Question Asus Prime Z270-A USB not working

Jun 7, 2019
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I have a Asus Prime Z270-A running Linux Mint 19

After a recent linux Mint update the USB 2 and USB 3 ports stopped working. (Might be a coincidence)

The USB3.1 port (pale green) at the top of the board still works.

A USB 3 PCI card fitted after the problem happened also works.

The computer no longer sleeps or shuts down correctly. (Won't wake from sleep and hangs on shutdown)

The non-working USB ports have power, and they show up in hardinfo and lshw on Mint, so the system knows that the hardware exists, but can't communicate with it.

I have tried booting into the bios and also into the Linux Mint Live USB and also into a Windows installer USB.

The USB 2 and 3 ports don't work in any of those environments either - so clearly something has gone wrong with the motherboard.

I have tried resetting the bios to default, and also taking the battery out and putting it back - no change.

So my question is: Is the mobo fried and I should replace it? And was this happening after an update just coincidence?

OR: can the OS push some sort of firmware or something to the the mobo that breaks the USB and then persists, and if so how can it be undone or reset?
 
Jun 7, 2019
2
0
10
I also update the bios to the latest version using the online updater in the bios - still no change.

it seems to be the same problem as described here: https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?90935-Formula-No-USB-Ports-Working

except I haven't been messing with the ram as the OP there was. The only thing I changed was allowing a routine Mint update (which included a kernel update to 5.1)

I'm using the liquorix kernel not the stock mint kernel FWIW. reverting to an earlier kernel doesn't help (obv)
 
OR: can the OS push some sort of firmware or something to the the mobo that breaks the USB and then persists, and if so how can it be undone or reset?
Maybe from the drivers, because they show up in hardinfo on Mint.
You can test by yourself. Try run your PC with Windows OS, if these USB ports work fine under the Windows, you know the result.