Community Newsletter: Q&A forum: 9/30/05 How to upgrade an old computer from USB 1.1 to 2.0

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.

I 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.

Upgrading 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.

I 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.

Really, 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.

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

only 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

read the article on USB 2.0 for computers but what about laptops? is there a way to upgrade?

How do you know if you have a usb1.0 or USB 2.0

I get that same message... how things could work faster etc... I also get a list of all available USB ports (which mean nothing to me). I have a new DELL INSPIRON 6000 which has 2 USB ports on the side plus a firewire outlet...plus 2 more USB ports on the back of the machine.

I upgraded an aging (500 Mhz) Compaq desktop with USB 1.1 onboard, adding a PCI-based USB 2.0 card, but while it seems to be operational according to the Device Manager, nothing I plug in there works. I will try going into BIOS and disabling the onboard USB controller, as per your tip.

As an electronics tech first, over 45 years of experience, and an IT consultant second, I'm disturbed to read advice which has people completely disconnecting their PCs from "everything." The correct method is to turn the PC off and then turn the surge suppressor off. The second step ensures the PC is safely grounded and all power removed.

Both are necessary to prevent Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) from causing possible damage inside the PC. Removing the power ensures you won't damage your motherboard by shorting out a hot line. Most PCs today have voltage on inside them even after turning the PC power off! This is used to keep the PC "on" but not running. It allows things like bring the PC up remotely (via your LAN or modem). Your PC power supply remains on all of the time if you don't shut the power off at the surge suppresser.

A portion of PCs today have power supplies with an on-off switch built into them. Not having this saves the power supply manufacturer a few cents, so thats why you generally dont see the power supply on-off switch any more. If you have one, you can turn it off rather than the surge suppresser, although I prefer the latter. That turns everything off which is always best!

Next, ESD protection involves two things; either one alone is not sufficient. First, you MUST have a wrist strap, $5.00 to $15.00. This connects your skin through a safety resister which discharges any static electricity you have picked up by being around. You dont have to walk across a rug to charge up; doing so simply increases the voltage of your charge.

Second, you MUST have a place for the ESD to go when you attach the wrist strap to the PC. The AC power cord provides a path to earth ground, removing the ESD safely from your body and preventing damage to the PC. You can cause damage and never feel the discharge (shock)! Voltages far lower than you can sense can cause damage. And, this damage can appear long after the incident which is why so many people dont think ESD protection is necessary.

Remember, ESD protection is necessary under all circumstances. There are shortcuts which often work, but sometimes dont. Do you want to take that chance with your PC?

Answer:

USB 2.0 will be faster providing you choose the right card and your device truly supports USB2.0. Be warned, all is not always as it seems.

1. USB 2.0 cards and hubs.

USB2.0 is specified to be backward compatible with USB1.1 and USB1.0. This means that if you plug a USB1 device into a USB2 port it is guaranteed still to work, and they do - usually! However it is worth doing some research about the card (PCI, PCMCIA or whatever) you intend to buy.

The first caution is that most cards and hubs only include a single USB2-1 downverter. What this means is that as soon as you plug in one USB1 device ALL the ports on the card/hub are downrated to USB1. This may result in an error or crash if you plug the USB1 device in after a USB2 device, or a warning about the downrating if you plug in the USB2 device after you plug in the USB1 device - the warning is the one quoted in the question above.

This does NOT necessarily mean you don't have a 2.0 USB card. It may simply mean you have a USB1 device plugged in on the same hub. To find out, remove all other USB devices not known to be USB2. In any case, the solution is to buy another card, and put only USB1 devices on the original one and only USB2 devices on the new one. But if you look carefully at the reviews you will find that some cards include a downverter for each port rather than one shared across all ports. Vendors that do not support USB2 and USB1 simultaneously don't say anything about this. Those cards or hubs that do have a downverter for each port will clearly say so. Some vendors have both kinds (e.g. D-Link as I recall) - look at the reviews. Some cards may give you multiple 480Mbs hubs as well, most will share the one 480Mbs allocation.

The second caution is that many devices these days carry a USB2.0 compatible label that is essentially meaningless. It does NOT mean is is a USB2.0 compliant device operating at high speed, but merely that like all USB1.1 devices are meant to be it is upward compatible to USB2.0.

