G31M-ES2L / USB Speed issue

[crapus_olus]

I just replaced an Asus K8N-E mobo with a G31M-ES2L. I needed the smaller mobo since I was changing to a new case.

This is a bench/testing system I use for testing new code, and it is booted with Slackware off of a USB flash drives. I use several different flash drives with different configs for testing.

It works fine except for one thing -- USB speed booting off of the flash drives. It takes 10 times longer for the boot image and initramfs to load off the flash than the K8NE did. Once it is loaded, the sytem itself is much faster that the old one, but the slow loading of the boot image and initramfs from the flash is KILLING me, since I am constantly rebooting to test new code on multiple configs. I've tried several different flash drives but no luck. I moved back to the K8NE, and the same flash drives load lightning fast there.

The G31M-ES2L board is Rev 1.1, and the BIOS is 2/5/2009. I've dried several permutations of the USB options in the BIOS and have not been able to improve the loading times. The CPU is an E2200 and set to all stock settings, no OC or tweaking (I dont' need it on this system).

Any suggestions?

[keplenk]

Re: G31M-ES2L / USB Speed issue

I have the exact same problem. Booting off from an osx86 dvd (but placed on an external hdd) is so slow. I'm also having problems with the USB power. Got mine RMAed but I'm still waiting it will have the same problem.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: G31M-ES2L / USB Speed issue

External Hard drive is always going to be slow, USB 2.0 slow

[keplenk]

Re: G31M-ES2L / USB Speed issue

Yes I know that it will definitely boot SLOWER, but not toooooo slow. Using the same external drive (tried others as well), in my laptop (ICH8) it is way faster. My external hard drive booting off my G31m-Es2L takes about 12mins. Booting off with the same hard drive in my Laptop takes 2 mins.

This is the most interesting part. I just got the replacement motherboard (sealed and new from the box) and it has the same exact problem.

I don't know what is happening!

However, after booting from the external hard drive, it becomes normal speed.
*I have leopard installed in my external hard drive.

EDIT:

BTW, I also had a P35-DS3L before and it never had the slow usb boot problem.

Right now I'm on F9i BETA bios. Tried other NON-beta releases and all are the same.

Booting from a DVD is way faster than USB.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: G31M-ES2L / USB Speed issue

Ahh, well yes that is VERY Long!

Do you have Legacy USB Storage detect enabled in the BIOS? Are you using the latest BIOS for the G31 board?

[keplenk]

Re: G31M-ES2L / USB Speed issue

Yup,

It is enabled the BIOS, otherwise, I can't boot from USB. I think I've tried all combination settings in the BIOS thinking that the slow usb is BIOS related. I dunno, it still doesn't work.

Well, the USB booting is a no biggie because I can wait. However, I just want to know in my heart that I did not buy a defective product. If this is normal, I guess that's what I get for what I pay for. But aside from the USB thing, this board rocks!

I also tried swapping RAM from my other systems and they're all the same. I think only 5 people posted this issue over the internet. I hope some people who has this board can confirm that it is normal. I don't know about the rev 2.x boards. I got the 1.x.

EDIT: I also tried disabling the USB 2.0 from BIOS and the booting process is the same as it is enabled. I think USB 2.0 is not working in the booting process. I tried disabling USB 2.0 from my other Gigabyte motherboards and the slow boot process happens! They are now identical with my G31m-ES2L (except that USB 2.0 is enabled in my G31m-eS2L).

So to sum it up:

-GA-P35-DS3L (USB 2.0 enabled) > G31M-ES2L (USB 2.0 Enabled)
-GA-P35-DS3L (USB 2.0 DISabled) = G31-ES2L (USB 2.0 Enabled)
-G31-ES2L (USB 2.0 Enabled) = G31-ES2L (USB 2.0 DISabled)

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: G31M-ES2L / USB Speed issue

I could not say it is normal as I have not done that myself so not sure. I can say it does seem VERY long though, but that could just be due to some incompatibility with the board and USB Device or something like that.

