Technical Support Lenovo ThinkCentre M900 Tiny USB Problem

[Kuru1998]

Here is the issue: We are dealing with a total of 10 ThinkCentre M900 Tiny units running Windows 11 Professional with Intel i5-6500T processors. 16GB RAM 256GB SSD

There are two USB-A ports on the front (Port 1 and Port 2), and both supply power to connected devices. Port 2 works without any issues. With Port 1, however, we have a problem where it recognizes some USB drives but not others - even when the drives are identical models. Devices it does recognize include, for example, Intenso Speedline and SanDisk drives; a USB network adapter also works. We have already tried performing a BIOS update from the Lenovo website. Official USB driver support only extends to Windows 7. We have used Lenovo Vantage to install all available drivers and firmware, but nothing has helped so far.

We have checked the BIOS settings to ensure everything is enabled and even performed a full BIOS reset.

I would be very grateful if anyone could help with this matter.

 

[Vahab Hemmati]

1. Enable USB in the BIOS/UEFI
Sometimes USB support is toggled off in the motherboard settings. [1]

• Turn on the system and tap F1 repeatedly to enter the BIOS Setup Utility.
• Navigate to the Devices tab, then select USB Setup.
• Ensure that USB Support and USB Legacy Support are set to Enabled.
• Press F10 to save and exit. [1, 2]

2. Update the BIOS
Lenovo occasionally releases BIOS updates that resolve peripheral recognition and device provisioning issues. [1, 2]

• Visit the official Lenovo Support Website and enter your M900 Tiny's serial number.
• Navigate to Drivers & Software and download the latest BIOS/UEFI utility to ensure your motherboard's USB controllers have the latest firmware. [1]

3. Reset the CMOS
If your USB controllers are unresponsive and will not detect connected drives at all (even in the BIOS), the hardware state may need a hard reset: [1, 2]

• Unplug the power cable, press and hold the power button for 15 seconds to drain remaining power.
• Open the chassis and locate the Clear CMOS jumper (usually near the coin-cell battery).
• Move the jumper from pins 4-6 to 2-4 for a few minutes, then move it back to the original position. Alternatively, remove the coin-cell battery for 15 minutes.
• Plug the PC back in and power it on. [1, 2, 3]

4. Reinstall USB Drivers
For operating system-level USB failures:

• Right-click the Windows Start menu and open Device Manager.
• Expand the Universal Serial Bus controllers section.
• Right-click each USB Root Hub and Host Controller, select Uninstall device, and then restart your computer to allow Windows to automatically reinstall them.
• You can also use the Lenovo System Update tool to automatically find and install current motherboard and chipset drivers. [1, 2, 3]

5. Hardware Checks

• Power draw: The M900 Tiny's front and rear USB 3.0 ports provide specific power limits. If you are plugging in an external 3.5-inch hard drive or power-hungry device, try connecting it to an external wall-powered USB hub. [1, 2]
• Physical port failure: On the M900 Tiny, some specific front USB 3.0 ports have independent data lines. If USB 3.0 devices work but USB 2.0 devices do not work on a specific port, it may indicate a fried or worn data pin on that physical port. [1]

 

[Kuru1998]

1. Enable USB in the BIOS/UEFI
Sometimes USB support is toggled off in the motherboard settings. [1]

• Turn on the system and tap F1 repeatedly to enter the BIOS Setup Utility.
• Navigate to the Devices tab, then select USB Setup.
• Ensure that USB Support and USB Legacy Support are set to Enabled.
• Press F10 to save and exit. [1, 2]

2. Update the BIOS
Lenovo occasionally releases BIOS updates that resolve peripheral recognition and device provisioning issues. [1, 2]

• Visit the official Lenovo Support Website and enter your M900 Tiny's serial number.
• Navigate to Drivers & Software and download the latest BIOS/UEFI utility to ensure your motherboard's USB controllers have the latest firmware. [1]

3. Reset the CMOS
If your USB controllers are unresponsive and will not detect connected drives at all (even in the BIOS), the hardware state may need a hard reset: [1, 2]

• Unplug the power cable, press and hold the power button for 15 seconds to drain remaining power.
• Open the chassis and locate the Clear CMOS jumper (usually near the coin-cell battery).
• Move the jumper from pins 4-6 to 2-4 for a few minutes, then move it back to the original position. Alternatively, remove the coin-cell battery for 15 minutes.
• Plug the PC back in and power it on. [1, 2, 3]

4. Reinstall USB Drivers
For operating system-level USB failures:

• Right-click the Windows Start menu and open Device Manager.
• Expand the Universal Serial Bus controllers section.
• Right-click each USB Root Hub and Host Controller, select Uninstall device, and then restart your computer to allow Windows to automatically reinstall them.
• You can also use the Lenovo System Update tool to automatically find and install current motherboard and chipset drivers. [1, 2, 3]

5. Hardware Checks

• Power draw: The M900 Tiny's front and rear USB 3.0 ports provide specific power limits. If you are plugging in an external 3.5-inch hard drive or power-hungry device, try connecting it to an external wall-powered USB hub. [1, 2]
• Physical port failure: On the M900 Tiny, some specific front USB 3.0 ports have independent data lines. If USB 3.0 devices work but USB 2.0 devices do not work on a specific port, it may indicate a fried or worn data pin on that physical port. [1]

Hey, thanks for the detailed description. Unfortunately, that didn't help; the problem persists. I’d rule out a hardware defect for now, since exactly the same issue is occurring on 10 devices. Could it perhaps be some kind of BIOS issue? If so, I’ve got the BIOS file right here.