USB 2.0 vs. 3.0: Speed

 

USB 2.0 vs. 3.0: Speed and More

As we already covered, data transfer rates are a key differentiator between these two generations. But speed isn't the only thing that separates these technologies. They also differ in design and a few other ways.

• Speed -- USB 2.0 offers a transfer rate of about 480 Mbps, whereas USB 3.0 offers a transfer rate of about 4,800 Mbps which is equal to about 5 GB. This super-fast transfer speed of USB 3.0 can be especially useful when backing up or transferring large amounts of data, such as an external hard drive. (It should be noted that these are the maximum speeds reflecting 'perfect' conditions, actual speeds will be lower.)
• Connector Wires -- USB 2.0 has four connector wires, whereas USB 3.0 has nine, which increases speed and bandwidth.
• Power Output and Efficiency -- USB 3.0 brings more power and operates at improved power efficiency than its older counterpart.
• Backward Compatibility -- USB 3.0 ports are also totally backward compatible, which means they will work with other USB versions, including 2.0. This means that when you plug a USB 2.0 drive into a 3.0 port, it will work. However, if you plug a USB 3.0 drive into a USB 2.0 port, it will be limited to the max speed of USB 2.0.
• Interior Color -- To tell the difference between these two technologies with a quick glance, look for a black or blue block inside the port. The black interior indicates USB 2.0, while the blue one indicates 3.0.

Here's a spec-by-spec comparison of USB 2.0 vs. USB 3.0 for quick reference:

Specification	USB 2.0	USB 3.0
Released	2000	2008
Transfer Rate (Speed)	480 Mbps	4,800 Mbps
Maximum Cable Length	30 M	18 M
Number of Connectors	4	9
Power Usage	500 mA	900 mA
Block Color	Black	Blue

So Which Is Best, USB 2.0 or USB 3.0?

It's safe to say USB 3.0 out performs USB 2.0 in every category that matters. However, it may come at a price. As you might expect, you will pay more for USB 3.0 devices than USB 2.0 devices, so it's important to figure out if you actually need the faster option for your specific application. If you're not working with a huge amount of data, there's no reason to pay extra for the faster speeds.

Straight Through Cables vs Crossover Cables

 

What is an Ethernet cable?

An Ethernet cable is a network cable used for high-speed wired network connections between two devices. This network cable is made of four-pair cable, which is consists of twisted pair conductors. It is used for data transmission at both ends of the cable, which is called RJ45 connector.

The Ethernet cables are categorized as Cat 5, Cat 5e, Cat 6, and UTP cable. Cat 5 cable can support a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet network while Cat 5e and Cat 6 cable to support Ethernet network running at 10/100/1000 Mbps.

What is Straight Through Cable?

Straight Through Cable

Straight-through cable is a type of CAT5 with RJ-45 connectors at each end, and each has the same pin out. It is in accordance with either the T568A or T568B standards. It uses the same color code throughout the LAN for consistency. This type of twisted-pair cable is used in LAN to connect a computer or a network hub such as a router. It is one of the most common types of network cable.

What Is Crossover Cable?

Crossover Cable

A Crossover cable is a type of CAT 5 where one end isT568A configuration and the other end as T568BConfiguration. In this type of cable connection, Pin 1 is crossed with Pin 3, and Pin 2 is crossed with Pin 6.

Crossover cable is used to connect two or more computing devices. The internal wiring of crossover cables reverses the transmission and receive signals. It is widely used to connect two devices of the same type: e.g., two computers or two switches to each other.

In regard to physical appearance, Crossover Ethernet cables are very much similar to regular Ethernet cables. Still, they are different with regard to the order with which the wires are arranged. This type of Ethernet cable is made to connect to network devices of the same kind over Ethernet directly. Crossover cables are mostly used to connect two hosts directly.

KEY DIFFERENCES:

• Crossover cable, Pin 1 is crossed with Pin 3, and Pin 2 is crossed with Pin 6 while in Straight-through cable Pin connection is one to one.
• Straight-through cables are mainly used for connecting non-similar devices while crossover cables are mostly used for connecting similar devices.
• Straight through cable connects a computer with a DSL modem while Crossover cable connects Router to Router and Computer to Computer.

