Windows8 Dell USB 3.0 Dock freezes mouse, monitor, ethernet
 

Hi you all,

I love my new Dell USB Dock 3.0 on my Dell XPS 13 (Win 8 64 bits, FullHD 13 inch monitor version).

However I get multiple freezes every day when using it.

Sometimes they are minor freezes like 1 second mouse movement stalls, but larger freezes (10 seconds+) also occur. In these circumstances mouse movement is complete lost, ethernet connection drops and after a few seconds both my monitors go black. Then after 3-4 seconds laptop bleeps again and monitors are restored. Applications however show all windows on main monitor so I have to rearrange them again on the second monitor.

I downloaded the latest drivers today and are using them now (display adapter: 7.2.46733.0, displaylinkmanager 7.2.47873.0)

Had some minor mouse freezes already, none of the big monitor blackouts occurred so far. :)

Keep you posted on my results.

I saw other posts with debug information provided. How can I do something similar when I get the blackouts again?

Best regards,
Ruud

For the ~1 sec see the dev build in this thread:

http://displaylink.org/forum/showthr...?t=2070&page=9

The more serious issue seems to be the whole dock dropping off the USB bus. When this happens is it just the video, or do other devices connected to the dock do the same thing eg mouse, keyboard etc.

Trying to work out if it's our chip disconnecting or the Root USB 3.0 hub of the dock.

Oh - and the logs files can be gathered by following the steps in this article:

http://kb.displaylink.com/269

Wim

Thanks for the feedback Wim.
I set my power plan to 'high performance' to see if that allready helps with the occasional mouse stuttering

I didn't collect logfiles yet, will read article later on.

I do have one more clue to add to my story: after installing 7.2M1 I only had one event when monitors, ethernet, keyboard and mouse disconnected.
Keyboard: couldn't type, mouse: couldn't move, monitors went dark after a few seconds, and my application reported later that my network server had been disconnected.

The interesting thing is (maybe), I swapped my left and right mouse button a few hours before this event and after everything returned to 'normal' they had reverted to their normal usage from before I changed them..

Thanks again for the updates, going to check out the logfiles

Just installed the displaylink support tool and resetted my debug logs.
Doing this resulted in exactly the kind of 'black-out' event I get after a freeze-up: monitors going to black, pling-plong sounds etc.

Will post the logfiles when I get a freeze-up.

posting debugging information
 

Hi,

I just had an black-out event and gathered the debugging information. I'm willing to send them to you, but preferably not by posting them to this public forum.. Is there another way?

second black-out event
 

where can I send the second debugging zip file? Perhaps in a private message to Wim?

Hi,

Just sent you a PM.

Thanks,
James

Hi all,

I have exactly the same problem with exactly the same system (except I run Windows 7 Pro).

I am very interested in the outcome because I am at my wits end having to unplug and re-plug a couple of times a day (or restart).

My drivers are 7.2M1.

My key issues are:
- a 'stutter' every now and then with mouse movement
- a totally random screen 'freeze' where the 2x display link monitors stop working (I can see the last image on the monitors but are unresponsive). Laptop still works fine, but on the laptop screen only.
- Occasional 'blank screen' on the 2x displaylink monitors, seems to relate to activity over GigE, but not confirmed.

Any help would be most welcomed.

Hi Ploddy, Wim and James,

Just an heads-up: I looked at some reports that google chrome might also be to blame for the occasional mouse stuttering. That day, when hovering back and forth over some buttons in a webpage in chrome I did get mouse stutters every now and then. I could reproduce these in Firefox, but with much more difficulty.
I installed the chrome 27 update yesterday and haven't had a 'black-out' event since, allthough mouse stuttering still remains.
I'm using chrome quit heavily (I guess): playing streaming audio all day long. And I work in Eclipse most of the time also (java-based editor).

I hope Wim and James find some clue on what is going on from the logfiles I sent to them.

Best regards,
Ruud

First 'black-out' event after update to Chrome27
 

Hi,

Just experienced a regular 'black-out' event after my upgrade to Chrome27
Some details:
- Using Eclipse Juno, Chrome27, FireFox, FileZilla, Thunderbird.
- Playing streaming audio via Beatport (on Chrome27).
- Connected to server with FileZilla aborted also as well as Eclipse connection to local-server:
Error: Disconnected from server: ECONNABORTED - Connection aborted

Black-out without auto-recovery
 

Hi James,

I just encountered another displaylink crash. This time the two screens went black, but weren't restored at all, so I had to turn to the display on my laptop to restore things to normal

After an service restart for the displaymanager, 2 things happened: the screens (and mouse etc) restored and an updated version was detected and downloaded and installed.
I had to do an system restart as well.

After the restart the second log-files were created just for reference (_115439.zip)
I sent the logfiles to the email address provided earlier

Receiving logfiles OK?
 

Hi James/Wim,

Just curious, did the logfiles I sent you arrive OK?
(especially the last 2 today because I was having some mail problems sending them out)

Hi,

Thanks for the update - I'm seeing something similar with Chrome 27 but haven't been able to reproduce it just yet.

