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Byte 2.0 · 11-24-2002, 12:10 PM

Can someone explain to me the main differences between USB port versions.

1.0 and 2.0 any other points I may need to know about.

I deal with alot of customers trying to install USB products that require USB 2.0.

USB 2.0 is phyically different the USB 1.0 or is it just software?

USB 2.0 provides more power to the devices??

In windows is there a way to tell for sure if you have USB 1.0 or 2.0?

**HAL9000** · 11-24-2002, 12:56 PM

USB 1.0 has a max data transfer rate of 12 megabit where USB 2.0 is 480 megabit. You can plug a USB 1.0 device into a USB 2.0 port, but not the other way around. The plugs are physically the same, it's just that a USB 2.0 device won't get enuf bandwidth to function in a USB 1.0 plug. That is all that you essentially need to know.

You should be able to see in device manager if you have a USB 2.0 plug, otherwize, assume USB 1.0. It's just going to be the newer boards that have USB 2.0 onboard.

Byte 2.0 · 11-24-2002, 05:39 PM

so basically in short there is some phyical difference because you can not upgrade a USB 1.0 to USB 2.0. that is not just a software difference. Ok, that makes since, if i appear to be wrong please correct me.

TwoRails · 11-24-2002, 06:19 PM

Hi byte,

Yes, there is a hardware diff, as it's a different controller.

TwoRails

sam21 · 11-25-2002, 12:53 AM

Umm...
how fast is USB 1.1? Is it the same as 1.0?

Northernwinds · 11-25-2002, 02:19 AM

The text below was taken from:
http://www.sss-mag.com/usb.html#overview1

USB 1.0, the first edition, was released in January 1996. It supported 1.5 Mb/s (low speed) and 12 Mb/s (high speed) transfer rates. Note that this is Megabits per second and not MegaBytes per second -- a common misunderstanding. A percentage of this data rate is reserved for USB protocol overhead, so the actual data transfer is less than the indicated speed. How much less depends on the transfer type and the packet sizes.

USB 1.1 was released in September 1998. This edition fixed many of the problems in release 1.0.

USB 2.0 was released in early 2000 and has increased the maximum transfer speed by a factor of 14 up to 480 Mb/s! USB 2.0 is backwards compatible with USB 1.x. Although the USB 2.0 specification has been released, operating programs for personal computers are not expected to have USB 2.0 support until about the fourth quarter of 2001. A few peripherals supporting USB 2.0 have already begun to show up on the market in late 2000.

=======================================

Heres a link you should check out too its got alot of info
http://www.everythingusb.com/usb2/faq.htm

You can also find the specification sheets for USB 1.1 and 2.0 here:
http://www.usb.org/developers/docs.html

Tuf · 11-25-2002, 03:44 AM

If you have a free PCI slot you can always add a USB 2.0 card. There are even some cards out there that add USB 2.0 and Firewire(IEEE1394) ports at a reasonable cost.

11-24-2002, 12:10 PM	#1
Byte 2.0 Member (12 bit) Join Date: Aug 1999 Location: Secret City (Oak Ridge, TN) Posts: 3,271	USB verisons 1.0? 2.0? Can someone explain to me the main differences between USB port versions. 1.0 and 2.0 any other points I may need to know about. I deal with alot of customers trying to install USB products that require USB 2.0. USB 2.0 is phyically different the USB 1.0 or is it just software? USB 2.0 provides more power to the devices?? In windows is there a way to tell for sure if you have USB 1.0 or 2.0? Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter __________________ Last Job ADSL Support Specialist (Tier 2), until It was outsourced overseas. http://www.despair.com/discovery.html A Plus Certified : Certified Help Desk Professional. Home setup. Comcast Cable, Linksys Router, 10/100 switch, 4 wired PCs, 2 wireless laptops vontar@gmail.com From the Network Admin, In God We Trust, All others we monitor.

11-24-2002, 12:56 PM	#2
HAL9000 Red-eyed Moderator Staff Premium Member Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada Posts: 17,576	USB 1.0 has a max data transfer rate of 12 megabit where USB 2.0 is 480 megabit. You can plug a USB 1.0 device into a USB 2.0 port, but not the other way around. The plugs are physically the same, it's just that a USB 2.0 device won't get enuf bandwidth to function in a USB 1.0 plug. That is all that you essentially need to know. You should be able to see in device manager if you have a USB 2.0 plug, otherwize, assume USB 1.0. It's just going to be the newer boards that have USB 2.0 onboard. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter __________________ -At Ford, quality is job #1, job #2 is making them explode. ~Norm MacDonald, SNL News -Switching to Glide..Balancing in my head..inside of me... taking the glide path instead.

11-24-2002, 05:39 PM	#3
Byte 2.0 Member (12 bit) Join Date: Aug 1999 Location: Secret City (Oak Ridge, TN) Posts: 3,271	so basically in short there is some phyical difference because you can not upgrade a USB 1.0 to USB 2.0. that is not just a software difference. Ok, that makes since, if i appear to be wrong please correct me. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter

11-24-2002, 06:19 PM	#4
TwoRails Member (14 bit) Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Great NorthWest Posts: 12,594	Hi byte, Yes, there is a hardware diff, as it's a different controller. TwoRails Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter

11-25-2002, 12:53 AM	#5
sam21 Member (10 bit) Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: tampa,fl Posts: 762	Umm... how fast is USB 1.1? Is it the same as 1.0? Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter

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11-25-2002, 02:19 AM	#6
Northernwinds Member (8 bit) Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 171	The text below was taken from: http://www.sss-mag.com/usb.html#overview1 USB 1.0, the first edition, was released in January 1996. It supported 1.5 Mb/s (low speed) and 12 Mb/s (high speed) transfer rates. Note that this is Megabits per second and not MegaBytes per second -- a common misunderstanding. A percentage of this data rate is reserved for USB protocol overhead, so the actual data transfer is less than the indicated speed. How much less depends on the transfer type and the packet sizes. USB 1.1 was released in September 1998. This edition fixed many of the problems in release 1.0. USB 2.0 was released in early 2000 and has increased the maximum transfer speed by a factor of 14 up to 480 Mb/s! USB 2.0 is backwards compatible with USB 1.x. Although the USB 2.0 specification has been released, operating programs for personal computers are not expected to have USB 2.0 support until about the fourth quarter of 2001. A few peripherals supporting USB 2.0 have already begun to show up on the market in late 2000. ======================================= Heres a link you should check out too its got alot of info http://www.everythingusb.com/usb2/faq.htm You can also find the specification sheets for USB 1.1 and 2.0 here: http://www.usb.org/developers/docs.html Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter

11-25-2002, 03:44 AM	#7
Tuf Member (12 bit) Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 3,261	If you have a free PCI slot you can always add a USB 2.0 card. There are even some cards out there that add USB 2.0 and Firewire(IEEE1394) ports at a reasonable cost. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter

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