When to use Straight Through Cable?

Computer to network switch/hub

Here are applications where you should use Crossover Cable:

• It helps you to connect a computer to a switch/hub’s normal port.
• You can use it to connect a computer to a cable/DSL modem’s LAN port.
• It allows you to connect a router’s WAN port to a cable/DSL modem’s LAN port.
• Connect 2 switches or hubs with one of the hub or switch using an upline port and the other one using a normal port.
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When to use Crossover Cable?

Use of Cross over cable- computer to computer

Router to Router

Here is an application where you should use Crossover Cable:

• It can use a computer to a computer with no switch or hub.
• Network devise to the network device. For example, the route to the router.
• Crossover cable enables one to establish a direct connection between two computing devices using Ethernet ports.
• It Connects two computers directly.
• You can connect two hubs/switches by using the normal port in both switches and hubs.

SSD vs. HDD

What Is an HDD?

An HDD is a data storage device that lives inside the computer. It has spinning disks inside where data is stored magnetically. The HDD has an arm with several "heads" (transducers) that read and write data on the disk. It is similar to how a turntable record player works, with an LP record (hard disk) and a needle on an arm (transducers). The arm moves the heads across the surface of the disk to access different data.

HDDs are considered a legacy technology, meaning they’ve been around longer than SSDs. In general, they are lower in cost and are practical for data that does not need to be accessed frequently, such as backups of photos, videos or business files. They are available in two common form factors: 2.5 inch (commonly used in laptops) and 3.5 inch (desktop computers).

What Is an SSD?

SSDs got their name—solid state—because they use solidstate devices under the hood. In an SSD, all data is stored in integrated circuits. This difference from HDDs has a lot of implications, especially in size and performance. Without the need for a spinning disk, SSDs can reduce to the shape and size of a stick of gum (what’s known as the M.2 form factor) or even as small as a postage stamp. Their capacity—or how much data they can hold—varies, making them flexible for smaller devices, such as slim laptops, convertibles, or 2 in 1s. And SSDs dramatically reduce access time since users don’t have to wait for platter rotation to start up.

SSDs are more expensive than HDDs per amount of storage (in gigabytes (GB) and terabytes (TB)), but the gap is closing as SSD prices decline at a faster pace that HDD prices year over year.

SSD vs. HDD: Speed

What makes SSDs an increasingly popular choice is their speed. Across the board, SSDs outpace HDDs because they use electrical circuitry and have no physical moving parts. This leads to shorter wait times when you’re starting up and fewer delays when opening apps or doing heavy computing tasks. For example, the Intel SSD D5-P5316 is a 15.36TB enterprise-grade SSD that offers over 7000 MB/s in bandwidth. The 14TB Seagate Exos 2x14, a compatible HDD, offers only up to 500 MB/s in bandwidth. That’s a difference of 14x!1

These faster speeds lead to performance benefits in several areas, such as when logging in and waiting for apps and services to start up, or when performing storage-intensive tasks such as copying a large file. With an HDD, performance slows significantly, while an SSD can continue to work on other tasks.

Speed is also influenced by the interface used in an SSD vs. HDD that connects to the rest of the computer system when transferring data back and forth. You might have heard of these interfaces—SATA and PCI Express (PCIe). SATA is an older, slower, legacy technology, while PCIe is newer and faster. SSDs with PCIe interfaces will typically be much faster than HDDs with SATA because PCIe contains more channels to transfer data. Think of it like the number of cars that can go down a one-lane country road compared to a four lane highway.