Thanks,
James

Dell XPS, Kensington USB 3.0 Docking Station with Dual DVI/HDMI/VGA Video (sd3500v)
 

Hi,

Some time ago, I bought a Kensignton USB 3.0 Docking Station with Dual DVI/HDMI/VGA Video (sd3500v) and tested it on my Dell Vostro 5650 for a complete month without any kind of trouble.

Happy with the product, I bought another one for my boss when ordering his Dell XPS 13...but with his computer I ran into the same problems some other users encountered (black screens, network disconnections, usb disconnections).

After reading the posts from this forum, I installed the 7.2M1 version of your drivers and set the Windows 8 (64bits) power options plan to "High performance" instead of the default "Balanced".

My boss still complains about black screens appearing from time to time. When happening the only solution seems to reset the dock by unplugging both power cord and usb cable, waiting a couple of seconds and putting them in place...hopefully my boss is the patient kind! :)

Did you manage to spot the source of the problem? Is there a new driver beta version in progress that could solve this issue? Is there anything I can do to help you (like sending you debug logs)?

Kind regards,

Ulric Boël

ICT manager @ Produpress (Belgium)

Hi,

Please run through this troubleshooting guide:
http://www.displaylink.org/forum/showthread.php?t=896

It would also be useful to know what applications are running when the blank screen appears.

Thanks,
James

Hi,

Just to clarify, are you still seeing the blank screens with the latest DisplayLink software?

Thanks,
James

Still having black-outs
 

Hi James,
Yes I can confirm i'm still having 'black-outs' will send logfile.zip to the email address provided hereafter.
To me is seems the problem arises most of the time (perhaps all of the time) when starting to use a remote location, like connecting to an update site from my eclipse editor, or when my beatport (in chrome27) switches to the next song etc.

UBoel: did you use the ethernet-port on the docking station at the time you tested it on the Dell Vostro 5650? My XPS doesn't have a normal ethernet port so i'm forced to use the one on the docking station..

More Blackouts
 

See Logfiles I sent for details.
I just ahd another blaockt-out and I believe yesterday as well (which I didn't make seperate logfiles for)
Any luck finding the cause of this? (and possibly a solution?)

Aaaarrgggh pelnty blackouts today!
 

Hi Wim and James,

The last hour I suffered 3 black-outs in a row. This was highly annoying since I had to finish some work before the week-end.

Between these crashes I did not close/restart any programs and the black-outs are repeatedly happening when my system (8Gb) is using a lot of memory (around 4Gb)

Do you want me to turn on the more precise logging information???

Please help, i'm getting a bit frustrated.

Hi,

This may well be a hardware issue - I'd suggest checking you have the latest USB 3.0 hub firmware for your dock (from the manufacturer's website).

Are you able to try the dock connected to a USB 2.0 port on your notebook?

If neither of the above is an option then you may need to return the dock.

Thanks,
James

Cannot find firmware or newer chipset driver
 

Hi James,

I looked at the dell.nl site for an USB dock driver/firmware update, but there is none. The driver update (10/5) is probably your latest updated driver? I cannot install that one because the zip file is giving extraction errors..

Also my system reports it has the latest chipset drivers, I installed the recommended Dell update drivers for it.

So.. i do not now if i have an USB2.0 port on my laptop, nor do i want to use that, because I like to have proper bandwidth for my gigabit ethernet and dual display?

I can send you 2 more blackouts I experienced in the meantime.. is there nothing in them you can use to fix your drivers somehow?

Best regards
Ruud

Hi,

The firmware for your dock is one and the same as that for the ACP70 which can be found here: http://www.targus.com/us/download.as...7&sku=ACP70USZ

Thanks,
James

Acp075eu
 

Hi James,

Thanks for the heads-up and the link. My model-number is the ACP075EU version. Do you think that the firmware update for the ACP070USZ is compatible with my model?
Does the firmware installer show which version is currently used and does it allow me to save that firmware (so I can put it back when it doesn't work..)
I just don't want to end up with a bricked device :)

Hi all,

I have exactly same problem like Ruud.

In our company we have 8 Dell XPS 13" ultrabooks and Dell D3000 (ACP075EU) docking stations and the problem is the same: disconnecting USB and ethernet randomly, blinking...10 times a day..
There are isntalled Windwos 8 and Windows 7 64bit - there the same issues on both systems.

I've tried almost everything. Installing the latest drivers from Displaylink, the latest USB 3.0 drivers from Dell, latest graphic drivers...still the same issues..I'm frustrating because nothing is helping...

We have also Kensington USB 3.0 docks (sd3000v) and there is blinking not that often like with Dell Docks.

The last hope I see in the firmware from Targus but I need to know that I don't brick the device because it's not exactly same type...

I'm thankful for any advice!

ramon

Reporting back.

Since my last post I have upgraded to 7.2M1 and for a couple of weeks still had the same issue - freezing at seemingly random intervals, doing different tasks, but most commonly within windows explorer or Chrome.

In the last couple of days I upgraded the firmware on the Targus dock, which did not fix the problem either.

