USB Passthrough - One more thread [Solved]

[Gwendolyn Parker]

HI All,

 

I've been trying all day to get an entire PCI-e USB 3.0 controller passed through to an existing Windows 10 that works like a charm. I cloned it to experiment.

 

Proceeded with the VFIO plugin as per SpaceInvader's instructions. Rebooted, got the card in a separate IOMMU group and listed in VM's PCI devices to be passed through. Enabled it in VM's config. Booted and the VM gost stuck at the TianoCore circle. I tried several things, edited XML config, rebooted so many times that my drives spin up count spiked, but no joy.

 

The USB controller was inserted in the first PCI-e 1x slot, 2nd being the Video card.

The controller is a CSL with a VIA VL805 chipset which I read has compatibility issues. Is this confirmed ? I then searched for a more compatible card, but those that work for one config seem to be incompatible for others.

 

I searched the forum for solutions but issues seem to have so random solutions that I got discouraged at this point.

 

Would a friendly soul help me by providing guidance on how I could get things working?

 

Recommended hardware (I'm willing to purchase a more compatible card)

Or a sequence of things I could check to track down the issue.

Or of course point me to a post that would contain the above

 

Thank you!

 

 

 

 

Edited September 22, 2020 by Gwendolyn Parker
Solved

[rachid596]

HI All,
 
I've been trying all day to get an entire PCI-e USB 3.0 controller passed through to an existing Windows 10 that works like a charm. I cloned it to experiment.
 
Proceeded with the VFIO plugin as per SpaceInvader's instructions. Rebooted, got the card in a separate IOMMU group and listed in VM's PCI devices to be passed through. Enabled it in VM's config. Booted and the VM gost stuck at the TianoCore circle. I tried several things, edited XML config, rebooted so many times that my drives spin up count spiked, but no joy.
 
The USB controller was inserted in the first PCI-e 1x slot, 2nd being the Video card.
The controller is a CSL with a VIA VL805 chipset which I read has compatibility issues. Is this confirmed ? I then searched for a more compatible card, but those that work for one config seem to be incompatible for others.
 
I searched the forum for solutions but issues seem to have so random solutions that I got discouraged at this point.
 
Would a friendly soul help me by providing guidance on how I could get things working?
 
Recommended hardware (I'm willing to purchase a more compatible card)
Or a sequence of things I could check to track down the issue.
Or of course point me to a post that would contain the above
 
Thank you!
 
 
 
 

Hello what is your config ?

Envoyé de mon HD1913 en utilisant Tapatalk

[Decto]

On 9/20/2020 at 12:31 AM, Gwendolyn Parker said:

HI All,

 

I've been trying all day to get an entire PCI-e USB 3.0 controller passed through to an existing Windows 10 that works like a charm. I cloned it to experiment.

 

 

Hi, I've been having USB passthrough adventures myself this week.

My board has a pair of Asmedia controllers that I can't pass through reliably, they always work with pen drives, but frequently won't recognise keyboards/mice

 

If I transfer unraid  to the Asmedia ports, I can pass through the full intel controller (3 devices) and that works reliably.

 

I also have a inateck KT4001  4 port PCI-E x1 card with the Fresco Logic FL1100 controller which also works fine, though you have to connect SATA/Molex power to the card unless only connecting to a powered hub as it doesn't take port power from PCI-E slot. Lots of these about cheaply under different brands and seems to work fine with Unraid 6.8.3. Just look for one with the FL1100 chip.

Note it really is only 1 port controller with a 4 port hub but it works with many devices both USB 2 and 3. I've had it copying files from a HDD to a pen drive with two seperate keyboard and mouse set plugged in and I didn't manage to break it.

 

Getting stuck at the TianoCore circle is unusal, I've only seen this when I misconfigured BIOS seabios vs OVMF etc. or done something else to break the XML.
If it gets funky I just delete the VM (not the Vdisk) and set up a new one as it only take a couple of minutes.

 

if you remove the USB pass through does the second VM boot?

 

Have you confirmed it really is identically configured (except the USB). 

I've seen things like leaving virtual CD drives mounted cause issues on reboot, also using virtoIO hard disc driver when I'd used SATA in setup etc.

Easy to miss the details.

 

I'd start off with another copy VM, make it identical to your good VM and pass through to the same disk.

Confirm this boots OK without the USB  passthrough, then try passing through the card.

 

If that doesn't work then it may be worth checking your native IOMMU groups (without ACS overide). If there are a lot grouped devices with the card then try different PCI-E slots if you have them to see of the others are more favorable.

 

Other than that, the logs may show where it gets stuck.

 

 

Edited September 21, 2020 by Decto

[Gwendolyn Parker]

Thank you Decto for the detailed issue track down instructions!

 

The issue seemed related to the USB VL805 controller. A double reboot of the VM after removing the card made it work again.

I messed up in the bios and swapped PCI slots but still no joy.

 

Since the Fresco FL1100 based card is often indicated as a working one, I followed your advice and ended up getting one on-line, delivered in less than 13h. All I had to do is run the VFIO plugin, select as passthrough PCI device and Tadaaaa !

Immediately recognized. Working with a thumb drive.

Conclusion I lost 2 days tinkering my config while I could just have spent 29€ and get it working straight away.

 

I could have had it for 19€ from Amazon https://www.hagglezon.com/en/s/B00B6ZCNGM

 

I'll update this post if I notice something wrong while actively using it.

 

Thanks to rachid596 for reaching out too