Idiot computer question
 

Got me mp3 player worker (yehaw!).

Just wondering is the whole usb 2.0 or 1.1 thing in the computer or does the cable you use matter? Once again, sorry it's an idiot question.

The cable is the same, USB 2.0 offers a much faster rate of data transfer to 1.1. If you have any 1.1 devices, they will still only go as fast as they can, and won't take advantage of the faster transfers available. It's a software rather than hardware thing....

I thought you had to have the 2.0 hubs on the computer to have it, rather than just installing software.

Devices either are or are not USB 2.0 compatible. If a device is not USB 2.0 compatible (therefore is 1.1 only), the device will have a maximum data rate of 14kbps (IIRC) and having a USB 2.0 hub won't help you if anything in the chain doesn't support it.

The USB port on your computer would need to be USB 2.0 compatible, but it's generally a memory flash to upgrade it - hence the software comment. The hardware for the two standards is the same, just some older kit doesn't support the newer standard.

But....
 

:eek:
If you have any 1.1 item in the chain all will run at the 1.1 rate of speed. For example:

you have an exterior 2.0 hard drive, a 1.1 scanner, and a 2.0 DVD recorder on a chain. The whole chain would run at 1.1 speeds. At least that is what my experience shows and MircoSoft says. Some times it doesn't work that way if you put the 1.1 item at the very end of a chain but only about 10% of the time.

:D

Shouldn't do... If you have any item in the chain on 1.1 then yeah, you'll get 1.1 speeds i.e. If you had a 2.0 capable connection in your PC, a 2.0 hub and a 1.1 scanner then 1.1 is what you get. The links should be linear though, so if you had a 2.0 capable mp3 player you should still get 2.0 transfers to it via the 2.0 PC and hub in spite of the presence of a 1.1 scanner connected to the hub. Unless you've somehow managed to connect the mp3 player to your scanner to get it back to the PC.

Although the diference in transfer rate between 1.1 and 2.0 is vast, being as the connections are standard and I'm not in a hurry, it doesn't bother me...