XPS 13 USB issue

I am on 12.04 LTS, don't plan on changing any time soon. Sadly, I don't own any USB 3.0 hard drives, I'll see if I can find one.

I'm using 12.04 LTS as well :)

I'm not sure how to proceed with this. It's really sad that no dell representative is around to provide some feedback/solution.

Anyway, I have just posted on the support forum as well:

en.community.dell.com/.../19520973.aspx

Since someone asked: I have a brand new Dell XPS 13 running windows 7 pro and I'm having issues with External HDDs - they disconnect and reconnect randomly. I had a dual display dock, with hub plugged in to the left port, with external hdd, and another hdd plugged directly into the right, port. The hdd in the right was always fine (regardless of which one it was) but the one plugged in to the dock kept disconnecting under load (large copies etc), I thought it was a problem with the dock, but this thread might show otherwise. I've just tried plugging the dock into the right usb port and both drives into the dock. Just initiated a large copy (500gb or so) will report back if it finishes, hasn't managed yet with the previous set up).

BTW the drives are Samsung M3 1tb and WD My Passport Ultra 2tb.

I've done all the usual suggestions: I've updated all the drivers, and disabled all the relevant power management options.

Copy finished fine, with no problems.

I guess I have the left USB port issue too :(

OK, I have found the same issue on my machine as well. If I plug my Microsoft mouse wireless receiver into the right USB port there is no reception issue, if I plug it on the left side, instead, the cursor starts lagging if the mouse is 1m away. I have read someone else is having this same problem on the XPS 13.

rtozer: thanks for reporting, especially from Windows side. Can I ask are the hard drives USB2 or USB3?  Also, do you have any problems if the HDD are connected directly to the left USB port without the dock?

frapontillo: yea ziby and I had the same issue with wireless mouse as well. The behavior is just really weird, when I first encounter it,  I really thought it's time to replace my mouse.

Anyway, I have filed a bug report here for Dell sputnik launchpad :

bugs.launchpad.net/.../1213148

We should probably start to report all symptoms and failure scenarios/devices to the launchpad page.

Both drives are USB 3.0, and yes, it happens with the left usb port without the dock too.

I suspect this is a data issue though, dropped packets or something, NOT power. My hub is powered.

The drives don't actually fully dismount either, I don't hear the device plugged/unplugged sound. So it probably doesn't have any effect unless you're running a large copy or something. I guess most people aren't even noticing. Unfortunately for me, both my drives are encrypted with truecrypt, and truecrypt dismounts when this happens, so it's making them pretty much unusable on the left. port.

Also, all the other devices on the dock were working fine on the left port, perhaps they're less susceptible to dropped packets? The dock had a CD ROM, logitech unifying receiver and my android phone plugged in to it (all on usb 2) and 2 screens (displaylink), as well as audio (speaker jack), when it was in the left usb port,  and all  were working fine.

My XPS is the same spec as the dev machine, 8gb ram, i7, 512gb ssd etc.

Oh BTW, the left USB appears to have no issues under Windows 8...

I have a second generation sputnik and both ports are working well under Fedora 19. In fact everything runs great out o the box except for the screen brightness. I have to ' echo 0 > /sys/class/backlight/intel_backlight/brightness' then the brightness controls work.

Thanks frapontillo! That's the most critical test that I have always wanted to do. You have a dual boot machine?

So with your test result (also I don't see such issue in xps13 windows user forum),  I'm pretty sure this is not a hardware fault and most probably lies on Ubuntu. I wonder if this issue occurs at 13.04 or kernel 3.8.. I'll probably try it soon.

rtozer: I'm not sure if your issue is related now. I see you have a unifying receiver! Can you help test if the unifying receiver is plugged into left USB directly (without hub), does your mouse work at roughly the same range if you would had plugged into the right USB?

pot8oe: thanks, it seems this issue is related to a specific version of Ubuntu then. yeah, the brightness issue is bugging almost every xps13 :) I heard it's fixed in the newest kernel

Yes, I have installed Windows 8 for the only purpose of testing the plethora of issues I've been having since first booting the PC. I have also informed Dell of my intention of returning the laptop, I have already lost two weeks of productivity because of those problems.

The unified receiver appears to be working fine in the left port. It did take over a minute to detect and install drivers when I plugged it in, but the mouse still works from across the room. no jumping or anything. I'll leave it there for a while and see how it goes.

I imagine my issue is related. It's too much of a coincidence that there is a problem with the left USB port. Perhaps it just manifests differently with different OS/driver combinations.

Latest kernel (3.10.7-200) & updates on Fedora 19 and screen brightness is working correctly. You should all be installing Fedora 19 ;-)

EXACTsame problem with 2 brand new xps 13....