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Community Newsletter: Q&A: 9/30/05 How to upgrade an old computer from USB 1.1 to 2.0
- 9/29/05 4:10 PM
Answer submitted by Mike H.
by Lee Koo (ADMIN) - 9/29/05 5:33 PM
In reply to: 9/30/05 How to upgrade an old computer from USB 1.1 to 2.0 by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Answer:
Hello, intrepid reader. I see you face the same dilemma I do, so we can work through this one together. The USB controller is integrated to your motherboard, so the only way to get USB 2.0 is to buy a USB 2.0 PCI Card. Before you go out and buy one, open up your computer and see how many PCI slots are available. They are on the bottom-left corner and are longish white rectangles. Since your PC is a Dell, there are probably a lot of PCI cards filling that area.
You can find myriads of USB 2.0 PCI cards for cheap on E-Bay, or you can go to your local computer store. It may cost anywhere between $10-45, depending on where you get it. Since you are upgrading the front USBs too, it needs to have a double row of pins on the PCI card itself.
To install the card, all you have to do is open the case, break off, pop off, or unscrew the "blanking cover" (a metal plate) that fills in the gap where the empty PCI slot is, and slip the USB card in. Since you want the front USB ports to be 2.0, there is one extra step. Before slipping in the card, find a big round rubber cable that goes from your front USBs to your motherboard, pull it off of the motherboard, and slide it onto the double row of pins on the USB 2.0 card.
There is a missing pin that matches up with a blocked hole on the cable, so it only goes in one way.
Make sure to screw down the USB card if you have to, close the case, and turn on your PC. If you are using Windows 2000 or XP, you might not need the drivers disc for it. If you do, it's as easy as insert disc, push a big button, and wait a minute. Enjoy your new USB 2.0!
P.S. If you run into problems, go to your BIOS (usually F2 during the DELL logo) and Disable your On-Board USB controller. Should be in Advanced setup or Peripherals or something. Different on different models.
Submitted by: Mike H.
USB 2 upgrade
by martinb9 - 9/30/05 5:10 AM In reply to: Answer submitted by Mike H. by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Is there any way to do a hardware upgrade to usb 2 on a laptop. I have an older one and I use the slot for a wireless card. Though there are supposed to be 2 slots I can never get two cards in at the same time.
Apricorn makes a card which will fit
by hankbates - 9/30/05 5:31 AM In reply to: USB 2 upgrade by martinb9I use an Apricorn EZUSB2 card in my laptop, along with a wireless card. The apricorn fits in the bottom slot and connects with a dongle, the wireless in the top slot.
(NT) Laptops - Any major differences?
by FLYFLINGER - 9/30/05 5:41 AM In reply to: Answer submitted by Mike H. by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have a Dell Inspiron 4100 and would like to upgrade it with a 2.0 USB. and I'm not real comfortable with rummaging around with the "innards". Are there any major difference with laptops vs. desktops? Thank you.
Upgrading a laptop from USB 1.1 to 2.0
by guberro - 9/30/05 7:41 AM In reply to: (NT) Laptops - Any major differences? by FLYFLINGERUpgrading a laptop is quite simple. There is only one requirement: the laptop must have a PCMCIA slot on the side. It's a big slot that is used for USB cards, wireless cards, modems, SCSI adaptors, even NIC cards.
While you can find these cards cheap online, it may be better to go to a local computer store and have a salesperson actually test it in your pc before buying one, they won't charge for an installation since this is totally outboard.
I only suggest you have have a store do it for you because you did mention the word that still makes me shudder- NT! I assume you mean that is the OS, WinNT Workstation. NT was the ONLY OS ever made that was not plug and play and I'll leave it at that! NT had to be manually set up, the drivers manually installed, the IRQ's manually set. However, it is far more stable than Win95 or Win98.
The flip side is that if you do use NT, you can easily upgrade to Win2K Pro or WIN XP Pro or Home, since Win2k and WinXP are later versions of NT and nothing to do with Win95 or Win98.
On WindowsXP you do not need to disable the onboard USB in BIOS, since the external USB ports just become additional ports, you can have as many USB ports on a a machine as will physically fit in there.
Why snipe at Dell
by NickHattingh - 9/30/05 5:48 AM In reply to: Answer submitted by Mike H. by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Why do the correspondents in this thread keep sniping at Dell. Of all the Dell PCs I have ever seen, the most PCI cards on the mother board has been one and there has always been at least one spare slot, even in slimline cases.
If you do have a Dell, you won't need any tools to add a card. The case will pop open easily, the cards are held in by a latching lever, not screws and the interior will be uncluttered. If anyone can reccomend a brand that is easier to upgrade than Dell, I would be keen to hear from them.
