How to Upgrade USB
One Methods:Connecting a PCMCIA USB Adapter to Your Laptop
USB stands for "Universal Serial Bus," a connection port system that connects external devices to the central processing system. You can upgrade USB to benefit from faster communication between your external devices and computer.
Steps
- 1Find out the specifications of your USB devices. Usually the USB speed is clearly marked on the device, on the product box or in the manual. Otherwise you can search for the device by exact model name online to find out. Some products that commonly use USB connection include the following.
- External hard disks.
- Portable memory and flash drives.
- Memory card readers.
- Ipods and MP3 players.
- Digital cameras.
- Input devices (keyboard and mouse).
- 2Upgrade your USB if your computer's USB port is slower than the ports on your external devices. There are 2 main methods of doing this.
- 3Purchase a USB PCI Card with the USB speed that you desire.
- 4Shut down your computer completely and disconnect it from the power supply.
- 5Remove the cover of your desktop computer. Many computers have hand screws and clips that allow you to easily remove the cover.
- 6Look for the white slots on the back plate. They are located at the backside of your computer. If you have a USB port at the front of your computer then there will be a front plate as well. Choose the area where you want the upgraded ports added.
- 7Unscrew and pull out the old USB PCI card or if there is no card attached you may have to take off the slot protector (a silver metal piece) to expose the PCI slot hole.
- 8Push the new USB PCI card into the slot hole. Make sure the ports are facing outwards so they can go through the hole in the back plate.
- 9Screw on the new USB PCI card slot to ensure that the connection holds.
- 10Replace your computer's cover, reconnect the power, turn it on and log in normally.
- 11Wait for your operating system to detect the new hardware and install any drivers and software that came with your new USB PCI card.
Connecting a PCMCIA USB Adapter to Your Laptop
- 1Purchase a PCMCIA USB adapter with your desired USB speed.
- 2Turn off your laptop completely.
- 3Eject the PCMCIA slot cover by pressing the eject button at the side. You may have to press the button twice.
- 4Insert the new PCMCIA USB adapter into the slot so that the USB ports face outwards.
- 5Power on your laptop and wait until you see a message saying that a new device has been detected.
- 6Install the driver and software that came with your PCMCIA USB adapter.
Tips
- Some USB cards and adapters do not come with any drivers. These may use a generic driver - a driver that was installed with the operating system. In this case, follow the auto-installation wizard.
Warnings
- USB speed is not the only factor that decides the speed of your external devices. If you have a slow computer or external device, you may hardly experience any change in USB connection speed when you upgrade USB.
Article Info
Categories: Hardware