USB Ports

[Spatial]

I have four USB connections - 2 in back panel, 2 in front. Based on what I see in sys info i have 3 USB 1.0 and 1 USB hi speed 2.0 ports. How do I determine which connection is the 2.0? Sounds silly I know but, one of the connections has the little plastic tab broken so the connection does not work - I am trying to find out if this is the 2.0 and how I can fix it or reroute the 2.0 function to another connection. Any help appreciated. I use applications all the time yet never get into system stuff... Help 

[dahlarbear]

0.  USB 2.0 Ports.  All four of the USB ports are probably USB 2.0 if the motherboard chipset supports USB 2.0.  Two in the back are almost certainly USB 2.0.  The two in the front are probably USB 2.0.  Any ports on the keyboard are probably USB 1.0/1.1 ports.

1.  Operating System.  What operating system and service pack level are you using?

2.  USBDevice.  Following quote from FTDI Utilities web page:

USBView is a free utility from Microsoft that displays the USB connection tree and shows the USB devices that are connected to it together with their configuration data.  This is very useful for debugging USB enumeration errors.  USBView runs under Windows 98, ME, 2000 and XP.

They lie.  Their version doesn't run on Win9x/ME systems (I can find older version if needed.  Let me know).  I'm pretty sure their version will run on Windows 2000, XP, and Vista.  Download the USBView zip file from their web page.  Unzip the executable.  The executable is the program.  Double click to run it.  GUI windows opens with two panes.  Find the USB device you're testing with in the left pane.  Left click on that device.  Its information appears in the right pane.

Look for the "Bus Device Speed" field in the "ConnectionStatus" subsection.  If the device has connected, its data value should be either "Low", "Full", or "High".  This is the negotiated speed that the device will operate at.  If you have a USB 2.0 Hi-Speed device connected to a USB 2.0 port, it should connect at High Speed.  The ports that it connects "High" will be your USB 2.0 ports.  If the USB 2.0 Hi-Speed device connects "Full", then you've probably connected to a USB 1.0/1.1 port.  The speed it connects at is the speed it will operate at.  Not sure about this; but if you mix/match low, full, hi-speed devices on the same USB bus, I believe the bus will run at the lowest speed.  Not sure how many separate USB buses are on the computer.  Perhaps each controller controls its own bus?

Note from http://www.beyondlogic.org/usbnutshell/usb2.htm#SpeedIdentification:

You will notice we have not included speed identification for High Speed mode. High speed devices will start by connecting as a full speed device (1.5k to 3.3V). Once it has been attached, it will do a high speed chirp during reset and establish a high speed connection if the hub supports it. If the device operates in high speed mode, then the pull up resistor is removed to balance the line.

A USB 2.0 compliant device is not required to support high-speed mode. This allows cheaper devices to be produced if the speed isn’t critical. This is also the case for a low speed USB 1.1 devices which is not required to support full speed.

However a high speed device must not support low speed mode. It should only support full speed mode needed to connect first, then high speed mode if successfully negotiated later. A USB 2.0 compliant downstream facing device (Hub or Host) must support all three modes, high speed, full speed and low speed.

You have to hunt and peck for useful information:
    USB Troubleshooting with USBView
    USB in a NutShell - Chapter 5 - USB Descriptors
    USB in a NutShell - Chapter 1 - Introduction
    USB Trouble Shooting (Somewhat dated).
    Error: HI-SPEED USB Device Plugged into non-HI-SPEED USB Hub
    USBMan

[soybean]

Based on what I see in sys info i have 3 USB 1.0 and 1 USB hi speed 2.0 ports.

What do you mean by "sys info"?  What's the source?

Most motherboards have all USB 2.0 if they were designed to support USB 2.0 on any ports. However, a few motherboards did have both USB 1.1 and USB 2.0, such as the ECS K7S5A PRO motherboard I have in my desktop computer. It originally had 4 USB 2.0 ports in back and two USB 1.1 ports in front. I later converted the two front ports to USB 2.0 by installing Rosewill Low-Profile PCI to 2+1 USB2.0 Cards Model RC-100 - Retail and connecting the wiring for the two front ports to pins on this card instead of the motherboard.

One way to determine whether a port is USB 1.1 or 2.0 is simply to attach a device that requires 2.0 and see what happens.  For some USB 2.0 devices that, even though designed for USB 2.0 will work on USB 1.1, Windows XP will display a message saying this device will perform faster if connected to a USB 2.0 port.

[Spatial]

Thanks - dahlarbear and  soybean,

Your comments/questions have put me on right track - I think the relative oldness of my system is part of the problem.

[patio]

You can get an add on PCI USB  card for about 20 Bucks....easy to install and 4 new USB and usually a FireWire port will now reside on the rear of your case...

And it will be 2.0

[soybean]

And, if you add ports at back with a PCI card but want access in front, an USB extension cable can solve that problem: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812117018

[patio]

Thanx for the assist Soybean !