USB Speed Tool

[SavannahLion]

Just attached an external hard drive to a PC on a USB port that is supposed to support 2.0 speeds.

Conversely, my laptop reports inconsistent speeds when attaching external USB storage devices. I'll attach a device, then get the annoying, "your device may perform faster if it is attached to a Hi Speed port," or something like that. This is on a port I know supports 2.0 speeds. If I remove the device then reattach, I can usually "fix" the problem. Transferring large files and calculating the estimate times with and without the message on the same ports seems to confirm there's a problem somewhere. It's not really tied to any particular device, I've encountered the same message with everything from my 1+TB external HDD all the way down to my tiny 128MB thumb drive.

I've examined my hardware configurations (XP) and just about any place I can think of to get USB information and I can't figure out how to extrapolate speed information short of attaching a HDD and transferring a big ass file. On my laptop, four of the six ports are supposed to be 1.1 only and two are 2.0. The Sony is supposed to have full 2.0 support but my calculations are showing much lower speed transfers (even adjusting for overhead and maximum HDD transfer speeds) than what they should be.

Is there a tool that can report back what speed each USB port is running as and what devices are connected to them? On top of that, it would be nice to see the USB device tree and what the port is actually capable of despite any existing device.

I remember spotting a Linux based tool on one of my recover discs, but the information that came back was something just short of cryptic.

[northerngames]

I just went through a wierd thing the same as this with an external IDE HDD Enclosure

Hooked it to a usb extension cable and no go

took the extension cable off but used the same mobo port no go

moved it over to the other side of the mobo jacks and it went fine.

took it over my parent and tried it on theirs through a extension cable no  go

took the extension off but used the same port went fine.

the no go's said like 8+ hours but when working correctly 10-15 minutes.

I was wondering the same thing like what is going on here.

I am starting to wonder if it is a cheap usb cable type thing or perhaps a lack of 5V usb power.

I recently got a self powered usb hub to put it to the test but have not done so yet but will try it with  & without extension to see if it matters.

[SavannahLion]

I've noticed that with the extensions as well. I bought this cord that acts as an extension or has different dongles to change the type of the cord. With the adapters, it works perfectly. When I tried to use it as an extension, the PC just acted like it couldn't recognize the device. The PC sees a device, it just wouldn't recognize it.

Figuring the cords pinout was altered, I bought an adapter specifically designated as an extension cord. It too came with adapters. I got worse performance from that than I did from the previous cord even with the adapters. The damn thing absolutely would not work with anything requiring power from the USB bus. eg the 120v powered printer worked fine, but the USB powered scanner would not.

I gave up and switched to using a tiny hub to act as an extension cable.

[u_rebelscum]

FWIW, USB 2.0 specifically states it does NOT support dumb extension cords.  IIRC, with 1.1 they were okay.  USB 2.0 needs "active USB axtensions" AKA "one port hubs".

Also, saying "USB 2.0 speed" doesn't technically mean what you (and most people) think it means.  USB 2.0 supports 1.5 Mbit/sec, 12 Mbit/s, and 480 Mbits/sec, so "USB 2.0 speed" means all three speeds (technically).  USB's official name for 480 Mbit/sec is "High speed USB" or "Hi-speed USB".  (I know, I know, yuck, especially with 1.5 "Low speed", 12 "Full speed", and USB 3.0 adding "Super speed".)

Acording to USB's USB 2.0 FAQ, there's a souple stuff out there: USBInfo ($39.95) & SiSoftware Sandra (not sure if the free lite version use, though). 

Also, USB.org says "anything above 12Mbps is surely Hi-Speed USB".  Remeber 480 Mbit/sec is the theorectical max; most tests in the field top out atabout half that in the best conditions.