Just when you thought things were simple... There are traps with USB. As well, I'll address memory devices that might plug into USB ports, and related memory devices such as SD card. And detail connector variations. VARIATIONS/PROBLEMS: USB is not universally foolproof. (Of course, support was quite limited in Windows 95 except the very last OEM version, much better in Windows 98.) Computer BIOS vary - check for updates. If using a port expander, including a docking base, you may have a different controller in the expander which is operating like a hub. And you may need to plug your USB device directly into the computer to get it to work. It seems that some software expects the device to be plugged back into the same port that it first saw the device on. In transferring files from a USB stick recorded by Windows XP to a computer using Windows 98SE I've seen filenames changed to uppercase. That may be a problem since some software, such as web site hosting, is case sensitive. I do not know where the problem is - o/s, USB drivers (which are native in XP but installed for the specific stick in 98SE), or the hardware. Oddly, in one transfer all files with file name extender .htm were changed but the one with .html was not. Some makers of USB sticks have stopped supplying drivers for Windows 98SE, which doesn't help users. POWER DRAW: - some devices such as 2.5" external hard drives require more than the 0.5 amp that USB ports are required to provide as a minimum. You may be able to use a cable that connects to two ports - the extra one to get more power - but beware of the distinction between ports and connectors (two connectors may be supplied by one port inside the computer - hubs are available that have their own power supply - note also that when the computer goes into standby the USB ports will be unpowered. Some software sees that as a problem with the drive, on coming out of standby. OLDER O/S: USB memory devices will require drivers for Windows 98SE and earlier operating system. They may or may not work well. I found that in copying files from XP2 to 98SE using a USB memory stick the file name was changed to upper case letters, in most cases. Then I discovered that the web hosting software was case sensitive, so links to those files did not work. Kingston have stopped supporting 98SE - they no longer provide drivers, though they refer you to an independent web site for generic drivers. SD CARDS: It seems that SD cards require an adapter to plug into USB ports, not surprisingly (drivers are separate for SD slot and USB port). That adapter has its own firmware which may have defects - check the manufacturer's web site. 4GB DEVICES: Support for 4GB devices seems variable, especially in SD card format. For example, - one no-name SD card was recognized but would only work if formatted to 2GB (FAT16) rather than the FAT32/NTFS required to have 4GB capacity (external memory has tended to be FAR16 or earlier to work with external devices like cameras, even though computers have used FAT32 or NTFS for some time including to support hard drives; the two cases were computers produced circa 2004 with Windows XP2). - but a new SanDisk SD card of 4GB capacity was not recognized at all by a newer computer, a 2005-vintage Thinkpad x41, unless used with SanDisk's SDDR-113 adapter in a USB port (others have reported the same incompatibility between SanDisk and Thinkpad products and reported that a different brand of SD card worked). CABLES: Unfortunately, mini-USB device connectors are mutating. Cables are available but you have to search for them, and be careful to accurately identify which cable you need - names are confusing, connectors hard to see. Some connector shapes are confusingly named (cable end, male shell, is my best estimate of common naming, I think that A and B originally referred to the computer and device ends of a standard USB cable - most often you need a standard computer end and a mini device end - but device-device may be mini-mini, and then there's the small rectangle on my Thinkpad x41 that I cannot identify (I don't think it is Firewire mini, definitely not "Firewire 4"). (Many shapes have a plastic insert against one wall of the metal shell and a cavity against the opposite wall which I refer to as the "free" side of the plastic insert. In that shape the contacts are usually leaf contacts on the free side of the insert. (Some other shapes have the contacts in a slot within a plastic insert, perhaps with different contacts each side of the slot, yet others have a central plastic bar with contacts each side. (Keep in mind that contacts each side of a slot or bar are not necessarily independent, they may simply be mirrored - connected to the same wire.) - mini A (4): 2 shallow rectangles stacked, no taper between them, plastic in wider part with 4 contacts on free side of it [correction: Panasonic VR RR-US360 actually uses mini B (5)] - mini A (5): 2 shallow rectangles stacked, taper between them, plastic in wider part with 5 contacts on free side of it (staggered depth). (Compared to the mini B (5) the smaller rectangle is shallow and narrow with tapered sides.) - mini B (4): square with top corners chamfered, solid plastic in that half with contacts on free side of it. - mini B (5)/mini 5: 2 shallow rectangles stacked, taper between, plastic in wider rectangle with contacts