I have an MSI motherboard with USB3 connectors on the back panel that I have never been able to use because the connectors are different and nothing I have fits them. They are similar to the usual USB 2 connectors but have a blue insert. I would like to order adapter cables, whatever but a lot of googling hasn't helped ... I've looked for this before without success. Can anyone help me with the proper terminology to order something that fits? -- Bob Goodwin - Zuni, Virginia, USA http://www.qrz.com/db/W2BOD box10 FEDORA-25/64bit LINUX XFCE Fastmail POP3 _______________________________________________ users mailing list -- users(a)lists.fedoraproject.org To unsubscribe send an email to users-leave(a)lists.fedoraproject.org

I have an MSI motherboard with USB3 connectors on the back panel that I have never been able to use because the connectors are different and nothing I have fits them.They are similar to the usual USB 2 connectors but have a blue insert.

I would like to order adapter cables, whatever but a lot of googling hasn't helped ... I've looked for this before without success.

Can anyone help me with the proper terminology to order something that fits?

On 02/06/17 13:23, Ralf Corsepius wrote: > You don't need any special cables or adaptors. May-be you're confused about the Mini-/Micro-/A-/B-form-factor variations? > c.f. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB > > Scroll down to "Host and device interface receptacles". There is a socket/plug compatibility matrix/table. > > Ralf + Well the connectors look like "Type-A SuperSpeed" in that table. And with considerable wiggling and a lot of force I got a PNY flash drive plugged into one but nothing showed on the desktop or in the lsusb listing? The same drive plugged into a USB2 port on the front panel shows in both. I still doubt that those connectors are compatible, at least I worry when I have to use that much force to make something fit, I smelled no smoke though?

On 02/06/17 14:40, Robert Nichols wrote: > > They should be 100% compatible. I can plug both USB2 and USB3 > devices into those blue "Type-A SuperSpeed" connectors on the front > of my PC with no problems at all. What does dmesg show when you plug > in a device? > > -- > Bob Nichols + I don/t see any response to plugging in a Sandisk Extreme USB3 flash drive at the USB3 port, USB@ works normally, couldn't find any indication of the USB3 device in dmesg but there's a lot there and I might have missed it. Perhaps thereis something in the bios setup that needs to be done to enable those ports but I would expect them to be enabled by default and just work ...

I don/t see any response to plugging in a Sandisk Extreme USB3 flash drive at the USB3 port, USB@ works normally, couldn't find any indication of the USB3 device in dmesg but there's a lot there and I might have missed it.

On 02/06/17 16:08, Joe Zeff wrote: > dmesg | grep usb > > should help with that. + Yes that is working now but not earlier. I have managed to open up two of the four jacks so far by forcing one of the PNY flash droves in to them and wiggling it around which seems to loosen them up so the are easier to use. They should not be that stiff. I've probably had the board six moths or so and that's beyond the time when Newegg would take it back without much trouble, but even so I don't think I will bother. I'll just see if I can't get them all opened and free. Earlier I tested with an extension cable for convenience and dmesg, lsusb, did not detect it, dunno why, I use that cable often but it added to the confusion. I guess I needed someone to say those connectors should work either way since I was afraid to force them in like that, I still think they are poor quality connectors but I will test them further.

On 02/06/17 17:07, Rick Stevens wrote: > Perhaps this will help: USB1.1 and USB2 type "A" connectors have four > pins on the connector--all located on the little "shelf" inside the > connector. USB3 has nine pins--four on the little shelf (for > compatibility with USB1.1 and USB2) and five on the top of the "open" > part of the connector (the USB3-specific pins). > > The shelf of your USB2 cable must fit between the shelf and the other > five pins of your computer's connector. USB3 connectors typically have > a thinner shelf than USB2 connectors (with pins on both sides of the > shelf to make contact with all 9 pins). That's probably where the > "tightness" you've felt when using a USB2 cable or device comes from > (stuffing the thicker shelf of USB2 into that space). > > Using a USB2 cable in a USB3 connector won't hurt things (those five > extra pins in USB3 will flex back and forth), but the tension those > other five pins have in the USB3 connector may "cock" the USB2 cable so > it doesn't make reliable contact with the USB3 "shelf". Here's a good > picture that may make it clearer and you can see where the USB2 "shelf" > has to fit: > > http://pinoutguide.com/Slots/usb_3_0_connector_pinout.shtml > > I use USB2 cables and such on my USB3 slots a lot. Yes, I've had the > occasional "gee, the USB3 doesn't see that device", but a reinsertion > or "wiggle" of the USB2 part of things generally fixes it. > > YMMV > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > - Rick Stevens, Ok, that helps to explain things and why I was trying to decide which way to insert a plug into the USB3 jack, but now I am looking into the male plugs on a usb 2 and a usb3 flash drive and both appear to have the same four pin connector? I've had the USB3 flash drive a while so there may have been a change in the convention?