USB 3.0's not working after windows 8.1 update

So today i decided to install the big windows 8.1 update that came out last week due to the fact that i never install updates when they first come out so. I downloaded and installed them and when i try to use my mouse and keyboard to my surprise they don't work. Well damn i though my USB hub on my M17x R3 just blew, but then i thought the laptop is not that old maybe a year or so. and it was working not but 20 minutes ago so i reverted the windows update and poof everything started working again.

so i go though the usual trouble shooting walk though is it just my USB 3.0s Check
was the update the cause of it Check
other devices do not work in the 3.0s Check
all drivers are updated Check
is anything else infected as far as not working Yes

My alienware FX application does not work either it says it cannot find the device.

So now im here with screenshots asking for the wise people of this forum. To shine down there almighty rays of glory and help me fix my issue *the reason i say that is because this forum helped me fix my 580m throttling issues* *i will never forget that*

If anyone has any more questions about my specs or anything period please ask and i will reply as soon as i can

Thanks for the future help

 

manually download and install the drivers

 

Okay but i thought that the usb 3.0 drivers were handled by Microsoft with 8.1 unlike with 7 and such?

 

Try updating your system BIOS. It's not unheard of that after updating to/updating Windows 8.

 

but i am already on the last bios released the unlocked A12 bios is there one i dont know about?

 

I'm pretty sure Dell doesn't release custom unlocked BIOS's for computers. Where'd you get it from?

 

i used the bios posted here http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-17-m17x/691187-m17x-r3-a12-bios.html

No worries i re flashed to the dell a12 bios and the issue still persists this afternoon did a clean restore everything bios, OS. everything and after that 8.1 update hits my usb 3.0s stop working. I was doing some reading and as it seems the R4 needed a bios update to be compatible with windows 8 but the R3 never received such a update for the bios. Could that be the underlying issue here. Although i dont see how it could be since windows 8 has worked for me since its release and this has just started occurring.

Thanks for the responses though everyone

 

I would just revert back to Windows 8, if that works. Your PC was technically made for Windows 7. Windows 8 and 8.1 have some weird thing where they connect to the system BIOS to run non-essential devices. The drivers always get messed up. There may be a tweak or something you can do, but I'm not familiar with that. Sorry I can't be of more help.

 

Yea sadly i thought that might be the response i was going to get im just wondering what windows 8,1 update would cause this mess, but thanks for all your help

 

It works fine for the R4 and newer editions, but R3 have had some serious setback.

 

Did you already try installing drivers from Renesas? (not sure, but Renesas seems to be the chipset company for your USB 3.0)

 

When i got to my dell driver page i see no option of downloading the Renesas driver, Could someone link me to a driver for 8.1 for alienware m17x r3 models. if you do ill give you cookies =D

 

Supported for the M17x R3 and R4: Download here.

Let us know if this works. If it does, this thread will be very helpful to others with the same issue. :thumbsup:

 

As it stands I believe that Intel actually does the chipset in the r3 and r4. For Windows 8 Microsoft took over development so the non standard bits have been showing up now.

 

Did you try replacing the drivers with modified versions from Intel?

Windows 8 and Intel USB 3.0 Host Controllers | Plugable

I am still using them on Windows 8.1 Pro (Update 1 +all the updates installed) and all usb ports seem to be fine. I am on R4 though, so this might not help you. But worth a shot

 

The article linked actually recommends against it. You can try but it isn't recommended.

 

I can confirm they are working fine on R4. It's worth a try, since this could fix the problem. If these drivers do not, all one needs to do is uninstall those 2 drivers and Widows 8.1 will load default Microsoft drivers for usb 3.0.