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I'm having some trouble with a windows 10 pro laptop that also has a dual boot with ubuntu. Everything works fine in ubuntu so I assume its not a hardware issue.
I don't use Windows much, really only for gaming and photography from time to time so I'm a bit lost on how to debug the issues and find all the required information that might be needed to help someone else debug them.
The issues
The 2 issues that are happening are as follows - the mouse works intermittently, works fine then it cuts out for a couple of seconds then comes back. Sometimes I hear the windows hardware connected sound, sometimes I don't. The keyboard does not have this issue
- the wired network works if I'm only casually browsing. If I start downloading or uploading significant data to the internet (e.g. running a backup of my photos) then the network dies. I can see the network connection there, that it's connected to a cable but it says "no internet" (the internet is working fine on other devices). If I unplug/replug the USB-network adapter it works fine again for a while.
My setup
A 2019 razer blade stealth laptop with a razer E-GPU case plugged into the thunderbolt port. The other USB-C port contains a USB 3.1 external USB drive that has my windows 10 pro install on it. One of the available USB ports has a USB hub plugged into it that has the mouse, keyboard, Wacom and an RJ45 network adapter plugged into it.
the above issues also happen on the other available USB port
the above issues also happen if I use the network plug available in the eGPU and plug the mouse into the GPU USB port (if I plug the keyboard into the eGPU it also has issues which I don't seem to have when it's in the hub)
I have tried 3 different USB hubs (3 different brands and 3 different price categories)
The network is connected to a professional switch and from there to the router. No other devices nor the ubuntu dual-boot on this laptop have any issues with the network or the internet.
there are no issues when I use the wifi instead of cable (it's just a lot slower than cable which is why I prefer cable)
the mouse issue does not happen in my dual booted ubuntu
power management has been disabled for all USB hubs
I assume further information such as logs might be needed to debug this, please point me in the right direction to find them.
Thomas Smart
Posted 2020-02-05T14:54:57.367
Reputation: 111
1There is a good potential you are saturating your USB controller with EVERYTHING being connected via USB. Your OS is external on a USB drive, your Graphics card, USB. your keyboard and mouse are on a serialized hub on USB. While yes each port has a theoretical max of whatever port type it is 450/1gb/10gb. They all share one or many controllers which have a max throughput as well. Is it possible to put the Windows OS on a m.2 or internal SSD for testing? – Antony T. – 2020-02-05T15:22:18.113
ok that sounds like it could make sense and could also explain while ubuntu does not have any issue (its on an internal drive). i cant put windows internal without wiping my ubuntu, but I can test it without the egpu which should take a load off the usb controllers. – Thomas Smart – 2020-02-05T15:25:38.357
Update: tested removing the egpu but it seems to have had no effect. the network died just as fast as before. if its a usb controller issue then it would seem its not solvable unless i run windows internally which isnt an option. – Thomas Smart – 2020-02-05T15:37:17.947
Does it work normally if you disconnect all other usb devices that you can? – Moab – 2020-02-05T15:54:00.407
Your USB external HDD that has Windows.. Is it an enclosure with a 2.5 inside? While yes, not the quickest of tests and a bit on mini screw tedium, you could take the 2.5 out of the enclosure and swap your internal drive with Linux on it. Purely for testing, not for the final fix. But the oddity of devices going offline leads me to think connections are getting dropped because of over-saturation. (large downloads, back up of phone, ect) – Antony T. – 2020-02-05T15:58:45.243