Problems with Ubuntu 14.04 and Samsung 530U3C laptop

Telmo_Amaral · October 16, 2014, 12:25am

Hello,

I’d like to use the docking station with a Samsung 530U3C laptop running 64-bit desktop Ubuntu 14.04 with 3.13.0-37-generic kernel, but the only thing that works is the Ethernet adapter. Below are the dmesg lines added when I connect the USB cable from the station. Does this shed any light on the issue? Should I not see for example a “usbcore: registered new interface driver udl” message? Thank you in advance.

[3899.018435] usb 1-1.2: new high-speed USB device number 24 using ehci-pci
[3899.111062] usb 1-1.2: New USB device found, idVendor=2230, idProduct=0001
[3899.111073] usb 1-1.2: New USB device strings: Mfr=0, Product=1, SerialNumber=0
[3899.111078] usb 1-1.2: Product: USB 2.0 Hub [MTT]
[3899.111683] hub 1-1.2:1.0: USB hub found
[3899.111841] hub 1-1.2:1.0: 7 ports detected
[3899.382138] usb 1-1.2.1: new high-speed USB device number 25 using ehci-pci
[3899.478763] usb 1-1.2.1: New USB device found, idVendor=17e9, idProduct=0377
[3899.478774] usb 1-1.2.1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[3899.478780] usb 1-1.2.1: Product: Plugable UD-160-A
[3899.478784] usb 1-1.2.1: Manufacturer: DisplayLink
[3899.478788] usb 1-1.2.1: SerialNumber: 121621
[3899.480710] [drm] vendor descriptor length:1b data:1b 5f 01 00 19 05 00 01 03 00 04
[3899.660968] udl 1-1.2.1:1.0: fb1: udldrmfb frame buffer device
[3899.660981] [drm] Initialized udl 0.0.1 20120220 on minor 1
[3899.733915] usb 1-1.2.2: new full-speed USB device number 26 using ehci-pci
[3899.827603] usb 1-1.2.2: New USB device found, idVendor=0d8c, idProduct=0105
[3899.827615] usb 1-1.2.2: New USB device strings: Mfr=3, Product=1, SerialNumber=0
[3899.827620] usb 1-1.2.2: Product: USB Multimedia Audio Device
[3899.827625] usb 1-1.2.2: Manufacturer: C-Media Electronics Inc.
[3899.849383] input: C-Media Electronics Inc. USB Multimedia Audio Device as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1a.0/usb1/1-1/1-1.2/1-1.2.2/1-1.2.2:1.3/input/input28
[3899.849860] hid-generic 0003:0D8C:0105.0011: input,hidraw0: USB HID v1.00 Device [C-Media Electronics Inc. USB Multimedia Audio Device] on usb-0000:00:1a.0-1.2.2/input3
[3899.921746] usb 1-1.2.3: new high-speed USB device number 27 using ehci-pci
[3900.027634] usb 1-1.2.3: New USB device found, idVendor=0b95, idProduct=772a
[3900.027645] usb 1-1.2.3: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[3900.027651] usb 1-1.2.3: Product: AX88x72A
[3900.027656] usb 1-1.2.3: Manufacturer: ASIX Elec. Corp.
[3900.027660] usb 1-1.2.3: SerialNumber: 0E7FDA
[3900.343055] asix 1-1.2.3:1.0 eth0: register ‘asix’ at usb-0000:00:1a.0-1.2.3, ASIX AX88772 USB 2.0 Ethernet, 00:50:b6:0e:7f:da
[3900.413402] usb 1-1.2.5: new full-speed USB device number 28 using ehci-pci
[3900.511733] usb 1-1.2.5: New USB device found, idVendor=045e, idProduct=0745
[3900.511745] usb 1-1.2.5: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
[3900.511750] usb 1-1.2.5: Product: Microsoft\xffffffc2\xffffffae\xffffffae 2.4GHz Transceiver v8.0
[3900.511755] usb 1-1.2.5: Manufacturer: Microsoft
[3900.516295] input: Microsoft Microsoft\xffffffc2\xffffffae\xffffffae 2.4GHz Transceiver v8.0 as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1a.0/usb1/1-1/1-1.2/1-1.2.5/1-1.2.5:1.0/input/input29
[3900.516591] hid-generic 0003:045E:0745.0012: input,hidraw1: USB HID v1.11 Keyboard [Microsoft Microsoft\xffffffc2\xffffffae\xffffffae 2.4GHz Transceiver v8.0] on usb-0000:00:1a.0-1.2.5/input0
[3900.523263] input: Microsoft Microsoft\xffffffc2\xffffffae\xffffffae 2.4GHz Transceiver v8.0 as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1a.0/usb1/1-1/1-1.2/1-1.2.5/1-1.2.5:1.1/input/input30
[3900.523890] hid-generic 0003:045E:0745.0013: input,hidraw2: USB HID v1.11 Mouse [Microsoft Microsoft\xffffffc2\xffffffae\xffffffae 2.4GHz Transceiver v8.0] on usb-0000:00:1a.0-1.2.5/input1
[3900.541483] input: Microsoft Microsoft\xffffffc2\xffffffae\xffffffae 2.4GHz Transceiver v8.0 as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1a.0/usb1/1-1/1-1.2/1-1.2.5/1-1.2.5:1.2/input/input31
[3900.542190] hid-generic 0003:045E:0745.0014: input,hiddev0,hidraw3: USB HID v1.11 Device [Microsoft Microsoft\xffffffc2\xffffffae\xffffffae 2.4GHz Transceiver v8.0] on usb-0000:00:1a.0-1.2.5/input2
[3900.637291] systemd-udevd[6408]: renamed network interface eth0 to eth8
[3901.435532] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): eth8: link is not ready
[3901.436587] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): eth8: link is not ready
[3903.167389] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): eth8: link becomes ready
[3903.168713] asix 1-1.2.3:1.0 eth8: link up, 100Mbps, full-duplex, lpa 0xDDE1

