serial Bus > for all the items listed starting with "USB" > right click > Properties > Power Management > untick Allow the computer etc

EDIT : Hint : if the problem still happens, do the above steps with a USB device connected. Sometime windows will turn this option on/off depending on whether a device is connected (i.e. so when you go in to the above steps, the box will already be unticked .. soon as you connect a device, Windows turns it on. You may have to repeat it with a device connected to each individual USB socket, one by one. If you untick the box while a device is connected, it'll stay off whether a device is connected or not).

Also ....
Control Panel > Power Options > Change plan settings (for whatever plan is active > Chane advanced power settings > expand + USB settings > expand + USB selective suspend settings > change setting to disable.

I do this for every computer - desktop or laptop (for a desktop, power consumption shouldn't matter; for a laptop, if the USB is sucking too much power to flatten the battery, then it's time for a new battery ... or just use the laptop plugged in to power more often).

This (minimal/negligible) power saving option is a proper PITA, and not worth the effort (with today's technology .. it's a setting left over from prehistoric USB times).

EDIT : there is a program called KeepAliveHD (freeware) that you can set to write a small text file to a drive every xx seconds. Good for permanently connected drives on a desktop PC

I've actually already turned off all of these settings. (Both, in Device Manager and Power Options) Didn't help.

joeandmarg0 said:

There is an adapter which allows converting a usb keyboard into the older PS/2 connection.
Providing your motherboard has that fitting,give it a try and see if the usb devices now remain connected.
The adapter is cheap.

There are no old PS/2 ports on my motherboard.

idgat said:

All the USB ports that cause this, do they come off the mother board ? Or separate PCIe card ?

I don't know what the cause is, but it's been about a day or two without this happening since I stopped using my old keyboard so it's seeming likely that was the cause. I'll update after a few more days or so if everything is still going well.

idgat said:

Front or back USBs ? USB 2, 3.x or Type C ?

Sounds like a power issue .... ? Does it happen when 1 is connected ... when 2 are connected ... when 3 are connected ... ?

Again, no idea if the cause was from the front or back USBs. However if the cause was the keyboard, it was plugged in to the front. USB type A, 3.0 or thereabouts.

I typically have multiple things connected at all times. My headset, the keyboard, mouse, yubikey, mic etc etc on both the front and the back. When everything goes out, *everything* goes out back and front.

Alright it's been over a week since the last time this issue happened which used to happen multiple times a day. The only thing that's changed is the keyboard. So I'm guessing the issue was the keyboard's cable had a shitty connection which would cause it to connect and disconnect multiple times. I guess this would occasionally cause all of the USB controllers to shut off which disabled all of my USB devices momentarily until it resolved itself. The connection on they keyboard's cable finally gave out which helped me to get rid of that keyboard and the issue is now resolved.

Lesson: Never buy keyboards with cables attached directly. If the cable doesn't connect via a port on the keyboard (i.e. USB-C) then that keyboard is garbage.

Thanks to all who helped.