on free side of it (staggered depth of contacts). [uses include Motorola RAZR V3c cellular phone (Motorola skn6245a is an adapter from standard large device end for such phones; the RAZR V9 does not use this connector), not WD Passport HD as the short cable supplied by WD is wired differently, Panasonic VR RR-US360, and later Fuji cameras] (Compared to the mini A (5) the smaller rectangle is deeper and wider.) Sometimes called EMU, at least in the world of cellular phones. - mini 4 rect/flat: deep rectangle with contacts on top of plastic block - mini 4P: rectangular with 2 corners rounded, keying notches at one or both bottom corners, contacts in row in center (double sided?) [uses include Planon DocuPen 800 - cable 72811 31533 from acp.com is useable or cable adapter CC-406 from HRS-Global of Dorval Quebec is useable] - mini 5 D: square shape (not staggered) with corners chamfered (D shape if look at it the right way), plastic block at narrower side with contacts facing full width end. - mini xD: 2 rectangles, narrow one quite shallow, slot in centre of plastic has several contacts [uses include "most Fuji & Olympus cameras" per package of cable sold by "The Source", interestingly Fuji cameras typically use an xD memory card (a bit smaller than an SD)] - "micro": term used by phone salesman for a shallow rectangle with rounded corners on one side, contacts in row in center, "overall width same as mini B (5)", used on Motorola RAZR V9 cellular phone - mini 8: three versions: > flat: single rectangle with top corners chamfered, plastic in bottom with 8 contacts on top side of it (staggered depth) [uses include Nikon 7600 camera] > round > round with flattened bottom [uses include some Nikon cameras] - mini 14: outline is a large rectangle topped by shallow rectangle, 7 contacts each side of a slot - Firewire 4: rectangle dished in on one side (standard fire-wire is a larger rectangle with one end triangulated) Some connectors have additional contacts to the side to contact the shell of the mating connector. (I have not studied the wiring, but in general the shell is often used for the the cable shield.) Note that the device may not use all contacts - for example, the mini 8 cable adapting a Nikon camera to a standard computer connector has 8 contacts at the cable but only four at the computer thus either some are not connected or are siamesed (as is often done with signal returns - they are connected to a common ground). Standard USB connectors are designed with contacts of staggered depth so that power is connected last and disconnected first on insertion and removal. Most mini USB connectors do not have that feature. If you want to be cautious, plug the mini end of the cable in first then the standard end, to avoid electrical erosion of contacts on the device connector that is probably more costly to replace. The cable end connectors are usually termed "male" because they fit into a larger socket on the device. Adapters are often made to fit the end of a computer USB extender cable (i.e. the adapter has the same large connector as the computer end of a USB cable, over which the extender end fits, and the mini connector to fit into the compact device). Computer extender cables are popular because many USB memory sticks are too wide to fit beside a cable plugged into the adjacent USB port. Beware that descriptions in catalogues may be imprecise (for example, on the dCables web site, is there any difference between the mini A and mini B 5-contact cable ends?). As well, obviously it is difficult to describe shape in a few words, so compare actual device to actual cables to check match. Refer to qvs.com/connector.asp, ziplinq.com, dcables.net, and bulgin.co.uk for info. WHERE TO PURCHASE - The foregoing web sites. - The "Source" chain of retail electronics stores in Canada have six types. - acp.com has a few including retractables, web site does not have enough detail of mini connector, their 72811 31533 is mini 4P fitting Docupen 800. - a Canadian dollar store has a couple of adapters, one an uncommon type. Look around for long enought and you may find what you want. Quicker to order on the Internet? - various companies sell packages of adapters, such as GE and Staples OTHERS There is a mini Firewire, 4-contact, a rectangle with two projections from one long side. LENGTH Unfortunately most are 6 feet long, which excessive for laptop use. (With a few cables and power supply and surge/modem protectors, the user ends up with a bag as large as the small laptop it supports!) Some retractable versions are available, perhaps solving the need for shortness - stowing compactly. (But avoid the extra-short that Western Digital is fobbing off on purchasers of the Passport external hard drive series - you need a cable long enough to have your laptop on your lap [what a concept!] and the external drive nearby on a chair or such (previously they supplied 22" length - itself short, as anything less than 3 feet is difficult to use with a desktop computer).) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright Keith Sketchley 2008.03.30 (1838PDT) Legalities detailed on http://www.keithsketchley.com/ apply. Use of advice and information contained in this file is at your risk. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- BACK in your browser should return you to the page you came here from.