# Usb Hub Question



## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

I've only got 2 usb slots on the back of my pc but I now have 4 things I need to plug in!!!

I suppose this problem gets worse the more stuff you buy.

Anyway I'm fed up having to get under the desk and unpluging etc so I need something to expand to more slots.

I've seen THESE on ebay amongst others but am a bit confused as some seem to have external power supply and I've no idea about transfer rate and all that stuff.

I'll only be pluging in cameras and printers and I won't be using more than one at a time so is this cheap thing sufficient?

Thanks for helping dumb old me!


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## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

Probably









USB ports, apart from providing data transfer duties, are also able to provide power to the devices that require them (most often printers/scanners and the like.) Some USB hubs are externally powered to save extra drain on the PSU in your computer which is tasked with powering everything else. If you have a kick-ass PSU in your computer you might well get away with powering all your USB devices off that.

Most USB stuff is USB 1.x / 2.x compatible. 2.x stuff has a faster transfer rate. I only have 1.x devices (USB keys and other storage devices) and find them perfectly fast enough for my purposes. If you can support the 2.x standard on your PC then that's a bonus.


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## rsykes2000 (Dec 3, 2003)

Hi PG

Ones with external power supplies tend to be better, as they can support any USB equipment, the 'bus-powered' ones that draw current from the PC itself do struggle with some kit eg scanners or printers.

If you have USB2 (which is around 40 times faster than standard USB), then get a powered USB2 hub eg this one for 10.23 + post, if you don't have USB2, then get a PCI card to go inside your PC, eg this one for 9 quid + post from ebuyer.com which will add 4 USB ports and USB2 functionality to your PC.


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

Thanks guys but how do I know if I have usb 1 or 2 ? I know I'm running 98SE and it's a long way off being "kick ass"


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## Roger (May 17, 2003)

PG,

If your pooter is a similar age to W98SE, and you havn't added a USB2 card....I doubt you USB sockets are USB2......I managed OK for ages with USB1...just a bit slower is all.

Agree with the others about powered hubs........dont try to take too much from an unpowered hub, for thereby lurks the "blue screen" demon


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## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

potz said:



> Your scanner will certainly have its own mains plug


Not necessarily. My scanner is powered straight off the USB connection.

I can't remember for sure off the top off my head but, as I recall, only the original Win 95 had no USB support as standard (is that right?







) Windows 98SE is USB 1.x compatible I think.

I don't have any USB 2.x comaptible ports and quite frankly I don't require them. I'm powering my scanner and camera off a <300W PSU with no problems at all. I have a bunch of USB keys of up to 1GB capacity and USB 1.x transfer speeds are perfectly adequate. If you plug something USB 2.x into a USB 1.x port, probably all you'll get is a little box pop up to say that the device can perform faster if you plug it into a USB 2.x port. Big deal!


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## Roger (May 17, 2003)

Rich,

I'm no expert as you know, but the IT guy at work mumbled something about the max current that can be supplied by the USB driver chip??

Roger


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

Oh it is confusing! I'm certainly not comfortable with taking the back off the pc and fitting a card, I did that for the scanner I have (2nd hand off my dad). Took me ages to get the pc to work properly again! (it's not usb)

The modem I have from ntl is usb and has to be plugged in permanently, so that leaves me one slot, I'm assuming its usb 1 because of the age of it.

I did have two printers one on the printer port and one on the other usb but I've just dispensed with one and now I only have the two cameras that are sharing the 2nd usb slot. Both cameras need to be switched on whilst pluged in but I don't know if that means they don't draw any power from the pc or not. They both work fine and seem fast enough for what I want.

I think I'll try one of those cheapie ones first and see how I get on.

thanks everyone.


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## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

Could well be Roger; but when I blow old stuff up, I just order _new_ stuff









As yet I've not managed to encounter a single significant USB incompatibility between various devices and various configurations of computer. It all just works, although maybe at a slower (1.x) rate than ultimately possible (2.x).


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## Wardy (Jul 23, 2003)

I once had to transfer 5gb of data from a laptop with only usb1 to an external hard drive - not to be recommended









I personally use two powered Belkin 7 way usb 2 hubs daisy chained and would recommend them to anyone, like all usb2 hubs they would work with your usb1 pc


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## Roger (May 17, 2003)

Strangely, I have never owned a USB2...always got along OK with my old USB1 hub untile a week or so back I bought an Epson R300 which is USB2 (I had previously fitted a USB2 PCI card), now, hey presto...the Card read in the printer is USB2...so it was kind of a double upgrade...a new printer and a USB2 card reader









Roger


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

2 x 7 way









What on earth have you got plugged in?

I think I'm slowly getiing left behind in the techno race!


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## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

I be tempted to install a USB2 PCI card if there's a free slot. Some items don't like hubs but should be OK with a PCI card.


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## Roger (May 17, 2003)

> What on earth have you got plugged in?


In my case,

Printer

Scanner

35mm negative scanner

external hard disk

card reader

camera(s)

Modem


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## rsykes2000 (Dec 3, 2003)

Sounds similar to my USB situation - 4 onboard ports and 2 hubs daisychained :

USB mouse

USB keyboard

Epson RX420 printer/scanner/copier

HP 1010 laser printer

Digital Camera

Hercules external soundcard

Card reader

External hard disk

USB flash drive

USB is great, now it finally works properly, I remember when it first came around and it was definitely plug & pray


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## Roger (May 17, 2003)

> it was definitely plug & pray


Amen to that!!


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## Wardy (Jul 23, 2003)

pg tips said:


> 2 x 7 way
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Similar to the others really

wireless keyboard/mouse

Nostromo Speedpad

wireless joypad

joystick

printer

xd card reader

multi format card reader

one external hard drive (another two connected by firewire, 800gb storage







)

digital camera

flash drive

tom tom sat nav

with a few spare ports left over for growth!


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