USB Find out if your system has USB 2.0

USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports have been a common port on PC's for a number of years. It is now one of the main ways of connecting devices to a PC.

The introduction of USB allowed devices to be installed quicker and easier than before. PCs no longer needed to be shutdown first with USB the device could be connected and the system would detect and install the device or prompt for a driver to be installed, this is also known as hot-plugging or hot-pluggable.

Once a peripheral as been installed you can plug the device in and remove at any time, this can be particularly helpful if you need to print or scan or connect a backup device to the system with out having to shutdown and reboot.

Before USB connection methods were limited to either Serial or Parallel these were far slower in comparison to the newer USB 1.1 standard and as a result serial and Parallel barely used. When still used they are limited primarily to Printer and Mouse connections.

The two USB standards are either USB 1.1 or USB 2.0, the former is in systems prior to 2001 after this USB 2.0 was introduced and has been the default standard since. The transfer rate of USB 1.1 was limited to a maximum of 12Mbp/s which still is relatively quick. USB 2.0 can reach a theoretical data transfer rate of 480 Mbps which is 40 times faster than the original version of USB.

USB 2.0 has a higher maximum rate of 480Mbps, which is 40 times faster than USB 1.1.

To allow you to use either version you will need compatible ports on your PC and motherboard and use a compatible cable or hub.

USB Connectors

A and B connectors are the most common, although Mini-B connectors are common on Digital Cameras and hubs along with other products.

Devices

USB connectors can be found on just about every device from keyboards and printers to watches with flash memory built-in.

How to tell if your system is USB 2.0 ready?

You can tell if your system can use USB 2.0 my opening device manager and looking for the Universal Serial Bus (USB) section often at the bottom of the list. By expanding these options you will see either Standard Host Controller or Enhanced Host Controller. Standard means that your system uses USB 1.1, and Enhanced means you can use USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 as you can still use USB 1.1 devices but obviously at the reduced rate.

What happens if a USB 2.0 device is connected to a USB 1.1 system?

The whole USB system is reduced to the USB 1.1 standard of 12Mb/s. Some operating systems including Windows 2000 and XP often notify the user of this change and any available options.

How many USB devices can I connect to a PC?

USB allows you to connect a maximum of 127 devices at a time, of course this is via serveral hubs and interlinked connections. Most PCs have four-six and aone or two FireWire as standard.