USB out of resource

I have a number of USB 2.0 devices connected using external USB 2 hubs which are cascaded. When I get to 15 units and I am connected to USB 3.0 host ports I get a "USB out of resource" message.

If I use the same setup and more with USB 2.0 host ports I can connect the 24 units that I have successfully.

I should like use more units on USB 3.0 host ports.

What can I do to increase the resource available?

October 15th, 2014 4:01pm

Hi JonZW,

In theory, a USB host may implement multiple host controllers and each host controller may provide one or more USB ports. Up to 127 devices, including hub devices if present, may be connected to a single host controller. USB devices are linked in series through hubs.

Please try to reinstall driver for those USB hub.

Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
October 16th, 2014 10:23am

Thanks for the response.

I have a combination of hubs and devices. When the total number exceeds 29 I get the "Out of resource" error. This is only when connected to a usb 3 port, connecting to usb 2 ports allows me to exceed this number considerably. I have tried this on several Windows 8 64 bit systems and also Windows 7 32 bit and 64 bit systems on a number of different PCs. I have tried rebooting, power cycling, removing and reinstalling drivers, checking for the latest driver using the  option in the device manager and nothing seems to change the fact that I cannot have a lot of units on a usb 3 port. Using usb 2 ports has never been a problem with many more devices in the past.

All of the devices including the hubs are self powered so this is not a power supply issue. I am led to the conclusion that there is a difference between the way multiple devices are handled.

Many PCs now only come with usb 3 ports so this is a real problem to me.

Any assistance will be appreciated.

October 16th, 2014 7:41pm

Hi JonZW,

Thank you for your post.

From your description, I see that you want to know how to increase the resource available when using USB 3.0 port without "USB out of the resource" error.

Please let me know if I have misunderstood anything.

As we know, the USB 3.0 is backward compatible with the USB 2.0. The main difference between them is data transfer speed.

Based on my knowledge, theoretically we can have up to 127 devices connected to one host PC. However,  there are practical power and data bandwidth limitations that would prevent that. These 127 devices can be arranged in a tiered network of hubs up to seven levels, counting the PC host as level 1 and the farthest device as level 7. The PC supplies 5 units of power to a hub. Each unit is 100 mA and each port requires a minimum of 1 unit. The hub itself consumes one, leaving 4 units for up to 4 ports. So we will never find a bus-powered hub with more than four ports.

Here is a related link about how many usb hard drive can be plugged into a laptop, you can use it for a reference.

http://askubuntu.com/questions/46885/how-many-usb-hard-drives-can-be-plugged-into-a-laptop-using-a-port-replicator

[Please Note:Since the website is not hosted by Microsoft, the link may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this information.]

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you for your time.

Best Regards,

Sophia Sun

Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
October 22nd, 2014 4:32am

Hello Sophia

Thank you for replying. All of the units and hubs in my "tree" of devices are self powered. The USBView programme confirms this, so I do not see how power can be an issue. When I first connect the units there is no data transfer other than that required for the interrogation of devices and this I assume is mainly from the host hub driver.

I cannot get away from the fact that a USB 2 host port supports lots of devices ( I have had 48 devices with 8 hubs working at in excess of 200Mbits/sec total on various PCs in the past connected to a usb 2 host port) and a USB 3 host port does not. I do not know where the restriction is but it shows as an "Out of resource" message on Win 8. Win 7 gives devices in excess of 13 showing code 10 in the device manager.

Each of my units has three open pipes. If I change the firmeware on my devices to have no open pipes I can get more units to show connection correctly, so the problem appears to be related to the number of open pipes rather than the actual number of units. Somewhere between 39 and 42 pipes generates an error. 

I have used a number of differant PCs with USB 2 and USB 3 ports to test this on, and in all cases I can connect the same configuration to a USB 2 host port succesfully and fail when connecting to a USB 3 port.

I have tried other combinations of hubs and devices with the same problem.

Any suggestions gratefully received.

Jon


  • Edited by JonZW Wednesday, October 22, 2014 6:25 AM
October 22nd, 2014 6:23am

Hello Sophia

Thank you for replying. All of the units and hubs in my "tree" of devices are self powered. The USBView programme confirms this, so I do not see how power can be an issue. When I first connect the units there is no data transfer other than that required for the interrogation of devices and this I assume is mainly from the host hub driver.