The third caution, is that some PCs/cards do NOT have sufficient power to supply all ports with the requisite 500mA. This means that you can plug in only a limited number of self-powered devices (notably disk drives, cameras, flashcards, audio-visual devices) before it will run out of power. Worse, some powered devices still take power from the port and thus also add to the load. I have had problems with several powered devices (satellite modem, printer and disk drive) that if plugged in will stop unpowered devices being run. A related problem is that a combination of USB devices (unpowered and incorrectly designed powered devices) can sometimes take so much power that the PC will fail to boot, or will fail to complete the memory check and diagnostics. In my experience cheap PCs with USB integrated on the motherboard are likely to experience both these problems - failure to power the full complement of USB devices, and failure to boot when more than one USB device is connected. The problem is most likely an inadequate powersupply and should be fixable by upgrading it. Again, look at reviews for PCs, motherboards, cards and hubs before purchasing.

Submitted by: David P.

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Answer:

Dennis,

Updating for USB2 capability is fairly easy and inexpensive. A name-brand 5-port USB2 PCI card can be found for under $40 that will deliver most of what you need. All you need is an open PCI slot on your motherboard. These devices ship with a CD-ROM containing the drivers required for virtually any Windows OS that supports USB2. That would include anything later that Windows 98.

The PCI card unfortunately places all of the USB slots on the back plane of the computer. I can think of no way to update the USB slots on the front side of your tower except a motherboard replacement. It might be easier to install the inexpensive PCI card mentioned above and add a four or seven port USB2 hub for front-side connections. A seven-port hub would probably add up to another $40 to the upgrade cost.

Good luck,

Submitted by: Jack D.

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Answer:

Regarding the USB 2.0 drive upgrade

Yes USB 2.0 is much faster at transfering information than USB 1.1. USB 2.0 has up to a 400 mb/s transfer speed while 1.1 can only support up to about 4 mb/s. In order to upgrade cards you can go to any computer electronics store (ie. Circuit City, Best Buy, Fry's, etc.) and buy a standard USB 2.0 card which can be installed into one of the open ports inside the computer. You can even go online to purchase an internal USB 2.0 card from either of those previously listed companies or from http://www.amazon.com or http://www.newegg.com to name a few. they generally are in the price range from $40-$80 depending which card you purchase and how many open ports it has available. There are also internal cards which have ports on the inside portion of the card for front of the pc port changing but in order to upgrade your ports on the front of your computer you must buy short external/internal USB 2.0 cables plug it in the internal port on the card than replace the front ports on the computer. If there is more than one port you can get a splitter for up to two ports. Buying the card will add ports to the back of you computer and if you buy the cable and switch around the ports on the front than it will solve ur upgrade problem.

Submitted by: Mike K.

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Answer:

This is nice and simple, and can be done by anyone with the most basic of knowledge of upgrading PC's. Every time I plugged in my ipod or camera, the same message as you are receiving would pop up.

I have two 1.1 type USB ports on the front of my PC that are convenient to use for occassional perhipals, but having received the message that "things would go faster if I used 2.0 connections" I decided to do something about it. The solution was a whole lot simplier than I could ever have hoped.

I picked up a USB port card from my local computer shop. This just pushed into a spare slot on the motherboard, no wires involved at all, and the software was so basic it actually just come on a floppy disc and not a CD, and took me all of two minutes to load and install. With drivers installed and card safely slotted, I found I had not only 2.0 speed USB ports, but better yet, an 4 extra USB slots, in addition to those already in exsistance on my PC.

And for anyone unsure if it is worth the hassle, well, the USB card cost me 14 (roughly 20 dollars i suppose), although the ones i saw in the big retailers were twice this price, so I would recommend you shop around for this. And the difference is easily noticable, my webcam does not flicker as it use to in my 1.1 connection, and my ipod transfers tracks a lot faster.

Submitted by: Rob

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Answer:

Simply put all you need is a new card that supports USB 2.0. To update your front ports you will have to find a card that supports front end USB connections (connections on the front of your PC. Without knowing what you have for connection inside your PC, a quick search of Newegg.com came up with this card,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815153001, and several others like it. This is a cheaper model and using a seach string of "PCI to USB addon" will display more choices.

Submitted by: Jake P. of Houghton, MI

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Answer:

Dear Dennis P.,

Fortunately for you, this is an easy fix. You can purchase a USB 2.0 PCI card for anywhere from $40 to $90 (depending on brand and number of ports) and install it in a free PCI slot in your Dell. Brand usually doesnt matter much as USB 2.0 is standard port so just choose one that will have enough ports for your needs. If you need more ports, you can buy a hub which will change 1 into 4 ports.

