Question Plugging in USB & keeping it plugged in crashes PC ?

[huangrobert44]

Windows

Mobo - Gigabyte Aorus X570

PSU - Cooler Master 750W Gold

GPU - ROG Strix RTX 2080

CPU - Ryzen 3600

Plugging a USB into not only the front panel but directly into the motherboard crashes the PC. It also depends on what devices are plugged in. Plugging in a DAC crashes and reboots, keeping it plugged in just crashes the computer after it boots up. An external hard drive does the same. The PC does not blue screen or give any notice, just a full shutdown and reboot.

I've seen many people with this problem but no definite answer. I am narrowing it down to either a failing motherboard or PSU. I have a wall wattage meter, but I am unsure if that can help in determining the root cause.

The problem seems to be power-related, I am just unsure of where the problem is residing. The problem started occurring a couple of months ago, but booting up the PC with both the DAC and external-HDD was no problem. Now, neither can be plugged in. Thank you to anyone who can provide help.

 

[Lutfij]

BIOS version for your motherboard? What OS are you working with? If you're on Windows 10, you might want to open up Device Manager and see if there any items that are flagged with a yellow exclamation mark.

How old is the PSU in your build?

 

[helpstar]

check the USB ports if pins inside are faulty/shortened

try with different USB cables

is it happening while connecting to the front panel as well?

 

[Misgar]

Does the DAC derive its power solely from the +5V supply in the computer's USB port, or does it have another DC supply input, e.g. +12V from a mains power brick?

Similarly, is the external hard disk a 2.5in unit, powered by +5V USB only, or is it a 3.5in drive with an external +12V DC input?

If both units (DAC and HDD) are only powered from +5V USB only, there is obviously no low current leakage path to any other circuits via EMC/RFI capacitors in a 12V DC mains PSU.

The DAC is unlikely to pull more than a few hundred mA from the USB port, especially if it's a USB2 (500mA) interface. USB3 normally restricts the current drawn to 900mA. Neither of these current levels should place a strain on an ATX PSU.

A 2.5in hard disk drive generally runs OK from a single 500mA USB2 port, but sometimes needs a dual head cable, plugged into a second USB port, to provide extra current. A 3.5in external drive definitely needs +12V in most instances.

The motherboard will probably have current limiting on all the USB ports, to reduce the possibility of short circuits or faulty devices from damaging the board. These current limiters should not "crowbar" the computer and cause it to crash. Instead, I'd expect to see a current overload warning from the BIOS displayed by Windows.

If you have another PSU, give it a try, but I'm more inclined to think it's a motherboard fault.

If you have another computer or laptop, check out the DAC and the HDD on a different system.

I find a USB power meter (available in USB-A and USB-C formats) handy for measuring voltages and currents drawn by external USB devices. The more sophisticated meters can monitor all the different voltages available from a USB-C PD charger, e.g 20V @ 3.25A for laptop charging.

If the voltage on the USB-A port drops below 4.75V with a device connected, or the current exceeds 900mA on USB3, you know the device is overloading the port, or there's a short circuit somewhere in the cable.

https://www.amazon.com/Current-Volt...95763&sprefix=usb+power+meter,aps,179&sr=8-20

 

[huangrobert44]

BIOS version for your motherboard? What OS are you working with? If you're on Windows 10, you might want to open up Device Manager and see if there any items that are flagged with a yellow exclamation mark.

How old is the PSU in your build?

OS Name Microsoft Windows 10 Home
Version 10.0.19045 Build 19045
BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends International, LLC. F38f, 8/9/2023


No items flagged with yellow exclamation mark in device manager.
The PSU is 4 years old, system built in 2019 - same parts.

 

[huangrobert44]

check the USB ports if pins inside are faulty/shortened

try with different USB cables

is it happening while connecting to the front panel as well?

The USB's are fine, I've tried plugging the external HDD into my laptop and there are no issues. Both the front panel and motherboard panel seem to be part of the problem. Today, my computer kept crashing (even on reboots) until I unplugged my TourBox console and Wacom tablet.

 

[huangrobert44]

Does the DAC derive its power solely from the +5V supply in the computer's USB port, or does it have another DC supply input, e.g. +12V from a mains power brick?

Similarly, is the external hard disk a 2.5in unit, powered by +5V USB only, or is it a 3.5in drive with an external +12V DC input?

If both units (DAC and HDD) are only powered from +5V USB only, there is obviously no low current leakage path to any other circuits via EMC/RFI capacitors in a 12V DC mains PSU.

The DAC is unlikely to pull more than a few hundred mA from the USB port, especially if it's a USB2 (500mA) interface. USB3 normally restricts the current drawn to 900mA. Neither of these current levels should place a strain on an ATX PSU.

A 2.5in hard disk drive generally runs OK from a single 500mA USB2 port, but sometimes needs a dual head cable, plugged into a second USB port, to provide extra current. A 3.5in external drive definitely needs +12V in most instances.

The motherboard will probably have current limiting on all the USB ports, to reduce the possibility of short circuits or faulty devices from damaging the board. These current limiters should not "crowbar" the computer and cause it to crash. Instead, I'd expect to see a current overload warning from the BIOS displayed by Windows.

If you have another PSU, give it a try, but I'm more inclined to think it's a motherboard fault.

If you have another computer or laptop, check out the DAC and the HDD on a different system.

I find a USB power meter (available in USB-A and USB-C formats) handy for measuring voltages and currents drawn by external USB devices. The more sophisticated meters can monitor all the different voltages available from a USB-C PD charger, e.g 20V @ 3.25A for laptop charging.

If the voltage on the USB-A port drops below 4.75V with a device connected, or the current exceeds 900mA on USB3, you know the device is overloading the port, or there's a short circuit somewhere in the cable.

https://www.amazon.com/Current-Voltage-Monitor-Capacity-Multimeter/dp/B0BQVC7JW3/ref=sr_1_20?crid=1MDAKQ2SDAKM7&keywords=usb+power+meter&qid=1696495763&sprefix=usb+power+meter,aps,179&sr=8-20

My DAC is powered only through a USB cable, and so is the HDD. The thing is, these devices worked fine for over 2 years (plugged in together), but these crashing problems have arisen in the past year. Like mentioned in another reply, I had to unplug two more devices today to prevent my computer from going into a crash-reboot loop.
When the computer does go into a crash-reboot, it gets through the bootup screen and crashes usually 10 seconds into the lock screen. Sometimes it does crash and reboot instantly after the bootup.

I should also mention that when the computer is running fine, when a resource heavy program is run the computer crashes from that as well. This can be a game like CS:GO or an application like Stable Diffusion.