Every desktop, laptop, tablet and every other gadget has USB ports. If the port speed is not important for devices such as keyboard and mouse, then for the operation of flash drives, removable hard drives and cameras, it is one of the most important indicators. If the port is slow, it will take a long time to transfer files from one device to another. To remedy this situation, you need to know some of the features of USB ports.
Read also: Comparison of USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 in real practice
USB Port Specifications
Today there are three types of USB ports:
- USB 1.1;
- USB 2.0;
- USB 3.0 (3.1).
The speed of their work is different. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the speed of the connected devices, which also have their own parameters. For example, if you have a USB 3.0 flash drive, and your computer has USB 2.0 ports. The flash drive will not work faster than the speed that is declared for port 2.0. These are the technical features of the device that can only be changed by replacing the PCI controller.
As for the technical characteristics of the USB port 1.0 and 1.1, they are as follows:
- Two modes of information transfer, namely with a high throughput of 12 Mbit / s and a low one - 1.5 Mbit / s.
- The maximum cable length for data transmission in high-bandwidth mode is 3 m.For low-bandwidth mode, it is 5 m.
- The maximum number of connected devices is 127.
- It is possible to connect a device that operates in modes with different bandwidth.
- The voltage for peripheral devices is 5 V.
- The maximum current is 500 mA.
The USB 2.0 port differs from its predecessor in the following parameters:
- The implemented HiSpeed 480 Mbps mode.
- The speed for interactive devices is 10-1500 Kbps.
- The speed for video and audio devices is 12 Mbps.
The USB 3.0 (3.1) port is by far the most popular and fastest. Among the advantages of this port, it is worth highlighting:
- The data transfer rate is up to 5 Gbps.
- The controller is capable of both sending and receiving data at the same time. At the same time, data exchange does not affect the speed of the port.
- Has a higher amperage, which allows you to connect external hard drives, mobile devices, and even monitors to your PC.
- Well compatible with UBS 1.0 and 2.0 standards.
How to check which port is installed on the computer?
The first and easiest way to find out your type of USB port is to look in the documentation for your PC. However, if you do not have it, we perform the following steps:
- We load the program AIDA, Everest or any other. We will use the first software. Launch AIDA on your PC.
- In the menu, select "Devices", select "USB devices". A list of USB ports will appear in the right menu.
- Thus, we have established the number and type of ports that are available on our device.
Ways to solve the problem with slow operation of USB ports
If your PC supports a USB 2.0 port and you connect a medium with the same bus type to it, but the data transfer rate is negligible, it is worth checking the BIOS settings. Often the maximum port speed can be disabled in the BIOSe. To check this parameter, do the following:
- We reboot the PC and exit to the BIOS by pressing "Del" and "F2" (the entry buttons are different for each motherboard model).
- Go to the "Advanced" section (depending on the motherboard model, it may be different) and look for the "USB Controller" setting. Select the port and set "FullSpeed" or "HiSpeed".
- Save the result with the "F10" button and load in normal mode.
If your PC doesn't have a USB 2.0 port, or you want to add 3.0, you need to buy a dedicated PCI USB 2.0 or 3.0 controller. Such boards are relatively inexpensive. You can install the controller yourself. To do this, follow these steps:
- Turn off the PC;
- Open the side cover of the system unit;
- We connect the board to the PCI slot. We fix the board to the front or back panel of the PC with a screw.
- We turn on the PC and install the drivers for the new component.
It is also worth noting that the low speed of the port can be caused by damaged or missing drivers. In this case, a message may appear: "This device may be faster ...". To remedy this situation, you need to update your drivers. This can be done through the device manager by right-clicking on the controller, which is displayed with a yellow exclamation mark, and selecting "Update driver".
Restarting your PC and reconnecting will fix the issue, unless you plugged a USB 3.0 stick into a USB 2.0 port.
Finally, an important point should be noted. When copying small files, the data transfer speed is significantly reduced. This is due to the search for a free block on the disk for each file. To speed up copying, it is worth compressing these small files into one archive beforehand.
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How to tell if your computer has USB 2.0 or 3.0 ports
The USB 3.0 interface is significantly more efficient than its predecessor - USB 2.0. While the latter limits the speed of linear data writing to a USB flash drive at 30-40 Mb / s, with the former, files can be copied to a USB 3.0 flash drive at a speed of about 100 Mb / s. This is a real example, in theory, the maximum bandwidth of USB 2.0 is considered to be 60 Mb / s, and USB 3.0 - 625 Mb / s. To take advantage of the USB 3.0 interface, both a medium (flash drive, USB-HDD, other storage devices) and a computer must be equipped with it. How do I know if my computer has USB 2.0 or 3.0 ports?
Notebooks and PC motherboards manufactured earlier than 2010 are more likely to have USB 2.0 ports. But computer devices released later may be equipped with USB 3.0.
