DisplayLink 5.6 M1 Driver on Windows Update

Posted on 24. Jun, 2011 by in Windows

Microsoft’s Windows Update system has been updated to the latest DisplayLink 5.6 M1 Driver (5.6.31854.0 dated 2011/04/18). If you used Windows Update previously to get your driver, you were getting version 5.5.

This update is compatible with and applies to all Plugable USB graphics adapters and docks.

This is great news, as this new version includes a few important fixes and features, and many small ones. Details below.

Notes

  • Windows 7 makes Windows Update for hardware automatic, but it can be enabled for Vista and XP also
  • The update will automatically be triggered by Windows when it sees a new device. Or for an existing device, you can trigger Windows Update manually, and look for DisplayLink’s drivers among the “Optional” updates.

Important Features/Fixes from 5.5 to 5.6 M1

  • Fix for software-triggered screen freezes (which required system reboot or service restart)
  • Support for Windows Server SKUs (with Aero installed and enabled)
  • Better compatibility with nVidia and ATI GPUs
  • Improved compatibility with newer DirectX apps

Full changelist from DisplayLink

C1. Fixed issues between R5.6 (5.6.31721.0) and R5.6 M1 (5.6.31854.0)
—————————————

If the reboot prompt after install is ignored on Windows XP, then the
DisplayLink monitor set to mirror may display corrupted data. (10953)

After installing DisplayLink software on some systems with switchable graphics
architectures, the main monitor may be dimmed and not responsive until reboot.
(10534)

Monitor details were not being updated in “Devices and Printers” folder when
changing the monitors connected to DisplayLink device. (9917)

DisplayLink monitors may flash occasionally when playing fullscreen videos on
several stations. (11173)

On Windows XP after installing DisplayLink drivers several reboot cycles may be
requested. (11079)

C1. Fixed issues between R5.5 (5.5.27797) and R5.6 (5.6.31721.0)
—————————————
DisplayLink Software upgraded through Windows Update will not work correctly
after rebooting the system (issue affecting releases R5.3 to R5.4 on Windows
update). (9658)

Blue screen on Windows 7 on some platforms when rebooting after having applied
layout changes. (9631)

The DisplayLink GUI stops functioning correctly after switching GPU on some
ATI/Intel hybrid systems. (10065, 10106)

Sometimes there are two DisplayLink icons present in the system tray. (9807)

Sometimes the DisplayLink icon is missing in the system tray. (9545, 9837)

Video in Basic Mode not working with the latest Windows updates on both Windows
Vista and Windows 7. (1609)

Video playback issues on Microsoft Windows 7 with the latest NVIDIA Drivers.
(10061)

A DisplayLink USB monitor could occasionally remain blank after a PC reboot.
(9622)

DirectX 9 games could crash when running on a primary, non DisplayLink, screen.
(10027)

DisplayLink software fails to install on NVidia Quadro FX 880M graphics card.
(9637)

On Windows 7 Windows Photo Viewer may show corruption when a DisplayLink
monitor is mirroring the main screen. (9612)

On some systems with switchable graphics architectures disconnecting
a DisplayLink monitor may cause main monitor to be switched off. (9750, 9747)

Screen corruption while performing the Aero 3D flip (Windows+tab) interface
effect. (10425)

Blue screen when restarting with a connected DisplayLink screen in Projector
Only mode. (10457)

After a series of layout changes the DisplayLink screens can sometimes freeze
while the DisplayLink GUI loses functionality. (10489)

2 DisplayLink GUIs are shown in the system tray after installation. (10504)

Blue screen when using a DisplayLink device for the first time on some Optimus
configurations. (10700)

On some Optimus configurations, rebooting with a DisplayLink device connected
causes the DisplayLink screens to remain black with a blinking mouse pointer.
(10701, 10702)

Screen corruption when using 3D GUI effects on DisplayLink screens in some
display configurations. (9611, 10425)

Screen corruption on DisplayLink screens while using some applications after a
transition from projector mode to duplicate. (9612)

Video in Basic Mode not working with the latest Windows updates on both Windows
Vista and Windows 7. (1609)

In rare scenarios a DisplayLink monitor may freeze. (10230)

DisplayLink USB monitor could occasionally remain blank after a PC reboot.
(9622)

Blue screen when playing video on multiple clients. (6309, 9442)

SRC Shell application crashed when playing video clip. (10212)

When the logon screen is displayed, occasionally the DisplayLink displays are
frozen and only updated by the mouse pointer. (10044)

On some switchable systems the main screen flashes continuously after
installing the DisplayLink driver or after connecting the DisplayLink device.
(10653)

Corruption is shown while moving the cursor near the edge of a window on top of
a Windows Media Player window. (10752)

Incorrect/missing Windows Update error reporting from the DisplayLink GUI.
(10523)

