W520 and ThinkPad USB 3.0 Dock (A033970) - Issues [ Edited ]

[harrisb]

I finally received my ThinkPad USB 3.0 dock today after a long delivery time from order. The basic USB 3.0 functions fully work, but I'm having some issues with the software that is supposed to control the dock for audia and video. In addition, Smart Audio will fail to initialize if I have the USB audio adapter enabled in the control panel (see below):

The user guide states that the control icon should be in the notification tray, but it is never there unless I first go to devices, right -click on the dock icon, and then select "Check for Updates" The icon will then appear for a brief time and then vanish. No setting of the tray customizations will keep it visible. This appears to be a bug. Also, the installation instructions are flawed in that the system will pick up the drivers from Windows Update BEFORE you get a chance to load from the supplied driver CD. The correct installation is to first load the CD, install the software, and THEN connect the USB cable for the dock.

Has anyone else had experience with the W520 and this dock? It is a slick hardware package for certain. I'd just like to get the control software setup to where it should be enabled.

FYI, here is the PCI tree for the setup:

Thanks

[harrisb]

Update:

The system has a connectivity problem with the Plextor PX-LB950UE External BD Writer when the drive is connected to the W520 via USB 3.0 port either directly to the system or via the docking solution. The unit is an AC powered device with either eSata or USB 3.0 interface.

Sometimes the system will just hang (using the USB 3.0 interface) before the Windows 7 logon screen, sometimes the system comes up, but the drive is missing. Always, if I power the drive on after the system is fully operational the drive will be recognized and work normally. It almost seems that the USB 3.0 driver is not resetting the port properly and thus the drive gets its interface hosed until a power-on reset. All works properly until the next time when the system is restarted. The unit is running its latest firmware.

I am using the latest Renesas USB 3.0 drivers (2.1.32.0) but no joy. Anyone seen a similar issue?

On another note, my USB 3.0 external HDD (WD Passport) is not recognized when booting via the Norton Ghost 15 system recovery disk. (Ihave to use the USB 2.0 port to perform restores). It does work propery under Windows 7, however. I wonder if the BIOS is not properly dealing with the USB 3.0 ports.

[hazart]

Have you tried the 2.1.36.0 driver?

http://www.station-drivers.com/page/renesas.htm

[harrisb]

I can't get the new drivers to install. I keep getting 2.1.32.0. What's the secret to making the controller find the new drivers. I only downloaded the "SETUP.EXE" file.

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hazart wrote:

Have you tried the 2.1.36.0 driver?

http://www.station-drivers.com/page/renesas.htm

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[harrisb]

OK, I found out the reason that I can't see the UI icon in the tray for Windows 7. The icon will ONLY appear if a monitor is attached to the dock. Otherwise, you need to access the controls via the Device Menu in Windows. The User Guide needs to be updated with the proper operational guidance. I wasted several hours debugging the issue only to determine that it was a known constraint of the chipset!

The following is from the DisplayLink website:

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Why does the DisplayLink UI not appear in the Windows system tray?

        ID: 327 - Updated: Jun 29, 2012 - Category: Troubleshooting   

Symptom

The DisplayLink UI icon is not seen in the system tray. The DisplayLink UI  icon is shown below:

Problem

This can occur if:

• A DisplayLink device has not been detected connected to the computer. The  icon will only appear if a DisplayLink device is connected. Please refer to this article to diagnose if your DisplayLink  device has been detected
• If you have a product based on the DL-3000 (USB 3.0) family, the  DisplayLink UI will only appear if a DisplayLink device has been detected AND  a monitor is connected to the video output. The DL-3000 family implements  monitor detection and the DisplayLink UI will only be shown in the system  tray when a DisplayLink device and a display is detected.

Solution

Ensure the a DisplayLink device is connected to the computer and a monitor  is connected to the video output of the DisplayLink device.