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Questions tagged [usb-3]

USB 3.0 (SuperSpeed) is a USB specification that can transmit data at up to 5 Gbit/s.

USB 3.0 is the most recent USB specification, completed in 2008. It can transmit data at up to 5 Gbit/s. USB 3.0 also introduced a new connector with 5 pins in addition to the previous standard of 4, bringing the total pins up to 9; but it still remains backward compatible with older USB devices. Most USB 3.0 ports and plugs have a Pantone 300C blue plastic insert to help users to distinguish between older USB 2.0 ports and USB 3.0 ports.

Related tags

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

  • for questions related to USB devices in general.

  • for question about the USB 2.0 standard

559 questions
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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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3 answers

Does a USB 3.0 connection require a USB 3.0 cord?

Does a USB 3.0 connection require a USB 3.0 cord to reach USB 3.0 speeds (SuperSpeed)? Will any USB cord support any USB 3.0 device?
Xavierjazz
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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
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5 answers

Using USB 3.0 to speed up transfer between USB 2.0 devices?

I've noticed that transfers between USB 2.0 drives are usually very slow. From what I understand, this is because all USB 2.0 devices connected to the same USB 2.0-host share the same 480Mb/s of bandwidth. Is it possible to speed this up by using…
Martin
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9 answers

How to find out which USB port is USB 3.0?

In my laptop (a Lenovo y470 ) there are three USB ports. One of those is USB 3.0 others are USB 2.0 . I do not know which one is what. When I copy data from my External HDD it transfers at 38MB/s from all of the USB ports. (Which is a good speed for…
Rakesh Juyal
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4 answers

What USB 3.0 functionality does Intel's iusb3mon monitor?

Along with Intel USB 3.0 Host Controller drivers, a utility called "iusb3mon.exe" (Intel USB 3.0 Monitor) was installed at startup. Its apparent goal is to "monitor" some USB 3.0 functions. My questions are therefore: What USB 3.0 functions it…
Ilya
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47
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8 answers

Installing Windows 7 x64 on a computer with only USB 3 ports

I am installing Windows 7 x64 on a HP EliteDesk 800 G3 SFF that only has USB 3 and USB Type-C ports. Initially, upon booting the USB install media, the USB keyboard and mouse wouldn't work - this was because the Windows 7 install media doesn't have…
qroberts
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44
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5 answers

What would happen when USB devices draw more power than the hub can provide?

I am going to buy a 7-port USB 3.0 hub, and connect 7 portable HDDs to it, in order to build a RAID 6 array. The hub comes with an upstream micro-USB 3.0 type B port, along with an auxiliary power adapter rated at 5V 2A (micro-USB 2.0 type B…
Livy
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2 answers

Does a USB 2.0 device connected to a USB 3.0 hub slow down the hub to 2.0 speeds?

At work, I want to plug all my USB devices into a single USB hub so I only need to plug one USB cable, external display, and the power cable into my laptop. I have some USB 3.0 devices and some slower USB 2.0/1.1 devices. I'm aware that all the…
rob
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8 answers

How do I connect two computers using USB 3.0?

I know this question exists, but it's about USB in General. Mine is about USB 3.0 and newer specifically. USB 3.0 specification introduces the feature known as direct host-to-host connection with normal USB 3.0 A/A (male/male) cables (or some bridge…
Gizmo
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4 answers

How can I be sure that I've plugged a device into a USB 3 port?

I have a number of USB ports on my computer, some USB 2 and some USB 3. I want to plug a device into a USB 3 port. Unfortunately, they're all black so I can't use the usual "USB 3.0 ports are blue" rule of thumb. This is a Linux box, so is there…
Thomas Johnson
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Why does Windows 7 ask for additional drivers when installing from a USB 3.0 drive?

I just bought a new config ( ASUS p8z68-v lx, i5-2500k + ram and new graphic card ). Coming back and installing it in my old computer, I just saw that my DVD player was on IDE (yup…). So, I needed to install windows 7 64bits from my usb key. Fine, I…
Shikiryu
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27
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4 answers

Are USB 3.0 ports yellow?

My laptop has a yellow USB port. Is it USB 3.0?
ripper234
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27
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2 answers

Are there issues with stacking USB hubs?

Would attaching a 4 port USB-3 hub to a port on a USB-C to USB-3 hub cause problems?
Metaphor
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26
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4 answers

What does the BIOS setting 'XHCI Pre-Boot Mode' do?

I have a BIOS setting called XHCI Pre-Boot Mode. If I have this enabled, USB devices which aren't plugged in at boot, are never recognised. If I set it to Disabled then USB devices work normally. The brief BIOS description says "Enable this option…
Jamie Kitson
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