Although no one ever complains that their computer is too fast, there are times when an HDD can make sense. If you have terabytes of files that you want to store, HDDs are still a less expensive option, although that’s changing with increasingly lower SSD prices and newer NAND technologies driving bit densities higher per NAND die. Computer storage decisions can be simplified by thinking of data as either cold or hot. “Cold” data might include the years of photos you want to keep on your laptop but don’t look at every day and don’t need quick access to. HDDs can be an excellent, cost-effective choice for cold data. At the other end of the spectrum, if you’re a business running real-time transactions, editing videos and photos and need fast access to a database of files, video clips, or models, or even just running the operating system, that’s referred to as “hot” data. The fast performance of SSDs makes them an ideal choice for when speedy access to your data is what matters most.

SSD vs. HDD: Endurance

The degree of write wear to a NAND SSD depends partly on the state of data already on the drive, because data is written in pages but erased in blocks. When writing sequential data to a relatively new SSD, data can be efficiently written to successive, free pages on the drive. However, when small blocks of data need to be updated (as in revising documents or numerical values), the old data is read into memory, revised, and then re-written to a new page on the disk. The old page, containing deprecated data, is marked invalid. When free pages are no longer available, those “invalid” pages are freed up for use in a background process called “defragmentation” or “wear leveling.” All existing valid pages in a given block must first be copied to other free locations on the drive so that the original block only contains invalid, deprecated pages. The original block can then be erased to free up space for new data to be written.

Internal NAND housekeeping processes like wear leveling lead to write amplification, where the total internal writes on an SSD are greater than the writes required to simply place new data on the drive. Since every write slightly degrades individual NAND cells, write amplification is a primary cause of wear. Built-in processes help NAND SSDs distribute wear evenly across the drive. But the bottom line is that write-heavy workloads (random writes, in particular) cause NAND SSDs to wear out faster than other input/output (I/O) patterns because they result in greater write amplification.

Good news is SSD drive level endurance is always specified while keeping the worst case random write patterns in mind. For example, when you hear a drive can do one Drive Write per Day, that means you can write at least one full drive worth of data using that random write usage everyday during the drive’s warranty period (typically 5 years).

Head-to-Head Comparison: SSD vs. HDD

When it comes to capacity, SSDs for computers are available in 120GB to 30.72TB capacities, whereas HDDs can go anywhere from 250GB to 20TB. When measuring cost per capacity, HDDs come out on top, but as SSDs drop in price, this will become less of a differentiator for HDDs. However, with SSDs, you get much more work done per server which results in fewer devices deployed to get the same output as an HDD. The result? SSDs have a lower TCO (total cost of ownership).

Reliability is defined as whether data is stored as intended, in an uncorrupted state. SSDs in general are more reliable than HDDs, which again is a function of having no moving parts. That’s because without movement, SSDs aren’t affected by vibration or related thermal issues.

SSDs commonly use less power and result in longer battery life because data access is much faster and the device is idle more often. With their spinning disks, HDDs require more power when they start up than SSDs.

Make Bootable Pen Drive Through WinSetupFromUSB

WinSetupFromUSB is a highly recommended pick for installing Windows from a USB and multiboot USBs. It's an intuitive multiboot software option. However, WinSetupFromUSB is only compatible with Windows 2000/XP and later, as well as Linux and BSD.

Using WinSetupFromUSB is easy. Open the software, and select your USB disk from the dropdown menu.

Next, check the button next to your preferred operating systems.

Then you'll need to browse to the volume containing the operating system you wish to install on your multiboot USB. When you're ready, click the Go button.

If you're interested, check the option by Show Log to view detailed information on what's going on.

Finally, when installation is complete, you'll see a Job Done message.

How to install Windows 10

 

1. Make sure your device meets the minimum system requirements

For the latest version of Windows 10, you’ll need to have the following:

CPU: 1GHz or faster supported processor (Here is a list of supported CPUs)
RAM: 1GB for Windows 10 32-bit or 2GB for Windows 10 64-bit
Storage: 32GB of space or more
GPU: DirectX 9 compatible or later with WDDM 1.0 drriver
Display: 800x600 resolution or greater
Internet connection: Some versions of Windows 10 require an internet connection during setup.

