So far, we just seem to have a temporary fix. Since I have the latest drivers from the Intel download site already installed, I did not bother to uninstall and reinstall, which I am glad that that is no longer a required part of the fix procedure. After the latest occurance (today was the first time since my last post) I was able to fix the issue by unplugging the external hard drive, going into the BIOS > USB > disabling the 3.0 controllers > exiting while discarding the changes and letting W7 launch. My power management in W7 64-bit Pro is set to perfromance mode and not to sleep (except I allow my display to sleep). My Norton Security Suite performs auto backups. I leave my 3TB Seagate USB 3.0 external hard drive plugged into the rear USB 3.0 ports 24/7. Yes, after applying the temporary fix, the issue reoccurs for me still as well. But I will monitor the situation and let you know.

My guess is that after reconnecting my USB 3.0 external hard drive to the back panel ports, and keeping that setup for a good while, eventually the same thing will occur and I will need to perform the same procedure to fix the issue. I can also reboot the system and all is still ok. Both front and back host controllers always existed (except after I uninstalled the back panel drivers), but lately, the back panel one had the yellow caution sign on it. Before doing that procedure, only one Renesas USB 3.0 Root Hub appeared (the one that pertains to the front panel USB 3.0 ports). After doing this, I noticed that a second Renesas USB 3.0 Root Hub (the one that pertains to the back panel USB 3.0 ports) now appears in the Device Manager. I believe that I discovered how I did it: boot into the BIOS, view any USB info in there (may be optional, not sure), exit the BIOS while discarding any changes, and let W7 startup. However, I got them working before posting the issue but was uncertain as to how I got them working again. Are the back ports still working for you? I finally got mine working again. I am glad that you were able to get them to connect again. Hi Scott, Thanks for letting me know about the back panel USB 3.0 issue that you were experiencing.

Renesas usb 3.0 driver not recognized