There are two possible causes for this problem:
- in the BIOS setup, the USB 3.0 port(s) are downgraded to USB 2.0
- within Windows 7, the Intel(R) USB 3.0 Host Controller Switch Driver is not installed
The BIOS option:
Only some motherboards offer an option to disable USB 3.0 in the BIOS setup; don't expect to find it everywhere.
The Windows driver option:
Another thing you should check is whether you have the Intel(R) USB 3.0 Host Controller Switch Driver installed. To check whether it is installed, open the Device Manager, open the View menu and select "Devices by Connection", then verify it as follows:
If "iusb3hcs" does not appear when you select "Device lower filters" in the details of the "PCI bus" device, you do not have this essential driver installed.
To install it, you should reinstall Intel's drivers (for your hardware -- either C216 or C220), since they install the Intel(R) USB 3.0 Host Controller Switch Driver (iusb3hcs).
Technical details
Technically, the iusb3hcs driver is installed as a device lower filter of the PCI bus device. The filter driver's goal is to initialize the Intel-specific XUSB2PR register during PCI bus startup. This register allows per-port configuration, to either direct it to the XHCI (USB 3.0) or EHCI (USB 2.0) controller. (Fun fact: The equivalent Linux code can be found here.)
If the filter driver is not installed, the default configuration will apply: all ports would be directed to USB 2.0.
You need to update that PCI bus driver. That's the driver for the USB3<->PCIe bridge controller, and if it says the one already installed is newer, then it's likely a mismatched version to the XHCI and root hub drivers.
Your best bet is to download the newest driver straight from Intel. There are two of them and you probably tried the wrong one. Based on the log file you posted, This is the driver you need
Also, do not allow your 3rd party driver update software to update that bridge driver. The PCI ID is the same as Intel's USB2 bridge chip, but the driver file is different. If that software detects that there's a newer version, it might replace it with the wrong file again. In fact, that may be why it broke in the first place.
Best Answer
While I can attest to the fact that bloatware is bloatware, the driver/software does allow quicker charging of USB devices (e.g. cellphones, MP3 players). This isn't a part of the standard USB-spec, so this is why you need additional drivers/software to use it. It's built into the hardware, yes, but you do need a special driver or program to use it.
It depends where it shows up. If you're talking in Add/Remove Programs, then most likely not. If it's in the Device Manager, however, then it all depends.
Your motherboard has both a USB 2.0 and 3.0 controller. Disabling that driver will effectively disable the USB 3.0 support, and with it, any connectivity through those ports. Even USB 2.0 devices won't work on those ports (they will work on the other USB 2.0 ones). Just incase you didn't know, the blue USB ports are USB 3, and the black ones are USB 2.
If you have no use for USB 3.0 and don't see a use for it in the future (it can always be re-enabled), you can disable it. If you do use the USB 3 ports, and/or have USB 3 devices, then you may wish to keep the driver/software enabled.