USB Versions
Three versions of USB exist:
- USB 1.0
USB 1.0 was the original specification. Most systems produced from 1996 through mid-1998 have USB 1.0 ports. USB 1.0 supports data rates of 1.5 Mb/s and 12 Mb/s. Relatively few USB 1.0 peripherals were produced because by the time USB peripherals began shipping in volume, USB 1.0 had been superseded by USB 1.1. USB 1.0-compliant peripherals generally operate properly when connected to a USB 1.1 or USB 2.0 interface, but USB 1.1 or USB 2.0 peripherals may not function properly when connected to a USB 1.0 interface. USB 1.0 interfaces are primitive and buggy, so if your motherboard has USB 1.0 ports, we recommend you disable those ports in BIOS Setup and install an add-on PCI USB port card. The first release of Windows 98 included USB 1.0 support.
- USB 1.1
USB 1.1 was formalized in September 1998, although many manufacturers produced USB 1.1-compliant motherboards and peripherals based on the proposed standard long before the formal standard was adopted. USB 1.1 also supports data rates of 1.5 Mb/s and 12 Mb/s, and was largely a clarification of ambiguities in the USB 1.0 specification. A few functional definitions were changed in USB 1.1, including minor changes to hub specifications, removing provision for battery-powered hubs, adding interrupt-out mode, and changes to recommended enumeration to eliminate the requirement for an 8-byte endpoint zero. Most changes, however, merely tightened up the existing requirements because experience ...