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Questions tagged [usb-2]

USB 2.0 (Hi-Speed) is a USB specification that can transmit data at up to 480 Mbit/s.

USB 2.0 (aka Hi-Speed) was released in 2000. It can transmit data at up to 480 Mbit/s. The USB 2.0 specification has been extended to include Mini-A and B and Micro plug connectors. It also has been extended to include power transmission to allow for portable device battery charging. It maintains backward compatibility with older USB devices.

Related tags

  • for questions related to USB devices in general.

  • for question about the USB 3.0 standard

  • lists questions about storage drives connected by USB, especially devices known otherwise as flash drive, USB stick, USB key and thumb

138 questions
93
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6 answers

Verifying USB connection speed (USB 3 or USB 2?)

I've purchased several new USB 3 capable drives to use with my new (USB 3 capable) laptop. They connect ok but I suspect they're silently falling back to USB 2. The sustained transfer rates I'm seeing are around 30 Mb/s for both reads and writes,…
Molomby
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68
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4 answers

Speed comparison between USB 2.0, USB 3.0, eSATA, Firewire and Thunderbolt

Which external connection has the highest data throughput with respect to the headers used? I would appreciate a slowest to fastest list including USB 2.0, USB 3.0, FireWire 400, FireWire 800, eSATA and Thunderbolt considering bandwidth that is…
Moshe
  • 5,908
48
votes
6 answers

Does a USB hub affect performance?

I have two devices I want maximum throughput and latency with (MIDI drums and MIDI keyboard for example.) Would connecting both to the same USB port via a hub effectively limit the maximum data transfer rate to 1/2 to each of them? I am assuming…
SwimBikeRun
  • 831
30
votes
1 answer

Why Do Some USB Cables Have Two USB Connectors at the End?

I've recently bought an external hard drive enclosure and it had arrived with an USB cable, with one USB connector on one side and two on the other. Why do some USB cables have two connectors while others do not?
JFW
  • 2,464
25
votes
3 answers

Is it safe to use a micro-USB 2 cable in a USB 3 portable hard drive?

The micro-B USB 3 port seems to be somewhat backwards compatible with the old micro-USB 2 standard. I was able to charge a phone that had the micro-B USB 3 port with a micro-USB 2 cable. However, I am not sure to what extent this is a part of the…
juil
  • 489
19
votes
1 answer

Why is there a speed increase when using a USB 2.0 device with a USB 3.0 port?

I know this question, or similar questions, have been asked before, but still I am curious… My laptop has two USB 3.0 ports and—on occasion—I will plug in a Western Digital external hard drive which uses USB 2.0. I have also used this same drive…
Ben Franchuk
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14
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2 answers

Is a USB 3 Type A-to-A cable dangerous with USB 2 ports?

I recently purchased a USB 3.0 hub, and was surprised when I opened the box to find that it used an A-to-A cable for it’s main connection; see picture below. A “Type A” connector is the rectangular end that I’m sure is very familiar with. From what…
jpfx1342
  • 549
11
votes
5 answers

Would USB 3 make a difference for a USB 2 5400 RPM drive?

I've got a USB 2 5400 RPM external HD. I'm thinking of getting a new computer with USB 3 ports. If I'm currently getting read/write speeds from the external HD on USB 2 of roughly 30 mb/s (both read and write), then would upgrading to USB 3 make a…
Gary
  • 1,300
10
votes
1 answer

Device is no longer USB 2.0?

I have a 32 GB pen drive that I have turned into my PC repair kit. I have formatted it to be a boot-able drive with multiple .iso's for different options. Recently however whenever I plug in the flash drive, I get the error "This device can…
James Mertz
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9
votes
5 answers

Force a single USB 3.0 port to work as USB 2.0

I have several Dell XPS 13 machines that exhibit intermittent failures of the left USB 3.0 port, as described in this thread. I have lost data to silent corruption/disconnections on several external HDDs. Evidence points to a hardware design flaw…
Xan
  • 270
9
votes
4 answers

USB 2.0 and USB 3.0, how can you tell the difference?

I know the speeds would obviously be a key factor, but is there any spot on way to tell if a device is USB 2.0 or 3.0 such as a USB flash drive?
user88311
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9
votes
3 answers

USB 3 hub can also host USB 2 devices

I understand that when I use a USB 2.0 devices on USB 3.0 ports, that I'm really just using a USB 2.0 bus along side the USB 3.0 bus. What I really need is a true USB 3.0 device that can act as a USB 2.0 host for other devices. That is, a USB 3.0…
Brad
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8
votes
5 answers

Extend USB 3.0 cable

I have a couple of new USB 3.0 devices which connect to my USB 3.0 ports via the new "Blue" USB 3.0 cables that end in what looks like a USB 2.0 Type A connector. Indeed, the USB 3.0 devices will also work in the USB 2.0 ports. So, I have some USB…
PaoloFCantoni
  • 1,843
7
votes
3 answers

Extremely slow USB transfer speed

I am using Windows 7 32-bit, and have a Transcend 8 GB USB 2.0 flash drive. I have formatted the drive to NTFS using the Windows format tool. The problem is that when moving or copying files to and from the drive I get write speeds of only 1.5 - 2.5…
Rosso
  • 71
7
votes
2 answers

How to know which USB port is 2.0?

My computer (running Windows XP) has 4 USB ports at the back. From the Device Manager window, I know that one of them is 2.0, and the rest are all 1.0. I have a webcam that I think will benefit from the increased speed if I plug it into the 2.0…
superkinhluan
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