As for installation, youd just need to open the side of the case, remove one of the blank slots corresponding to an empty PCI slot (the beige slots on the main board) and plug in the USB 2.0 card. Once installed, screw it down and put the case cover back on. When you boot up your machine, Windows should detect and install drivers automatically provided that you have Windows ME, 2000 or XP or, if it doesnt, install any driver that comes with the card. Once the card is recognized, you should be able to plug in any USB 1.1 or 2.0 device into one of the new slots and it should detect the new device. You wont get those annoying reminders anymore!

Submitted by: Mark G.

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Answer:

Hey Dennis,

In order to upgrade to the newer USB 2.0 standard you will need to do one of the following:

1) Update the BIOS of your motherboard. This will not only add the required USB 2.0 funtionality, but it will also increase overall performance and make your system much more stable. Do note that this method can ruin your motherboard permanently if not done properly, and hence is NOT AN OPTION FOR NOVICES. Now, since you have mentioned its a Dell machine, I suggest that you check their website to see if they have any BIOS updates for your machine. Usually manufacturer updates are accompanied by lots of manual instructions so you will know what to do.

2) The second and more easier way is to just add a PCI USB Expansion Card. These cards are cheap and very east to install [plug n play] so it will not be a hassle at all to install one of these. Take a look at an example of this card here: http://www.33comix.com/usb/PCI20Crd.jpg

Hope that helps, Dennis!
Regards

Submitted by: Reeve L. of Mumbai, India

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Answer:

The first thing you should do is go into Device Manager and check to see if the USB hub and Host Controller are showing a problem. It sounds as if you just need to update the driver for your USB controller. If you right-click on the entry with an exclamation mark (problem area), and choose properties you will get an option to update the driver. If searching the local drive doesn't help, check the box allowing it to search Windows Updates as well.
If all goes well this should enable USB 2.0 capability on all your USB ports, except for the add-on ports on your keyboard.
Hope this helps

Submitted by: George S. of Lexington, KY

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Answer:

As far as upgrading your computer's USB from,1.1 to 2.0, I had the same problem, way back when! I too was not afraid to open mine up & switch it over to 2.0! At least that's what I did by adding another card! With mine though, the card also came with a fan set up, that went into 1 of the extra slots where your ROM's & or your RW go. Just below. The 3.5" draws go-right in front. With mine, it only added the 2.0 out- put to my front bottom flip-down lid. I still have the original 1.1 also. I have a custom computer which, mainly, I put together myself. So what I have now is, not only do I have 2 -2.;0 USB's, I also have, instead of just your regular fan, that only blows air out of your computer for cooling, mine, with the extra fan, suck air in with 3 small fans in the front, causing a much better air flow. All I had to do was install the card & the fan's & plug into my mother board, & that was it........Hope this helps.

Submitted by: Ronald F.

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I would have been mistaken, with my first thought of, read the manual. I read the manual for my Dimension 8300, which has 6 USB 2.0 ports. Then I remembered I had to download the manual from the Dell web site. So I dowloaded the Dimension surprise listed 2 USB 1.1 slots, but did list 4 open card slots and simple instructions for adding a card.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim8200/docs.htm

So it looks like a card is required. Check out:

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productlisting.aspx?c=us&l=en&cs=19&category_id=6177

for Dell desktop usb cards. I have not actually installed any of them, but I would suspect Dell would support them or at least return them if they do not work.

Submitted by: Gerry H.

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Answer:

Upgrading to USB 2.0 is simple. AAll you need to do is visit your local tech store and ask them where to find a USB 2.0 expansion card. They come in the form of a PCI expansion card and you can use any of your free PCI expansion slots in your ocmputer. If you open up the tower, these are the white slots lined up on your motherboard. You aren't upgrading what you have, you are just adding additional ports.

You cannot upgrade the front ports because those are part of your motherboard. You COULD re-build your systemw ith a USB 2.0 enabled motherboard, but it is tedious and not worth it for something as simple as USB 2.0.

Also, while you are upgrading to USB 2.0, you might as well add a Firewire card to your machine. This type of connection is used by digital media such as Cameras, Camcorders, and MP3 players.

Submitted by: Ravi

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Answer:

The switch to USB 2 was fairly painless for me. I went to Future Shop (Canada), told them what I wanted, waited about 20 minutes, paid them about $65.00 Canadian, and walked out with 4 new USB ports (in addition to the old USBs that were in the machine.

