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AttilaB

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Installing PCI Express USB 3 Controller Card in Ubuntu 14.04

I would like to install this on my Ubuntu 14.04 LTS desktop computert: EJ168 USB 3.0 Host Controller
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There is a very similar model I found on the manufacturer site:
http://www.etron.com/en/products/u3hc_detial.php?Product_ID=1

It only comes with Windows drivers. Mine had a disk with a Windows driver only.

It does show up for the LSPCI command:
USB controller: Etron Technology, Inc. EJ168 USB 3.0 Host Controller (rev 01)
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How do you install something like this to Ubuntu 14.04 LTS?

Thanks.
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gheist
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Are you solving any problem?
I think it works, does not matter it is not clear what you want to install...
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AttilaB

ASKER

Well, seemingly it is in there, But it doesn't have any functionality. You plug in a USB flash drive, and absolutely
nothing happens. It doesn't show up at all from the Ubuntu 14.04 OS's point of view. It doesn't exist, even though it shows up in the hardware list of the LSPCI command. So it is at the level of the hardware recognized but no driver
is installed.

This is the problem.
Full dmesg please...
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ASKER

Thanks.. This afternoon when I get home from work I will do it and post it for you.
dmesg > dmesg.txt
upload resulting dmesg.txt
Do you have strong enough power supply?
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ASKER

Thanks. I will upload the dmesg.txt file, once I have it.

The power supply was good enough for the system without the PCI Express Card, using Windows and using
Ubuntu 12.04. I do have a very intermittent crash experienced also, once a day or so the computer freezes with Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. It doesn't do it with Windows, with the PCI Express card in there.

I will check the wattage of the supply and tell you what is connected to it. Maybe marginal?
Kernel 3.11 enables PCIe ASPM by default
Try booting with:
pcie_aspm=off
added to kernel command line to get past behaviour.

If it starts working report a need for quirk in ubuntu bugzilla...
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ASKER

The power supply is 300W. It has a PCI network adapter card in it, the small PCI Express USB 3.0 card, 2 hard drives, the motherboard and the processor. That's it. Like I said Windows is running fine on this computer if I boot to the other drive. I haven't tried the PCIe card in Windows yet, I will very shortly and let you know.

Attached here the 'dmesg.txt' file.

You wrote:

"Try booting with:
pcie_aspm=off
added to kernel command line"

I don't know what this means or how to do that. Can you explain?

Thanks.
dmesg.txt
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ASKER

It installs fine but doesn't work under Windows 7, on the same computer. Is it defective, I wonder?
I tried multiple USB drives. It did not read any of them.
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300W is very low for a modern motherboard, in my experience. Checking Linux source for mention of a driver...
The very latest kernel (3.19.0) has a driver for EJ168
3.11 does not.
Checking back through earlier kernels...
On my system, 3.17.0 has EJ168 but 3.16.1 does not. So, it seems you need to upgrade your kernel to 3.17.0 at least.
In my experience, kernel upgrades are almost the safest upgrade you can do, but then I do it a lot. Also I upgrade kernel.org kernels, not Red Hat ones. If you'd like to have a shot at simply upgrading your kernel, the I'd be very happy to help. Otherwise, check for a newer CentOs that has the required revision (sometimes they backport from newer revs, so you can never really tell).
BTW, when I said there was a driver for EJ168, I meant that there was specific code in the USB3 driver for that chipset. Without that code you will get the default action, which may be sufficient for your needs. So it's still possible that your problem is an inadequate power supply.
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ASKER

Maybe the inadequate power supply is also the reason for the occasional crashes, once a day or so. Although it
never happened with Windows 7 or Ubuntu 12.04 LTS that I was using before I updated to 14.04 LTS.
I barely use Windows 7 now, but it is more stable for some reason on this machine. (Never crashed)
The screen freezes, and I have to hard reset, when that happens. It doesn't seem to matter what I am doing
on the computer.

When I get home, I can tell you about the motherboard and the processor exact type. It is a 64-bit AMD four core processor with 16 GB of DDR3 RAM, or something, and what I remember by heart the motherboard is a so-called ATX-mini small footprint desktop board. I built it into an old 10+ year box and replaced the original 250W to 300W years ago.

What would be an adequate supply for a modern processor / motherboard?

Yes, I would like you to help me update  the Kernel to 3.17.0 as you suggested, I will do it after I get home today.

Thanks.




I think updating the Kernel to 3.17.0 would be a very good idea.
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ASKER

OK. It is Biostar A55MLV Micro ATX Motherboard with AMD A8 3850 Processor.
I would recommend 500W minimum.
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Duncan Roe
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Thanks. Will do that.
CPU is at maximum TDP of your motherboard.
You can find those new kernels in -backports package repositories.
I always get kernels from kernel.org
In your dmesg the USB 3.0 driver is loaded:
[    1.337635] xhci_hcd 0000:01:00.0: xHCI Host Controller
[    1.337639] xhci_hcd 0000:01:00.0: new USB bus registered, assigned bus number 9

No need to upgrade kernel or anything. Your add-on board is defective
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ASKER

Thanks, gheist. That was my FINAL conclusion in the end too, because there was no way to use the card in Windows either even though it installed correctly  both automatically and manually with the driver. It showed no issues just did not work either. I asked for an RMA, for the card and will buy another one from someone else.

I cannot award the points to you now. But you are certainly right. Will be more careful with the final
conclusion / awarding the points in the future.
I visit this site once a day...  No worries...