High Speed USB controller??
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High Speed USB controller??
Hi guys have a pentium 4, 2.8ghz medion about 4 years old and using the 2 front face usb ports I get the message whenever I insert a mass storage device that I should install a high speed usb controller for maximum benefit. Is this a simple and inexpensive job or does it involve hardware swaps etc?
Thanks in advance.
Thanks in advance.
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Re: High Speed USB controller??
Ah, thanx Maxell - does the USB card determine the speed then regardless of motherboard? Obviously assuming a fairly up to date Mobo and a reasonably capable processor which I have?
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Re: High Speed USB controller??
WCF,
Just buy a Belkin or similar USB PCI card. Did the same on a Pentium III 500 and worked a treat. Only caveat is that the OS MUST SUPPORT USB 2. (Generally Win98-2, ME, W2K and XP)
USB 2 then guaranteed (Unlike my keyboard advice ;-)
Regards,
Shuttlebus
Just buy a Belkin or similar USB PCI card. Did the same on a Pentium III 500 and worked a treat. Only caveat is that the OS MUST SUPPORT USB 2. (Generally Win98-2, ME, W2K and XP)
USB 2 then guaranteed (Unlike my keyboard advice ;-)
Regards,
Shuttlebus
Re: High Speed USB controller??
Wg Cdr
Just a note of caution - I've gone Shuttlebus's route , similar spec. and it's not problem free
The whole USB 2 area seems to be a bit 'iffie'. Mine works fine with some peripherals but not others - one external hard drive is a VERY occasional function - no obvious clues as to why it's having a bad hair day, next day it will be fine. One Jessops card reader works OK, the other isn't recognised ... the joys of digital
Just a note of caution - I've gone Shuttlebus's route , similar spec. and it's not problem free
The whole USB 2 area seems to be a bit 'iffie'. Mine works fine with some peripherals but not others - one external hard drive is a VERY occasional function - no obvious clues as to why it's having a bad hair day, next day it will be fine. One Jessops card reader works OK, the other isn't recognised ... the joys of digital
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Re: High Speed USB controller??
WCF
I was in the same predicament just before Christmas. I got a PCI card off ebay for about £6-7. (note that you'll pay about a quid for the card and a fiver for P&P). The one that I got has an internal port, which has a 5 pin connection on it, so that I can theoretically take the cable from the motherboard which connects to the front ports, plug it in here and get USB 2.0 ports on the front of the case. Havent had time todo this yet, but fitting the card took about 5 mins.
Hope this helps.
I was in the same predicament just before Christmas. I got a PCI card off ebay for about £6-7. (note that you'll pay about a quid for the card and a fiver for P&P). The one that I got has an internal port, which has a 5 pin connection on it, so that I can theoretically take the cable from the motherboard which connects to the front ports, plug it in here and get USB 2.0 ports on the front of the case. Havent had time todo this yet, but fitting the card took about 5 mins.
Hope this helps.
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Re: High Speed USB controller??
I'm pretty sure that a USB 2.0 card had its own controller onboard, which is good news for the upgrade jockeys, but also will tend to have a more stable output than a powered hub (according to many - Microsoft included) and is a better bet in many cases for awkward peripherals. If you do it, then it is as well to get as many ports on the card as you can and even better if it allows you to pipe to the existing front ports on the case.
Conan
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Re: High Speed USB controller??
WgCdr F
Re. the USB peripherals - one is a transformer powered ext. drive, the others are powered from the hub. All are equally 'iffy'. Get constant messages about not recognising them and it differs day to day. Swapping hub ports occasionally works as does plugging into the card directly but no commonality of problem or solution. Still on XP sp1 so maybe there lies the fault?
Re. the USB peripherals - one is a transformer powered ext. drive, the others are powered from the hub. All are equally 'iffy'. Get constant messages about not recognising them and it differs day to day. Swapping hub ports occasionally works as does plugging into the card directly but no commonality of problem or solution. Still on XP sp1 so maybe there lies the fault?
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Re: High Speed USB controller??
Cornish Jack,
Some of the issues with USB can be with respect to the drivers, either of the add-in card or the hardware itself.
I have an HP scanner that is extremely fussy, whether it is connected to..
1) Athlon, motherboard USB 2, WIndows 2K
2) PIII, add in card USB 2, XP Pro SP2
3) P-M, motherboard USB 2, XP PRo SP2
It is simply a fact that I must ensure that the scanner is turned on after the computer it is connected to and operate some things in a certain manner.
HP admit there is a software glitch, but there is known workaround.
