not enough USB resources error with the docking station

Anonymous
2015-02-18T16:51:23+00:00

Split from this thread.

Was there ever resolution to this? I've got a surface pro 3 with the microsoft dock and have the same error. No hubs, no usb display ports, just the dock ports and am getting the same error.

I'm in the same boat. Running Surface Pro 3 i5 w/ the docking station. Have a all of my USB devices plugged in directly through the docking station and I get this error on a regular basis (typically when I'm plugging in my USB headset). For a while I though it was my StarTech.com MST hub for my monitors seeing how I hadn't had this problem until I started using it - but that plugs into the Mini Display Port and shouldn't have anything to do with USB resources, correct?

I have a few other strange things that happen on a regular basis. Sometimes I'm unable to even log into my machine seeing how I get a resource error issue and have to fully reboot. Wondering if this is related. Sometimes my graphics driver (suspecting the Startech MST hub as the culprit) comes to a halt and I can't watch anything video related  (even Youtube etc.) as the machine can't handle it. Lastly, I'm frequently battling with constant flickering (that lasts 2-5 seconds) with my two external displays that are connected to the MST hub.

I work for Microsoft and am going to post this thread (and the other one) into our Yammer site to see if I can get any hits.

Surface | Surface Pro | USB-C

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Anonymous
2014-09-11T19:43:42+00:00

Hello VicCooper142,

Thank you for posting to the Microsoft Community. I am sorry for the inconvenience. Rest assured, I am here to help.

Please do try the following:

  • With the Surface connected to the Docking Station and network, unplug the Docking Station from the power outlet, leave it unplugged for 30 seconds to a minute, then plug it back and try to see if you have audio and USB functionality.
  • While the Docking Station is connected to the Surface pro 3, please check for Windows updates one last time,.
  • Do you have the possibility to test a different Surface Pro Docking Station? If you have a Microsoft Store in your area, please try to do so. This is the best way to determine if the issue is indeed with the Docking station or hardware related.

 Additionally, please read the following support article:

If the issue persists after the performing the previous steps, we highly suggest you contact our Technical Support Team for further help and options.

Depending on what is most convenient for you, you can:

  1. Open a service request yourself, using our **Online Service Center**
  2. Contact our Technical Support team**here**

We hope this helps. Please let us know!

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-03-03T17:52:58+00:00

    I know this has been an issue since the dawn of the Surface but I just wanted to see how others may have gotten over it.

    I have a Surface Pro 3 with Surface docking station.  I have dual daisy-chained Dell 2413 monitors plugged directly into the mini-display port on the docker.  As well as this I have a basic Dell USB keyboard and a Plantronics Savi W740-M headset.  Although connected to the surface docker via USB the headset is mains powered.  Finally I am using the Arc bluetooth mouse.

    After a restart everything is fine but after a call or two over Lync the "Not enough USB controller resources" message pops up in the task bar.  On the next call the the microphone on the headset stops working.  

    If I plug the headset directly into the surface USB port everything is fine and there are no issues.

    Does anyone have any idea what is going on with the docking station????  At £165 I expect better.

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-02-25T11:23:51+00:00

    I am still waiting for a resolution.

    I have a Surface Pro3 with Surface docking station. 

    Into that there are two Dell U2413s (daisychained)., a USB Keyboard and a Plantronics W740-M headset.

    The Plantronics headset is a mains powered device yet is the one that stops working when the "Not enough USB controller Resources" message comes up.

    I am at a loss.  Any suggestions???

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-02-24T14:06:15+00:00

    Has anyone found the solution to this?  I too have this problem.

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  4. Anonymous
    2015-02-13T00:46:01+00:00

    Any system with Intel USB 3.0 will eventually hit this issue with enough USB devices connected, but we know that with pre-Windows 8 this issue was far less of a problem. Systems that were running Windows 7 fine and then updated to 8 suddenly faced USB resource troubles that were not present before. Something changed in the USB 3.0 driver stack. However, this problem also can happen under a Linux environment and will behave similarly to Windows 8, so at the core it is a hardware design or implementation issue. Some theories point towards how the system BIOS is configured but we don't have enough evidence to say for sure.

    The difference between Win7 and Win8 was probably due to Win7 running EHCI (USB2) drivers by default, while Win8 always runs the bundled xHCI (USB3) drivers when the chipset supports USB3.   From my testing on an Intel NUC D54250WYKH, you will run in to similar xHCI device/endpoint capacity issues on Win7 when xHCI drivers are loaded (i.e. Intel xHCI 3.0.0.33).   In fact my results were slightly better on Win8.

    Unfortunately, I didn't test the number of devices I could connect under Win7 in EHCI mode (no xHCI driver loaded), and I don't have the NUC anymore.  That would have at least proven that the device/endpoint count limits came about when the controller was switched to xHCI.  

    Update:  I was able to connect 37 devices in Win7 with EHCI drivers with no sign of a USB resource problem.

    It should theoretically be possible to run EHCI mode in Win8 if you have a BIOS that allows you to disable xHCI.  This was common a few years ago when there were a lot more USB3 compatibility problems, but the BIOS on most new machines like the Surface Pro 2 and Intel NUC doesn't support this.  Also, it may not make sense, since it reduces you back to USB2 speeds.

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