[SOLVED] USB 3.0 stopped working - xhci_hcd error code -110

JP3 · 08-11-2022, 09:44 PM

Title says it. My USB ports stopped working and haven't been able to fix it myself yet. Reaching out for help. It happened when I shutdown the computer, and rebooted. Was working perfectly prior to the shutdown.

To be clear, it's only one BUS/controller that isn't working, while the other one still works. That means I have 1 working USB port on the laptop itself (3 ports total, 2 are dead). If I attach the docking station, only 3 of the available 5 ports work on the docking station.

If I plug something into the dead ports of the laptop or docking station,SOME devices (like a mouse) will power up, but other devices (like thumb drives) do NOT power up. Either case, the OS doesn't recognize them in the USB 3.0 ports. The ports that do work, are working perfectly.

Computer:
Dell Latitude E6430
+ docking station
A laptop that's been used as a development workstation/desktop for many years. It is never suspended/hibernated, and only gets shutdown/rebooted once every few years.

OS:
Deb 11 (XFCE)
+ Proxmox

Code:

# uname -a

Linux pve 5.15.35-3-pve #1 SMP PVE 5.15.35-6 (Fri, 17 Jun 2022 13:42:35 +0200) x86_64 GNU/Linux

Errors:

Code:

# dmesg | grep xhci

[    1.686440] xhci_hcd 0000:00:14.0: xHCI Host Controller
[    1.687008] xhci_hcd 0000:00:14.0: new USB bus registered, assigned bus number 1
[   11.688027] xhci_hcd 0000:00:14.0: can't setup: -110
[   11.688076] xhci_hcd 0000:00:14.0: USB bus 1 deregistered
[   11.688305] xhci_hcd 0000:00:14.0: init 0000:00:14.0 fail, -110
[   11.688322] xhci_hcd: probe of 0000:00:14.0 failed with error -110

Relevant Data:

Code:

# lsmod | grep xhci

xhci_pci               20480  0
xhci_pci_renesas       20480  1 xhci_pci
xhci_hcd              319488  1 xhci_pci

Code:

# lspci -k | grep -i -a2 usb

	Kernel driver in use: i915
	Kernel modules: i915
00:14.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family USB xHCI Host Controller (rev 04)
	Subsystem: Dell 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family USB xHCI Host Controller
	Kernel modules: xhci_pci
00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family MEI Controller #1 (rev 04)
--
	Kernel driver in use: e1000e
	Kernel modules: e1000e
00:1a.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #2 (rev 04)
	Subsystem: Dell 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller
	Kernel driver in use: ehci-pci
	Kernel modules: ehci_pci
--
00:1c.5 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 6 (rev c4)
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport
00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #1 (rev 04)
	Subsystem: Dell 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller
	Kernel driver in use: ehci-pci
	Kernel modules: ehci_pci

Here's the devices that DO work. Re-running the command after plugging in a device to the 3.0 ports has no effect.

Code:

# lsusb

Bus 002 Device 007: ID 89e5:101b   USB OPTICAL MOUSE
Bus 002 Device 006: ID 1c4f:0002 SiGma Micro Keyboard TRACER Gamma Ivory
Bus 002 Device 005: ID 152d:2336 JMicron Technology Corp. / JMicron USA Technology Corp. Hard Disk Drive
Bus 002 Device 004: ID 413c:2513 Dell Computer Corp. internal USB Hub of E-Port Replicator
Bus 002 Device 003: ID 8086:0189 Intel Corp. Centrino Advanced-N 6230 Bluetooth adapter
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0c45:643f Microdia Dell Integrated HD Webcam
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

What I've tried:

Multiple previous kernels. Same issue regardless of kernel.
Multiple reboots/cold starts. Tried with nothing plugged in, everything plugged in, plugging in 1 thing at a time for each restart, and I've tried all these with the docking station, and without the docking station.
Upgraded BIOS from version A23 to the latest A24.
Disabling "unnecessary extras" related to USB in BIOS (like power-sharing).

What other info do you need from me, and what else can I try from here?!?!? Thanks in advance for the help!

uteck · 08-12-2022, 02:01 PM

Have you tried a live Linux distro to rule-out the hardware?
I found this link that says it might be caused by tlp: https://forum.manjaro.org/t/usb-port...nnected/100744

jailbait · 08-12-2022, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JP3

If I plug something into the dead ports of the laptop or docking station,SOME devices (like a mouse) will power up, but other devices (like thumb drives) do NOT power up. Either case, the OS doesn't recognize them in the USB 3.0 ports. The ports that do work, are working perfectly.

