x220t - USB 3.0 host controller not found?

[pmouse]

Hello all,

While trying to get my newly bought Seagate Backup Plus 1TB external HDD (usb 3.0) up to speed, I attempted installing the usb 3.0 driver from the Lenovo support page here. 

I tried to run the usb 3.0 host controller to check if there's any setting required, but I get the error message that "USB 3.0 host controller not found". Also, my device manager does not list any USB 3.0 related controllers.

(Well, I should admit that I do not really know if anything "USB 3.0" should be listed on the device manager or not.)



After installing the driver, my device still shows quite slow write speed (20~30MB/s), while the reading speed is quite fast (about 100MB/s). This was tested by reading/writing large video file (~1GB). Compared to my 4-year-old Seagate Freeagent Go, it reads much faster but writing speed is about the same.

Using h2testw, the writing speed is 25.7MB/s, and reading 28.2 MB/s which is pathetic for USB 3.0...

When plugged in the usb 2.0 port, the h2testw results does get worse, with writing speed at 17.4MB/s and reading at 28.0MB/s... so probably my usb 3.0 port IS working properly, but this seems just too slow!

Does anybody has some idea about the cause/solution for this issue?

FYI, I am using x220 tablet with Windows 7 Professional 64bit (bought early May). Processor is i7-2640M, and there is one blue-colored usb 3.0 port on left side.

Many thanks in advance for your input!

[Chimuel]

The X220T does NOT have USB 3.0 ports however the X220 Notebook does.

The X230T and X230 Notebook both have USB 3.0 ports as well.

[pmouse]

Thanks Chimuel for the information. No wonder my new HDD is lagging.

That's sad and disappointing.. but my bad for not checking thoroughly before buying one.

I was in a hurry to replace my x60t with a broken LCD.. so can't complain. 

[Chimuel]

The X220T is still a solid machine (one of the reasons I am keeping one even though I have the X230T)

[nickb99]

This might help you. I have an x220T. To get USB 3.0 speeds I purchased a generic "AKE 54mm USB 3.0 dual port Express Card" from Ebay for AUD$24. There are many on there, all look similar. They all have a power cable that plugs into a standard USB port to give the ExpressCard enough power to get up to 3.0 rated speeds. I did not like the idea of the power cable (messy) and won't use it. I figured the worst case scenario was that I would have two extra normal speed USB ports. The results;

- Through the normal usb ports I was getting transfer speeds of 27/28 mb/s from USB3.0 WD backup drive to my SSD
- Through the ExpressCard usb ports with power cable not attached I get 88-90 mbps with the standard Windows USB driver. The driver supplied with the ExpressCard seemed outdated.

- With power cable attached and held in tightly I get (initially) 584 mb/s but that slowly falls to as low as 88 mb/s. Sometimes its finished before it falls much. But performance varies, next file might be slower or faster (never above 584 mb/s).

The fit of the card is tricky. I thought it was in properly and the laptop saw it but it came out every time I removed the drive. Had to ensure its pushed right in until it clicks solidly. When fitted right the edge of this card is 1mm-2mm inside the slot.

The power cable supplied for the ExpressCard is loose. Seem to get the faster transfers if I hold it in tightly! Not top quality item I suspect, but for USD$24 can't complain.  In summary the extra two USB ports in the unused ExpressCard slot now give me 88-90 mb/s transfers reliably with no extral power, at a low cost.