USB Recognition Problem
 

I have Ubuntu Linux on a IBM think pad and when I plug in my Wester Digital Ext HDD nothing happens. I have been working on this problem for 2 days now with no luck. Here are the outputs for lsusb, dmessage | tail -n 20, and sudo fdisk -l

Does anyone know why its doing this?

lsusb

chris@chris-laptop:~$ lsusb
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 0000:0000

dmessage | tail -n 20
chris@chris-laptop:~$ dmesg | tail -n 20
[ 9895.790258] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 44
[10949.703071] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 54
[10950.227445] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 58
[10951.913335] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 72
[10957.955050] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 112
[10962.148229] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 126
[ 3868.181565] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 4
[10966.132954] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 10
[10967.066780] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 21
[10967.271905] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 22
[10967.600226] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 24
[10968.180856] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 29
[10969.574177] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 40
[10970.376981] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 47
[10971.009316] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 51
[10971.689266] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 56
[10972.124880] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 59
[10972.940490] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 65
[10973.981045] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 74
[10974.260761] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 76


chris@chris-laptop:~$ sudo fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 80.0 GB, 80026361856 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9729 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x9b939b93

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 9327 74919096 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 9328 9729 3229065 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 9328 9729 3229033+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris
chris@chris-laptop:~$

I'd avoid output of "dmesg | tail -n" but instead post USB-related dmesg from the moment you plug in the device. As it's posted now we may miss some lines that could hold clues. Also, from working with different external USB casings a lot I know some are more equal than others (chipset). Some just don't agree with some machines, some function in a flakey way and some "just work" with scores of machines I've encountered. So trying another brand for me wouldn't be an unjustified option.

Thank you for your help so far. I am sorry about the late reply but I was out of town this weekend. Here is the dmesg lines right after I plug in the Drive. I have tried other drives and USB flash drives and none of them are being recognized. Also, idk if it is related but I tried to burn a CD of the the Ubuntu .iso file to reinstall Ubuntu and it is not recognizing my CD drive either. I put a disk in, start CD/DVD Creator and it says to insert a blank CD. I open the CD and put it in again, press OK and it comes back with the same (insert blank CD) message.

Here is the dmesg output when I plug in the Ext HDD
[ 525.818907] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 98
[ 527.732938] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 18
[ 528.277275] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 27
[ 528.486054] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 29
[ 529.151357] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 39
[ 529.762164] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 54
[ 187.300535] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 57
[ 188.056563] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 61
[ 535.120979] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 68
[ 536.380656] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 91
[ 536.789320] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 97
[ 190.848956] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 113
[ 544.654489] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 125
[ 544.743224] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 126
[ 194.681999] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 20
[ 194.953299] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 21
[ 195.851507] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 25
[ 196.345217] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 27
[ 197.543879] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 33
[ 200.671824] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 52
[ 244.445319] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 64
[ 571.325939] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 73
[ 717.866540] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 83
[ 718.012651] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 84
[ 718.142964] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 85
[ 254.462873] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 101
[ 308.928315] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 102
[ 721.768851] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 104
[ 721.993415] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 109
[ 255.079377] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 119
[ 256.208407] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 5
[ 727.872259] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 8
[ 731.695995] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 18
[ 733.123745] usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 25
chris@chris-laptop:~$

Looks like the device doesn't "settle down", so if yours runs a default install, without subsystems disabled that would block detection, and hardware-wise there are no BIOS settings blocking USB, and the USB devices work OK elsewhere, then the only conclusion I could support your HW is b0rken?..

You may have better luck running "sudo tail -f /var/log/messages" and then plugging in the drive. I've notices that dmessage is behind a bit.

Also, try a different usb cable.

Ok When I do the sudo tail -f /var/log/messages command I get the same results.

usb 4-4: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address XX

Where XX are two digit numbers that change about every second. What does that mean?

Aslo, I just put Linux on this machine last week. When I was running Windows the Ext HDD and Flash drives were working fine, and they all still work fine on other machines. I tried reformatting the HDD to NTFS but that didnt help either. Do you think reinstalling Linux might help?

For whatever reason, that device is disconnecting frequently (and the USB system keeps assigning it a different number every time).

Often (but not always) such a problem is due to a deficient power supply; is it externally powered or powered via the USB connectors?

Hmm..that would make sense. Every now and then it connects but then goes away. It is powered by the USB connection. That would explain why the Flash drives would do that as well. However it was working fine when I had windows on the machine last week. What would cause it to start doing that? Does the OS somehow contol the power going to the USB port?

The OS can put the USB controller into a low-power mode, but in that case all your USB gadgets will disappear. The USB electrical specification states that a maximum of 100mA can be drawn from a single connector before the controller shall remove power from that connector and signal a fault. So - I doubt this has anything to do with the USB controller and if the disk is fine with WinDuhs and with the same USB gadgets attached then there's no problem with the power being drawn from the lines.

Do you have power saving features enabled on your system? The storage drivers may be asking the disks to go to sleep.

The power saving modes are set to the default settings I believe. How do I adjust the power settings to something like that? the only settings I know of to change are in System > Preferences > Power Management but that only changes the display. Aslo, if its a power issue, is that it is not registering when I do the lsusb command? I tried it on another machine running Ubuntu Hardy and it recognized it and auto mounted with no problem so I don't think its a formatting issue.

Try booting with the extra parameters: noacpi noapm
That should disable power management (unless its re-enabled later); see if that affects the operation.

There may also be other Thinkpad-related issues; maybe google can help you.

How do I boot with extra parameters? I'm sorry but I am pretty new at this Linux/manipulating your OS stuff but its really interesting and im trying to learn. I'll see what google can help with as well. Thanks for all the advice so far

I ran into an odd USB deice problem a while back and it turned out to be a signal level issue between the device and the PC.

The workaround was to plug the device into a powered USB HUB and then plug the hub into the PC. Should that have been required to make things work ? Heck no. Did it resolve the issue ? Yes.

so however much of a long-shot, I'd suggest you give it a try to rule out a possible incompatibility between the USB Host and USB device circuitry.


That solution was suggested by the engineering department of the product manufacturer. I went beyond Tech Support to get that resolution.. some guy that kept telling me to re-install the windows drivers just wasn't cutting it.. It seems their engineering department was aware of the hardware issue, but as usual the info had not filtered down to tech support yet.

I would suggest inserting a usb pendrive and seeing if that works. This may tell you whether you have a problem with your Linux installation or the device. A third possibility is a hardware problem with your computer or that the usb hub controller chip that your computer uses isn't supported.

I have tried several other devices and none of them work in the drive. I tried the Ext HDD in a friends machine that also has Linux Hardy and it worked fine. I also downloaded an official copy of Ubuntu from their website, booted from the CD and it still didn't work. The drive was working fine last week when I had Windows on it, it would be quite a coincidence that the hardware would fail at the exact time I switch OS. This would lead me to believe it has to do with the way the OS interacts with the USB hardware and I have no idea how that works.

Does anyone have suggestions on how I can asses and fix this problem.