Sometimes a Windows XP computer with DisplayLink drivers installed will hang
while starting. (9607)

On some nVidia Optimus systems the DisplayLink display will remain black
immediately after installing the DisplayLink drivers. A reboot recovers from
this issue. (10785)

On some machines Windows falls into endless reboot loop after installation of
DisplayLink drivers. (10918)

Timing not compliant with the CEA861D specification. (10952)

Reading the firmware version of a LucidPort SATA dock on Windows

Posted on 15. Jun, 2011 by in Windows

The Plugable USB3-SATA-U3 Hard Drive Docking Station supports updating the firmware for its LucidPort USB300 chipset, so any new USB 3.0 enhancements can be applied even to existing docking stations.

How to determine your firmware version

Go to Windows start menu and search for Windows’ “Device Manager” utility. Expand the “Universal Serial Bus controllers” section.

The Plugable SATA dock will be one of potentially several “USB Mass Storage Device”s. They all share a common name, because it’s actually Microsoft’s own built-in USB Mass Storage driver that controls the device (which is why no driver disk is needed for the Plugable SATA drive docking station).

So we need to open each one to check which is actually the Plugable SATA dock. To check the ids on each one, right click “USB Mass Storage Device”, selecting “Properties”, then selecting the “Details” tab, and then finally selecting “Hardware IDs” from the dropdown list (it’s the 2nd item on the list).

The Plugable Docking Station will be the one with VID_1759 (which is the identifier of LucidPort, Inc). The PID is usually 5000 or 5002. And the REV_ shows the firmware version currently flashed on the dock. In the case of the screenshot above, it’s verison 2580.

If you don’t find the Plugable device, try connecting with USB 2.0 (instead of USB 3) and make sure both power and USB are connected.

Our most recent update is to upgrade all older Plugable USB3-SATA-U3 docking stations to firmware version 2580, to improve USB 3.0 error tolerance and support 3TB+ drives.

Newer Plugable USB3-SATA-U3 docking stations (those purchased now) are already up to date with this firmware version.

You can see the fixes and features introduced in each LucidPort firmware version in their USB300 firmware change history.

And please contact us at http://support.plugable.com/ or support@plugable.com anytime for help. Thanks!

USB 2.0 vs. USB 3.0 SATA Dock Performance

Posted on 14. Jun, 2011 by in Windows

The theoretical speed of a bus like USB is different from what devices are able to achieve in practice. USB 2.0′s theoretical max is 480Mbps, while USB 3.0 jumps that up to 4.8Gbps.

Today we’re benchmarking the Plugable USB 3.0 HDD Docking Station, which is capable of running on either USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 systems, to show what to expect in terms of performance.

While the low-level Windows drivers are different for USB 2.0 (Microsoft EHCI) and USB 3.0 (NEC/Renesas XHCI), above that layer, everything is common, using the drivers already present in Windows. This includes the existing Microsoft USB Mass Storage class driver that does much of the heavy lifting for USB-attached disks.

About the test platform:

Programs used:

HDTune (USB 2.0)

HDTune (USB 2.0)

HDTune (USB 3.0)

HDTune (USB 3.0)

CrystalDiskMark (USB 2.0)

CrystalDiskMark (USB 2.0)

CrystalDiskMark (USB 3.0)

CrystalDiskMark (USB 3.0)

ATTO Disk Benchmark (USB 2.0)

ATTO Disk Benchmark (USB 2.0)

ATTO Disk Benchmark (USB 3.0)

ATTO Disk Benchmark (USB 3.0)

Conclusion:

HDTune reports an Average Transfer Rate increase from 36.4MB/sec to 97.9MB/sec. This is about 168% faster than USB 2.0

CrystalDiskMark reports a sequential Read increase from 38.43MB/s to 107.6MB/s and a Write increase from 36.61MB/s to 88.75MB/s. That’s a 179.9% increase for Reading and a 149.2% increase for Writing.

ATTO Disk Benchmark reports a Read increase from 38402 to 105268 (KBytes/sec) and a Write increase from 35696 to 85762 (KBytes/sec) . Those are  174.12% increases for Reading and 140.25% increases for Writing accordingly.

Summary of Results

Summary of Results

If we were to get the average of the 3 tests we would get an average speed increase of 162.2%. A transfer that would take about 5 minutes on USB 2.0, would complete in roughly 2 minutes on USB 3.0.

These numbers may increase slightly in the future with USB-attached SCSI support, USB 3.0 streams, and other driver/firmware updates. But 2-3 times faster in practice is a good baseline for expectations.

We welcome any comments, corrections, or your own benchmark results.

Plugable USB 3.0/2.0 SATA Hard Drive Docking Station (LucidPort chipset) Product Details $28.95
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