Do you have a different USB Device you could test boot from, or can you remove the drive from that one and boot from the drive only? I ask that because I know some devices have their own controllers which can conflict with the onboard ones.

Very well could be that USB 2.0 is not enabled during bootup, what I would suggest is for you to send in a ticket on this and maybe they can look into it and send you a beta BIOS. Please send them your findings and a link to this thread, and ask that the issue be forwarded to the BIOS engineers for testing >>
GIGABYTE - Support&Download - Technical Service Zone

[keplenk]

Re: G31M-ES2L / USB Speed issue

Hi,

Yup, I sent and asked techinical support about 2 nights ago, but they haven't repied yet. I'm still waiting.

I just tried now. I removed the hard drive from the enclosure and ran it through one of my SATA ports. It seems ok, just like a normal hdd. I also have other Enclosures here and tried those, it is still slow.

I just sent the ticket to them, but if they ask me to return the board for replacement. I think I'll just stick with it because I'm already happy with this boards performance. I really hope they could just send me a BETA BIOS. If they want me to make a video of the slow boot comparison and post it somewhere, I will. I also hope they add some feature in the bios to disable +5VSB as sometimes it is annoying. My usb devices won't turn off even if the system is off, but that is a different story. I'm more concerned about the USB slowness.

Thanks!

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: G31M-ES2L / USB Speed issue

Ahh, sorry to hear! I see often they reply in 12-24 hours, but it is already Friday night there now. If you don't hear from them by monday I would ask again

So It is still slow by itself then? Hmm, is there a jumper on the back of the drive? If so please remove it and test again. Have you tested with other SATA Cables?

[keplenk]

Re: G31M-ES2L / USB Speed issue

Hi again. They haven't replied yet. I'll try to send another ticket.

There are no jumpers on 2.5 hdd. I think it runs SATA 3.0 by default. So I tried an enclosure of a 3.5 drive, tried both in 1.5 and 3.0 SATA mode and they are the same, still slow. The 3.5 drives are 7200rpm. I'm already tempted to check it with my 10k WD raptor to see if it is the same. Oh one more thing, I borrowed an Asus G31M chipset from a friend and it boots fast in USB, using my external hdd. They both have ICH7, if than even matters.

Right now, I installed Ubuntu in my External hdd and it boots so slow (5mins?). But after the boot process and it is already in the desktop. It is normal as a normal hdd connected to a SATA port. I even ran a hard disk benchmark inside Ubuntu (which is inside the ext hdd), results were at par with a normal 2.5 hdd.

This by far is the weirdest ever. lol.

I hope I get news from gigabyte.

Thanks

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: G31M-ES2L / USB Speed issue

Hmm, ya it does sound weird to me. Test your raptor and see if you get the same results

[keplenk]

Re: G31M-ES2L / USB Speed issue

Just tested the raptor hard drive and the boot process is still the same (slow). Inside the Ubuntu Live USB, it was fast though (as expected). Faster than my 7200rpm benchies.

Been talking with Gigabyte. We are still on the troubleshooting mode at the moment. They didn't read my whole email to them. Lol. They keep asking me to do things I wrote in my original post. I guess that is a drawback of putting long mails.

If this can't be solved. It's fine with me I guess. I love this board.

[keplenk]

Re: G31M-ES2L / USB Speed issue

OH YEAH!!!!

Solved!! Thanks Gigabyte!!!

The slow USB boot is fixed. Gigabyte gave me a beta bios (f10) and it fixed my slow USB boot.

Everything is working as it should!

The only thing I'm hoping that they could add in the next bios version (aside from this USB fix) is to add a disable option for the +5vsb. I really hate it that my external devices are kept on even though my system is totally off. Sometimes I forget unplugging the power cord and it keeps my USB devices on the whole day, which is a waste of electricity.

Great support Gigabyte! As usual, I've never been disappointed by your products.

:D