What kind of USB interface a computer is equipped with can be recognized by the external signs of the ports. USB 1.0 ports have 4 pins and the plastic underneath is white. USB 2.0 ports also have 4 pins, but the plastic underneath is usually black. Inside the USB 3.0 port there are as many as 9 pins, and the plastic under them is usually blue. The latest models of PCs and laptops can be equipped with the most productive USB 3.1 interface to date with a declared maximum bandwidth of 1250 Mb / s. The plastic under the contacts of these ports can be painted either black or blue. The USB 3.1 ports are distinguished from the predecessor interfaces by the inscription “SS” (Super Speed) engraved next to it.
PC cases usually have a front panel with additional USB ports for easy device connection. But for such convenience, computer owners who do not know that their motherboards support USB 3.0 often pay with agonizing wait while moving data to a USB flash drive. After all, even modern, but budgetary cases, as a rule, are equipped with USB 2.0 ports.
You may be interested in: Windows 10 Recovery
You can find out if your computer has USB 2.0 or 3.0 ports using Windows tools. We go to the device manager and open the "USB controllers" branch. If the host controllers are listed as “Enhanced Host Controller” in the list of the branch, and their names do not contain the suffix “USB 3.0”, this means that the computer has USB 2.0 ports.
The presence of USB 3.0 ports will be directly indicated by the addition of "USB 3.0" in the names of extended host controllers. The fact that the computer supports USB 3.0 is also evidenced by the presence in the list of a branch of controllers, in the name of which there is an abbreviation XHCI - an indication of the universal interface eXtensible Host Controller Interface.
How to get USB 3.0 ports if they are not found? A total upgrade in the form of replacing a laptop or a PC motherboard with all components dependent on it has an alternative - installing a USB 3.0 adapter. For PC assemblies, such adapters exist in the form of cards installed in the PCI Express slot. USB 3.0 adapters are connected to laptops using the ExpressCard slot. On AliExpress, USB 3.0 adapters can be ordered for a promotional price of just over $ 5. This option will give a certain increase in performance, but still will not reach the capabilities of USB 3.0, originally supported by modern laptops and motherboards. After all, data transmission will be limited by the bandwidth of the corresponding slot.
WindowsTips.ru
What to do if the USB port does not work
There are times when, after connecting a device via a USB port, a computer or just applications start to work incorrectly. The reasons for this failure can be different. Before determining the problem, you need to check the unit itself, the USB port and the driver for operability. Let's take a look at several ways that will help you resolve this problem yourself. Rebooting the system Quite often this helps to resolve the issue.
Sometimes it is worth doing the following: turn off the computer and disconnect everything that is connected via USB from it, including the keyboard and mouse. Then turn it on and after the operating system is fully loaded, in the next order, put everything back in place. If, for example, connecting a mouse there is some kind of trouble, then remember at which input it happened. Reconnect it to a different port. If the problem does not occur, then this one is faulty. Otherwise, the point is in the mouse itself or the cable.
Connector and USB cable
Quite often, a damaged connector or cable is the cause of inoperability. It is worth carefully examining these elements, whether they have any damage (cracks, cuts, chips). Is there any dust, small objects, or other dirt inside the connector? The connectors can be cleaned with a brush or with an air compressor such as a vacuum cleaner. The cable must be disconnected during cleaning. If the interface cord is broken or bent too much, then it must be replaced - this process is absolutely not expensive.
What is causing the problem - device or port
If the normal functioning of the computer or application begins after connecting the device to USB, then you need to try connecting another unit to the same port. If the device works fine, then the problem is most likely in the device itself. Also try connecting the same device to another in order to test its performance. If problems begin on the other PC, then it needs to be changed. If a USB hub is used in this case, then it must be excluded from the connection circuit - if problems arise, then the device needs to be connected only directly. In addition, problems may arise due to the simultaneous connection of a large number of peripherals or devices of the same model (two printers, two phones).
Reinstalling the driver
If the system detects a problem with the driver, then the user is presented with a message about this problem. In this case, you need to do the following: click "Start - Control Panel - Device Manager". In the list of installed equipment there is a subsection “USB Controllers” (“Universal USB Bus Controllers”). Expanding this section, you will see an item in the list of USB devices marked with an exclamation mark on a yellow background. Right-click on it and select “Delete” in the context menu. Next, just restart your PC. After loading, the operating system will automatically reinstall the driver that was removed. If reinstalling the driver doesn't help, it's worth trying to update it. Using the method described above, go to the “Device Manager” and in the “USB Controllers” section, find the problematic port. Double click on it with the left mouse button and in the opened dialog box find the “Driver” tab. In this tab, you must click the "Update" button. After updating the drivers, you need to reboot the system.
