Internal USB Hub disconnects intermittently every 5 seconds.

Hey there everyone!


First time post, so please let me know if I end up missing anything (This one's a repost since for some reason the last attempt ended up unreadable for most users, and since I can't edit the main post, I'm trying again and seeing if it makes a difference).


Since the last BIOS update for my laptop (1.20.0), I've been having issues with high consumption of CPU time and resources from both the WMI Provider Service and the Device Association Service, which I've tracked down to a particular internal USB hub disconnecting and reconnecting itself, even if the only thing plugged into the computer is its charger (Demonstrated by occasional freezing of the Device Manager Management Console and Windows Explorer itself, plus general sluggishness of the system while in operation).


I've already tried running


several times, and have found no integrity violations within my current Windows 11 installation, also tried uninstalling relevant programs (VMWare Workstation Pro, VirtualHere USB Client and USBPCap), rebooting, running the checks again, and so far, the result has been the same.


As I'm typing this, the aforementioned hub has behaved this way over 400 times and counting since the last reboot (System Uptime of 38 minutes), and I've tracked it down to two particular device IDs:




and



How could I begin to look into fixing this problem?


Kudos and thanks for reading!

From what you described, IMO this is a hardware problem. I see where you also posted in the Dell forum where you stated your computer is still under warranty. Though it may be a pain in the behind, you would best be served by contacting Dell technical support. A word of advise, you have to start with lower level support. Do not mess around with their lower level support as you will be run around in circles. Explain your problem to them , but then demand that your issue be escalated to a real support technician. It is within your right. It is also within your right to demand they fix it. The will either have you return it for repair or send a technician to your home. (They came to my house 3 times)
Once you reach upper tier support, they are pretty good about staying with it until your issue is resolved, but I can't promise your journey won't be painful getting to the right person.

I agree with @glasskuter. Seeing that it's a laptop you're limited to what you can do with it. I'm thinking that it could a bad solder joint.

According to the hardware IDs, this is some Realtek device. Go at support site and download the chipset driver and any Realtek driver. Install the chipset driver first and then the Realtek drivers and see if your issue is fixed. If it proves to be a software issue, you may be charged as software issues are not covered by Warranty. In worst case the Dell Technician may clean install Windows and claim the issue is gone. Yes, if you reinstall Windows and then make sure all drivers are properly installed it will, but the whole point is to avoid doing that and fix your existing Windows installation.

spapakons said:

According to the hardware IDs, this is some Realtek device. Go at support site and download the chipset driver and any Realtek driver. Install the chipset driver first and then the Realtek drivers and see if your issue is fixed. If it proves to be a software issue, you may be charged as software issues are not covered by Warranty. In worst case the Dell Technician may clean install Windows and claim the issue is gone. Yes, if you reinstall Windows and then make sure all drivers are properly installed it will, but the whole point is to avoid doing that and fix your existing Windows installation.

Click to expand...

Sadly that was one of the first things I tried, and as of now things only got weirder.

Turns out that it may indeed be a hardware issue, but it honestly leaves me perplexed how the issue happened in the first place given the seeming lack of connection between the symptoms and the device causing them.

You see, the computer came with a 1TB Samsung NVMe drive and an empty drive slot on the opposite side of the board. When I called over to Dell as suggested (thanks, by the way to both @glasskuter and @Winuser) they had me install SupportAssist and run some updates, of which one of them was a firmware update for the stock NVMe drive. After it was done, I was asked to perform both the simple and extended tests in the BIOS, and for some reason on one of the attempts at the test the stock drive came up as faulty, even though it did not explain in which way.


After this, I was asked to schedule a visit for a technician to come home and have a look, but just to be sure to try and remove the secondary drive and boot without it. After booting I noticed that the stock drive now tends to overheat even if idle (around 61°C compared to the usual 35°C), but aside from that the original problem kind of "disappeared". I am no longer getting any USB hub intermittent reconnections, but the Device Association Service is still constantly using around 46% of the CPU. In the meantime, I even went ahead and reinstalled the drive, and to my surprise the USB problem did not return (even the S.M.A.R.T. data in CrystalDiskInfo shows both disks as fine for now).


At the moment I'm starting to believe the Samsung drive I bought somehow is creating an issue, but honestly, I'm more confused than anything on how a non-removable PCIe device can after less than two years of light to moderate use randomly begin to create glitches in a completely different connection stack, much less one that changed its nature by just unplugging and replugging the drive. Maybe it's more something to do with the motherboard itself, but truth be told I'm not sure how could I begin to troubleshoot anything with the service itself since everything points to a hardware issue that I have no way of proving, especially so if none of the issues arise if I happen to boot from an external device and leave the computer idle (not with Ubuntu or WinPE at the very least).

In any case, thanks for keeping an eye on this, I'll keep trying to see if I can find out anything else.

Kudos!

If the disk failed the test, there is an error code telling the manufacturer where is the problem. In any case, since it is under Warranty they should replace it. Backup your data and open a support ticket.

spapakons said:

If the disk failed the test, there is an error code telling the manufacturer where is the problem. In any case, since it is under Warranty they should replace it. Backup your data and open a support ticket.

Click to expand...

You're probably right. I have ordered another drive to make a backup to and it seems that the technician had a problem receiving some pieces, so the whole issue is on standby at the moment. If after this ordeal the problem reappears, I'll be sure to keep the thread updated.

Thanks!