I did the addition because I am copying all of my home VHS tapes to CD or DVD, and the addition sped up the process.

Submitted by: George S.

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Answer:

This is not related to my field of work as i m still a pre gradute sudent but anyways i wll give it a try and answer the question posted by Dennis P.

The USB device you are using in capable for a 2.0 USB card but your systems unit has a 1.1 USB card. both the 2.0 and 1.1 version devices and cards are comaptible with each other but the 1.1 card since is an older version operates at a lower speed (transfers data slowly) rather than a 2.0 card.The USB card needs to be replaced in your case so a 2.0 USB card will be appropriate. to update and change the front and back prots of your systems unit u will first have to analyse which ports you have and then buy these ports and assemble them. If you are having doubts on opening your systems unit then you masy ask a professioanl to do it for you.

Hoping that everything works out fine..

Submitted by: Uzair

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Answer:

Adding Usb 2.0 Support is pain less and simple. Adding usb 2.0 is a lot like adding memory. You just buy a PCI Card ( that is device that supports USB 2.0, rather what has the faster usb ports on it). You can get a usb 2.0 PCI Card anywhere. I agree with you, do not buy from Dell, You can get a USB 2.0 card anywhere cheaper. Namely http://www.zipzoomfly.com or http://www.newegg.com (that is where I shop)

You just have to find an open spot in the computer. (you can judge this by how many blank spots you have in the back). ALWAYS TURN OFF YOUR SYSTEM BEFORE YOU OPEN IT!

Just open the computer, and see the cards?! Just find a screw and a PCI slot not taken up, the scew mounts the slot cover, take out the cover, and there you have a spot read for your new usb card. Take out the screw, line up the card. Firmly but gently push it in to place. The scew it down. Restart the computer. In some cases you might get an install cd. Run the cd if windows can not find your card, there ya go, usb goodness.

Submitted by: Prof Washu

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Answer:

Hi Dennis, Upgrading to USB 2.0 offers you the two options you have stated buying a card and upgrading the motherboard.

The cheaper of the two options is adding a PCI expansion card. Though this option will give you USB 2.0 it has some drawbacks. The first drawback comes when using backup floppies from partition magic and the like. If a mouse is plugged into one of the ports on the expansion card it won't be recognized.The second drawback is the speed. The PCI expansion slot has a throughput speed of 132MB/s whereas USB 2.0 has a throughput of 480MB/s. Using an expansion card drops the data rate considerably as you can see. The expansion card is a wallet friendly upgrade while you save up for a new motherboard, ram, supply, and case.

The best option is to replace the motherboard itself. Most PCs bought from Dell HP etc... don't really allow secondary motherboards or power supplies in their cases. Dell makes it so that other power supplies don't work with their boards and vice versa. The manufacturers prefer you buy from them. So you might need a new case and power supply as well. I like newegg.com for parts. Replacing the board could cost $300 for all the parts. My advice is shop around.

I hope this helps and good luck.

Submitted by: John D. of Westminster, CO

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Some time ago I bought an external USB 2.2 H/Drive. At the time I had only I think 2 1.1 ports that came with my Dell. I bought a 4/port 2.2 card plugged it in and WALLA the new drive worked well... still do. The old 1.1 ports are still in use for the older stuff. I also got myself a little 2.2 USB splitter which I have stuck under my desk for any temporary stuff. So as far as USB goes I got a few. Hope this helps you Dennis.

Submitted by: Bob

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Dennis,

I also have a Dell Dimension 8200, with 512MB RAM, running Windows 2000, and also got the same messages when trying to upload to my IPod. Although I don't know about upgrading your front port, it is very easy to upgrade the rear port. I simply added an IO Gear Hi-Speed USB 2.0/FireWire Combo PCI card (model GUF320) (about $50 from CDW), which has 2 FireWire ports and 3 USB 2.0 ports. I'm no tech geek, but it was a cinch to install and fire up with Plug & Play.

Good luck!

Submitted by: Barbara Y.

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Dear Mr. Dennis P.,

The most easiest & proper way is to find one free PCI slot on Mother Board & add PCI USB 2.0 card having 2ports or 4 ports depending your requirment. Manufacturer like OPTi & VIA are having these cards.They are easily available with any Computer Peripherals Shop. In case you do not find free PCI Slot available than you must do upgradation of the mother board having USB ports. Please go through following for more details on USB.

