Question "USB device over current status detected" even when no USB devices are plugged in?

[rhysneville]

Hi,

My brother has had some issues with his PC lately, for around a month now his PC will either go into sleep mode after not using it but then when you wake the PC up, the PC powers up as usual but the monitor then showed "No signal" and wouldn't come back on. He then reported that sometimes this would happen without going into sleep mode.

I had a look at it yesterday but realised that he wasn't using his SSD at all and had his OS on his hard drive which was causing the PC to start up extremely slow. I did a fresh install of Windows 10 on his SSD, updated all drivers and downloaded all updates then turned his PC off, put his HDD back in and started to transfer over his old files (Uni work and whatnot) over to my external hard drive.

I'd then went to bed but he seems to think that when the file copying screen finally discovered all items and began copying them, it gave an estimated time of 1 day to finish.
He'd left his PC on overnight but then the next day, couldn't wake it up.

When I'd came home, I'd turned it off by the power switch on the front as I couldn't seem to turn it off using the keyboard (blindly).
I'd then removed the CMOS battery and left it for a while until I attempted to reboot, but then we were faced with the "USB device over current status detected".

I then powered the PC back off, removed all USB devices (including the front panel USBs and USB 3.0 from the motherboard itself), but still had the same issue.
I've now left it powered off with everything unplugged to let it "rest" for a few days to see if that makes a difference (wishful thinking, I know).

I'm starting to think maybe the GPU is on it's way out and now, somehow, the motherboard is too? Never had this issue before so unsure where to go from here.

His specs are as follows (apologies, I don't have them to hand so naming the main specs);
CPU - Intel i7-4790K (Not overclocked)
MB - MSI Gaming Z97 Gaming 5
GPU - MSI Radeon R9 290 Gaming 4G ( I think?)
RAM - Corsair Vengeance 16GB.
PSU - EVGA 750w (Supernova, maybe?)

Apologies for not having the exact info and if the above is a bit long-winded!
Thanks in advance.

-Rhys.

 

[Ralston18]

How many and what were those USB devices?

 

[rhysneville]

How many and what were those USB devices?

There were 3 USB devices plugged in at the time.
Mouse & Keyboard (Unaware what brand although it did look like a cheap brand you'd buy from the likes of eBay).
External Hard Drive

 

[Ralston18]

External Hard Drive

Make and model?

Does the external hard drive have its' own power supply or perhaps connected via an independently powered USB hub?

Connections:

PC[USB port] --- USB cable ---> External Hard Drive (independently powered)

PC[USB port] --- USB cable ---> USB Hub (independently powered) --- USB cable ---> External Hard Drive (independently powered)

Or some other connection configuration?

And the HDD was his original C: drive - correct?

 

[rhysneville]

External Hard Drive

Make and model?

Does the external hard drive have its' own power supply or perhaps connected via an independently powered USB hub?

Connections:

PC[USB port] --- USB cable ---> External Hard Drive (independently powered)

PC[USB port] --- USB cable ---> USB Hub (independently powered) --- USB cable ---> External Hard Drive (independently powered)

Or some other connection configuration?

And the HDD was his original C: drive - correct?

External HD - HDTB410EK3AA

It's powered directly via USB cable, nothing in between just a 3.0 cable direct from the PC into the external drive as you'd mentioned in the first connection config above.
The HDD was originally the C drive, that is correct.

 

[Ralston18]

If possible, connect the HDD via an independently powered USB hub.

PC[USB port] --- USB cable ---> USB Hub (independently powered) --- USB cable ---> Toshiba HDTB410EK3AA External Hard Drive

Hopefully you may be able to borrow the hub from a family member or friend.

When and how is that "USB device over current status detected" being presented on the screen?

If possible take a screenshot and post here via imgur (www.imgur.com).

= = = =

PSU - EVGA 750w (Supernova, maybe?)

Try to get more information regarding PSU make and model. Noted wattage as 750W.

PSU: efficiency rating, age, condition (original to build, new, refurbished, used)? History of heavy use for gaming, video editing, or even bit-mining?

 

[rhysneville]

If possible, connect the HDD via an independently powered USB hub.

PC[USB port] --- USB cable ---> USB Hub (independently powered) --- USB cable ---> Toshiba HDTB410EK3AA External Hard Drive

Hopefully you may be able to borrow the hub from a family member or friend.

When and how is that "USB device over current status detected" being presented on the screen?

If possible take a screenshot and post here via imgur (www.imgur.com).

= = = =

PSU - EVGA 750w (Supernova, maybe?)

Try to get more information regarding PSU make and model. Noted wattage as 750W.

PSU: efficiency rating, age, condition (original to build, new, refurbished, used)? History of heavy use for gaming, video editing, or even bit-mining?

The external hard drive works perfectly fine on my PC, so I highly doubt it was that.
However; I’ve just came home, swapped his CMOS battery over to a new one and managed to get into the BIOS. I disabled fast boot and rebooted the PC and the overcurrent screen came up again.

After trying another 10 times, the pc no longer switched on and a blue flashing light was blinking on the motherboard which supposedly means the PSU/MB is faulty.
I highly doubt it’s a USB issue as the PC doesn’t boot even when no USB devices are plugged in (including internal USB ports on the motherboard)

to be fair, the PC used to be mine and was used on a daily basis for lots of heavy gaming so imagine the PSU/MB need replacing, just not sure what one to try first.

 

[rhysneville]

to be fair, the PC used to be mine and was used on a daily basis for lots of heavy gaming so imagine the PSU/MB need replacing, just not sure what one to try first.

Sorry, on second thought, the motherboard used to be mine and is a fair few years old (maybe 6?) but the PSU is probably about two years old as we replaced that when the Supernova gave out. Model on the PSU itself is actually a “Cooler Master 750w, MPE-7501-ACAAB”.