2. Create installation media

Microsoft has a tool specifically for creating installation media. You can download that tool using this link, or by going to this page and selecting “Download tool now” under the section titled “Create Windows 10 installation media.”vi 

PC” when you get to the “What do you want to do?” page.

You’ll select the language and edition of Windows you want as well as whether it will be 32-bit or 62-bit, and then select the type of media you want to use. Installing from a USB drive is easiest, but you can find details on using a DVD and ISO file here. You’ll then choose your USB drive from a list of drives, and the tool will download the necessary files and put them on the USB  drive.

(Note: If you are upgrading a Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 PC, you can actually use this tool to simply download and install Windows 10 directly to your computer. Just run the program as an administrator, and when you reach the “What do you want to do?” section, select “Upgrade this PC now,” and follow the remaining steps in the tool. This will also give you the option of keeping your files and apps during the installation process. You can find more detailed instructions on this process here.)

3. Use the installation media

Insert your installation media into the computer you plan to install Windows 10 on, then access your computer's BIOS or UEFI.

This is the system that allows you to control some aspects of your computer's hardware, and it's built into your motherboard. This step is unique to your specific hardware, so we can't walk you through exactly what to do. But, you should be able to figure out the process for accessing this by checking on your computer or motherboard manufacturer’s website.

Generally accessing a computer's BIOS or UEFI involves holding a specific key during the boot process, often Escape, F1, F2, F12, or Delete. So, figure out which key your computer uses, then shut it down. Boot it back up, and hold the necessary key as soon as it starts to boot.

4. Change your computer's boot order

In your computer's BIOS or UEFI, you'll need to find the settings for boot order. This may show up in a section called "Boot" or "Boot order." This decides which devices are used first when the computer starts up. 

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The computer won't boot into the Windows 10 installation tool unless the drive it's on is higher up in the boot order than the drive holding the computer's current operating system.

You should move the drive (whether it's your USB drive or a DVD drive) to the top of the boot order menu.

You may also need to disable Secure Boot if your computer uses it.

5. Save settings and exit BIOS/UEFI

Your computer should now boot into the Windows 10 installation tool, which will guide you through the process of setting up Windows 10 on your computer.

 

Computer Free Solution 

Computer Free Solution helps of people with their computer questions and problems every day. Below are ways you can start getting free computer help.

In such situations, you could choose from several options. You can find some workaround through thousands of video tutorials on YouTube or from online sources that provide step-by-step instructions on computer troubleshooting. You can also contact your seller who will probably ask you to bring the unit for checkup or repair. Then, there are third-party IT outsourcing service providers who you can hire to fix your machine.

Here’s a rundown of the top websites, in alphabetical order, which can provide you the proper know-how in computer troubleshooting and tech support:

1. Whether you’re a Mac or PC user, you can find troubleshooting help on this site. It has a very organized look to it featuring a forum, glossary, and tutorials to help you find information about various computer issues fast.

2. The site prides itself as an excellent source of information, advice, and tutorials on computer software and hardware, troubleshooting, and security, to name a few. It has a searchable database of articles that is updated monthly by its stable of regular contributors.

3. Computer Hope lives up to its name, as visiting the site will never give you the feeling that you have reached a dead end in your search for assistance with your computers. From its FAQs to troubleshooting tips, listing of computer companies, forums, online chat, and email, you’ll find something useful for sure.

4. Contrary to its name, the site caters to both dummies and professionals with detailed instructions and tips, a large collection of articles, and very useful how-to guides for troubleshooting your PC.

5. The large user base of Microsoft Windows will find invaluable support from this knowledge base. The site has a full library of troubleshooting tips and tutorials culled from experts, users, and other parties familiar to some of the most common issues in the entire lineup of Microsoft products.

6. One of the pioneers in IT support, trans cosmos blog is written by a team of highly qualified experts who will teach you in resolving technical issues in your computer systems, as well as in providing reinforcement to your IT desk and infrastructure support.

7. If you’re encountering issues with your computer hardware and software, including tweaking and operating systems, you can head to TechSpot forums to post your questions. You’ll also have access to computer news, reviews, and driver downloads.