Your daily dose of practical, easy to follow tech tips!
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Question from Eric G.: I read your post about adding USB 3.0 ports to a PC that only has USB 2.0 on it. I’d like to do that but I have a question first.
My Gateway DX4860 desktop computer has two USB 2.0 ports on the front of the case. If I install a USB 3.0 expansion card will it add USB 3.0 to the front of my computer too or just on the back?
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
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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…]
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Question from Melissa S.: Hi Rick. I just bought this 4TB external hard drive to back up the hard drive in my new Dell desktop PC (which only has USB 3.0 ports).
I really like this drive because it will store a LOT of photos (I’m a photographer).
Due to the arrangement of my cramped desk, the external hard drive will have to sit on a nearby shelf and connect to the computer through a USB hub.
My question is can I use the hub I already have or will I need to buy a new one?
The one I have is several years old but it still works great. The thing is it’s a USB 2.0 model.
I’m afraid to plug either the computer or the hard drive into this hub until I hear from you because I don’t want to burn something up.
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
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External hard drives used to be expensive luxuries that transferred data between the PC and the drive at a relative snail’s pace.
But thankfully, that has all changed thanks to the proliferation of incredibly fast, yet very inexpensive external USB hard drives.
In fact, prices have now dropped to where you can pick one up starting at around $50!
I now believe that every computer user should own at least one external USB hard drive, for the following reasons: [Read more…]
Does it seem like it takes forever for your phone’s battery to fully charge when it’s plugged into your PC?
Well, it isn’t your imagination. If you have an older computer it probably has the older USB 2.0 ports, and USB 2.0 supplies a paltry amount of current to devices that are connected to it.
If you like the convenience of charging your phone by plugging it in to your PC, you can easily add several USB 3.0 ports to your existing PC and your phone will charge a lot faster. [Read more…]