Again, I have seen plenty of "cheaper brand" USB peripherals fall over, not becuase they are bad, simply that the driver that comes with it is not compatible with the hardware or set-up that someone has i.e. drivers clashing with camera software.
Generally however, I hope (maybe naively) that the more expensive manufacturers e.g. Belkin, will have had more R&D money to test a greater number of scenarios of hardware (Anyone remember the Microsoft approved lists that used to exist for NT and Win2K?) This is why I suggested Belkin to WCF - it worked for me and they are perceived to be reliable, if a little pricey.
Finally, have you tried re-installing WIndows? Over time the registry can become a real mess and lead to instabilities if you tend to install/unistall a lot of test/demo software. Perhaps a clean install may cure some issues?
Regards,
Shuttlebus
Some of the issues with USB can be with respect to the drivers, either of the add-in card or the hardware itself.
I have an HP scanner that is extremely fussy, whether it is connected to..
1) Athlon, motherboard USB 2, WIndows 2K
2) PIII, add in card USB 2, XP Pro SP2
3) P-M, motherboard USB 2, XP PRo SP2
It is simply a fact that I must ensure that the scanner is turned on after the computer it is connected to and operate some things in a certain manner.
HP admit there is a software glitch, but there is known workaround.
Again, I have seen plenty of "cheaper brand" USB peripherals fall over, not becuase they are bad, simply that the driver that comes with it is not compatible with the hardware or set-up that someone has i.e. drivers clashing with camera software.
Generally however, I hope (maybe naively) that the more expensive manufacturers e.g. Belkin, will have had more R&D money to test a greater number of scenarios of hardware (Anyone remember the Microsoft approved lists that used to exist for NT and Win2K?) This is why I suggested Belkin to WCF - it worked for me and they are perceived to be reliable, if a little pricey.
Finally, have you tried re-installing WIndows? Over time the registry can become a real mess and lead to instabilities if you tend to install/unistall a lot of test/demo software. Perhaps a clean install may cure some issues?
Regards,
Shuttlebus
Re: High Speed USB controller??
Thanks Shuttlebus
Yes, have re-installed XP TWICE - no change. The card is a Belkin so, as you say, it ought to do the business but we're talking MS Windows here, so no real surprises!! The registry has had several clean-outs with Reg Mechanic and I suspect that, eventually, I shall have to (yet again) take it back to bare bones and re-install everything. Must keep practising with Linux!
Yes, have re-installed XP TWICE - no change. The card is a Belkin so, as you say, it ought to do the business but we're talking MS Windows here, so no real surprises!! The registry has had several clean-outs with Reg Mechanic and I suspect that, eventually, I shall have to (yet again) take it back to bare bones and re-install everything. Must keep practising with Linux!
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Re: High Speed USB controller??
Originally Posted by Cornish Jack
The card is a Belkin so, as you say, it ought to do the business
My experience with Belkin has been consistently painful: not working, or intermittent. The telephone helpdesk is very helpful and enthusiastic (well, it was four months ago when I tried to get two Belkin routers to work) but the end result for me was the dustbin and a different brand - which is working fine.
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Re: High Speed USB controller??
CJ,
Another possible is try moving the card to another PCI slot....
This has as much do with how Windows hands out peripheral IRQs as it has with "Plug and Pray" :-)
However, it is another tool in the arsenal of teed off IT support people (both Pro and Amateur), when peripheral X won't work with Comapny Y's software and Company Z's motherboard....
Good luck,
Shuttlebus
Another possible is try moving the card to another PCI slot....
This has as much do with how Windows hands out peripheral IRQs as it has with "Plug and Pray" :-)
However, it is another tool in the arsenal of teed off IT support people (both Pro and Amateur), when peripheral X won't work with Comapny Y's software and Company Z's motherboard....
Good luck,
Shuttlebus
Re: High Speed USB controller??
Keef and Shuttlebus
Thank you both. Take the point about the Belkin and the card move but I can't raise the enthusiasm to dismantle the machine YET again - my set-up would make a rubbish tip look tidy by comparison. Thinks - NY res?? maybe next year
Thank you both. Take the point about the Belkin and the card move but I can't raise the enthusiasm to dismantle the machine YET again - my set-up would make a rubbish tip look tidy by comparison. Thinks - NY res?? maybe next year
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Re: High Speed USB controller??
I bought some cheap pilot gear for PPL or ATPL at http://www.bid-alot.com, things like USB joystick, sound card, DVDs etc. May be worth to try that.