There are various standards that are evolved over a period of time of which I was able to find followings. Even wireless USB standard also exists. There is an conference going on at Tokyo, Japan between 28 & 29th for Wireless USB developers and in Sanghai on 26th of October 2005.

Various USB Standards in Use.

High speed USB
Full speed USB
low speed devices

High speed USB products have a design data rate of 480 Mb/s.
Full speed USB devices signal at 12Mb/s
Low speed devices use a 1.5Mb/s subchannel.

Compare this with list of the maximum transfer rates for various connections in megabits (Mb) and megabytes (MB) per second:

serial port: 115kbits/s (.115Mbits/s)

standard parallel port: 115kBYTES/s (.115MBYTES/s)
Original USB: 12Mbits/s (1.5MBYTES/s)
ECP/EPP parallel port: 3MBYTES/s
IDE: 3.3-16.7MBYTES/s
SCSI-1: 5MBYTES/s
SCSI-2 (Fast SCSI, Fast Narrow SCSI): 10MBYTES/s
Fast Wide SCSI (Wide SCSI): 20MBYTES/s
Ultra SCSI (SCSI-3, Fast-20, Ultra Narrow): 20MBYTES/s
UltraIDE: 33MBYTES/s
Wide Ultra SCSI (Fast Wide 20): 40MBYTES/s
Ultra2 SCSI: 40MBYTES/s
IEEE-1394: 100-400Mbits/s (12.5--50MBYTES/s)
Hi-Speed USB: 480Mbits/s
Wide Ultra2 SCSI: 80MBYTES/s
Ultra3 SCSI: 80MBYTES/s
Wide Ultra3 SCSI: 160MBYTES/s
FC-AL Fiber Channel: 100-400MBYTES/s

The fastest connection commonly found on PCs is UltraIDE, which is used for hard drives and CD-ROMs.

We may also use game port, serial, parallel, or PS/2 devices on USB. These devices use different electrical signals than the ones used for USB, so you can't plug them into USB directly. However, a variety of manufacturers make USB devices that will convert game port, serial, parallel, or PS/2 devices into USB signals. With these, you can actually attach many more non-USB devices to your PC than you could without USB. Note that some devices support multiple connections to the PC, and therefore come with special adapters that let them connect to USB or another port. These adapters don't perform any signal translation, so nothing will happen if you take one of these adapters and put it on another device that doesn't support USB.

Also using a USB to serial or parallel adapter free up interrupts on system, but you'll probably have to manually disable the serial or parallel ports in your BIOS before something else can use the IRQ.

USB to EIDE, SCSI-2, and Ethernet adapters are also made.

Now comparing USB with IEEE-1394

While the two serial buses seem similar, they are intended to fulfill different market and cost needs. 1394 has the potential to move more data in a given amount of time, but is considerably more expensive than USB due to its more complex protocol and signaling rate. Applications that are best suited for 1394 are high quality consumer or professional video streams and other high bandwidth entertainment applications; all higher end consumer devices. USB is appropriate for high and low bandwidth computer peripherals such as mass storage,video, audio, scanners, printers, keyboards, and just about any peripheral.

Submitted by: Paumil S. of Mumbai, India

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This one's easy to do. Just buy a USB2 card (very cheap), open up your computer, and replace the USB1 card with the USB2. When you turn on the computer, if all goes well, Windows will recognize the new card and you'll be ready to plug in your devices.

USB 2 is backward compatible with 1, so you won't need the USB1 card anymore.

Just one caveat: don't expect miracles with USB, whether 1 or 2. The more USB devices you connect to the your PC, the more chances there are of conflicts. For devices that draw higher power such as printers and scanners, you'll want to add a powered USB hub. Low-level device like mouses and keyboards can go direct.

Good luck!

Submitted by: Reesa M.

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Answer:

Well I don't see why it would hurt to upgrade to USB 2.0, and you can just go out for a pretty small price and buy a card, but the question is, is it really necessary?

Are you low on available USB ports?

Do you have devices that could use a faster transfer rate?
(i.e.) MP3 players, cameras, things of that nature.

Also if you're considering faster transfer rates as being an issue for you, have you considered firewire for those types of devices mentioned above?

I guess you just need to determine how necessity falls into place, and then take it from there.

Also congrats on your bravery on opening your case and doing your own upgrades!

Submitted by: Colt H.

