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Please help with USB confusion

Started by GoshenBleeping , May 28 2024 05:38 PM

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3 replies to this topic

#1 GoshenBleeping

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Posted 28 May 2024 - 05:38 PM

System: Microsoft Windows 11 Home

Old laptop is broke & New laptop to be delivered next week. I have USB confusion and am unsure on how to connect my backup external hard drives to the new laptop.

Old laptop: The attached picture shows the cable that I use to connect an external hard drive to the old laptop. One end of the cable connects to the drive & the other end is a male USB A connector that plugs into the USB A port on the laptop.

New laptop:

(1) Has 2 USB 3.2 gen 1 ports:

-- Are these ports essentially a newer generation - faster speed - of the USB A specification?

-- Can the male USB A connector from the cable plug into these ports?

-- Will the external drive still function properly with this configuration?

(2) Has 1 USB 3.2 type C port:

-- Am I correct that to connect the male USB A connector from the cable into the type C port, I need a second cable with a USB A female on one end that connects to the old cable & a male type C connector on the other end to connect to the type C port on the new laptop?

-- Will the external drive still function properly with this configuration?

Thank you for your help!!

Attached Files

USB post pic.png 494.42KB 0 downloads

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#2 Dominique1

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Posted 28 May 2024 - 05:59 PM

Good luck for you! Your USB cable for your external drive is indeed USB3 (blue plastic), so feel free to plug it directly into your new PC. The reason it also worked before in your old laptop is because USB3 is compatible with USB2 and USB1.

:busy:

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#3 Nukecad

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Posted 29 May 2024 - 02:45 AM

Yes, that cable is USB-A, v3 (blue), computer connection and so will just plug into a USB-A port on your new laptop.
It may even be faster at transferring data (faster backups) depending on just what colour the ports were on your old one.

To put it in simple terms:

The letter refers to the shape of the USB port/connector and the number refers to the speed of the connection.

So USB-A is the largish square shape that you show in your images, USB-C is a smaller oval shape (you probably have USB-C on your smartphone).
There other types and shapes of USB connectors. (The end of that cable that plugs into your drive is a USB Micro-B v3).

With USB-A you then want to know if it's v1, v2, v3, (3.1, 3.2, etc). which tells you how fast it can transfer data.
They are backwards compatible, so for example a v3 (blue) cable will still work in a v1 (white) port, or vice-versa. Just at the slower of the two ratings.
USB-C will be v3 or v4

The lead that you show there has a USB-A computer connection with a blue plastic insert, showing that it's USB v3
(v1 is white, v2 is black, you also get teal, red, yellow, and orange but those are less common).

If you want more information about the different types of USB connections then this is pretty comprehensive without being overwhelming:
https://tripplite.eaton.com/products/usb-connectivity-types-standards