USb 1.1 or USb 2.0; not too sure. please help !

I got an external USB / Firewire Hard Drive Enclosure. I hook up my 40GB ATA100 Hard Drive and my Windows XP sees the External Hard Drive without any problems. But how can I test / tell whether this external Hard Drive is USb 1.1 compatiable or USB 2.0 compatiable.


Please help and thanks in advance.

 

You can probably get that info from the OEM's website. However, it's a moot point with XP.

Windows XP won't support USB 2.0

 

Yes, quite so - but it seems MS had a change of heart.

See this site for further details:
http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev/bus/USB/USB2support.asp

 

That's what I like so much about MS "” consistency.

Must be another patch.

Ergo, check with the hard drive OEM for USB 2.0 compatibility and stand by.

 

In that article it says M$ won't make USB 2 drivers for Win9x. But if I got a USB 2 PCI card that came with its own drivers for it, then it wouldn't matter as long as the card maker's drivers were compatible with Win9x, right?

 

It should say on the box if it is 2.0. If it's 1.1 it will just say "USB version ". It will also say in your manual. 2.0 is fairly new and a little expensive for now... so the only things that are using it so far are the ones that can utilize it. So far I have only seen ATA-100 and 133 HD, web cams and cdrw using it. Notes on USB 2.0... up until now I favored Apple's IEEE 1394 FireWare over Intel's USB 1.1... but now that 2.0 is out I don't care. Max speed with 1.1 is I think 12 Mbps and 2.0 is 480 Mbps... which is the same as 1394. However USB 2.0 is I think less expensive thatn 1394 so I don't know why Xp wasn't initially going to support it. I have also read some things on how Xp is now supporting USB 2.0... but haven't seen any kind of patches or anything for it.

 

Having just purchased a new comp with XP and USB connectors, it is especially difficult to envison M/S not supporting a feature that the consumer wants and industry is producing. We all would be disappointed to say the least, and there would be consumer backlash notwithstanding this is M/Ss monopoly.

It seems to me that M/S writes system code to satisfy hardware needs and acceptance. There certainly is flexibility in adjusting a program to fit rather than trying to build hardware to fit software.

A case in point: A German firm has produced a transister that can hold two bits and there is work in progress for a Xister to hold 4 bits. There will be a need for system software to utilize that functionality if feasible.

 

One thing that can be confusing is the use of the figure "12 Mbps" in describing USB 1.1. The typical user might think, "WOW! 12 megabytes per second is really screeching!" He'd be wrong.

Mbps = megaBITS per second (lower-case 'b')
MBps = megaBYTES per second (upper-case 'B' - 8 bits/byte)

The USB 1.1 spec is in fact 1.5 megaBYTES per second. USB 2.0 and FireWire are respectively 480 Mbps and 400 Mbps, or 60 MBps and 50 MBps. FireWire may be speeded up in the future.

 

Yeah you are right... I should have clarified that. I have heard that Apple has plans to increase the 1394 to something like 1600 Mbps I think it was... or maybe it was 1200... I don't remember. I used to favor FireWare because back before USB 2.0 was even a thought in someone's mind... IEEE 1394 was already at 480 Mbps while 1.1 was just at 12. Now they are the same... but seems that Apple is due for an upgrade soon... the only guestion... when will it be released, let alone unveiled?

 

Thanks for the heads up information. A very interesting discussion on a contemporary issue.
With Intel, et al, on one side and Apple on the other, I go for Intel to prevail. I am surprised Apple is in the business. M/S will go where the money is, and because M/S is the dominant software player, they will establish the standard.

A new generation of XP later this year? Unbelievable how fast technology is advancing! I suspect M/S will incorporate the faster USB technology at that time and then something faster and better will emerge.

 

Yes it is pretty unbelievable how fast things progress. The number I keep hearing is that we double the amount of silicon we can put on a chip every 18 months. As for the USB 2.0... you are right... it will probably become the standard once again. From what I heard 1394 is more expensive and right now is the same speed... but more importantly... Intel is the largest manufacture of motherboards in the world, and they of course will be using USB 2.0 on all of their boards real soon.

 

And XP already has a USB generic parent driver, USB hub driver, host controller driver, and port drivers in place for updating to USB2.0. USB 2.0 will build on the success of USB1.1, which is installed on 99% of the PCs.

Apparently M/S announced the position of no support for USB2.0 on the original release because as they state there were insufficient products in the market place to adequately test device drivers. In my opinion, support wasn't included in the original release of XP is a marketing decision to gain additional consumer interest, need, and revenue for M/S.

 

Yeah you are right... that is probably why they did it. When they released it and said they weren't going to support USB 2.0... there were just as many USB 2.0 devices out there as there are now. Do you know if there are problems with ATA-133 support in Xp?