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Dennis,
This is a problem that manifests itself upon upgrading to SP2 in WinXP. For reasons known only to Microsoft the upgrade drops (fails to correctly identify) the USB 2.0 drivers even though they are still there. I understand your problem, it is frustrating but very readily remedied.

Go to http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=873169 and follow the instructions to correct the issue. You will need to follow the outlined procedure for each hub as they are treated separately by the OS.

Not a big deal to repair but frustrating until its accomplished!

Submitted by: Michael B.

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Answer:

Various manufacturers produce a pci card that has up to 5 usb2 ports on them. These are inexpensive and start from about 10 in the uk [20$ us approx.] These plug into a spare pci slot and as long as your operating system supports usb2 you will have the higher speed usb sockets.

Unfortunately if your motherboard only supports usb1.1 your existing usb sockets will still be at the slower speed. With the one in my Pentium III 450MHz the fifth socket is internal and I have fitted a usb 2 extension lead to it and this comes through the front of my pc giving me a usb2 socket without having to get to the back of the pc. Permanently attached devices [printer and adsl modem] are connected at the back but my camera plugs in the front.

Submitted by: Howard B.

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It is very simple! All you need to do is go to Staples,Curcuit city,Best Buy or any other store that sells computer parts.Then tell one of the sales people that you are looking to get a 2.0 usb card for your computer.The cost is about $20.Make sure that it is a card that goes into the mother board.Even though it might sound difficult to do it is very simple.It gives you instructions in the box on how to do it.It is basically like clicking in lego pieces.You look at the back of the computer to see where the usb port is.Then you open the computer(With a Dell computer it is very easy)you remove the usb card that is currently in the computer and put in the new card.(It takes about 5-15 minutes to do.If you feel that this might be a problem for you to do you can go to a computer technician store and they will do it for you for about $50.Hope this helps!

Submitted by: Alex E.

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this is something you can do yourself, i am a 65 yr old disabled women and out a financial necessity am doing my self...Cnet as an exellent instruction guide on line that gives a very instructive step by step lesson....adaptec has an Instullation Guide that you can download and familiarize yourself with....VIA a chipset manufacture as an exellent Display article with pictures that will inform you extensively on the overview of the background of the PCI bus...CNET if i remember properly also has recommendations....i personally went to ebay and purchased a USB+Firewire PCI controller card adapter w/8ports...i do not know if i am permitted to give brand names but if you go to places i have recommend for instruction you will have a begginging...also Tiger direct also has instructions on how to insert your USB card.Which you can also print and study...I hope this is of some use to you. Also get familiar with the pictures of the inside of your tower which should be in the Dell manual that came with your computer....Jah bless your endeavors

Submitted by: Charmaine S.

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Yes this for the question about upgrading to 2.0 question.

Yes to actually upgrade a 2.0 you would have to buy an expansion card or adapter that had the USB 2.0 connections on them. You can by them at your local Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA store, or pretty much any local electronic store. All you have to do is stick it in one your white PCI slots on in your computer and if it comes with a cable attached(called your USB header(s)), attach that cable to the front of your motherboard. In others words you should see something on your board that says "usb" or "usb connections" listed, and it should be a free spot. I would recommend just getting the one that does't have the cable attached. That should be it though. A USB adapter that has 2.0.

Submitted by: Scott B.

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Hi Dennis,
I have a Dell Dimension PC and when I connect my external CD R/W to its original USB port (which is USB 1.1) it gives me the same result as you have mentioned. I bought a USB 2.0 PCI card with 5 ports (4 external and 1 internal) and plugged it into one of the free PCI slots inside the PC.

Since then I have achieved the maximum Read/Write capability from my Iomega CD R/W DVD Combo drive. You could purchase a USB 2.0 PCI card from one of many online stores relatively cheap and do it yourself without any problem.

You do not require any expertise to replace or insert a new PCI card. In my case I still have the old USB 1.1 PCI card and the new USB 2.0 PCI card is plugged into a free PCI slot next to it. If you have no free PCI slots in your PC, you can take the old USB 1.1 PCI card out and plug the new USB 2.0 PCI card in its place. You do not have to go back to Dell and ask questions about how to do it. Open the PC case and look into where the old USB 1.1 PCI card is plugged in, if you do not see a spare slot next to it, unscrew the old USB card anchoring plate (usually one screw). Remove the card carefully from the PCI slot and insert the new USB card into it and screw the anchoring plate into position. Please make sure that you have discharged any static electricity in your body before you touch any part of the PCI card components, if possible avoid touching the components on the PCI card altogether.
Hope this helps.

