Thinkpads Forum

I got a couple (4) X300 with a clean Vista Enterprise SP1 install and most of the Lenovo stuff installed. BIOS has been updated to 1.02a but I'm still seeing the machines freezing when USB devices (100GB harddrive and BlackBerry 8830) get connected. Not always but pretty frequently. I just had the machines for two days, therefore I couldn't do more testing but none of my T61 and X61s show this issue. I was wondering if anybody else here has seen similar?

Thanks,
Dirk

on the one X300 i have, running a fresh factory preload, (and even before, running a generic vista OS, the USB is running a 100gig HDD and, even, my old h/p scanner..
rock solid so far..

since it is unlikely that ALL four X300's would experience the same hardware error, it looks like you might have loaded something that is causing this problem..

Vista is known for problems with usb like Win98.
It could be SP1, some users on other forums have
the same problem.
Maybe a driver update may help.

Drivers could be the cause. I have a common build image for all my IBM/Lenovo and after sysprep I install the machine specific drivers and software packages. The base build works fine, therefore I don't there is anything in there that's causing the issue. Which leaves the x300 drivers and software or the Verizon Access Manager software that I used on the X300 for the first time. I'm running Vista SP1 on my T61 since RTM was first release in MSDN and never had any issue with USB devices.

Oh well, trial and error I guess for the next couple of days.

I have run usb hard drives and usb flash memory cards with no issues. So far this X300 has been rock solid even after upgrading to Vista Ultimate SP 1.

Looks like the X300 doesn't like my 160GB USB2 drive and my Blackberry, at least sometimes. I can plug either of both in like 20 times and in 1 or 2 cases the X300 freezes. Like the USB device is drawing too much power. Seems to happen more often with the USB port closer to the front on the left side of the X300. I can't cause this to happen on purpose but usually get it to freeze at least once a day.

I have the same issue and like you its typically the front left USB port that will freeze the machine when i plug in a Kennsington USB flash drive

I'm having same problem... it's been happening a lot before and after SP1.

When I plug in my usb hub which has keyboard and mous attached, my x300 freezes.

It usally happens after waking my pc from sleep mode. After it wakes up, I plug in the hub and then it freezes...

I think it´s Vista.

Look here http://www.getusb.info/having-usb-problems-with-vista/
or here
http://www.vistax64.com/vista-general/6 ... rives.html

I don't think it's Vista, if it would I should see about 40 T60/T61/X60s/X61s freezing all the time. We load our custom build from USB drives, plug them in all the time under XP, Vista and various WinPE versions and none shows any problem like this. Some of the USB drives need more power than the USB port can provide and therefore don't start until the second USB cable is plugged in to another port. But I have never seen (so far) a freeze or BSOD.

To confirm this I reloaded the X300 recovery media with XP SP2 and right after the reload finished and plugging in my 160GB USB2 drive, the X300 froze and required a hard power off. Same with the BB 8830 that was about 50% charged, immediately froze the X300 using the front left USB port.

I guess it's time to contact Lenovo and see if they have other reports about this issue.

I have the same problem with the front left USB port. I'm running Vista X64, and it has been an issue with a keyboard, two memory keys, and my 160gb lacie hard drive. The following registry patches however seem to have resolved it (for the last hour at least):

These are available as two separate patches on the Lenovo support site titled "Enable device-initiated power mgmt" and "Enable S3 USB power mgmt".

I have both patches installed and my X300 is still freezing.

Probably just a matter of time for me too then.

I believe this happened after installing the Intel 965 chipset drivers. I wonder if there is any ill effect to uninstalling them? Probably bad for power mgmt.

I did a test yesterday without loading any driver provided by Lenovo (just Vista SP1 Enterprise 32bit and the included drivers) and the machine was still freezing after a couple of tries.

I don't think this is happening though to people who didn't reformat their machine. I wonder if SP1 contains the same faulty driver? I used my X300 for two days before installing the Intel 965 driver, and it began happening immediately.

Also, I'm on my 4th hour now of working with no freezes after applying those patches. I have swapped devices in the front left usb port about 12 times now.

