USB 2.0 Archives - Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Do you think I should I buy a used external USB hard drive?

Posted on September 11, 2020

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Question from Josh E.: I need to buy an external hard drive for my laptop. My friend wants to sell me a used, but working 1TB USB 2.0 drive for $5.

That’s plenty big enough for my needs and I really like the price, but if my laptop has USB 3.0 ports I’ll probably just go ahead and buy a new USB 3.0 drive to take advantage of the faster speed.

The problem is I don’t know whether the USB ports on my laptop (HP Pavilion dv3510nr) are USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 ports. How can I find out?

Also, do you recommend that I buy this external drive even if my laptop supports USB 3.0?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Why do new computers still come with USB 2.0 ports?

Posted on April 4, 2016

Question from Robert C.: I’ve been shopping for a new computer, and I’ve noticed something that’s puzzling me.

Virtually all of the desktop and laptop PCs currently on the market still have USB 2.0 ports on them, and that includes the newest models.

I guess I had just assumed that by now all new computers would come with USB 3.0 exclusively.

My question is why are the computer manufacturer’s still including USB 2.0 ports on their latest models?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]