How to disable USB ports
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This material is suitable for beginners and professionals. Some people are often worried about how to determine the type of USB port. This is especially difficult when all ports in a laptop are marked in black, although the specifications say that USB 3.0 and 2.0 are present. The truth is not written from which side.
This article will not only help you identify USB 3.0, but also try to distinguish a fake. The article will be short, but it will fully help you figure out what's what.
Determine the type of USB port using Windows
Now I will try to show everything programmatically, and then let's look at the ports themselves. Most of you know that USB ports have versions 1.0 , 2.0 and 3.0 ... There is already version 3.1, but it doesn't matter. To determine the type of USB port, you need to go to the Device Manager. In Windows 10, right-click on the start menu and select the appropriate item (or press the combination Win + X and do the same).
As soon as the window has opened, we look for the tab "USB Controllers" and reveal it. There we can see a lot of drivers for USB ports. If one of the devices contains the word "XHCI", then this is USB 3.0, everything else refers to USB 2.0.
Easy? Then let's move on to the next version of the definition.
How to determine the type of USB port by its appearance?
Let's start with the very first version - USB 1.0, now this option is practically not used in laptops, but it takes place in some mice and other devices. It looks like this:white port with 4 contacts- this is USB 1.0.
USB 2.0 usually painted black and inside it also has 4 contacts. The second type is compatible with USB 1.0, but differs only in bandwidth. The second type is faster.
In this example, we examined a USB flash drive, but what does the connector look like, for example, in a laptop?This is how it looks:
Almost no different. An important point - some manufacturers can paint the same USB 2.0 in a different color, for example, orange. Of course, this does not affect the performance of the interface in any way.
USB 3.0 looks like blue port and has 9 contacts... Four are in front, the other five are behind. Take a closer look. Those at the back are slightly raised. If the material is blue, then it is definitely USB 3.0. Also, on some computers near the connector you can see the inscription "SS", which indicates the maximum data transfer rate (Super Speed).
I would like to note that USB 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 are compatible with each other, so you can safely use them as you like. For example, insert a USB 2.0 connector into 3.0, although the speed here will be at the level of 2.0.
So, to summarize, now I will once again describe the features of the USB ports:
USB 1.0
- White material;
- Has 4 contacts.
USB 2.0
- Made of black or blue material. Depending on the preferences of the developers, there can be any other color;
- Has 4 contacts.
USB 3.0
- The material is almost always blue, but black is also found;
- Always 9 contacts - 4 in front and 5 in the back.
That's all I wanted to tell you about determining the type of USB ports.
Many modern computer peripherals such as external hard drives, mobile phones, keyboards, camcorders are connected via a USB cable. Depending on your computer, it may have USB 1.0 or USB 1.1 installed, as well as more recent USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 versions that are significantly faster, which improves the performance of your devices.
Instructions
Click the "Start" button. Right-click on "My Computer" and select "Properties" from the drop-down menu.
In the window that appears, select the "Hardware" tab and then "Device Manager". Click on Universal Serial Bus Controllers.
Look for the word "extended" in the description for the USB port. If you see this word, it means a USB 2.0 port, if you could not find one - a version 1.0 or 1.1 port. If you see an entry titled "xHCI" it is USB 3.0 port. may also contain the inscription "USB 3.0"
Another way to determine if your computer is using a USB 3.0 port is to look closely at the USB cable. The USB 3.0 cable connector has additional pins.
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You of course know that USB 3.0 is much faster than 2.0. Its maximum bandwidth is almost 10 times that of the "two". In order to fully experience the benefits of a high-speed interface, both removable media and a computer must support it. Let's take a look at how to distinguish between USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 computer ports.
First of all, you should pay attention to the year of manufacture of your computer (motherboard). If your device was released before 2010, you will not be able to find USB 3.0 on it.
You can distinguish the type of USB ports by visual inspection:
The front panels of desktop computers are usually equipped with additional USB ports. However, we do not recommend connecting flash drives in them, since budget motherboards only support USB 2.0 for additional ports.
How to check the type of USB ports on Windows
You can determine the type of port installed using the Windows system tools. Launch from Device Manager, find the "USB Controllers" section and expand it. If your computer has USB 2.0 ports, then the list of Enhanced Host Controllers will not contain devices with “USB 3.0” in their names.
If your computer has USB 3.0 ports, the extended controller names will explicitly say “USB 3.0”.
How to add USB 3.0 ports
If your computer does not have support for the "troika", you can do without upgrading the motherboard. Try an alternative solution with a USB 3.0 adapter. This device exists in several versions:
- PCI Express slot card, excellent solution for desktop PC;
- ExpressCard adapter, laptop version.
Instead of an afterword
We have covered with you how you can quickly distinguish the type of USB ports installed in your computer. We hope that now you will not languish for a long time while waiting for data to be written to a USB flash drive, external hard drive or other drive.
