I would like to report an issue I am having with my computer. In short, when I install a second OS, the whole USB sub-system under the original OS (Windows 7) is disabled. I would like to help someone at Intel reproduce the problem, so that a fix can be found.
Here is output of the System Identification Utility:
Intel System Identification Utility Reference Number: 0260 9848
Date Created: Sunday, July 6, 2014 4:46:01 PM
ADVANCED
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  SYSTEM INFORMATION | |
|---|---|
| Computer Manufacturer | ASRock |
| Computer Model | B85M |
| Operating System (O/S) | Microsoft Windows 7 Service Pack 1 |
| Operating System Build (O/S) | (build 7601), 64-bit |
| Operating System (version) | 6.1.7601 |
| O/S Language | 0409 |
| System RAM | 7.9 GB |
| .NET Framework Version | 3.5.30729.5420 |
| CD or DVD Device | PLEXTOR DVDR PX-891SAW ATA Device |
| System Hard Drive Overview | |
| System Total Storage Size: | 465.7 GB |
| Local Disk C: | 465.7 GB |
| Used space: | 105.9 GB |
| Free Space: | 359.8 GB |
| Memory Detail | |
| Total Physical Memory | 7.9 GB |
| Available Physical Memory | 5.2 GB |
| Total Virtual Memory | 2.0 GB |
| Physical Drive | 0 |
| Maker | |
| Model | WDC WD5000HHTZ-04N21V0 |
| Bus Type | SATA |
| Internet Browser [1] | Internet Explorer |
| Internet Browser Version [1] | 9.11.9600.17126 |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. CHIPSET INFORMATION | |
|---|---|
| Chipset Software Status | |
| Intel® Chipset Installation File (INF) detected | not detected |
| Detected Chipset INF Version | not detected |
| Chipset INF Status | Device is unknown or unsupported |
| Latest Version Available | not detected |
| Detailed Chipset Information | not detected |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. GRAPHICS INFORMATION | |
|---|---|
| Graphics Product [1] | Intel® HD Graphics 4600 |
| Graphics Driver Version | not detected |
| Driver Status | Your driver is current |
| 3D Acceleration | Yes |
| Hardware Transform & Lighting Support | Yes |
| Video Memory | 1.7 GB |
| Vertex Shader Support | 5.0 |
| Pixel Shader Support | 5.0 |
| Microsoft DirectX* Version | 11.0 |
| Current Graphics Resolution | 1680x1050 |
| Current Color Depth | 32 Bits Per Pixel |
| Raw EDID [1] | not detected |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. MOTHERBOARD INFORMATION | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | ASRock |
| Model | B85M |
| AA Number | not detected |
| BIOS Vendor | American Megatrends Inc. |
| BIOS Version | American Megatrends Inc. P2.20 |
| BIOS Release Date | 05/01/14 |
| System Memory | 7.9 GB |
| Built-in Audio Driver Component | not detected |
| Built-in Audio Driver Version | 6.1.7601.17514 |
| Built-in Audio Driver Status | Non-Intel device detected |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. PROCESSOR INFORMATION | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Intel |
| Model | Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4670 CPU @ 3.40GHz |
| Intel Processor analysis tools | Intel Processor analysis tools |
| CPU Speed | 3.4 GHz |
| Link to Processor Specification | Link to Processor Specification |
| CPU Revision | 09 |
| CPU Type | 00 |
| CPU Family | 06 |
| CPU Model | 3C |
| CPU Stepping | 3 |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. WIRED NETWORKING INFORMATION | |
|---|---|
| Wired Networking Product | |
| Driver Version | 2.1.0.13 |
| Driver Status | Device is unknown or unsupported |
| Intel PROSet Version | not detected |
| Hardware IDs | PCI\VEN_1969&DEV_10A1&SUBSYS_10A11849&REV_10 |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. WIRELESS NETWORKING INFORMATION | |
|---|---|
| Wireless Networking Product | TP-LINK 450Mbps Wireless N Adapter |
| Driver Version | 9.2.0.310 |
| Software/Driver Status | Non-Intel device detected |
| Latest version available | not detected |
| Hardware IDs | PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_0030&SUBSYS_3112168C&REV_01 |
I have reproduced this problem two different ways. The first was like this:
- Install Windows 7. Use the standard Windows "Disk Management" utility to free 100GB on the C: drive for a Linux installation. (Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Create and format hard disk partitions.)
- Use the UNetbootin utility (UNetbootin - Homepage and Downloads) to install version 12.04 of Ubuntu Linux on the new partition using a USB thumb drive.
- Select the Windows 7 installation from the GRUB2 boot menu.
- The USB keyboard and mouse seem to be dead. (They are unresponsive, and there are no lights on the keyboard or from the bottom of the optical mouse.)
- Using a Chrome Remote Desktop login, I am able to log into Windows and verify that all USB activity (plugging in the above mentioned thumb drive again, etc) is ignored by the OS.
Note that everything works fine under Ubuntu, and Windows works fine too if I remove the Ubuntu partition and replace GRUB with the Windows bootloader.
I first suspected that GRUB was somehow initializing the hardware into an unexpected state and causing trouble that way. So I tried this, instead:
- I installed a second hard drive, and then installed Ubuntu on that.
- This installed GRUB2 on the C: drive again, so I used "bootrec /fixmbr" and "bootrec /fixboot" from a rescue disk command-line to reinstall the standard Windows bootloader.
- From this point, all is fine until I tell the UEFI firmware to boot from the second drive. Again, Linux works fine, but I get the same "broken USB" behavior from Windows the next time I boot from the C: drive. This happens even if I power off the computer completely, including pulling the power plug, before attempting to boot into Windows!
So why am I posting here? Well, I noticed that I never had trouble with Windows when booting in safe mode. And from experimentation, it seems that all it takes to boot successfully is to disable the Intel® HD Graphics 4600 driver. (I don't have a discrete graphics card.) Note that I am using the latest driver and BIOS versions.
I welcome any follow-up questions and would love to help get to the bottom of this.
Many thanks,
Sam Bishop