Two USB ports stopped working

Question

I have a HP pavillion g6, running Xubuntu 14.04 64-bit. I have 3 USB ports. For some reason, 2 of them stopped working this morning.

I have xserver-xorg-input-all installed, followed the instructions here which didn't work. My laptop is updated and upgraded to the latest version. lsusb outputs

Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0a5c:21e3 Broadcom Corp. HP Portable Valentine
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 2188:0ae1  
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

I tried on Manjaro live cd, and all ports are working. Isn't there an error log for usb ports so i can see whats going on?

My /var/log/dpkg.log and /var/log/apt/history.log are here

Solution 1

Here I got my USB3 ports not working after a while: only a restart fixes the problem.

After some research, I've found that a lot of USB3 ports presents a power management problem In a lot of different hardwares and OSs. You can find people reporting this kind of problem on Windows, Linux, etc.

So, I've disabled USB power management, and now everything is fine.

1. Disabling USB Power Management

For Ubuntu, usbcore module is compiled in the kernel, so we need to change the kernel boot parameters.

Edit the /etc/default/grub file and change the GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT line to add the usbcore.autosuspend=-1 option:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash usbcore.autosuspend=-1"

Note that quit splash were options already present. So keep other options you have too.

Save file and close.

2. Update grub

After save the file, update grub:

sudo update-grub

And reboot.

3. Check autosuspend after reboot

After reboot, check autosuspend value:

cat /sys/module/usbcore/parameters/autosuspend

And it should display -1.

Solution 2

I had a similar problem and http://www.ubuntugeek.com/how-to-fix-usb-stops-working-problem-in-ubuntu.html lists another way to fix this

This method also edits the grub but instead of modifying GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT it modifies GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="".

Steps:

1. Open terminal
2. Type gksudo gedit /etc/default/grub in terminal and press enter
3. Find the line GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""
4. Modify the line to read GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="acpi=force irqpoll"
5. After that, update the bootloader via terminal by typing sudo update-grub and pressing enter
6. Restart your system

This method is the same as given in the link above and it worked for me.

I use Ubuntu Desktop 14.04 64 bit.

Solution 3

This is simple solution you can try this:

first execute below command in terminal:

sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg

after, reboot your computer and it's worked for me!

Comments

[Admin]

Boot from a live DVD/USB and test the 2 USB ports and edit your question ruling out hardware issues.

[Admin]

@user68186 I tried on Manjaro live cd, all ports are working

[Admin]

How about an Ubuntu live CD/DVD/USB stick?!

[Admin]

@KarlRichter i don't have that right now, but why would i even need that? it's clearly a software issue and not a hardware issue

[Admin]

@Fischer That would should it's an Ubuntu issue. If it works in Manjora, but not in Ubuntu, it might give a clue.

[Admin]

@KarlRichter it's not an ubuntu issue, i have been using xubuntu 14.04 since beta days and only today the ports stopped working

[Admin]

@KarlRichter i mean if i use from live cd , it will work like it did before and i done it before, i update my system many times since i installed it and done many changes to it, but the ubuntu image will work like it once did - Lets assume that you are right and it was an ubuntu issue. does it change a thing? it doesn't, still a software issue that needs to be fixed, my hardware is fine, ubuntu is an OS, an OS is nothing but bunch of software, therefore the method to fix this error is still the same practically

[Admin]

@Fischer: Does the update history report any kernel, driver or firmware updates just before the USB ports stopped working? To track config changes I use etckeeper, but that doesn't work retroactively.

[Admin]

@DavidFoerster it might, i dont remember, how to troubleshoot it if etckeeper won't detect it?

[Admin]

You can look up the package manager history in /var/log/dpkg.log and /var/log/apt/history.log.

[Admin]

@DavidFoerster here's my files dropbox.com/sh/skkmwc1xyfqwekm/AACHa0hUwWWWQWtjStndRGGCa?dl=‌​0 anything wrong with them?

[Admin]

Please add the link to the question body for future reference. I see updates of the packages linux-firmware-nonfree and linux-image-generic on 17th and 19th of September – just before your problems arose. Can you try to boot the previous kernel <3.13.0.35.42 and see if the problem persists? If it doesn't, it'd be interesting to see the output of lsusb in working conditions.

[Admin]

@DavidFoerster okay, how to downgrade?

[Admin]

Let us continue this discussion in chat.

[Admin]

@DavidFoerster im on android mobile app right now, can't go on chat but I read your message and tried to boot using Linux 3.11.x still won't work

[Lynob]

I reinstalled so i cant test it, i opened a bounty for a week and no one answered so i decided to reinstall but thanks for the solution, if i it ever happen to me again, i know where to look

[Rael Gugelmin Cunha]

@JonasAdler, in a quick look, in the latest kernel versions, the param to change is autosuspend_delay_ms, but I didn't try yet. Let me know if this works and I can update the answer.

[Rael Gugelmin Cunha]

@JonasAdler Exactly!

[Jonas Adler]

@RaelGugelminCunha thank! The setting is now in place, let's see if it works. I will report back.

[Rael Gugelmin Cunha]

@JonasAdler Any results?

[Jonas Adler]

Previous to using the fix I had days without problems. It works up until now! I hope it stays that way. I'll let you know

[Dr.Zuse]

The solution answered by RaelGugelminCunha works for me too, but seems to have one disadvantage. After reboot and confirmation that autosuspend was switched from 2 to -1, command lsusb does not work any more. After starting lsusb the shell hangs and Ctrl C does even not work. I have set autosuspend back to 2, lsusb works again and will try other solutions.

[Rael Gugelmin Cunha]

@Dr.Zuse This is odd. For me, lsusb continued to work. What frozen lsusb to me was the autosuspend trying to disable my USB device. Anyway, good you inserted this comment. Probably this can affect other users too. Thank you!

[falsePockets]

Works for me. Thanks! I was about to dismantle my laptop because I thought it was a hardware issue. Glad I don't have to do that.