I cannot get away from the fact that a USB 2 host port supports lots of devices ( I have had 48 devices with 8 hubs working at in excess of 200Mbits/sec total on various PCs in the past connected to a usb 2 host port) and a USB 3 host port does not. I do not know where the restriction is but it shows as an "Out of resource" message on Win 8. Win 7 gives devices in excess of 13 showing code 10 in the device manager.

Each of my units has three open pipes. If I change the firmeware on my devices to have no open pipes I can get more units to show connection correctly, so the problem appears to be related to the number of open pipes rather than the actual number of units. Somewhere between 39 and 42 pipes generates an error. 

I have used a number of differant PCs with USB 2 and USB 3 ports to test this on, and in all cases I can connect the same configuration to a USB 2 host port succesfully and fail when connecting to a USB 3 port.

I have tried other combinations of hubs and devices with the same problem.

Any suggestions gratefully received.

Jon


  • Edited by JonZW Wednesday, October 22, 2014 6:25 AM
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
October 22nd, 2014 6:23am

Hello Sophia

Thank you for replying. All of the units and hubs in my "tree" of devices are self powered. The USBView programme confirms this, so I do not see how power can be an issue. When I first connect the units there is no data transfer other than that required for the interrogation of devices and this I assume is mainly from the host hub driver.

I cannot get away from the fact that a USB 2 host port supports lots of devices ( I have had 48 devices with 8 hubs working at in excess of 200Mbits/sec total on various PCs in the past connected to a usb 2 host port) and a USB 3 host port does not. I do not know where the restriction is but it shows as an "Out of resource" message on Win 8. Win 7 gives devices in excess of 13 showing code 10 in the device manager.

Each of my units has three open pipes. If I change the firmeware on my devices to have no open pipes I can get more units to show connection correctly, so the problem appears to be related to the number of open pipes rather than the actual number of units. Somewhere between 39 and 42 pipes generates an error. 

I have used a number of differant PCs with USB 2 and USB 3 ports to test this on, and in all cases I can connect the same configuration to a USB 2 host port succesfully and fail when connecting to a USB 3 port.

I have tried other combinations of hubs and devices with the same problem.

Any suggestions gratefully received.

Jon


  • Edited by JonZW Wednesday, October 22, 2014 6:25 AM
October 22nd, 2014 9:23am

Please will someone at Micrsoft answer my request even if it is to say that you cannot help.
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
October 23rd, 2014 5:39pm

Hi JonZW,

Sorry for the delayed response. Since there is limited resource about such kind of issue, please allow us some time to discuss and research the issue. I will get back to you once there is any related information.

Thank you for your time and understanding.

Best Regards,

Sophia Sun

October 25th, 2014 10:22am

Hello

I am still waiting for a reaction to this from someone. It will not go away so I need a resolution, even if that it cannot be done.

Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
November 5th, 2014 4:41pm

Hi JonZW,

Sorry for the last response.

After a lot of research, we notice that some USB 2.0 devices will work when plugged into USB 3.0 ports, but not all. Here is a related link which you may use it for a reference.

USB 3.0 ports backwards compatibility problems with 2.0 devices?

http://superuser.com/questions/482179/usb-3-0-ports-backwards-compatibility-problems-with-2-0-devices

[Please Note: Since the website is not hosted by Microsoft, the link may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this information.]

Please let me know if there is any update. Thanks for your time.

Best Regards,

Sophia Sun

November 18th, 2014 10:04am

Sophia

I have looked at the link you provided. It refers more to usb2 devices not working at all on usb3 ports. All of my usb2 devices work correctly when plugged into usb3 host ports. The problem occurs when I have a lot of devices connected at the same time and appears when I connect more than 13 devices each with three pipes open. I do not know if the number of devices or the number of pipes is the problem but I do know that if I connect to usb2 ports on the same host PC I can access a lot more without problems.

I am no nearer a solution, so any more suggestions will be welcome. 

Thanks and best wishes

Jon

Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
November 18th, 2014 11:35am

I have been experimenting further. If I use a windows 10 preview I can get 14 devices to show correctly, which is one more than with windows 8. If I boot a raw Ubuntu Linux system I can see 22 devices correctly, which is all I have readily available at the moment. This would show that this is not a hardware problem, but a limitation of the windows drivers.
November 18th, 2014 1:00pm

Has there been any progress on this Microsoft problem with USB3 ports? I am surprised that if Linux can handle large numbers of USB devices on USB3 ports that Windows cannot.