Sounds promising. Can you do a quick check? Unplug the drive, let the machine sit for about 5-10 minutes without moving the mouse or typing anything, then plug the drive in. It took like ten tries before it finally froze when I tried this yesterday.

You nailed it. Letting it sit idle with no device and then connecting gave me another freeze. It was likely my constant activity today rather than the patches that kept it from happening sooner.

Seems like the 1.03b BIOS solves the issue. I updated this morning and couldn't get my machine to freeze so far. Might be worth a try:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-69538

Running Vista sp1 x64.

I've applied the latest bios, but twice now I've hand the x300 hard-lock after inserting a USB device.

In my case, the device was a smart-card reader.

I got mine freezing too but only after having it sit idle for about 2-3 hours. Very difficult to reproduce on purpose, unfortuantely.

Hi All,
My X300 froze the OS every single time I put anything in the two side USB ports, the rear port was 100% fine.
Lenovo came out to site and replaced the motherboard.
Now my side USBs are 90% ok but sometimes they still freeze the machine.
Just to confirm with you all though the issue I see is a complete freeze of the OS. I only have to touch the USB port with the metal of USB cable for the freeze to happen. It can NOT be driver related as its not even in the port yet. Its like a short out.

Russ

I am running Windows XP on my X300 with 4G (3G visible). Plugging into the two USB ports on the left produce random freezes - cursor stops moving - machine is quite frozen.

I installed the 1.02a update and this behavior changed from always to sometimes, but still happens.

Seems to be software - but unclear. Certainly this is unacceptable. Nice that X300 has two more USB ports than MacBook Air - but would be nice if they worked.

no freezes at all here.   i've used BIOSes 1.02, 1.02a, and 1.03b ans vista 32, vista 64, and server 2008 all without a problem.   i've plugged in two hard drives, printer, camera, CF/SD card reader, flash drive, blackberry, and the hub on my thinkvision L220x -- none of which have ever caused a lockup regardless of which ports were used.

if i ever do see a lockup then i'll report back.

i'm not sure what could be causing everyone else's problems.

I'm almost certain if you let your machine sit for about 2 hours idle (no mouse, no keyboard activity and not going into sleep) and then plug in a USB device it will freeze. If it doesn't freeze the first time, wait another hour and it will most likely freeze then. If you touch the keyboard/mouse/fpr before plugging something something in then it won't freeze. I have deployed my 4 X300 now to my users, assuming that they will likely never let it sit for two hours idle (especially with the power profile putting the machine asleep sooner) and therefore don't see this issue. Updating to 1.03b make a huge difference though, the freezing was much more often with 1.02a and earlier BIOSes.

i'll try that and see what happens.

DirkM:

Seems like I'm having the same problem with you, but even worse, my machine is now posting an USB over current error when boots.
And the left side USB ports will let the machine froze when plug in any USB devices.
I'm sending it back tomorrow, the tech told me, most likely needs a new system board.
Oh, he also told me a trick to reset the system board, to do this, you have to unplug the AC power, battery. And press the power button 15 times, then hold it for 10 secs.
Unfortunately, this does not work for me, but worst a try

update: i waited 2.5 hours, plugged in my sandisk CF/SD reader and my lenovo travel HDD back to back, listened for the confirmation sound in windows each time, moved the mouse, and saw that neither of them locked the system up.   so, as certain as you are that my system is affected, i'm equally as certain that it's unaffected.

sorry, i tried.

i'll post back if anything changes.

I have a new X300 running Windows XP (SP3), with new BIOS etc, and one of my USB drives (OCZ ATV-Turbo) often induces a freeze when inserted into either of the two USB ports on the side. Seems to work fine on the back USB port, and my SanDisk Cruzer Micro drive seems OK on all.

Dirk, have you or anyone else determined what the problem is? Is there a fix?

- Steve

We have four X300 and all of them still do this once in a while. Besides seending it in and getting the hardware replaced it seems that moving the mouse before inserting a USB device prevents it from freezing. I'm now using a X301 and it doesn't show this issue at all, so I guess it's related to the X300 BIOS or main board.