I have tried upping to 'High Performance' power setting, in the hope that will help. Can anyone advise though, in the advanced power settings, under USB settings, there is the option to enable or disable USB selective suspend. Which should it be?

Hi James,

Before posting on the forum, I had already made a tour of all the corresponding posts and this one was my first reading.

Concerning the applications, my boss mainly uses:
- Outlook 2010,
- Excel 2010,
- Word 2010,
- IE 10
- Firefox (latest version)

The machine has a fresh Windows 8 64bits installation. The dock was connected at the end of computer installation process, with the latest Kensington drivers package available on their web site at that time installed [ Kensington sd3000v/sd3500v USB 3.0 docking stations (K33970/K33971/K33972/K33973) and K33928 Video Adapter Software Driver Version 7.0.43577.0 ].
After reading some of the forum posts I uninstalled this package and installed the 7.2M1 package available from here. I also changed the Windows Power Options settings to High performances.

This seemed to correct the dock "complete failures" preventing to use the Ethernet connection and the USB ports...but the "black screens" issue remained.
The only workaround we found so far was to plug the second screen directly through the HDMI port onto the computer, leaving the dock as Ethernet connection (as the XPS 13 doesn't have a native Ethernet plug) and USB switch.

My boss is not at the office this week but when he gets back I will install the debug tools and ask him to run those when a problem occurs. I'll send you the logs as soon as I get them.

Kind regards,

Ulric

Firmware OK?
 

Hi Ploddy, Ramon and Ulric,
Thanks for the heads up on your situations.
Ploddy: did you try the targus firmware on a dell dock 3.0 (ACP075EU)?

I didn't try the firmeware update yet, still waiting on a confirmation that this ACP70USZ firmware is compatible with my ACP075EU model.

Best regards,
Ruud

Yes I did (and still does as I bought another dock for my Vostro), the purpose being to connect as less cables as possible when arriving at the office! :p

As explained the same dock behaves quite differently when attached to the Vostro or the XPS...

Since installing the 7.2M1 version of the drivers on my Vostro I encounter a little issue...but nothing I can't live with...I now have to unplug the USB cable between the dock and the computer before shutting down Windows...if I don't, Windows never finish the shutdown procedure. I didn't find any message in the event viewer telling me what is happening in this case...strange...

Cheers,

Ulric

Hi Ulric,

So at least based on your experience it seems to be related to the specific hardware in the XPS13 or driver version for that hardware.

Thanks for the heads up.
Ruud

Hi,

I've followed up with Dell and you should already have the latest firmware loaded on your Dell dock.

Some further thoughts:

Do you see this with other browsers or just when using Chrome?

If it is Chrome specific can you try these steps?

Click on the Customize and Control Google Chrome button > Settings
Scroll down and click on "Show Advanced settings"
In the Privacy section, uncheck "Predict network actions to improve page load performance".

Thanks,
James

disabled checkbox... waiting to see if it works.
 

Hi James,
Thanks for following up on our problems.

I'm not entirely sure if I can 'blame' Chrome for all the 'black-outs' I had. You can probably find more evidence for that in the logfiles I sent you??

I've disabled the 'Predict network actions to improve page load performance' setting in Chrome, hope this helps.

I''l report back with my findings later.

Bye for now,
Ruud

Sorry.. still had a black-out today
 

Hi James,

will sent you the latest logfiles. Had 1 blackout the whole day. (that might be an improvement still)

Confirmed Shutdown doesn't work
 

Hi James,

I found my laptop without battery on a couple of occasions (the next morning that is). Then I remembered that Ulric reported this before as well.
What happens is: I shutdown my XPS13, screens go black, including laptop screen (so it seems the laptop has completed its shutdown) however the next morning the battery is drained.

This can very well be totally unrelated, just mentioning here that I have the same problem

Hi,

Power issue aside are you still getting black outs?

Thanks,
James

Still having blackouts
 

Hi James,

Yes I can confirm that I still having blackouts, about once or twice a day.

I stopped sending you the logfiles, let me know if you still need them, OK?

I have to report another issue which I sometimes experience after a blackout: I use my mouse with my left hand, and swapped the button assignments for that to work (so left mouse button = right click, and right mouse button = left click)
After a blackout event (=restart of displaylink service?) the mouse button assignments are back to 'normal'settings.
Re-setting them doesn't work, because my microsoft keyboard/mouse settings report them as being mirrored still.. but in fact they are not!

May I Take A Look?
 

Ruud,
If I may take a look, please send me the System_Details.txt file from running the DisplayLink support tool https://targus.box.com/s/9gicjxqzp2f3sbul87op .

System_details.txt
 

Hi TargusLevel3,
I just sent you (private message) the contents of my latest system_details.txt file.

I hope you'll find some clues to what is going on.

Please let me know if I can do something to further your investigations.

Ruud

Hello,
I am also seeing screen freezing issues with the Dell XPS13 and the Dell/Targus D3000 dock. Seems to happen often when browsing web pages. I usually have to remove the USB dock connection from the laptop and then re-seat it. I have all the latest drivers.

Looking for a quick resolution to this problem...

Hi,

Which browser are you using? Do you get the same issue on other browsers?

Thanks,
James