Can I use an external hard drive on a slow USB?

[ShawnD1]

I don't know what USB version my USB ports are but I know that they are slow. When I plug my scanner into my computer it says something like "high speed device plugged into low speed USB" .

If my USB is not the high speed kind, will external hard drives even work? If they do work, will they be insanely slow and not worth the money?

[Urban_Squrill]

They will be slower on usb1.1(slow usb). You could go out and for like 20 bucks get a usb2.0 card.

[ShawnD1]

Hmmm ok thanks.

Another question, are USB hard drives super slow even when on USB 2.0?

usb 1.1 12M bit/sec

usb 2.0 bit/sec


we have one usb 1.1 harddrive at work and its dog slow. but its great for back ups. of course if you have large size file it can take a while

[ShawnD1]

Ok that sounds good. I was thinking of getting a 120gb external hard drive. Best Buy is selling a 120gb drive for $130 after rebates ($200 before mail in rebates). Should I go for it or forget it?

what will you be using it for?

[ShawnD1]

Backing up big files such as images of all my CDs (can't lose things like Windows ya know)

[DanU]

Like GZ3 said, spend the extra $20 and get a USB 2.0 card. USB 1.1 is painfully slow.