USB3 drive is not recognized

[drake1980]

Hello,
Looking for help here (web search was not helpful). I have Asus RT-Ac56U router running Asuswrt-Merlin v378.53. I have issue with USB3 port that would not recognize any external hard (SATA) drives. Tried different drive models/cables etc. All drives have ext4 file system and externally powered (so, power should not be an issue).

I do have Reducing USB 3.0 interference disabled (tried enabled too - no joy).

Checked system log and found this:

Dec 4 20:56:01 kernel: SCSI subsystem initialized
Dec 4 20:56:01 rc_service: ntp 461:notify_rc restart_upnp
Dec 4 20:56:01 kernel: csw_retry 100
Dec 4 20:56:01 kernel: Initializing USB Mass Storage driver...
Dec 4 20:56:01 kernel: usbcore: registered new interface driver usb-storage
Dec 4 20:56:01 kernel: USB Mass Storage support registered.
Dec 4 20:56:02 kernel: Tuxera FAT 12/16/32 driver version 3014.7.30 [Flags: R/W MODULE].
Dec 4 20:56:02 kernel: Tuxera NTFS driver 3014.7.29 [Flags: R/W MODULE].
Dec 4 20:56:02 kernel: Tuxera HFS+ driver 3014.7.28
Dec 4 20:56:02 kernel: xhci_hcd 0000:00:0b.0: xHCI Host Controller
Dec 4 20:56:02 kernel: xhci_hcd 0000:00:0b.0: new USB bus registered, assigned bus number 1
Dec 4 20:56:02 kernel: xhci_hcd 0000:00:0b.0: irq 112, io mem 0x18023000
Dec 4 20:56:02 kernel: xhci_hcd 0000:00:0b.0: Failed to enable MSI-X
Dec 4 20:56:02 kernel: xhci_hcd 0000:00:0b.0: failed to allocate MSI entry
Dec 4 20:56:02 kernel: usb usb1: No SuperSpeed endpoint companion for config 1 interface 0 altsetting 0 ep 129: using minimum values

Seems like a driver issue (I'm not too familiar with Linux)???

Would appreciate any help or suggestion as to what I can do to fix it. All drives are working just fine if connected to USB2 port, and all USB2 devices are recognized on USB3 port. It is when I go USB3-USB3 then I have this issue...

So:
USB2 drive ->USB2 port - works
USB2 drive ->USB3 port - works

USB3 drive ->USB2 port - works
USB3 drive ->USB3 port - doesn't work

Thank you.

 

[RMerlin]

Those two error messages are perfectly normal. It's the USB driver that tries to configure the controler for a wide range of different architectures, to find one that matches the particular host (the router in this case). This is why a Linux driver can work with a wide range of configurations, versus Windows which requires you to install a different driver for every specific type of device.

To diagnose your problem you will have to see the log entries generated when you plug the disk.

 

[Jerry12]

@drake1980 did you try setting "Wireless > Professional > 2.4 GHz > Reducing USB 3.0 interference" to "Disabled"?

Previous forum threads said "Enabled" slows the USB 3 port to USB 2 speed to reduce interference with 2.4 GHz WiFi at the cost of incompatibility with some hard disks. (It's also slower, if not limited by CPU speed.)

ASUS's USB Application FAQ and "Professional settings" FAQ and ought to explain this but don't. (Edit: ASUS's User Guide, too.)

 

[drake1980]

Here is my log (the connected drive is 1.5TB Seagate SATA, ext4 file system) .
Yes, Reducing USB 3.0 interference" is "Disabled"

... It looks like router sees the drive at some point:

Dec 5 16:27:57 kernel: scsi 0:0:0:0: Direct-Access ST315003 41AS CC1H PQ: 0 ANSI: 0
Dec 5 16:27:57 kernel: sd 0:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg0 type 0
Dec 5 16:27:57 kernel: sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] 2930277168 512-byte logical blocks: (1.50 TB/1.36 TiB)
Dec 5 16:27:57 kernel: xhci_hcd 0000:00:0b.0: WARN: Stalled endpoint

Not sure what happens after..

 

[RMerlin]

The router is having trouble communicating with the device:

Dec  5 16:28:04 kernel: hub 2-0:1.0: unable to enumerate USB device on port 1

If it's self-powered, the disk isn't getting enough power. Otherwise, could be an interference issue, or a compatibility issue.

 

[drake1980]

Dont know. I tried different disks (i.e. Seagate, WD etc) with same results. The only other culprit I can think of is the enclosure itself - the disk is inside external USB3 enclosure, with dedicated power adapter - so the power should not be an issue. I'll try to do factory reset and/or newer firmware builds; see if that helps...

Thanks for replies anyway

 

[RMerlin]

Dont know. I tried different disks (i.e. Seagate, WD etc) with same results. The only other culprit I can think of is the enclosure itself - the disk is inside external USB3 enclosure, with dedicated power adapter - so the power should not be an issue. I'll try to do factory reset and/or newer firmware builds; see if that helps...

Thanks for replies anyway

It could be the enclosure. My own Vantec wasn't compatible until I patched the kernel, a few years ago.

 

[drake1980]

Just a quick update. I tried with different builds - tried with AdvancedTomato and your newest alpha version. Funny enough, the USB3 drive is recognized by both firmwares on the first run with no issues. However, on first reboot (when I change some settings, not USB related) the router looses the drive completely - with no chances to see it again... kinda weird... I guess I'll have to live with USB2 port for now until I get different hard drive setup.

On side note - your latest release RT-AC56U_380.57_alpha3-g50ed89c seems to work fine so far. Thank you !