Latitude E6540

an update for everyone.....

So after seeing more owners having the same problem I was motivated to start talking to Dell again.  First and foremost this is a known problem.  One affecting many different types of machines, these may include the E6340's, 6540's, 6440's, 7240's, etc.  

It seems like there is a conflict between the USB hardware (the non powered USB Drives we are using) vs the BIOS and USB ports on the computer.  I have been told that Dell has designed their USB 3 ports to supply / operate within a certain (I was told industry standard) power range.  Dell has indicated that there are some drives that at times look for a power level more than what Dell supplies with each port.  Apparently, Dell and the drive manufacturers are unable to play nicely in the same sandbox.  Otherwise this would have been fixed by now.  

Various BIOS upgrades have not specifically mentioned addressing this issue.  I was told feel free to install the latest BIOS upgrade.  I think A12 is out?  (I may have gotten that wrong).  There is one due out in December.  One potential fix is to get a powered USB hub and plug our drives into that.  I tried to get a powered USB hub from Dell, but I was told they did not have any in their inventory.   I really did not look on the website either.  Having Dell replace the machine with a newer one will not work as the same issue is reported to exist with the new machines too.  

My machine had the motherboard replaced within the first week or two with no improvement.  Early on Western Digital did send me a pigtail USB 2.0 cable.  That worked for a while.  By that I mean I could plug the WD 2 TB My Passport into 2 of the USB ports on the right side.  That worked for a while, then it stopped working. I have no idea why.  All I know is that the USB 2.0 pigtail cable is no longer a viable option for me.  

So, bottom line, same problem - no solution.  

Thanks

Final Update?  Possibly.

So, after talking to a bunch of Dell reps, at various levels, i was asked to see what would happen IF I used an externally powered USB 3.0 hub with the ports having this issue.  I go out and personally buy the hub, it was less than $50 but that was not the point.  I connected the externally powered USB 3.0 hub to the machine in one of the ports on the right side (please remember for me those are the 3 USB 3.0 ports that will not keep my WD drive connected) and then connect my second 2 TB WD external drive.  The drive stayed connected for over two hours.  I then ejected the drive and connected the hub to another of troublesome USB ports on the right side (immediately in front of the other one) and then reconnected the drive.  That worked well and I was finally able to backup my primary 2 TB WD drive without any issues!  Nice. 

So, while this is a solution for all of us, I in No Way saying Dell is done.  Here are my remaining issues.

• Really? Dell engineered a machine with a know defect?  Or Dell did not adequately test their machine during development to determine there was an issue?  If they are having this same problem with machines ending in xx40 why has this not been resolved on their end sooner?
• Really?  I as the end user, purchaser of the machine had to go out and by additional hardware to get the machine to function as it should have right out of the box?  You mean to tell me that there was not a single externally powered USB 3.0 hub in the entire Dell Engineering, Testing or Repair departments?  No one had a 2 TB WD external drive?  Or even more disturbing, Dell could not afford to go out and purchase one of each for less than $150 and do this testing themselves?  The end user had to do this. Hmmm.
• If I want the machine to function as it was designed to, but cannot due to the hardware issue, I now have to carry another piece of computer equipment with me when I travel for work.  I'm so looking forward to that.  
• I don't fault any of the Dell Tech guys that worked on this case with me.  I admit I was probably not the most fun person to deal with.  They were great, really, they kept making suggestions on what to try next.  Unfortunately, Dell failed them as much as they failed us.  I should not have had to go out and purchase the externally powered drive.  Dell should have provided it.  Furthermore; we now have machines that do not and could never function as intended when we purchased them.  Dell remains silent on that one.  If I had to rate my customer experience, Dell would get a "D-" only because I was able to get a solution for now.  Overall, Dell's management failed us all.

I will update if anything changes or in a few months time.

Thanks.

D

CTGuy240,

Thanks for the updates.  I just realized that I left the word "hub" out at the end of my email message on Oct 19  of last year.  Apparently someone at Dell had a similar thought.

A few questions for you: 

Is the hub powered externally (i.e., power from a wall adapter)? 

I assume you are plugging drives into the hub after connecting the hub to your laptop, correct?

I think it is preposterous that you had to do all this work yourself to troubleshoot this known issue.  I can't imagine spending that much time on the phone with tech support — even if the tech guys were first-class, I would probably steer away from buying another Dell for the rest of my life because I would never want to listen to their phone prompts again. 

