Ask Leo! by Leo A. Notenboom

How can I tell if I have USB 2.0?

Search First! Then browse: Categories | Full Archive | By Date | Newsletter
Ask Leo! on Facebook

Home » Hardware

Summary: USB (Universal Serial Bus) 2.0 is a significantly faster version of USB 1.1. Determining which you have is not at all obvious. But it is fairly easy.

I'm thinking of purchasing a USB device, but it requires USB 2.0. I can't find anywhere on my machine that tells me whether or not I have this. How can I tell if I have USB 2.0?

USB (for Universal Serial Bus) 2.0 is a significantly faster version of USB 1.1. Some devices can be quite speed intensive, and hence manufacturers are starting to require the faster connection. Most new machines come with USB 2.0 already built in. But what about an older machine? How do you tell?

It's easy, just not at all obvious.

The tidbit of information you're looking for is buried in the device manager:

  • Right-click My Computer
  • Click on Properties
  • Click on the Hardware tab
  • Click on the Device Manager button
  • Scroll down as needed until you see Universal Serial Bus Controllers
  • Expand that by clicking on the boxed plus sign in front of Universal Serial Bus Controllers

At this point you should see something like this:

"... on most machines the presence of 'Enhanced', even only once, means that all USB ports are USB 2.0 ports ..."

Note the highlighted line: "Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller". While the exact text may vary, the key is the word "Enhanced".

If it's "Enhanced", it's USB 2.0. If it's not, then it's USB 1.x.

Now, wasn't that obvious?

Important: on most machines the presence of "Enhanced", even only once (which it typically is), means that all USB ports are USB 2.0 ports. Typically a machine will have only one type of port and this tells you which kind they all are.

The one exception to this scenario is a machine with USB 1.1 ports that has a USB 2.0 expansion card added. In this case I know of no way to tell which is which, other than simply knowing you added a USB 2.0 card to a machine with built-in 1.1 ports. Obviously in a case like this, the built-in ports are 1.1, and the added expansion card ports are 2.0.

Article C2405 - August 17, 2005

Was this article helpful? «Yes» «No»

Recent Comments
81 Comments

Hih there I need to know if audio interfaces like the audiobox usb or fast track pro that are usb powered can go well with my laptop that is a acer extensa 5620z running vista...please it's important let me know if these kind of sound card can run with no problem on my laptop

Posted by: Wafi at March 25, 2010 6:50 PM

Hello, i also have an old usb port on my pc, thanks now i know that i don't have usb 2.0, just wondering if an old usb 1.1 port can affect the speed of my internet acces??I use the connection for my phone modem and planning to buy a usb 2.0 adapter if it can speed up my net access, thanks

Depends on your internet connection. USB 1.1 is 12 megabits per second. If your internet connection is faster than that, you'll want USB 2.0 (480 Mbits/sec).
Leo
17-Apr-2010

Posted by: ChesterLon at April 14, 2010 8:48 PM

I installed a 2.0 USB card in Pci. I plugged in 3 HiSpeed items , nothing happen, camera card, camera and mouse. Device Manager shows Enhanced... "" What will show up on my screen when I plug something in the 2.0 USB , does it show same as the 1.1 USB?

Posted by: Big Al Wille at April 30, 2010 8:28 PM

What if it reads " Standard "universal" PCI to USB host controller as opposed to Standard "enhanced"

Posted by: mike at June 16, 2010 2:53 PM

it helped me to know exactly which usb cord i have

Posted by: harsha at June 19, 2010 2:34 AM

Post a comment on "How can I tell if I have USB 2.0?":



(Name will be included when your comment is published.)



(Email Address will not be published.)

Remember Me?

By popular demand...
my tip jar
Cuppa Joe
Buy Leo a Latte!

(you may use HTML tags for style)

RSS feed Subscribe to the RSS Feed specifically for comments on this article.

Before commenting, please...

  • Read the article at the top of this page. If your comment shows you didn't, it'll be deleted and ignored.

  • Comment only on this article. Use the Google search box at the top of the page if you have a question about something else.

  • Don't include personal information in the comment. No email addresses. No phone numbers. No physical addresses.

  • Don't spam. Excessive links to unrelated sites within a comment or across multiple comments will cause all such comments to be removed.

  • Don't ask me to recover lost passwords or hacked accounts. I can't, and those comments will be deleted.

  • I can't respond to every comment. And I can't vouch for the accuracy of others who do.

Please wait. Your comment is being processed ...


Question? Ask Leo!