Thanks "Geez", that's just what I needed....


Gary



"Old Geezer" wrote in message
...

"Gary Walker" wrote in message
. com...
I have a circa 2000 desktop PC with Win/ME:

64M, 700mhz., 20GB ide, etc....
Win/ME/IE/OE... contains every update exclusive of any NLS stuff.

The PC also shows the following information related to
USB configuration:

Intel(r) 82801AA USB Universal Host Controller
USB Root Hub

This PC has been a great unit, but it's now time for a rep-
lacement. I want to add an external HD to be used for
some intermediate backup, and as a facility to eventually
carry old data to the replacement PC. The external HD
will be retained on the replacement PC.

Researching available external HD's, it appears most are
targeted to USB2.0. Although my profile for this USB
port indicates "Hardware Version 002", I'm not really
sure whether it's USB1 or 2.

I suppose USB1 would still function for a HD designated
for USB2, but with a lesser speed, which is not really an
issue but, can I definitively identify this USB as 1 or 2?

What you show under USB controllers indicates 1.0/1.1, as would be
expected
in a circa 2000 machine. If it had USB 2.0 it would list "USB 2.0 Root
Hub"
and/or "USB Enhanced Host Controller" in Device Manager in addition to
what
you've shown. There are also add-in cards to upgrade to USB 2.0 and
they're
not very expensive, which is something to think about if you're going to
keep this machine for a while and use it with an external hard drive. An
external drive will be *much* faster with USB 2.0, though it will still
work
with USB 1.0/1.1 of course.



And, any suggestions on an external HD?

There are lots of good ones at various price points, and I'd assume you
don't need a very large capacity external drive for your present machine,
though you will probably want to get something fairly large anyway for
your
next one. Maxtor and Western Digital both make excellent external units in
a
wide range of capacities. My guess is you'd want a drive with 7200 rpm and
at least 100 GB, since HD capacity these days is so cheap there's not much
point in getting anything smaller. The three I have all came formatted in
FAT32, I presume that's the standard arrangement, so would be perfectly
compatible with your WinME machine as well as whatever you get next.

There are probably other makes that are perfectly satisfactory. One of
mine
is a cheapo SimpleTech 120GB drive, and it's been fine so far.

Check out NewEgg.com for prices, descriptions and user reviews. They're
very
reliable to deal with and usually have about the best prices. Buy.com is
another good seller, though for this particular kind of item I think
NewEgg
probably has a better selection.

O.G.