This problem will not go away!

Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
December 4th, 2014 11:39am

I really need an answer to this problem. If Windows is not capable of supporting the USB spec (127 devices) then can someone please confirm this.
December 22nd, 2014 2:00pm

Please will someone react to this problem with multiple USB devices on USB3 ports. I am disappointed that Microsoft are ignoring this. It will not go away. 
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
January 6th, 2015 10:45am

I agree with Jon, there is an actual problem here...and I have experienced exactly the same issue myself. It must be a driver issue, and it is very disappointing that the company that creates the USB 3 drivers (I.e. Microsoft!) cannot provide an answer, and instead seem to ignore this question. I actually came back to Windows withe windows 8 from Apple and Linux, only to find this limitation that cripples what I can do with (as Jon says) most of the latest hardware comes with only USB 3.0 ports. If Linux can manage this, why not MS?
February 25th, 2015 9:34am

Hello

I am still experiencing this problem. Put simply if I connect a large number of devices to a USB 2 port I can use them all successfully, but if I move the same devices to a USB3 port I get an "out of resource" message.

What resource am I out of? What can I do to increase it? If the system will not support a lot of USB devices at least advertise the fact.

Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
April 30th, 2015 5:33am

Hi, 

Just to add to this. I have a similar problem but when I add just one device (USB sound card) to the USB3.0 port when the other USB2.0 ports are all used i.e one device is plugged into each remaining USB2.0 port I get the same problem. 

Nothing heavy, just keyboard, mouse, webcam etc. 

So I think the issue is even worse than anticipated. I have tried with Win7, 8.1 and now Win10 and the same issue. If anyone from Microsoft is going to reply to this please actually reply and not simply paste a link from another (non Microsoft) site. 

I have a gigabyt motherboard. Perhaps this could be the cause? 

May 14th, 2015 7:42pm

Hello

This problem is not going to go away. I have tried using a number of different laptops from several manufacturers as well as GigaByte mother board desk top units with the same problem showing on all.

Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
May 15th, 2015 2:08am

Hello

This problem is not going to go away. I have tried using a number of different laptops from several manufacturers as well as GigaByte mother board desk top units with the same problem showing on all.


  • Edited by JonZW 18 hours 47 minutes ago
May 15th, 2015 6:07am

Hello

This problem is not going to go away. I have tried using a number of different laptops from several manufacturers as well as GigaByte mother board desk top units with the same problem showing on all.


  • Edited by JonZW Friday, May 15, 2015 12:36 PM
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
May 15th, 2015 6:07am

Hello

This problem is not going to go away. I have tried using a number of different laptops from several manufacturers as well as GigaByte mother board desk top units with the same problem showing on all.


  • Edited by JonZW Friday, May 15, 2015 12:36 PM
May 15th, 2015 6:07am

Hello

This problem is not going to go away. I have tried using a number of different laptops from several manufacturers as well as GigaByte mother board desk top units with the same problem showing on all.


  • Edited by JonZW Friday, May 15, 2015 12:36 PM
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
May 15th, 2015 6:07am

I thoroughly support JonZW's persistence...this problem with the USB3.0 drivers severely limits what I want to do with my Windows system also...most frustrating...almost as frustrating in fact as the lack of a response and a plan to fix it. Like others in this email string I also moved back to Windows from firstly linux, then MacOSX only to find this unexpected limitation once I had done so (did not think to check for this issue since I too had used lots of devices with USB2.0 ports without issue).

This is not a hardware issue as far as I know, its a USB3.0 driver issue, which is why it does not appear on Linux etc. Come on Microsoft, is this really such a challenge to fix?

June 1st, 2015 12:27pm

I'm glad that I am not alone with this problem. It's not doing my opinion of Microsoft much good. This is something that really ought to be sorted out by now. I have tried it in a Win 10 RC system and it is still the same. Could someone tell me which resource is running out?
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
June 2nd, 2015 9:59am

Just  to confirm this is a windows problem. 

My PC has dual boot windows and hackintosh. I have about 15 USB devices a mix between USB3 and USB2. All me hubs are powered. The hackintosh works, no problem with resources. When i boot into windows, i get messages USB resources exceeded. and things don't work.

So  this is not a power thing or device thing, it's a programming thing.

June 29th, 2015 12:40pm

This topic is archived. No further replies will be accepted.

Other recent topics Other recent topics