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Intel confirms USB bug in 'Haswell' chipset

The chipmaker says a USB bug in the chipset that accompanies the "Haswell" processor exists and will be fixed.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
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Brooke Crothers
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Intel confirmed a USB bug in its next-generation "Haswell" chipset.

The bug can cause USB (Universal Serial Bus) 3.0 devices, like thumb drives, to disappear after entering standby. In some cases, removable devices have to be reconnected again, according to a report at BSN.

The company issued the following statement this afternoon. The bug, in Intel parlance, is referred to as an "errata." The chipset is silicon that accompanies the main Haswell processor:

4th gen Core is on track for a midyear launch. Intel issued a PCN (Product Change Notification) documenting a chipset USB errata and stating that chipsets with the errata will be in production during the initial ramp. But Intel has confirmed that there is no chance of data loss or corruption. This issue has only been observed with a small subset of USB SuperSpeed thumb drives and does not affect other USB peripherals. We take all customer issues seriously and should any customer have a question or concern they can always contact Intel customer support.

According to the Product Change Notification, a new "stepping" -- a version of the chipset with the fix -- will be sent as samples to customers starting April 19. The final version of the fixed chipset will be available starting July 15.

Haswell, which is shipping to PC makers now, is the next-generation mainstream Intel processor that will power ultrabooks and a variety of hybrids that straddle tablet and laptop designs.

Haswell's new microarchitecture will deliver "the single largest generation-to-generation battery life improvement in Intel history," according to a recent statement from Intel CEO Paul Otellini.