USB2.0 PCI card in a Dimension 4300s??

If you have a free PCI slot then you can add a USB 2.0 PCI card.  Note that your system only has 2 PCI slots, so depending on what else you have in your system (modem, network card, sound card, etc., both slots could be full).  Instructions for physically installing such a card on your system can be found at:

 

Note that a USB 2.0 device should run on a USB 1.1 port, but the speed will just be very slow compared to running it on a USB 2.0 port. 

Steve

 

Thanks so much for you reply Volcano...

As you mentioned, I thought this USB2 Drive should work on my standard USB connection, but it definitely doesn't work!

the drive is from IOGEAR (3.5 USB2.0 HardDrive)

Win XP pops up a message that say "Unrecongnized USB Device"...I've installed the newest driver from the vendor's website AND the USB 2 updates for Win XP with no luck.

What do you think?

Cheers

All I can say is that USB 2 devices are supposed to be backward compatible with USB 1.1 systems. You can either contact the IOGEAR Customer/Tech Support and see if they have a workaround or return it and get a USB 1 device.  The performance of a USB 1 drive will be pretty poor compared to what the USB 2 drive would give, but the same as a USB 2 drive running in USB 1.1 mode.

Steve

COOL THANKS,

so there's no compatibility issues with the USB 2.0 card into the 4300?

I'm going to get the OrangeMicro USB 2.0 HighSpeed PCI Card

Cheers!

I went through a lot of trouble getting my system to recognize and utilize the USB 2.0 PCI card I added.  (IOGear, manufacturer; Model #: GIC220U;  http://www.iogear.com/ .)

I had to Flash upgrade my BIOS to get Windows XP (Device Manager) to recognize the USB 2.0 HUB controller, and also had to run the Intel Chipset Utility to upgrade my chipset (something not done lightly and which required a good deal of careful research before attempting.) The specs on my Dell Dimension 4300S system chipset are:  System chipset: Intel 845 ;  I/O Controller Hub (ICH): 82801BA; Memory Controller Hub (MCH): 82845; Firmware Hub (FWH): 82802AB or 82802AC

You also have to check what exact version of Windows XP you are using.

It was well worth it in the end, as backing up a large hard drive, for example, to a USB external drive, is 40 times faster, and I got transfer rates of 450 MB per second, which ain't bad.

Here are a few helpful links: (but be careful)

http://www.radisys.com/files/support_downloads/Intel_Chipset_Installation_Utility_User_Manual_2.0.pdf

http://developer.intel.com/design/software/drivers/platform/inf.htm