Why does inserting a USB stick locks up my PC sometimes ?

[Wolf11]

I have to reboot the PC to get it going again ? It's done this with diff sticks too. It does not happen often and I'm using the front port USB 3.0 slots. I don't know if it's doing this with the 2.0 slots but I can't really test out the 2.0 slots cause their located in the back of tower and the way the tower is at it would be extremely inconvenient to try. Is it probably the crappy 3rd party Renesas 3.0 controller that Asus uses maybe ? Thanks

 

[Mr.Scott]

You won't know until you try the 2.0 slots.
It's kinda important to diagnose properly.

 

[Wolf11]

This does not happen often enough for that kind of testing, It could be a while trying the ports on the back for weeks.

 

[Mr.Scott]

Without testing, everything will be just a guess.
Probably static charge. Happens to me once and a while.

 

[Dlaw]

Yep, check the rear ports. If they don't shut the system down, it's likely an improperly grounded USB port. I've seen this on a couple of Cooler Master cases (btw, which case do you have), but it can happen with any case that the USB ports could come in contact with the metal in the case itself.

 

[Wolf11]

I updated my sig, my case is the Fractal Arc Midi R2.

I know it's not the thumb drive. I still think it's the probably the crappy 3rd party Renesas 3.0 USB controller that Asus uses maybe. Your right though I would have to try the other USB 2.0 ports on the back. Here's the thing though it only does it once in a while. So it's kinda of annoying.

Do you guys still think it's a grounding/static issue due cause I have carpet and it's winter where I leave and the air is kinda dry, I don't remember it doing this in the summer.

 

[Dlaw]

I have carpet, and it's super dry and winter here as well. I don't have that problem. Without checking the ports on the back, it's all just speculation.

 

[Tech Tweaker]

My best guess would be that it's a bad ground in the USB port/wire. When you insert a USB thumb drive (or other USB device) it completes an electrical circuit and the electrical feedback from this trips some kind of protective measure in the power supply (most likely Over-Voltage Protection or Over-Current Protection) causing the system to shut down in order to protect itself and prevent serious damage from the electrical short.

I've seen this happen on several computers, including some owned by family members, clients, and co-workers.

It doesn't seem to be limited to a specific motherboard manufacturer, case manufacturer, or manufacturer of the USB device(s) though. It's usually just a random occurrence where sometimes a USB device or USB port isn't properly made (or grounded) and results in an electrical short now and then (or in some cases a short that happens every time a device is plugged in to a specific port (or sometimes any port at all).

Strangely though, I did encounter one where every time the person plugged in the charging cord for their iPhone the computer would restart, but only with that one USB device. It never restarts when thumb drives, card readers, or any other devices are plugged in, just the iPhone charging cable. Got two new iPhone cables since then, and they both caused the restart too, weirdly.

 

[Wolf11]

UPDATE: I updated the firmware and the driver for the USB 3.0 controller, in the notes it said fixes for crashes/freezes something like that. I guess I'll see if it fixes the problem.

 

[i6pwr]

I had that same issue with my Storm Sniper whenever I plugged a USB cable into the front ports it would shut down instantly. ...as soon as I made contact with the port, and I tried to discharge myself beforehand.

With my new build It hasn't happened so I'm curious if it's a grounding issue also.