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I'm trying to install Ubuntu on a PC with a Gigabyte 990XA-UD3 motherboard and I'm encountering a strange issue with the USB ports. They work fine in BIOS setup utility (and they worked fine on Windows 7, which was the previous OS on this computer), but as the live image boots from a DVD, all USB devices shut down, except those on USB 3. I had to burn the live image to a DVD, because it would not boot from a USB drive.

Changing BIOS settings concering USB peripherals did not help. I tried enabling IOMMU, disabling IOMMU, turning on/off legacy USB support, XHCI/ECHI hand-off mode...

It is also not distro-specific. I completed a vanilla Arch install (no DE, just TTY) thinking it might be a software issue, but the problem still persists: just seconds into boot all USB 1 & 2 ports die. I can only use a keyboard if I plug it into a USB 3 port.

I already considered updating the firmware on the motherboard, but it seems there exists only one version for my revision ("FD" from 2013).

Is there any hope to get Linux running well on this PC? Could anyone help me troubleshoot it? Or should I just trash it?

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I found a solution on Manjaro forum, so I'd though I'd share it with you, as it universal for Linux, and applicable to Ubuntu.

This is a known problem with many Gigabyte boards, it seems they don't give a damn about Linux.

This is a post-install fix:

Enable XHCI and EHCI and IOMMU in BIOS setup.

Edit /etc/default/grub, find the line that says GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX= and add "amd_iommu=on iommu=pt" to the rest of the parameters there. Update the grub by running sudo update-grub (or sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg, which is the same thing).

Reboot. With a little luck USB 1 & 2 ports should now work properAy.

Alternatively, I've been also recommended to try "iommu=soft" as a boot parameter. I have not tried that, because the above worked.

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