Upgrade to USB 2.0 PCI Card?

I have a three year old HP Computer. My USB Card is a 1.1 card. I would like to upgrade to a USB 2.0 PCI Card. I also see new cards with Firewire but not sure if my computer can handle Firewire.
My existing card is hardwired or built into the board. I have two usb ports on the front of my computer and four on the back.
What kind of problems am I looking at to upgrade the speed of my usb card.
If I install a new upgraded usb card is it just a matter of plugging it into an available slot.
How do I get the usb ports on the front of my computer to work as a 2.0 usb plug?
Do I have to disable the old card?
How do I know if my older computer handle a new 2.0 USB/Firewire Card?
I have no problem with doing the mechanics of the install but no nothing about the cards themselves. Can't afford to mess this computer up is it is all I have.

 

Yes, it should be.

You don't - they'll continue to be usb 1.1. Only the open slots on the card itself will be 2.0.

No.

As long as you have a fairly modern PC (you do) with an available PCI slot, you shouldn't have any problems.

Nothing I can really think of. Be careful about electrostatic discharge when installing the card and make sure you don't force it. Don't work on a rug and keep your hands in contact with the bare, non-painted metal of the case and you should be ok. I have to admit that a few years ago, I swapped out the RAM in an HP computer and the thing freaked out. Something that has never happened in all my work on custom-made computers. I eventually got it to work but not until I was advised of which incantation to use. With a namebrand PC, no one can guarantee that when you do an upgrade that you won't unintentionally incarnate demons from another plane of existence.

Gary

 

USB 2 Ports adding to older HP computer

What is the OS ?
Simply plug the USB PCI card into any available PCI slot it should install.
The closer the PCI slot to the CPU the better.
The current standard and what is generally sold retail are the newer faster USB standard.
First it all depends for what purpose you need extra USB ports .
For most run of the mill situations like mice , keyboards etc USB transfer rates are faster than what the computer can handle.
For newer peripheals which offer fast data transfer needs such as external DVD or hard drives the extra speed is nice.
However usb 2 devices will work in usb 1 ports .
You will not know whether the extra capacity is afforded by your computer with the newer USB 2 ports until you test it out .
As for the usb slots on your case front i do not think that you can do much as they are wired into usb 1 connections on your motherboard.
If the usb card gives you faster speeds and you need that speed you can swap the usb devices around to maximize the ports you have.
Secondly you can buy a usb hub device. This is a sharing device that attaches into one of the usb ports on your computer. It then has a number of expansion ports - generally 4 . Best to spend on a powered hub rather than the non powered as some of the newer devices need more power from the usb.
Lastly you can upgrade your motherboard to a newer USB2 enabled model or even a newer computer.

hope this helps somewhat