Updating USB 1.1 to USB2

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jdidlock

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#13701 24-May-2007 18:48

I have recently bought myself a laptop and, in general, I am very pleased with it. It has one problem, however, and try as I will, I have not yet come up with an answer. Despite the spec in the catalogue and the manual saying it has 3 USB2 ports, they run at USB1.1 speed and I urgently need to get this fixed. I am running XP Pro, the supplier isn't much help, I have have had 2 lots of useless advice, both different! I suppose this is the problem with buying on the internet - lack of personal contact, the supplier is 200 miles away.

So - my query is whether there is any generalised advice on getting USB to run at the specified speed. I don't know what other information may be needed but the motherboard seems to be an up-to-date one as it runs Express cards not the older PCMIA. I have searched the MS web site but this only adds to my confusion.

Any advice will be most welcome.

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#72129 24-May-2007 20:03

Hi there. Its virtually impossible to help unless you tell us what the make and model of the laptop is, so we can work out whether its actually a USB 2.0 model and worth pursuing further.

freitasm

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Geekzone

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#72130 24-May-2007 20:13

You say the motherboard is a current one with Express Cards... This leads me to believe the laptop is probably already running USB 2.0... Now comes the question: what device are you trying to plug, and is it USB 2.0 compatible?

Both you computer and the device must be USB 2.0... If the device is USB 1.0 it won't matter what you have on your PC, the speed will be the slower one.

jdidlock

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#72133 24-May-2007 20:51

Thanks for the replies.

Taking the second one first, no, it is DEFINITELY the mother board that is not running USB 2. When the problem first exhibited itself, the external HDD was the only device plugged it and the notice "This device could run faster" appeared. I don't understand why the system should know this is if is unable to do the necessary! Does the plug in device tell it?

The computer itself is not one of the mainline brands, Dell, Compaq etc. I bought it from a supplier called novatech.co.uk from whom I buy pretty well all my gear. If you look at their web site and (I admit) the very cheapest laptop they offer, the Revo, that is the one. The system is a badged Clevo system (Taiwan). I have Belarc advisor and it tells me the following . . . .

System model - VIA/Pheonix VN896 VT6363A
Boards VIA demo board VT6363A (Demo??? Is that a clue???)
Processor Pentium III running at 1.633MHz
XP Pro SP2 and fully up to date with MS updates.
BIOS Phoenix Technologies 6.00 (which is mysteriously slim in terms of the adjustments one can make, the BIOS on my desk unit has pages of stuff, this has 3.

It lists USB Root Hub 4 times and VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller also 4 times.

Is there anything else I can tell you apart from the fact that, while I don't claim to be a *complete* expert, I am pretty experienced as a PC user having been using them since the days of the 286 and DOS. I tend to know what I need to know on a day-to-day basis.

lurker

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#72136 24-May-2007 21:04

Maybe you want to update your chipset drivers. For VIA products, try this page http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx?PageID=2&Type=1&OSID=1

If onboard features aren't available or not operating as they should then this what usually does the job for me.

Edit - probably better to try the motherboard manufacturer's website first to see if they have their own chipset drivers.

jdidlock

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#72137 24-May-2007 21:10

I have been to the Clevo and VIA web sites, believe me but I'll try again. I emailed their UK service agent (not Novatech) and they didn't even bother to reply, let alone help. I may yet return the laptop to the supplier as not living up to the spec!

grant_k

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#72138 24-May-2007 21:23

This is what would be concerning me if I was in your position:

jdidlock: Processor Pentium III running at 1.633MHz

The chipsets used for Pentium3 processors typically didn't support USB2, only USB1.1

Either your motherboard or your driver software (or both) are seriously out-of-date.

The really puzzling thing out of all this is that your laptop supposedly has Express Card slots which didn't exist in the days of Pentium3 processors. This fact alone points to the fault being with your driver software, but it is a pretty poor show when the retailer didn't provide you with the correct driver software for the laptop you just purchased from them

jdidlock

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#72142 24-May-2007 21:48

Thanks for that, Grant, I think I shall send the unit back to the supplier.

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jdidlock

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#72144 24-May-2007 22:06

You may have put your finger right on it, Grant. I now realise from the published spec that I am supposed to have a Celeron processor not a Pentium III! I have requested a return number though I am outside the window for refund returns. However, if they can sort it out that will be fine.

grant_k

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#72146 24-May-2007 23:48

jdidlock: I now realise from the published spec that I am supposed to have a Celeron processor not a Pentium III!

That in itself may not necessarily help you...

The first Celerons were a crippled Pentium3
Then they became a crippled Pentium4 (remember Celeron D)
Then they moved on to being a crippled Pentium-M aka Celeron-M

All very confusing courtesy of the marketing geniuses at Intel who brought us such easy-to-follow and distinctive processor families as:

Pentium4 HT (Hyper-threaded)
Pentium4 D (Dual Core)
Core Duo (Dual Core)
Core2 Duo (Dual Core)

Add to those the variants of -M (mobile) and Xeon and it all makes for one unholy mess...

Cheers Intel!

jdidlock

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#73959 8-Jun-2007 10:03

Was my face red?

Firstly, my Belarc Advisor was out of date and when updated it correctly identified the processor as a Celeron.

Furthermore, I finally managed to get the supplier to telephone me and he very quickly talked me through a simple process of going into Device Controller, right clicking on the yellow question mark against USB and the instruction "Install driver" appeared and suddenly the sun shone, birds sang and the USB2 was functioning correctly. The disc I'd used to install XP evidently didn't have the correct driver but this must have appeared when I did the 75 updates to the XP installation, the disc is rather old!

Thanks again for the input, I do feel a bit foolish!

Batman

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#74354 12-Jun-2007 10:43

got cheated then! take it back?

jdidlock

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#74361 12-Jun-2007 11:14

I don't understand. The laptop works perfectly now so why was I cheated?

freitasm

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#74362 12-Jun-2007 11:17

I think joker97 didn't read the whole discussion. Disregard his silly comment...

stevonz

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#74365 12-Jun-2007 11:27

jdidlock: Was my face red?

Firstly, my Belarc Advisor was out of date and when updated it correctly identified the processor as a Celeron.

Furthermore, I finally managed to get the supplier to telephone me and he very quickly talked me through a simple process of going into Device Controller, right clicking on the yellow question mark against USB and the instruction "Install driver" appeared and suddenly the sun shone, birds sang and the USB2 was functioning correctly. The disc I'd used to install XP evidently didn't have the correct driver but this must have appeared when I did the 75 updates to the XP installation, the disc is rather old!

Thanks again for the input, I do feel a bit foolish!

Hmmm... my Sony Vaio PCG-GRT796HP purchased in th UK was supposed to be USB 2.0 too... but I hadn't noticed until I got myself an ext HDD (it kept telling the device could work faster... ). I've since purchased a PCMCIA card with 2 x USB 2.0 ports. Maybe I'll give this a crack too.

Cheers, Stevo

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#74389 12-Jun-2007 14:22

uh umm ... yeah maybe i didnt read the whole thing ... i thought you thought you bought a p3 which turned out to be a celeron ... anyways, all the best hope you get to 2.0 with the help of these guys!

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