My Desktop is a HP Pavilion a6110a. lshw -c bus reveals this:
*-core
description: Motherboard
product: NARRA2
vendor: ASUSTek Computer INC.
physical id: 0
version: 2.00
serial: MS1C75S15500550


I want to add USB 3.0 to my Desktop, so I installed a USB 3.0 adapter using a PCIe slot. It shows up using lshw -c bus as:
*-usb
description: USB controller
product: VIA Technologies, Inc.
vendor: VIA Technologies, Inc.
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:02:00.0
version: 01
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi pciexpress xhci bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=xhci_hcd latency=0
resources: irq:42 memory:fddff000-fddfffff

But it Does not give me access to the USB stic inserted. The driver mentioned must be supplied by the OS, which is LinuxMint 17 (64 bit).

I have spent hours 'googling' for information or answers on this, and am getting nowhere so far. Can someone point me in the right direction?

Hi...

Possibly. I didn't see a driver mentioned in your output.

If you would, please the results of these commands, as well...

Also, What is the brand and model of this card and did the package say it was Linux compatible? Did a driver CD come with the card and if so, does it include a Linux driver? When you say it doesn't give you access, does your thumb drive show up or not?

Thanks!

Thanks for your quick reply, ardvark71. Yes there is a driver disk with it. At first look, I thought it was just the drivers for Wiindows, and since LinuxMint is usually relly good at providing proper drivers for everything, I expected it to “just work”. But then (trying to answer your questions), I discovered this directory:

│** ├── LINUX
│** │** ├── driver
│** │** │** ├── Makefile
│** │** │** ├── wch_common.h
│** │** │** ├── wch_devtable.c
│** │** │** ├── wch_main.c
│** │** │** └── wch_serial.c
│** │** ├── Makefile
│** │** ├── README
│** │** ├── wchdump
│** │** │** ├── Makefile
│** │** │** └── wchdump.c
│** │** ├── wchmknod
│** │** │** └── wchmknod
│** │** └── wchterm
│** │** ├── Makefile
│** │** ├── wchterm.c
│** │** └── wchterm.h

I suppose, that the answer, I need might be hidden in there somewhere – if I can figure it out.

I did run sudo lspci -nnk It gave me a long page of results, but the significant ones seem to be these:

00:02.0 USB controller [0c03]: NVIDIA Corporation MCP61 USB 1.1 Controller [10de:03f1] (rev a3)
Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device [103c:2a58]
Kernel driver in use: ohci-pci
00:02.1 USB controller [0c03]: NVIDIA Corporation MCP61 USB 2.0 Controller [10de:03f2] (rev a3)
Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device [103c:2a58]
Kernel driver in use: ehci-pci
….........
02:00.0 USB controller [0c03]: VIA Technologies, Inc. Device [1106:3483] (rev 01)
Subsystem: VIA Technologies, Inc. Device [1106:3483]
Kernel driver in use: xhci_hcd

From that, I understood that the driver being used was: xhci_hcd Whcich aparently iisn't working.

Then I ran: sudo lsmod And again got a long page of results, and the ones that refer to “USB” are these:

usblp 22891 0
…....
usblp 22891 0
usb_storage 62209 1
hid_generic 12548 0
usbhid 52616 0
hid 106148 2 hid_generic,usbhid

If you'd prefer that I include those two pages complete, please say so. Since I don't kknow what the problem is, I may have left out something important.

The seller called this board “brand: Unbranded/Generic”, but The command line results show it to be:
VIA Technologies, Inc. Device [1106:3483] (rev 01)
.

By “does not give me access”, I mean that a thumb drive inserted in that device, does not show up at all.

Hi...

From what I see here, it's possible installing the Linux drivers you mentioned is your best chance of getting 3.0 capability.

However, I don't think that explains why you aren't getting your thumb drive to show up. Can you duplicate this problem by using another thumb drive or device, such as a printer. Also, I'm guessing this is the case with each of the individual ports, is that correct?

Something else to try: If you have more than one pci-e slot available, try using the card in a diferent slot.

Regards...

Moving to a different slot is a great start.

When I get a deal like this I try every live cd in my box to see how each one see's this.

On one system I had to update bios but I'd leave that for last choice. It shouldn't matter here.

Might be easier to go out and buy a different brand and test it.

If you don't succeed...

Good luck with getting your USB 3 card with its VIA chip to work, but if you need to an alternative, cards with a Renesas chip are supported in the kernel.

I bought a Transcend TS-PDU3, with Renesas chip uPD720202 and it works. It has two USB 3 ports, needs a 5 volt molex power connection from the PSU, and was cheap on the Danish market.

Look for a Renesas chip and check the Internet to see that it's one that's supported, they're on several brands of cards.

Thanks, all.
I did switch PCIe slots, with no benefit. I also tried different USB sticks, with no luck. The stick lites up as if it's being read, but never shows up on the computer. (It should be visible in /media/m17/)

I'm going to hav to ignore it for a few days, as I'll be on a short missionary trip. When I get back, I'll try to find out how to go about dealing with that linux 'source' material that is on the driver disc.

This is an AMD processor, and I read thread talking about trouble that others have had getting PCIe USB to work. They didn't finish the discussion well, so I don't know if they had any success.

No problem, let us know how installing the driver works you get back. Best wishes on your missionary journey, may God bless and use it to bring many more to Himself.

Regards...