Comment 35 for bug 54273

A solution (increasing the timout) per Mario Italo, bug 261710 worked for me.

1. Always back up config files before editing them:
sudo cp /etc/modprobe.d/options /etc/modprobe.d/options.backup1
Now open /etc/modprobe.d/options in write mode:
sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/options

2. Add the line:
options scsi_mod inq_timeout=20
and save the file.
Seemingly reloading the module (scsi_mod) does not cause the new configuration to take hold. What worked for both he and I was to reinstall the kernel.

3. Type uname -a and take note or memorize the exact kernel version numer you are using.

4. Use the above kernel number to reinstall your kernel. For me it was:
sudo aptitude reinstall linux-image-2.6.27-7-generic
This will take a couple of minutes.

5. Reboot and test. This fixed it for Mario and has worked great for me. Note that there is probably a better way to make the new configuration take effect other the reinstalling the kernel. Whoever knows what that is could post that and we would have a better solution.

This confirms that the bug is just that the device does not wake up quickly enough. These instructions are for anyone who has these key(s) and is receiving the -110 (and possibly other) errors while attempting to use them.

A test to see if the above fix will fix your problem is to insert the key, and shut down the machine. Start it back up, if it recognizes the drive and mounts it (or lets you mount it), then the above steps should fix the bug and allow you to use the key normally.

Good luck, and thanks again to Mario Italo.

Solution originally found in report of bug 261710 (Corsair Flash Voyager 8GB USB key causes device descriptor read/64, error -110)
Posted this solution to bug 54273 (USB device not accepting address: error -110)