I would guess that your power supply has weakened but not died completely. What is the status of your battery?

Another possibility is that you have some sort of loose or broken connection between your power supply and the two erratic USB ports.

JP3 · 08-12-2022, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uteck

Have you tried a live Linux distro to rule-out the hardware?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jailbait

Another possibility is that you have some sort of loose or broken connection between your power supply and the two erratic USB ports.

I think jailbait is right, and uteck led to the discovery.

Booting to a live ISO (tried various distros), I get the same results: no 3.0 ports work, and the very same xhci -110 error shows at bootup. BUT, this led me to find some strange behavior, which indicates that the 3.0 ports
are not actually dead, but may have some sort of physical issue.

Plugging a thumbdrive in a 2.0 port works as expected, every time.

Plugging a thumbrive into a 3.0 port will do some strange things:
Most of the time, the 3.0 ports act dead and there's no thumbdrive flashes.
Occasionally, I'll get a single flash right after hitting the power button/restarting.
Once, it flashed like crazy after POST, like the BIOS is trying to read it so it could add it to the list of boot options....but just it just flashed and flashed while getting stuck at the "Dell" boot image but didn't get any further.
Once, it actually WORKED!!! BIOS recognized it as a boot device, and I was able to boot into the live ISO from a 3.0 port!

That gives me hope that I can take this laptop apart and find some sort of connection issue and restore USB 3.0.

It kinda makes sense why the ports consistently act dead once the OS gets the host controller error and disables it, but still does this erratic strange stuff pre-handoff to the OS.

It also confuses me, because I simply shut the computer down to physically move the location of one of the external HDD enclosures, and the problem started the very next time I cold-start the computer. I did NOT unplug anything from the laptop/docking station during the move.....just the HDD enclosure itself (which still works fine plugged into a 2.0 port now). The only part of the laptop/docking station that was touched or moved in any way was the power button to start it up when I was done moving the HDD enclosure. Very strange conditions for an internal connection issue to manifest for the first time.

I think I'm going to count this as a good-enough diagnosis, and possible solution. Thank you for the help!!!

Everything below is just for the sake of completeness. Read it, or don't. Not critical.

Power Details:

Every USB device plugged in has its' own power source except the keyboard and mouse, which have always been plugged into 2.0 ports, and I can't imagine either of those "straining" the USB power bus in the first place. I've swapped them out with different ones anyways just for good measure.

There was no power loss, or disconnected power cable at any point. I did a proper shutdown, and pushed the power button to bring it back to life. That's it.

Battery was changed in 2020 to a name-brand, high-quality, larger capacity one.

I've always kept the "Dell Rapid-Charge" BIOS feature disabled to maximize battery life with a standard charge rate for the 8 or so years that I've had this thing.

I have 3 working chargers (two 65W, and a 90W), and it's the same issue with all 3 chargers. I'm sticking with the 90W just for good measure.

BIOS Diagnostics reports the battery health at 100% and all 3 chargers "Pass" health checks. Same result whether fed it's through the docking station, or directly to the laptop.

Code:

Device: battery_BAT0
Type: Battery
PowerSupply: True
Model: DELL 5CGM4A7
Technology: Lithium ion
Current Charge: 100%
Fully Chareged (design): 73.3 Wh
Fully Charged: 76.7 Wh (104%)
Voltage; 11.7v
Vendor: Samsung SDI
Serial: 46945

JP3 · 08-13-2022, 03:40 PM

Finalizing solution details since that seems to be a rarity on these kind of topics:

USB 3.0 is back and working flawlessly!

I took the laptop apart and noticed the solder points for the eSATA port were loose. It shares the same power/bus as the USB 3.0 ports.

It sits directly beside/below the power button, so yes, the one and only thing touched (power button) did agitate it just enough to break the whole bus.

I don't have a good micro soldering station right now, so a little strategic placement of some industrial tape got the job done

I got this laptop 2nd-hand from a financial institution, and the eSATA port was already messed up from people trying to shove USB devices into it so I never used it (use the one on the dock). It never acted up before so I kinda forgot about it.

Solved!

Thank you both jailbait and uteck!