USB 2.0 necessarily high speed? 1

[chiefman]

We (the IT department) recently bought 2 PQI Intellegent Sticks. They are 256 Mb USB storage devices. When we plug them in to the USB's on the computer it gives an error saying something like "A HI-SPEED USB device is plugged into a non HI-SPEED port". My boss thinks this means that the USB ports on the computer are not 2.0 and therefore not what we thought they were. I am not so sure that low-speed can't be 2.0, but I'm not for sure. Can anyone tell me if this is normal? Or are all USB 2.0's supposed to be high-speed? Thank you.

 

[cdogg]

USB 2.0 devices are backwards compatible to work on older USB 1.1 ports. USB 2.0 Hi-Speed offers up to 480Mb/s (or about 60MB/s) transfer speeds. Regular or low-speed is equivalent to USB 1.1 which maxes out at 12Mb/s (or 1.5MB/s).

First question for you:
Are the "PQI Intelligent Sticks" some sort of flash memory storage?

If so, then you have nothing to really worry about. Flash memory devices usually average a transfer rate of 5MB/s, which is not much faster than the old USB 1.1 interface. Therefore, your boss shouldn't notice any major difference. Using the old USB 1.1 port on his PC, it will seem to be about 1/2 as slow as it would be on a USB 2.0 port.

~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind"
[tab][tab]- Aristotle

 

[chiefman]

Yes they are a type of flash memory storage. What my boss is mostly worried about is not necessarily the performance of these flash devices, rather that we didn't get USB 2.0 ports on the new computers that we are distributing to the employees of our company. When we ordered them I think he ordered 2.0 and if we only received 1.1 then we didn't get what we intended to get. The flash storage device just alerted us to the possibility that something wasn't right. Thanks for the info.

 

[cdogg]

Well, it is possible that the USB 2.0 devices are not properly detecting the port. But yeah, I'd have to agree that something just doesn't seem to check out. Double-check with the vendor, of course, that sold the PC's.

In the meantime, you can also take a peek in Device Manager. If the USB entry reads "USB Enhanced Controller", then that's a good sign you have USB 2.0. Otherwise, it's uncertain.

~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind"
[tab][tab]- Aristotle

 

[chiefman]

Will do. And thanks again.

 

[kiddpete]

The standards group, IMO, goofed here. They allowed USB 1.x devices to call themselves USB 2.0. Now, you need USB 2.0 Hi-Speed as cdogg pointed out.

 

[paparazi]

chiefman
Just to point out that I am getting the same notification message being displayed "hi speed usb device being plugged into a non hi speed usb port" blardy bla!! when I install my webcam.
Thing is I know for a fact that both device and motherboard are USB2!

Gigabyte GA7-NNXP
Trust Spacecam 380 usb2
USB1&USB2 enabled in the bios
XPpro SP1 all up to date

And yes cdogg, I see "Standard enhanced PCI to USB controller" in device manager.

THATS A POINT!!! you have installed USB2 drivers? or if you are using XP has it got service pack 1 installed?

Antways, as you can see, even with everything installed properly with known USB2 ports, Windows can still wrongly report an issue!!!! don't ask me why.

So don't be too hard on your vendor, he may well have given you exactly what you ordered.
Blame Mr Gates. Martin

Replying helps further our knowledge, without comment leaves us wondering.

 

[cdogg]

chiefman,
From paparazi's feedback, I would recommend you benchmark a small and large file transfer and take the average. See how long it takes to copy 10MB and then try a 50MB file or bigger. The average rate between the two should be at least 3MB/s or greater. If not, it is likely your device is not connected at USB 2.0 Hi-speed or the device is too slow to really take advantage of the extra bandwidth.

~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind"
[tab][tab]- Aristotle

 

[Blujacket]

Just a note, most descriptions I've come across of the USB 2.0 speed say 'up to 480Mbps' whereas Firewire/IEEE1394 says 400Mbps. Just a little quirk in wording can be a trifle misleading.

 

[chiefman]

Thanks everyone for your helpful info. (Paparazi, I thought possibly that would be the case.) I just ended up having to go with a different driver, luckily. Thanks again, everyone.