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I bought a USB 3.0 PCIe card and an external 3TB Western Digital USB 3.0 HDD. One partition is NTFS, and another is EXT4, but this is in regards to transferring to the EXT4 partition.

Speeds run between 26-38MB/s.

I am running 14.04, but am backing up my info ATM so I can install 14.10 on the new SSD I just bought.

lspci:

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 82G33/G31/P35/P31 Express DRAM Controller (rev 02)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82G33/G31/P35/P31 Express PCI Express Root Port (rev 02)
00:1a.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 02)
00:1a.1 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #5 (rev 02)
00:1a.2 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #6 (rev 02)
00:1a.7 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #2 (rev 02)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) HD Audio Controller (rev 02)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 02)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 3 (rev 02)
00:1c.4 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 5 (rev 02)
00:1c.5 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 6 (rev 02)
00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 02)
00:1d.1 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 02)
00:1d.2 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 02)
00:1d.7 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #1 (rev 02)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 PCI Bridge (rev 92)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801IB (ICH9) LPC Interface Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.2 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801IB (ICH9) 2 port SATA Controller [IDE mode] (rev 02)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.5 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) 2 port SATA Controller [IDE mode] (rev 02)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation G96 [GeForce 9500 GT] (rev a1)
02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Qualcomm Atheros Attansic L1 Gigabit Ethernet (rev b0)
03:00.0 SATA controller: JMicron Technology Corp. JMB363 SATA/IDE Controller (rev 03)
03:00.1 IDE interface: JMicron Technology Corp. JMB363 SATA/IDE Controller (rev 03)
04:00.0 USB controller: Renesas Technology Corp. uPD720202 USB 3.0 Host Controller (rev 02)
06:03.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): VIA Technologies, Inc. VT6306/7/8 [Fire II(M)] IEEE 1394 OHCI Controller (rev c0)

lspci | grep "USB 3"

04:00.0 USB controller: Renesas Technology Corp. uPD720202 USB 3.0 Host Controller (rev 02)

lsusb

Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 008 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 007 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 006 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 009 Device 002: ID 1058:107c Western Digital Technologies, Inc. 
Bus 009 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 010 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 07d1:3300 D-Link System DWA-130 802.11n Wireless N Adapter(rev.E) [Realtek RTL8191SU]
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 004 Device 002: ID 046d:c52b Logitech, Inc. Unifying Receiver
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub

lsusb -t

/:  Bus 10.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=xhci_hcd/2p, 5000M
/:  Bus 09.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=xhci_hcd/2p, 480M
    |__ Port 2: Dev 2, If 0, Class=Mass Storage, Driver=usb-storage, 480M
/:  Bus 08.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=uhci_hcd/2p, 12M
/:  Bus 07.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=uhci_hcd/2p, 12M
/:  Bus 06.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=uhci_hcd/2p, 12M
/:  Bus 05.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=uhci_hcd/2p, 12M
/:  Bus 04.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=uhci_hcd/2p, 12M
    |__ Port 2: Dev 2, If 0, Class=Human Interface Device, Driver=usbhid, 12M
    |__ Port 2: Dev 2, If 1, Class=Human Interface Device, Driver=usbhid, 12M
    |__ Port 2: Dev 2, If 2, Class=Human Interface Device, Driver=usbhid, 12M
/:  Bus 03.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=uhci_hcd/2p, 12M
/:  Bus 02.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=ehci-pci/6p, 480M
/:  Bus 01.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=ehci-pci/6p, 480M
    |__ Port 3: Dev 2, If 0, Class=Vendor Specific Class, Driver=r8712u, 480M

I don't really know what to do with this, any help would be much appreciated. I provided the above few commands as I figured that would be a good starting point.

Organic Marble
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kingcobra668
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2 Answers2

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Your lsusb -t indicates you have a recognized and (ostensibly) working USB 3.x Gen 1 root hub, but there is no active connection from that to any device.

Most of the time, it will be the USB cable you're using that is the issue. The cable supplied with the drive usually is USB 3 capable, but a lot of the time it's a very short cable which leads people to substitute it with another cable. Most USB-C cables sold in common retail stores only carry USB 1/2 data lines and don't have data lines for USB 3.

If you are using the cable supplied with the drive, then it should support USB 3 as stated, but it is possible for a fault in the cable to prevent this, so swapping it for another cable known to support USB 3 would be a worthwhile troubleshooting step if only to eliminate that as a cause.

Similarly if you have internal cables or connectors in your PC these too could be the issue, though if it's a PCIe card screwed straight on the back panel that's not the problem I guess.

Cable manufacturers and/or retailers seemingly take advantage of the fact that most people don't realize that USB-C doesn't necessarily indicate USB 3 compatibility and so they sell USB-A to USB-C cables (or even USB-C to USB-C cables) that don't support USB 3.

If a cable is described as a "charging cable", or it advertises 480 Mbit/s data speed, it has no USB 3 data lines.

If a cable is described as for data or charging and data, and it advertises 5000 Mbit/s or higher or specifically USB 3.x Gen 1 or higher speeds being supported, it probably does have USB 3 data lines and will support USB 3.x Gen 1, 2, and 3 speeds as long as it complies with the specs.

If the cable is described as Thunderbolt 3, 4, or 5 compatible then it will also work for USB 3.x, though you probably paid way more for that cable than you needed to.

If the cable doesn't give any of the above hints at all, then it's fairly safe to assume it's not USB 3 compatible.

thomasrutter
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I suspect dirty or poor quality connectors are at fault. Either that or you are are using an extension cable rated only for USB-2 speeds. As you've probably noticed by now A-type USB connectors look the same on the exterior whether they are designed for USB2 or USB3. As this clever picture shows, there are four additional connectors in A-type USB3 connectors. it seems to me that if such connectors were not plugged in all way, possibly due to obstruction around the case of a laptop or a misaligned shield on a desktop, then it would almost certainly connect only at USB 2.0 speeds.

gyropyge
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  • The Western Digital External Drive came with its own 3.0 USB cable. It is new, and clean. The PCIe card is clean. It is connected firmly. – kingcobra668 Jan 03 '15 at 21:35
  • Most computers sporting USB3 ports designate those ports by making them blue in color. Some manufacturers do not use color to identify them. You may want to make extra sure you are actually using a usb 3.0 port – gyropyge Jan 04 '15 at 06:08
  • The card has blue usb ports and both ends of the cable are blue. – kingcobra668 Jan 13 '15 at 03:03
  • As far as I understand these things, Ubuntu tends to support usb 3.0. It might be a misbehaving driver as you appear to suspect, or something could be broken, but neither of those explanations appeal to me. About the only other explanation I can imagine is that the hard drive in the external case simply has lack lustre performance, which could be the situation, especially if it is in poor condition internally. Have you run any tests on the drive itself? – gyropyge Jan 13 '15 at 09:43
  • It's a brand new WD Elements, but I have not run any tests. What sort of tests should I run? – kingcobra668 Feb 05 '15 at 22:54
  • If you open DiskUtility you can click on "smart" if the drive itself supports that feature. Otherwise you can use other test utilities visibly obvious in that application.

    Although disk utility is already included with your Ubuntu installation, this link may help you to recognize and understand the feature. https://apps.ubuntu.com/cat/applications/precise/gnome-disk-utility/

     – gyropyge Feb 07 '15 at 06:15