AlDrake wrote:
Can anyone shed some light on windows 7 tool that alerts connecting to
a USB3 can achieve faster access. I get this sometimes even when I am
connecting a USB3 device but win7 doesn't agree. Can this utility be
accessed to check connections? So far the only way I can tell is viewing
the speed of files being transferred.

Al.

A tool for displaying that info would be UVCView
from Microsoft. The older version used to be
relatively easy to get. The newer version required
downloading some SDK DVD and picking it out of there.
I doubt you would enjoy that utility, because the
"output isn't in English". It's a developer tool.

The scheme works something like this.

1) USB devices have a configuration space. Early in PNP,
the config space is fetched. In the space is a field
that says "my max speed is USB3" or "my max speed is USB2".

2) At the same time, the low level stuff starts negotiation.
On the USB3 connector on the back of your computer, there
are two sets of pins. If both sets of pins "touch", the
negotiation procedure notes that the USB3 set are the
fastest one. And the hardware plumbing uses those pins.

So let's review how it can fail.

1) Plug a USB3 into a USB2 plug. Config says "I'm USB3".
Negotiation leads to a USB2 connection (as only those
pins are touching on a USB2 connector on the back of
your computer). The USB2 connector only has the four pins,
not all nine pins.

The OS says "This device could go faster" if and only if
at least one USB3 connector is available on the back of
the computer, and the speed mismatch has been noted.

If the computer had only USB2 ports, and you plug in a USB3
device, there is no complaint there, because there is no
potential for improvement (by warning the user to move the
device to another port).

2) Plug a USB3 device into a USB3 plug. But, don't push it
all the way in. The USB2 pins touch. The USB3 do not touch.
We get the same result as (1), namely a claim that the
device could go faster. But the problem in this case,
is the electrical contacts. If this happens to you,
don't over-react. Jamming the thing in hard (as I did)
is a mistake. There's a reason this is happening...

3) Plug a USB3 device into a USB3 plug and seat it fully.
Now everything works, USB3 rate is negotiated which matches
the USB3 config space info. Everyone is happy, no dialog appears.

I know all about this contact problem on USB3.

1) Paul stupidly buys a USB3 key with a *plastic* barrel on it.
The USB3 port on the computer is *metal*. Paul should have
known better.
2) The engineering of the plastic was not done right. There is
improper connector capture during insertion, leading
to one of the USB3 key pins snapping off! Now instead of 9 pins,
my poor USB3 key has only 8 pins.
3) Now the device can never again run at USB3 speed.
I am doomed to always see that dialog with that USB3 key.

Moral of the story, is *buy only USB3 keys with metal barrels*.
Do not buy the plastic ones. I have opened the device in
question, and I can't even replace the connector with a
proper metal one. Because the contact pattern used in the
design, is so **** poor. I can't even remove the assembly,
because it's SMT with totally shrouded solderable mechanical
support points. Miserable *******s! I would need to grind
the ******* off. And finding a replacement miniature contact
assembly isn't going to happen - it's custom. I had to use
my magnifying glass just to see this stuff.

The operating system, by giving you that dialog, is giving
you all the hints you need. UVCView would just confirm a
few things. But if the pins aren't touching, the utility
doesn't say anything specific about that. The low level
driver does the negotiating, and I don't think there is
any log of what happened there. The dialog box is all the
proof you need that something isn't right.

HTH,
Paul