...So now that a BS-workaround to the problem has been identified, I trust Dell will be shipping out hubs to all customers who purchased a laptop effected by this issue?

Finally I'll be able to use my USB 3 devices at USB 3 speeds!  Just waiting for my band-aid, I mean, hub!

Yes, the USB 3.0 Hub needs to have an external power supply.  Or should I say that is what I was asked to use and what worked for me.  

Yes, plug the hub into the computer, then the drive(s) into the hub.

I have been told that a BIOS upgrade might resolve this issue, but being I am 50+ and remember well the unintended consequences and issue of doing a BIOS upgrade, I tend to shy away from that option.  Overly cautious, perhaps.  I figure if that would solve it, Dell can come out and do it as I bought the computer protection.

Hope this helps.

Dennis

FIXED!

I have mine fixed, USB 3.0 ports are not dropping out..  its not a bios or driver. 

After many months fighting with DELL , from loading different drivers, to newer bios. I reloaded windows completely, i have tried factory defaults, nothing worked, DELL came out and replaced the system board twice. still to no avail. failure.. 

FINALLY!  DELL agreed to replaced the entire laptop.  I received a "REFURBISHED" laptop with RMA. 

I Have plugged in all 3.0 USB ports with USB 3.0 devices , its been days now and no issues. all 3 work flawlessly! no drop outs, no hiccups.  My old laptop was REV 1.0 on the system board  this one is REV 2.0 

IF your laptop is under warranty..  DEMAND a replacement. as this was the ONLY fix i found.

If I understand your post correctly, it IS system board related and it is critical for the system board to be Rev 2.0.  

Ok, I'll ask, what makes a Rev. 1 system board different from a Rev. 2.0 system board.  

And if this truly is the answer, then DELL can just replace system boards and not the entire machine.  Why would I want to spend more of my time re-installing all the software, etc.

Am I missing something?

Thanks.

What i can tell you is my old laptop was rev 1.0 (system board)  and i know the second board they put in was revision 1.0 as well. and it did not work.  remember DELL replaced two boards and neither worked.

After i received this refurbished replacement laptop, i checked the board rev. and its 2.0 and i have had NO drop out issues, its a system board related issue, probably more specifically power related on the system board. 

I could not tell you what the difference is but there is always a difference when there are different revisions. 

Trust me i wasted man hours on troubleshooting, reformatting, re-installing.. this for me was the ONLY fix.  and it has been running for days with no issues.   

Sounds like the issue was corrected from a hardware design standpoint.

A refurbished machine is out of the question for me until it my device is unusable (I'm already lucky enough to have one that seems to functions in its other areas, why would I give that back?).  

This is what I picked up from Best Buy (? not sure now) and so far I am able to connect and stay connected.

Insigna

USB 3.0 4-Port Hub

Ratng:5v D.C. - 3.6A

Model No:NS-PCH5431

www.insigniaproducts.com

I picked up a USB 3.0 hub that can be powered by a 5 Volt 3 Ampere AC adapter (j5 Create 4-port hub).  

I connected the Seagate Backup Plus drive to the hub and have not yet had success - using the E6540 USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 ports.  

Hi kcpcguy,

How do I check the system board revision? Is it reported somewhere in the OS or BIOS or do you have to physically inspect the board? I'm currently running BIOS version A12.

Thanks

You might see it in the BIOS info page.

I'ts also available via tools like dmidecode

Thanks for the info rbben.

I couldn't find anything in my BIOS info, so I used DmiDecode, but the only "versions" I can see in the output is the following (my SMBIOS version is 2.7):

Bios Information Section:
- Bios Version: A12
- Bios Revision: 4.6

System Information Section:
- Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
- Product Name: Latitude E6540
- Version: 01

Base Board Information Section:
- Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
- Product Name: 05V0V4
- Version: A00
- Type: Motherboard

So which version is the system board rev? I would assume its the Base Board version of 'A00', but that's not consistent with a value of 1.0 or 2.0 as reported by kcpcguy and he also has an E6540.

BTW, I'm having the same issue in that my external 2.5" self powered Seagate drive frequently drops on all usb ports, and its not even a usb 3.0 drive. (Still usb 2.0). My external 3.5" drive with separate power supply works fine - also usb 2.0.

Gentlemen,

The physical REV is on the board itself, you have to open the casing its on the Edge of the system board. 

Hello kcpcguy, i have the some problem with E6540, can you say me your old service tag, SupportDell cant help me by info in this forum, if i say them your servicetag maybe help US to search solution, manny thanks. Marek