PS if you want to get a new PCI card you will find them cheaper on ebay than in any store.
Build your own PC
by Craigwd_2000 - 9/30/05 7:32 AM In reply to: Why snipe at Dell by NickHattinghI won't mention any specific brand names here but just building your own computer alone gives you a huge advantage over buying any pre-built computer as you have to install everything yourself and thus if something goes wrong with it that makes it much easier to fix and troubleshoot. Now I have a question for everyone. What is the best motherboard that supports AMD64, PCI Express, Dual Channel DDR memory, and USB 2.0 and Firewire all onboard? I would ideally like a motherboard that gives me plenty of room to grow should I ever need to do anything drastic like upgrade my processor and I need plenty of PCI Express slots as well. Onboard LAN would also be a nice feature to have as long as it uses a reputable well known chipset. If possible I would also like to buy a board based a VIA chipset. Most importantly I want a board where all of the onboard components will be supported by my OS. I'm running Debian Sarge Linux that I installed from a DVD-ROM I burned so I hope that helps. I'm currently using a self-built AMD Athlon XP 1700+ system but have been looking at upgrading for at least half a year now.
USB2.0
by fmag - 9/30/05 5:54 AM In reply to: Answer submitted by Mike H. by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi Mike. I read your reply with interest. I am using windows XP and I keep getting messages that it would work faster with USB2.0. I have queried this with a Computor friend of mine and he tells me there is no advantage in putting a USB 2.0 on. Is this correct? Regards Frank M.
Depends
by Impreza WRX - 9/30/05 7:24 AM In reply to: USB2.0 by fmagReally, it depends. As the other winner explained, you only need USB 2.0 if you want faster data transfers with external hard drives, memory cards, and those GDI hp printers that take a year to start printing. I notice the difference with my little USB jump drive. My laptop lacks USB 2.0, and it does indeed take a lot longer to move data here and there than when I plug it into a modern PC with USB 2.0. I think it is worth the upgrade, especially with the low price for one. It's hard to pass for $35.
USB 1 to USB 2 on laptops
by joel r - 9/30/05 6:01 AM In reply to: Answer submitted by Mike H. by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Is there an easy way to convert a notebook by using an external card?
Good Advice Mike
by canpatm - 9/30/05 7:47 AM In reply to: Answer submitted by Mike H. by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I've already upgraded to 2.0 with a PCI card and it works great. But I never changed the older 1.0 USB over to 2.0. I will do this now with your advice:
''Since you want the front USB ports to be 2.0, there is one extra step. Before slipping in the card, find a big round rubber cable that goes from your front USBs to your motherboard, pull it off of the motherboard, and slide it onto the double row of pins on the USB 2.0 card.
There is a missing pin that matches up with a blocked hole on the cable, so it only goes in one way.''
Thanks,
Pat
No PCI slot available
by terrylw - 9/30/05 7:52 AM In reply to: Answer submitted by Mike H. by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
My dimension 8200 was shipped from Dell with all PCI slots used. Any suggestions?
there called PCI Expansion Systems
by ElectronixEshop - 9/30/05 8:16 AM In reply to: No PCI slot available by terrylwonly company i found who sell PCI Expansion Systems are MAGMA http://www.mobl.com
under the product tab select PCI to PCI Expansion and choose which one you want
http://www.electronixeshop.com
helping the computer community
USB 2.0 on dell dimesion 8200!
by imc18 - 9/30/05 8:14 AM In reply to: Answer submitted by Mike H. by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
My co-worker had the same problem on his Dell
Dimenion 8200 a few weeks ago!
It seems windows XP SP1 had a problem with USB 2.0.
I told him to install SP2 (Service Pack 2) He down loaded SP2 and all is well!
You can also check for a newer driver by going
to control panel and do an update driver and have it connect to microsoft!
I had a problem last week with a Thrid party
USB 2.0/Fire wire card I had purchased for my two year old PC!
I installed the XP driver fron the CD and it would
only work as USB 1.1 and I was getting the same
error message you had !
I tried the windows XP drivers and still no good.
I had my Windows XP SP2 go to microsoft and Bingo!
Everything is working as it should.
When I plug in a USB 1.1 I would see the device under the generic Root Hub amd my USB 2.0 devices under the enhanced USB hub in the device list in control panel!
I hope this may solve your problem without spending any more money!
When you see the error message you were getting,
It means that you hardware is USB 2.0 but Windows
can only run USB 1.1 due to a driver problem!
USB 2.0 for laptops
by danceman - 9/30/05 8:23 AM In reply to: Answer submitted by Mike H. by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
read the article on USB 2.0 for computers but what about laptops? is there a way to upgrade?
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