USB3 Controller & Kinect 2

Question

I recently updated a PC to Windows 8.1 in order to make it compatible to Kinect v2. It's an ASUS N53S with the following specs:

• CPU: Intel Core i7 - 2670QM (2.2GHz)
• RAM: 16 GB
• GPU: GEForce GT 550M
• USB3 Controller: Fresco Logic xHCI

When running Kinect v2 Configuration Verifier I get all items to green except the USB Controller (even the Kinect is detected). I guess it means the USB hub is not compatible or is missing a driver.

I had a look at the Device Manager and saw that wdf kinectsensor interface 0 has a yellow warning next to it. The warning contains code 10, meaning that the device could not be started.

Otherwise, all drivers are up to date.

I've been browsing quite a lot and found out that other people with the same USB Controller had similar problems but no post mentionned solutions.

Does anybody have an idea of what the problem may be?

Answer 1

Not all the USB 3 controllers support Kinect v2. As described in this page from Xbox.com:

Only USB3 controllers from Intel and Renesas are supported

If you use a different brand of USB3 controller, the Kinect sensor may not function correctly.

In this other page (from the official documentation on MSDN), there is another useful detail about the USB 3 controllers:

If you're adding USB 3.0 functionality to your existing PC through an adapter, please ensure that it is a Windows 8 compliant device and that it supports Gen-2

So your controller may be a non-Gen-2 one (see this forum for more information about USB 3.1 Gen-2).

For a list of tested and working controllers (some of which are also available at low costs), refer to the dedicated topic in the official Microsoft Kinect SDK v2 forum. Moreover, in the same forum there are some posts of users that had similar issues with Fresco USB 3 controllers.

So the best solution for you is probably to get a new USB 3 controller, and use it.

Answer 2

1. Some Laptops preserve few USB 2.0 Ports along with the USB 3.0 Ports. Make sure you've connected the cable to the USB 3.0 Port. Generally, a USB 3.0 port has a 'SS' symbol next to it's USB symbol.

2. If you are certain that Kinect is connected to USB 3.0 port, then restart your PC while kinect cable is connected to your PC. I face this problem in my HP laptop and restarting my PC this way works for me. Hope it'll work for you too.

Answer 3

I had similar problem which was catched by EventLogger that Kinectservice.exe could not start because of lack of MFPlat.DLL. Virtually, the KinectConfigurationVerifier remarks "Verify Kinect Depth and Color Streams" with a exclamation mark. After a little search of DLL, the problem might be caused by the lack of media package of system.

On Windows N versions (the EU version without Media Player) applications crashes with a system error missing MFReadWrite.dll or MFPlat.DLL. You need the Media Feature Pack for your Windows version: Blockquote

• Windows 7 N - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=16546
• Windows 8 N/KN - http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=30685
• Windows 8.1 N/KN - http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=40744
• Windows 8.1 N/KN Update - http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42503
• Windows 10 N/KN - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=48231
• Windows 10 N/KN Update 1511 - https://www.microsoft.com/en-US/download/details.aspx?id=49919
• Windows 10 N/KN Update 1607 - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=53356