usb 1.0 to 2.0

how can I tell if usb 1.0 or 2.0 ports are in my win98 se?
I checked in device manager, and there is a generic usb,
plus others, but neither states 1.0 nor 2.0. I use usb
devices all the time, but trying to check out a cd with
usb 2.0 drivers the cd wouldn't work.
does anyone know if usb upgrades are free from ms, and if
so I can't find out by querying them nor checking the
knowledge base. like a dummy, I purchased a usb 2.0 disk
drive [external] for storage---thinking it was a hdd. can
someone inform me on this topic, please? thanks much for
all replies-------

If the drivers don't say then it's likely 1.0 (although 1.1 is probably more
common). You can't upgrade USB 1 hardware just by installing USB 2 drivers.
You could install a USB 2 interface card. See:
www.usbman.com
for everything you ever wanted to know about USB.
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
"Keleah" wrote in message
...
how can I tell if usb 1.0 or 2.0 ports are in my win98 se?
I checked in device manager, and there is a generic usb,
plus others, but neither states 1.0 nor 2.0. I use usb
devices all the time, but trying to check out a cd with
usb 2.0 drivers the cd wouldn't work.
does anyone know if usb upgrades are free from ms, and if
so I can't find out by querying them nor checking the
knowledge base. like a dummy, I purchased a usb 2.0 disk
drive [external] for storage---thinking it was a hdd. can
someone inform me on this topic, please? thanks much for
all replies-------

Originally Posted by Jeff Richards

If the drivers don't say then it's likely 1.0 (although 1.1 is probably more
common). You can't upgrade USB 1 hardware just by installing USB 2 drivers.
You could install a USB 2 interface card. See:
www.usbman.com
for everything you ever wanted to know about USB.
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
"Keleah" wrote in message
...
how can I tell if usb 1.0 or 2.0 ports are in my win98 se?
I checked in device manager, and there is a generic usb,
plus others, but neither states 1.0 nor 2.0. I use usb
devices all the time, but trying to check out a cd with
usb 2.0 drivers the cd wouldn't work.
does anyone know if usb upgrades are free from ms, and if
so I can't find out by querying them nor checking the
knowledge base. like a dummy, I purchased a usb 2.0 disk
drive [external] for storage---thinking it was a hdd. can
someone inform me on this topic, please? thanks much for
all replies-------

hey, thanks Jeff, I should have realized that I needed a card upgrade in the first place. I will purchase one tomorrow, for I sure can't use my new drive w/o the card---unless----and, I have a bigger ???. my husband says he's going to buy me a new computer right away. I really loved using xp on my laptop, but since it crashed after several viruses I can't do anything to get it going again, so I'm in the market for a new desktop. my question is---can anyone please advise the best one to buy with expandable slots to install extra memory later if I need---above the 256 I now have? also, I won't be using it for playing games, but I do a lot of photos and graphics. I lost my mom recently, and I have lost five children, so I do research on the net quiet a bit.
This win 98se is running 500 mhz, but it still too slow for me. I can't afford over 400 right now, but I have an extra hard drives, a cdrw burner, so those are optinal. I would like to be able to connect my camcorder to it, and play dvds when I like. Is Windows 2000 a better program than xp? Know this is a lot to ask, but I really need to know as soon as possible. thanks millons and blessings to all--Keleah