Dell Venue 11 7130 Powers down USB port when screen shuts off

RChadwick

New Member
Messages
6
I've got a Dell Venue 11, 7130, with a fresh install of Windows 8.1. I've configured it not to sleep or hibernate, and disabled power management on USB ports. However, when the screen shuts off (Inactivity timeout, or I shut the 'lid' (When docked with it's keyboard), the USB port powers down (Verified with a USB power meter), and the USB device disconnects. It powers back up when the screen comes back on. My best guess is that this is a feature, either from Dell, or as part of tablet mode in Windows 8.1. The only way I could get it to NOT shut down the USB port was to uninstall the video driver. I've tried every video driver I could manage to install, but no difference. My best guess at this point is that the Video driver sends some kind of signal to the OS telling it the screen is off, and removing the driver simply keeps the OS, or whatever is shutting down the USB port, from knowing the screen is shut off.

Does anyone know how to disable this feature? Does anyone have this or another tablet that doesn't shut down the USB port when the screen shuts off?


UPDATE: I just got my hands on a Venue 11 5130, and the USB port stay on fine, as well as another Non-Dell tablet. Maybe this is a very weird hardware issue? Maybe an issue in the BIOS update I just did?
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Tablet
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Venue 11
It could be a firmware issue. Compare the firmware version of the one with the problem with the one without the problem. If the versions are different, then try to bring the problematic computer to the same firmware version as the good computer.

If that doesn't fix it, then perhaps there is a Windows update on one which is not on the other. Make the problematic computer match the good computer with regard to which updates are installed.

We can't be absolutely sure that either of the above steps will fix the problem, because the two laptops are not identical. But it's worth a try.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Mint 18.2 xfce 64-bit (host OS) / Windows 8.1 Pro 32-bit (virtual machine)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 3847
    CPU
    Haswell
    Memory
    12 GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 23"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Two hard drives, 1TB each: One for Linux, one for my data.
    Keyboard
    IBM Model M
    Browser
    Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer
    Antivirus
    Sophos (Linux), Windows Defender (Windows)
    Other Info
    I use Samba to share my data drive with the other computers at my house.
When you say Firmware, do you mean BIOS? They are different hardware (One is an Atom, the other an i5, different memory, etc) so I don't know if the BIOS's would be compatible. I just looked and found older BIOS versions, so I'm going to try that.
Thanks!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Tablet
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Venue 11
Well, I could only go back to A11, but it made no difference. Apparently these can't be brought lower than A11, as Dell's website doesn't have them, and it says some kind of block was put in A11 preventing earlier BIOS's from being flashed.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Tablet
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Venue 11
When you say Firmware, do you mean BIOS?

Yes.

They are different hardware (One is an Atom, the other an i5, different memory, etc) so I don't know if the BIOS's would be compatible.

You are correct; they might not be compatible because they are different hardware.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Mint 18.2 xfce 64-bit (host OS) / Windows 8.1 Pro 32-bit (virtual machine)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 3847
    CPU
    Haswell
    Memory
    12 GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 23"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Two hard drives, 1TB each: One for Linux, one for my data.
    Keyboard
    IBM Model M
    Browser
    Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer
    Antivirus
    Sophos (Linux), Windows Defender (Windows)
    Other Info
    I use Samba to share my data drive with the other computers at my house.
The tablet that works has A06 BIOS, which I'm guessing was the first revision. I can't go lower than A11 on the other. UGH.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Tablet
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Venue 11
I found the issue. It was the BIOS. Any BIOS above A11 shuts off the USB port when the display shuts off. All others are fine (A06 to A11). I doubt Dell will ever fix it, but at least A11 works.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Tablet
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Venue 11
Thanks for letting us know. My last Dell laptop had a BIOS issue also. After I updated to A12, the laptop stopped charging the battery. I had to roll back to A09. You are right, they never fixed the problem.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
I found the issue. It was the BIOS. Any BIOS above A11 shuts off the USB port when the display shuts off. All others are fine (A06 to A11). I doubt Dell will ever fix it, but at least A11 works.

At least you were able to back down to A11. Glad you got it fixed.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Mint 18.2 xfce 64-bit (host OS) / Windows 8.1 Pro 32-bit (virtual machine)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 3847
    CPU
    Haswell
    Memory
    12 GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 23"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Two hard drives, 1TB each: One for Linux, one for my data.
    Keyboard
    IBM Model M
    Browser
    Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer
    Antivirus
    Sophos (Linux), Windows Defender (Windows)
    Other Info
    I use Samba to share my data drive with the other computers at my house.
I've got a Dell Venue 11, 7130, with a fresh install of Windows 8.1. I've configured it not to sleep or hibernate, and disabled power management on USB ports. However, when the screen shuts off (Inactivity timeout, or I shut the 'lid' (When docked with Speed Test Scrabble Word Finder Solitaire it's keyboard), the USB port powers down (Verified with a USB power meter), and the USB device disconnects. It powers back up when the screen comes back on. My best guess is that this is a feature, either from Dell, or as part of tablet mode in Windows 8.1. The only way I could get it to NOT shut down the USB port was to uninstall the video driver. I've tried every video driver I could manage to install, but no difference. My best guess at this point is that the Video driver sends some kind of signal to the OS telling it the screen is off, and removing the driver simply keeps the OS, or whatever is shutting down the USB port, from knowing the screen is shut off.
Does anyone know how to disable this feature? Does anyone have this or another tablet that doesn't shut down the USB port when the screen shuts off?


UPDATE: I just got my hands on a Venue 11 5130, and the USB port stay on fine, as well as another Non-Dell tablet. Maybe this is a very weird hardware issue? Maybe an issue in the BIOS update I just did?
I had to roll back to A09. You are right, they never fixed the problem.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    sierra
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
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