Hi everyone. I have a quick question regarding backward compatility issue with USB 2.0 and USB 1.0. I am looking at purchasing a Western Digital FireWire/USB 2.0 Type B Combo Special Edition Lightup 250GB external disk drive. Will this work on my PC with USB 1.0? I don't have Firewire connector either. Do I take it will still work, but with only the USB 1.0 transfer rate? Also, any comments on this drive in terms of reliability? Thank you for you help.

I have no experience with that particular drive but you are correct about the backwards compatibility - but running at the reduced speed of transfer - which for all 250GB would be quite noticeable. Such drives supporting USB and Firewire would be accessible with either cable and hardware support.

Ok Paul, thank you for your confirmation.

Pikefish
You could insert a USB2/Firewire PCI card into your computer if you have the space. This would then give oyu the firewire abillity and also USB2 speed. You can get a 5 port (2FW & 3USB) for about £10 - £15.00.

One piece of advice is don't go ot PC World for it as they are expensive

Hi Erniek, thank you for your reply. I am looking at Belkin 5 port USB2 card on dabs.com for around £20. I recently found out transfer rate on USB2 is actually slightly quicker than Firewire. Always thought it was the other way round. Will stay clear of PC World, their prices are extortionate. Am looking at Seagate 250GB drive, but Dabs are out of stock :(. So far, they are the cheapest, so I will wait.

Also with USB 1.0, you will need to use a power adapter to supply the driver.

Pkiefish
Like oyu I was under the impression that firewire was faster but discovered I was wrong a few weeks ago.
Have you had a look at Ebuyer for the drive? their prices are usually pretty good. You will also be able to get a card with USB and FIREWIRE ports. I bougth a 5 port card (3 & 2) for about the £20.00 mark at Ebuyer.

www.ebuyer.co.uk

Sorry for the late reply guys. I an not a nerd, what do mean by power supply for the driver? Erniek, yes I have heard of eBuyer before. Will look into it when I have sometime this weekend. £20 for the 5 port card aint bad at all. The last time I visited Dabs.com, they were still out of stock for the disk drive. Sent them an email asking when they would be expecting some in, but never got a reply. Will look into eBuyer. Thanks again for the reply.

I an not a nerd, what do mean by power supply for the driver?
When USB devices cannot get adequate power from the computer itself it may be necessary to plug in a second USB cable or to use a powered hub that draws from a power adapter rather than from the computer. However, I have never seen any such specific power problems that relate specifically to USB 1.0.

There's a fairly comprehensive review of USB at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB

Ahhh ok. All my USB devices draw power from my PC. But I see what you are saying, Paul and I an not a nerd. I'll bear that in mind, should the problem arises, I'll know what to look out for. Thanks for your reply Paul.