Hi -
I think I am having a similar problem with my Lenovo G580 Windows 8.1 laptop. Here's what I submitted on Lenovo forums, maybe there will be a thread of insight for you.
Hi -
I hope I'm in the right place now for my G580 Windows 8.1 laptop.
A few weeks ago (I think after a Windows update) my USB 3 ports stopped working after about 15 minutes. Reconnecting the devices doesn't help, only a reboot will. At that point, I get another 15 minutes, then USB 3 ports stop working again.
I've refreshed USB drivers, installed and removed Windows updates, I've been at this for 3 days now. Here's one new discovery. If you go to Windows+X key, choose Device Manager, choose Universal Serial Bus Controllers, Intel(R) USB 3.0 eXtensible Host Controller - 0100 (Microsoft) you get a multi-tabbed menu. From this, choose Driver, Update Driver.., Browse My Computer for Driver Software and then install. The driver reinstalls, the ports start working again for as long as the system is on (no timeout)! But, when you reboot, you're back to square one and the 15 minutes timeout again.
I think I'm getting close. Any ideas?
Thanks!