GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3 motherboard not working with 64 bit kernel

[Jonathan_Niccolls]

A few new items

• There is a BIOS release for this board (mb_bios_ga-970a-ds3p_f2i) 10/2014, but it doesn't fix the problem.
• If doing a new build, change the BIOS , and simply add the grub command line to include "iommu=soft" your install will find the DHCP server, and this setting is automagically added to grub.
• There seems to be some inconsistency in the iommu setting - I would suggesting setting your BIOS settings back to default (lets be honest, you have dorked with all kinds of stuff before you gave in and looked for an answer online), and then change the setting to "ENABLED" - this did the trick for me.

Thank you SO much for this information. I recently bought a Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3 MoBo, and an AMD FX-8370 CPU. Having this trick up my sleeve, really helps! I hope that the people that maintain the grub, can see fit to add this into the next GRUB edition, as it has completely freed up my USB 3.0 ports, as well as gotten rid of that pesky AMD Vi error that plagued my system.

[meowsus]

Can't thank the OP enough. I had been trying to figure out why my Atheros card wouldn't work for 2 days until I realized that my USB2.0 ports were also jacked up. Great post. Saved my butt.

[Derek_Jansen]

Here is my updated fix

First enable iommu in the uefi by restarting your computer and pressing delete to enter the uefi

plug your usb mouse, keyboard and thumbdrive in usb 2 ports.

save and exit the uefi

Then In Ubuntu:

press Ctrl+Alt+T to open up a terminal

run the following command: sudo gedit /etc/default/grub

Edit the empty quotes in this line to read: GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="iommu=soft"

save changes to grub and exit gedit and the terminal

Open up a new terminal with ctrl+alt+t

run the following command: sudo update-grub

then exit the terminal using this command: exit

Restart your computer press delete to get back into the uefi

Disable iommu in bios, load optimized defaults and restart.

usb, 2.0 usb 3.0 and networking all work now in Ubuntu, and disabling iommu in bios helps prevent windows freezes that was occurring if you are running a dual boot environment.

If the above post helps anyone I am happy.

Confirmed for me.

• Ubuntu 14.04.1
• GA-990FXA-UD3

[asmith16]

Here is my updated fix


First enable iommu in the uefi by restarting your computer and pressing delete to enter the uefi


plug your usb mouse, keyboard and thumbdrive in usb 2 ports.


save and exit the uefi


Then In Ubuntu:


press Ctrl+Alt+T to open up a terminal


run the following command: sudo gedit /etc/default/grub


Edit the empty quotes in this line to read: GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="iommu=soft"


save changes to grub and exit gedit and the terminal


Open up a new terminal with ctrl+alt+t


run the following command: sudo update-grub


then exit the terminal using this command: exit


Restart your computer press delete to get back into the uefi


Disable iommu in bios, load optimized defaults and restart.


usb, 2.0 usb 3.0 and networking all work now in Ubuntu, and disabling iommu in bios helps prevent windows freezes that was occurring if you are running a dual boot environment.


If the above post helps anyone I am happy.

Thank you ozcyto and everyone else who contributed to this thread! I bought the motherboard (GA-970A-D3P) without checking whether it will work with Linux, it's been so long since I've even heard of a motherboard that doesn't So I was pretty annoyed with this problem, but thanks to you guys it's all good now.

The solution quoted above worked for me.

Cheers!

[phoinx]

My Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P had USB and ethernet issues too, and now it's SOLVED.
Be happy then, ozcyto! =]
Thanks everyone in this thread!

[diazgbs]

Hi Everyone, I did bought the DS3P so I have same problem " nic and USB port 2.0 Do not work" When I tried to apply this fix (enabling IOMMOU) it takes a lot time and I never can see the desktop environment from live CD (Ubuntu 16.04) and I see a message related to AMD and Something.

is there any problem with XFX R9 390 GPU with this fix?

NOTE: I couldn't complete this fix.

ALSO: With this fix all ports (including PCI-e, PCI) works fine?

[bkorb]

If you got here because you cannot get devices to work in a USB hub plugged into the USB port on the main board, this is to tell you that you must buy a PCI-E add on card. The Etron Technology, Inc. EJ168 USB 3.0 Host Controller chosen by Gigabyte is second rate garbage. Next time, buy from a company that qualifies their hardware. Sorry.

[2e0pgs]

Ok so for anyone with "GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3" I have done alot of testing and research. The best config I found to get USB3 working is this:
Edit Grub config:
`sudo nano /etc/default/grub`
Edit the line that looks like this:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"
Add "amd_iommu=on iommu=pt" to the end of it so now the line now looks like this:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash amd_iommu=on iommu=pt"
Update grub:
`sudo update-grub`
once you have done that reboot the system and hit DEL / Delete key to enter BIOS/EUFI setup:
Ensure IOMMU is enabled, XHCI handoff is enabled, EHCI handoff is disabled, USB Legacy support is enabled. OS type I have set to Windows8 but I have CSM enabled "Compatibility Support Module" so Linux will boot via BIOS emulation instead of UEFI.


This fix allowed my USB3 to work properly and fixed a few audio issues.


For bonus fix if your running a x64 bit Ubuntu and find USB transfers hang at the end apply this fix:
https://unix.stackexchange.com/quest.../107722#107722


This is working on Ubuntu 16.04.2, Kernel: x86_64 Linux 4.4.0-66-generic

[thanekrios]

Guys very sorry for the necrobump. I have the 970A-DS3P board and my installation freezes. I'm currently using Mint 18.1 Cinnamon but I would like to use Ubuntu. Is this a motherboard-specific problem or a more common issue?

Thanks!