Submitted by: Donald R.

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Dennis,

The first thing you should do is call Dell and ask them if they can install USB 2.0 for you. This is because if you open your computer yourself you may be voiding out the warranty. But if you do wish to install this yourself, the fastest way is to get a USB 2.0 PCI card (internal card for your PC).

You would then have to open up your computer (after turning it off) and insert the card into any of the available slots on your motherboard. Most likey the only slots that would be available would be PCI slots, but you will know if it is a PCI slot, as the USB 2.0 card will fit perfectly into that slot.

I hope this helps you out.

Submitted by: Jason E. of Milford, MA

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Dennis,

You can add support for USB 2.0 quite easily by adding a PCI card. I have a Dell 8100 and did this myself by adding an Adaptec DuoConnect card, which provides 2 USB 2.0 ports and 2 FireWire ports. These add to whatever USB 1.0 ports your machine already has, so you add support for 2.0 as well as the ability to keep the ones you already have. There are lots of manufacturers that make cards such as this that are only around $30 or less, depending on how many ports and whether you care about FireWire.

Regards

Submitted by: Steve L.

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I have the same model computer. I purchased an inexpensive USB2.0/Firewire card on eBay (about $30). My card has four USB2 and two firewire connectors. If you do not need Firewire, all USB cards are available. You can also purchase these cards at most computer electronics sales outlets.

You simply plug the card into any empty PCI slot and you are in business. No installation software is needed on your machine. If you have no empty slots, consider removing your modem card and using a low-cost external USB modem.

Submitted by: Barry B. of East Lyme, CT

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Upgrading to USB 2.0 is as easy as putting a new PCI card in a vacant slot on your Dell. I have a Dell Dimension 8100, and did this quick upgrade. I believe that the USB 2.0 card was a Belkin, and has 4 external ports and 1 internal port. The internal USB port can be used to connect to a front panel USB hub, which my particular CPU doesnt have.

This upgrade in no way affected the old USB portsit just gave me 4 more, higher-speed ports on the machine. I am running XP with 640 MB of RAM. This was an easier upgrade that putting in memory! It has proven to be quicker, especially in working with image files on my digital camera, and music files.

Submitted by: Steve T. of Freeport, IL

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If you have room on your motherboard for another card, this is a very simple process. Go to one of several suppliers like Office Depot, Staples, Best Buy, etc. (you dont need to go to Dell for this) and purchase an USB 2.0 card.

I have a generic desktop that has 2 USB 1.1 slots in it. It is running Windows 98 SE. I purchased a 2.0 card which had 4 USB slots in it. I inserted the card myselfa very easy task if you arent afraid to open up your computer. It has worked great. I actually dont know how much the speed improved, but I never get those messages anymore when I plug in a USB device, so Im sure it is working.

Incidentally, I still use my 2 USB 1.1 slots because it has been my experience that my USB mouse and keyboard dont work on the 2.0 card, if they are plugged in there at startup. Apparently Windows 98 looks at the hardwired USB 1.1 slots for these two peripherals but does not search the card. Anyway, that is the only issue Ive had. All other peripherals: scanner, printer, camera, etc. work fine on the card.
Have fun!

Submitted by: Mike H.

If his card was 1.1, he would not get that message saying that his device would run faster with 2.0. I get the same message and I think it has to do with the device and or drivers.

1)
USB 2.0 speed is *UP TO* 480Mbps. At any given moment, a USB2 device on a USB2 PC may only transfer at a rate of 200Mbps or even max out at 300Mbps. This is still faster than USB1, but if USB2 only seems 10x as fast as USB1 rather than the much faster 40x... this is why. You're not gauranteed at least 480 at all, rather it's a max transfer rate

2)
Make sure you're USB port/hub has ample power trickle to accomadate devices such as external hardrives, burners, digicams, and others that benefit from high speed transfers AND require high level of power charges. To save $$, some PC manufacturers include USB 2.0 ports that are really only suited for low power devices like SD card readers, pen drives, or mice. You don't want to leave your camera plugged for 3 hours only to find it's gone from 33% battery capacity to 37%.

There should be tools, and "home remedy" methods to determine if your USB port is providing ample amt of power to your gadgets. Firewire ports don't face this problem. All firewire ports will provide as if it were a plug in an outlet