PCIe USB 3.0 Card detected then undetected in looping by Windows

I’m really glad to hear that the issue has been resolved and the recognition loop stopped after installing the specific driver for your PCIe USB card! It sounds like the original driver provided on the CD wasn’t quite compatible, but with the correct one, everything seems to be working fine now.

It is an honor to assist you and I hope my efforts have been helpful.

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Hello Arthur, thanks for the reply, it was really helpful. The recognition cycle/loop stopped after i followed the steps to install an specific driver for the card's manufacturer, after doing an deep online search on the issue, and since then the issue hasn't returned.

Apparently it was really an driver error, but downloading an different driver than the one which came on a disk within the card's packag fixed that.

Hi IagoSilva501

Welcome to Microsoft Community.

Based on your description, I understand that you purchased a USB 3.0 PCIe x1 card, but it has been in a cycle of recognizing and not recognizing it, and I know exactly how you feel!

I will give you some suggestions and troubleshooting options to hopefully solve your problem or find out what's causing it! However, this is the first time I've replied to you, so please understand that this issue requires a lot of investigation, and please provide more information (pictures would be great!) in your reply. Thank you very much!

Option 1: Considering that the system seems to be intermittently detected, let's consider the physical level first and try some different troubleshooting options to narrow down the problem as much as possible.

1. Let's first try restarting the computer and entering the BIOS to check that the PCIe USB card is properly recognized in the BIOS and that the brand and specific model are correct.

Look for PCIe or USB related options in the BIOS and make sure the features are not disabled.

If you have accidentally changed the settings, you can choose to reset to default settings and then set them again manually, which can solve a lot of problems.

2. Make sure you have enough power to support all connected devices. If the USB card requires additional power (and some do), make sure it is connected correctly.
3. I see that you seem to have two PCIe x1 slots on your motherboard, so we can connect this PCIe USB card to the other slot and see if the problem persists.

At this point we need to make sure to check the PCIe card for any visible damage or loose connections. Make sure the card is properly inserted into the PCIe slot.

4. If conditions allow, we can try plugging the PCIe USB card into another computer to see if the problem still exists. This will help determine if the card itself is faulty.

With these steps above, we should be able to narrow down the problem as much as possible.

Option 2: To avoid the possibility that Windows may be automatically installing the driver causing the problem.

Let's try to disable Windows auto driver installation first, and then manually install the driver provided by the PCIe USB card brand to improve the compatibility and stability of the driver.

1. Prevent Windows from updating the driver automatically:

1. Right-click “This PC” on desktop -> “Properties” -> Click “Advanced System Settings” -> Select “Hardware” in the upper tab -> “Device Installation Settings” -> Modify to “No, let me choose what action to take” (if any, please check “Never install driver software from Windows Update”) -> Save changes.
2. “Windows Logo Key + i” to open Settings -> Find “Windows Update” on the left sidebar -> “Advanced options” -> Make sure “Receive updates for other Microsoft products” is not enabled.
3. Click “Windows Logo Key” to open the search bar -> Type “Services” and open it -> Scroll down to find “Windows Update” -> Change “Startup type” to “Disable” -> “Apply” & “OK”.
4. Modify the registry. (Works best)

Click “Windows Logo Key” to open the search bar -> Type “regedit” and open it with administrator privileges.

Navigate to “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\DriverSearching” path -> On the right side, find “SearchOrderConfig” and change the value to 0 -> Restart your computer to finish the modification.

0 = Block driver updates

1 = Allow to download driver update

Please note: Please continue to backup your system before modifying the registry to avoid other problems.

2. After making sure that disabling Windows automatic driver installation and restarting the computer takes effect, we tried to manually install the special driver provided by the brand of the PCIe USB card.

Option 3: Please try to clean boot your computer.

Since clean boot only uses a limited set of files and drivers, it can help us to effectively troubleshoot the possibility of problems caused by third-party applications, driver conflicts, etc.

You can refer to Clean Boot for more information: How to perform a clean boot in Windows - Microsoft Support

After clean boot, please slide down the webpage after opening the link and find “How to determine what is causing the problem after you do a clean boot” This is a dichotomy that helps us pinpoint the service that is causing the problem and disable it.

Disclaimer: A “clean boot” starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. It helps to determine whether a background service is interfering with your game or program and to isolate the cause of a problem. These steps of "clean boot" might look complicated at first glance. However, to avoid any trouble for you, please follow them in order and step-by step so that it will help you get back on track.

Option 4: Check for hardware conflicts.

“WIN + x” and select ‘Device Manager’.

1. Check if there are any devices with yellow exclamation mark at the bottom right corner, if there are, you can remove them temporarily to avoid hardware conflict.
2. Temporarily disable any other USB controllers to see if this solves the problem.
3. Disconnect all connections on the USB card to see if the USB card operation status stabilizes.

Then reconnect the devices one by one to determine if a particular device is causing the problem.

Option 5: Let's try to disable Fastboot and USB Selective Suspend.

Click “WIN key” to open the search bar -> type “Control Panel” and open it -> under “Large icons” select “Power Options” and open it.

1. Select “Choose what the power buttons do” on the left sidebar -> Make sure “Turn on fast startup” is unchecked.
2. Click “Change plan settings” -> “Change advanced power settings” to the right of the power plan you are using -> Expand “USB settings” -> Disable “USB selective suspend settings”.

Option 6: Considering that you purchased a new PCIe USB 3.0 card, and assuming that the problem still exists, I would suggest that you also synchronize the issue with the brand's after-sales or technical support team for the PCIe USB 3.0 card, as they are more familiar with their own brand of products and may have had other users report similar issues. They may have already written a fix or a more targeted solution, and it is best to have the PCIe USB 3.0 card brand's after-sales or technical support staff assist in troubleshooting the problem remotely or offline.

This is because different brands of PCIe USB cards may have specific installation, setup, or configurations that are required for them to work properly.

If necessary, we can also ask the brand of PCIe USB card to replace the USB card for us to test whether the problem still exists.

I sincerely hope that the above information and programs will help you! Please feel free to contact me (Photos related to the question would be great!).

I look forward to hearing back from you. 

Best Regards

Arthur Sheng | Microsoft Community Support Specialist