Cheers,
Telmo

Ivan · October 21, 2014, 6:27pm

Hello Telmo,

Thank your for contacting Plugable Support! I apologize for the issues you are encountering when trying to use our USB Docking Station under Ubuntu Linux, but you’ve come to the right place. We are here to help!

First of all, please be aware that the state of DisplayLink drivers under Linux is far from ideal, and performance might not be up to your standards. We are always trying to help the Open Source community improve on this, but progress has been slow.

Linux systems recognize our Docking Stations as multi-seat terminals by default, which prevents them from being used in extended desktop mode. To disable this behaviour the following steps must be taken.

Open a Terminal
Run this command:
sudo gedit /lib/udev/rules.d/71-seat.rules
Find these two lines in the file:

‘Plugable’ USB hub, sound, network, graphics adapter

SUBSYSTEM==“usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==“2230”, ATTR{idProduct}==“000[13]”, ENV{ID_AUTOSEAT}=“1”
4. Replace them as such:

‘Plugable’ USB hub, sound, network, graphics adapter

SUBSYSTEM==“usb”, ATTR{idVendor}==“2230”, ATTR{idProduct}==“000[13]”, ENV{ID_AUTOSEAT}=“1”

Reboot.

Please let me know if these steps get you any further in enabling your docking station.

Sincerely,
Ivan
Plugable Technologies

Telmo_Amaral · October 27, 2014, 12:49am

Hello Ivan,

Many, many thanks - it works! I knew that the docking station wasn’t guaranteed to work with Linux, so I wasn’t holding my breath. But I commented out that line in the file you pointed out and everything came to life: the display, the sound and the USB hub (the network was already working). Great.

Sincerely,
Telmo

Ivan · October 28, 2014, 12:53am

Telmo,

I am very happy to hear that those steps resolved your issue!

Please, don’t hesitate to ask any further questions you might have!

Sincerely,
Ivan
Plugable Technologies

Telmo_Amaral · November 21, 2014, 12:44am

A follow-up, in case it might be useful to anyone. Although the docking station has been working perfectly after I plug it in, I’ve had trouble almost every time that I unplug it: either one or more applications crash, the user session crashes, or the actual system crashes. After trying many things, the following seems to be the safest way of unplugging the station:

Switch back to the laptop’s own display (in my case by using the Fn + F4 key combination);
Disconnect the Ethernet connection established through the station (in my case via the tray icon);
In Sound Settings, switch both Output and Input back to the laptop’s own audio device;
Suspend Ubuntu (NOT hibernate);
Unplug the station’s USB cable from the laptop while Ubuntu is sleeping.

Not sure if steps 1 to 3 are essential, but I think they help to avoid problems. I tried alternatives like powering off the station, unbinding the USB device corresponding to the station (in my case via the command “echo ‘1-1.2’ | sudo tee /sys/bus/usb/drivers/usb/unbind”), or even unbinding the USB devices corresponding to each of the station’s features one by one (in my case, using for example “echo ‘1-1.2.1’ | sudo tee /sys/bus/usb/drivers/usb/unbind” for the DisplayLink adapter). But crashes always happen. The problem seems to be the DisplayLink adapter.

Cheers,
Telmo