Ok, I've been making custom computers for myself for several years now and have always managed to resolve issues and never had any real problems. I am running Windows 10 Pro 64 bit and latest build, regularly keeping my system clean and drivers etc updated. My base system specs are:

- Asus Sabertooth X79 Motherboard
- Intel Core i7 4960X Extreme Edition CPU
- 64GB DDR3 Crucial Ballistix RAM
- Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX970 GPU

However, I've just bought a 7 USB3.0 port PCIe card to expand my USB capabilities and am having a nightmare trying to install it. The item I bought is this: http://orico.cc/goods.php?id=6284

It said it's compatible with Windows 10 and was a good price on Amazon, so took the punt. I plugged it in and hooked up the SATA power cable and nothing. Experimented with installing driver, still nothing. I then switch PCIe slots and still nothing. I then tried different SATA power cables (using molex to SATA adapter cable to run off a spare molex), still nothing. I then put in another USB3.0 PCIe card I have that has a molex power connector and plugged the molex directly in and it detected it straight away. Tried it in various PCIe slots and using a couple of different molex plugs and worked with all options.

Now, I can't see to work out why this new card is not being detected. I have installed Piriform Speccy and had a look under motherboard and here are my PCI slots on it:



The first is a PCIe x16 slot where my two slot GPU sits, which renders the second slot unavailable as the GPU covers it. The third slot is where my older 3 USB3.0 port PCIe card sits, and you can see it says "in use" and anything I plug into it is detected fine. The fourth slot, which is the second PCIe x16 slot, is where my new PCIe 7 port USB3.0 card is plugged in, and you can see it is not detected as it says "available". The fifth slot in an empty legacy PCI slot and the last slot is an empty third PCIe x16 slot. I have tried both USB3.0 PCIe cards in slots 3, 4 and 6, and the older 3 port molex-powered one is always detected fine and the new one isn't.

Is this some kind of driver or hardware conflict issue, or is the new card dead on arrival? This has been annoying me for a few days now trying to resolve this!

Grateful for any advice anybody could offer!

 

My best guess, and I am sure you have contemplated this, is that the card is D.O.A.
Check the reviews on Amazon to see if anyone else had issues with it.
Good Luck.

 

Yeah, that's probably the most likely scenario but I am just seeing in case I've missed anything. On Amazon there is one reviewer saying it was DOA, but they also said there were loose parts in the static bag. Other reviews seem fine in the main.

 

Yep This Seems An HGI (HardWare GraveYArd Item). We Wonder If U Have Another PC Or A Friends PC To Try It In. That's Our VERY FIRST NEXT Step In Diagin' These Issues Before Refund/Replacement Request.

 

have you tried turning it off and back on again?

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1DS3ZT5927 Read the post from Newegg.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1DS3ZT5927

 

This must be D.O.A. If you can't detect it in any way with diagnostic tools it must be dead. Have you tried to detect it outside Windows with a boot DVD of some kind? Like Hirens Boot CD, or some of the Linux live CDs? It could also be Windows 10 to blame. I always trust the tools on the Hirens CD.

 

@Bunford
I had the same problem with my gpu covering up a slot. I needed it to install a sata controller for more drives.
Solution: PCIe riser cable. I was able to squeeze one of these under it, I used this....
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...=Pci-e_riser_cable-_-9SIA3XT1D86508-_-Product
And then moved the card to one of the dummy slots with no port under it.
I also got one with a right angle plug but this one had lower clearance after I folded the wires over. Be careful with the solder joints on the ribbon cables when you fold it over like a right angle.
Though it does sound like you have other issues with the hardware. Good thing you ordered from amazon, they have a great return policy.

 

Last edited: Dec 11, 2016

Not good! Though, the product is a slightly different model, but probably still an indicator for their products!

The one I bought hasn't got any reviews: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1DS4NA7781

 

Yeah, I'm thinking DOA!

 

Cheers for this. Useful. Had never seen these before! My motherboard has plenty of space PCIe slots though so it should really work in any of them without needing anything like this.

 

You've got 6 x USB3 and 14X USB2 on that M/B already?

Crikey. How do you need so many USB ports?

I would suggest an alternative: some USB extension cables and a cheap hub.

Far more flexible. Why plug everything into the PC when you can plug a cable in instead - and plug everything into that? You're going to have cables anyway - why make the junction box at the (back of) PC? Put a little hub on an extension cable and done?

USB3 has circa 10X the bandwidth of USB2. How many things do you need to do at once lol?

 

There isn't 14 USB 2.0. Theoretically, yes, but most are via headers on the motherboard. It probably has about 6 on the back, which I use up for my keyboard, mouse, webcam, dongles etc.

The USB 3.0 expansion is to connect my various high speed equipment, mainly my external hard drives. To prevent huge loss with a 8TB external drive, I prefer to have a number of smaller drives dedicated to certain things, like Kontakt libraries or sample libraries etc, so I don't lose everything if one goes. My understanding is that if you connect a hub into a port, the hub is limited to the ports bandwidth meaning each external drive cannot operate at full speed. When making large orchestral scores and using Kontakt libraries, sample libraries, saving to the external projects and backup drives etc, it quickly hits the bottleneck. Have adrive on it's own 5.0Gbps port on the back of the computer ensures each drives operates at that speed rather than sharing it between them. It's mainly just a optimisation thing to remove a potential bottleneck.

 

It's prolly too obvious to mention, but that kinda thinking has never stopped me in the past =) But... did u check that there are no lil plastic sheaths on the PCIe card connections? Maybe sharpen ur fingernails if (when) u notice there are =) other things are prolly more obvious or even more stupid to mention. I've forgotten the other thing it could be re PCIe, but sounds like it's got rattled around too much, or smthn.

Also, like someone else said, why are u forfeiting valuable PCIe port for that? Change (add front?) panel(s) / get hub 4 dongles & slow shit / put external stuff (drives) inside? Also, there's this thing called bluetooth. It even does MIDI well enough, nowadays!

 

Yeah, if you need the bandwidth my solution is no good. OTOH, keyboard mouse and webcam could all go on one hub, freeing up the rest?

Still, extension cables are a great cheap solution that people never seem to use - I grew to hate working on folks' PCs buried under desks and stuff. I have my PC in another room with a 10m HDMI cable, and a pile of USB extensions. No more bending under desks :D No fan noise, no ugly box. Plus it can sit in a cold room.

DOA seems sure for your card. Good luck!