USB Printers

Post #102,121 by orion 5/15/03 2:32:52 PM Reply	USB Printers USB is Universal Serial Bus, it is a new type of connector they came up with to replace serial and parallel ports. Even PS/2 ports as well can be replaced with them. It didn't become popular until the Apple iMac started using them and more USB devices came out. The iMac got rid of ADB and Serial ports (and SCSI ports) and used USB instead. Some PC makers wanted to do this as well, but the idea didn't go that far. USB is great for keyboards, mice, joysticks, and printers, as well as other devices. It is a smaller plug than even a serial 9 pin plug, and it is usually found in the back next to the PS/2 ports, or in the front of the machine if you have a case that allows it. The USB connectors can be connected via a Hub, which is like a way of splitting up the signal so that you can use more USB devices. For more USB information: [link\|http://www.usb.org/faq\|http://www.usb.org/faq] *"If you're going to cheat, cheat fair. If there's anything I hate it's a crooked crook!" -Moe Howard*
Post #102,163 by Nightowl 5/15/03 8:38:59 PM Reply	Re: USB Printers Thanks for the explanation, Norman. Okay then, here goes. We have two USB ports on the front of Nikolai, and four in the back. But the only USB device we currently own is the HP Scanjet 3400C Scanner. My mouse and keyboard are both PS/2 plugs at this time, but the mouse can be adapted to be a USB mouse if we desire at some point. Also both printers are currently parallel ports. I don't know what the new printer we are considering uses. And regarding the graphics card, we have had problems with Radeons before, so we tried something different, and I was correct in that he bought a cheap one for now because it's not very important to me. Hope that answered everything. :) Nightowl >8# "Only dead fish swim with the stream." Linda Ellerbee
Post #102,176 by orion 5/15/03 11:15:18 PM Reply	Re: USB Printers Most modern printers offer a USB option and may have both USB and Parallel port connections. Your milage may vary, check the printer out before you buy it. If it is USB, you can get rid of that extra Parallel port. I've had problems with Radeons and other ATI cards before. The one you have is great for what you are doing. Not the best, but good enough unless you are getting into the latest and greatest 3D gaming worlds, which I doubt you are. I have a (gasp) Nivida TNT2 AGP card myself, which is nowhere near as good as the card you have. But then I don't get into Everquest and other 3D gaming software. I only have a 700Mhz Cleron with 128M of RAM and a 15Gig hard drive, which by the standards of your machine, mine is a doorstop already. But it is good enough for me to check email on it, and surf the web, and maybe play some 2D video games from time to time. Since I am on disability, I'll have to save up a long time to get a new system. My brother is upgrading his Pentium III 1.0 Ghz system to a Pentium 4 2.4Ghz and I might buy his leftover parts. *"If you're going to cheat, cheat fair. If there's anything I hate it's a crooked crook!" -Moe Howard*
Post #102,181 by Nightowl 5/16/03 12:37:49 AM Reply	Re: USB Printers Most modern printers offer a USB option and may have both USB and Parallel port connections. Your milage may vary, check the printer out before you buy it. If it is USB, you can get rid of that extra Parallel port. I am considering the HP 3820 printer. I'll look into the ports, but it really doesn't matter to me too much. :) I'm not gonna get rid of the parallel port as long as I have Epstein (the Epscon LQ printer and Xavier (The Xerox one). Plus, the parallel ports aren't in the way of the USB ports, they are alongside I think. I've had problems with Radeons and other ATI cards before. The one you have is great for what you are doing. Not the best, but good enough unless you are getting into the latest and greatest 3D gaming worlds, which I doubt you are. I have a (gasp) Nivida TNT2 AGP card myself, which is nowhere near as good as the card you have. Exactly, the two games I play most are Solitaire (comes with Windows) and Block Breaker, (a newer version of Breakout). John wants to play Monkey Island three on here, and we got a card that was supposedly compatible to that. All I know is I was tickled to death that the card we got runs "James Cameron's Titanic Explorer," WHEEE FINALLY! But then I don't get into Everquest and other 3D gaming software. I only have a 700Mhz Cleron with 128M of RAM and a 15Gig hard drive, which by the standards of your machine, mine is a doorstop already. But it is good enough for me to check email on it, and surf the web, and maybe play some 2D video games from time to time. Since I am on disability, I'll have to save up a long time to get a new system. My brother is upgrading his Pentium III 1.0 Ghz system to a Pentium 4 2.4Ghz and I might buy his leftover parts. Well, I feel like my computer is HIGH CLASS for me, and the things I want it for, but John decided he was gonna build something GOOD that would LAST and he could fix or adjust himself since he built it.... and Nikolai was born :) I hope you get to upgrade yours soon if you need to. I'm just so happy mine doesn't crash anymore like it was, that I could do cartwheels if I had the ability to do them! Nightowl >8# "Only dead fish swim with the stream." Linda Ellerbee
Post #102,318 by Steven A S 5/16/03 5:07:51 PM Reply	The primary concern with parallel is that each port is taking (usually sharing with something else) an IRQ. So with two parallel ports, you're using two IRQs. With USB, you're using one IRQ for however many USB devices (up to 127 in theory) are connected. This isn't usually a grave concern though as current computers can share IRQs fairly well (though it's best to avoid sharing with the graphics card). There are adapters out that will allow you to connect parallel printers to USB ports, so if you do decide to move to an all USB setup, you may still be able to use your old trusty printers. Just something to consider. ~~~)-Steven---- "I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country..." General George S. Patton
Post #102,323 by Nightowl 5/16/03 6:29:01 PM Reply	Re: The primary concern with parallel is that each port is taking (usually sharing with something else) an IRQ. So with two parallel ports, you're using two IRQs. With USB, you're using one IRQ for however many USB devices (up to 127 in theory) are connected. Hmmmm what is an IRQ? How many does a computer have? This isn't usually a grave concern though as current computers can share IRQs fairly well (though it's best to avoid sharing with the graphics card). There are adapters out that will allow you to connect parallel printers to USB ports, so if you do decide to move to an all USB setup, you may still be able to use your old trusty printers. Just something to consider. Okay, thanks. I'm sure John knows what they are and what they do. I'll be sure and tell him though :) Nightowl >8# "Only dead fish swim with the stream." Linda Ellerbee
Post #102,327 by Andrew Grygus 5/16/03 7:35:13 PM Reply	Older parallel printers don't use IRQs . . . . . (Standard Parallel Port setting on newer machines) and they can be turned off, or all parallel ports set to IRQ-7 if the IRQ can't be turned off. The driver uses polling to check the printer. Recent enhanced parallel port schemes may actually use an IRQ, I don't know. IRQs used to be very scarce and we were always out of them, but it's not so bad since the PCI bus came along as it can share IRQs among several peripherals and USB has replaced serial ports for many peripherals. [link\|http://www.aaxnet.com\|AAx]
Post #102,340 by Steven A S 5/16/03 10:03:46 PM Reply	IRQs I believe it stands for Interrupt Request. Basically an external device sends a signal to it's IRQ to request that the CPU temporarily interrupt it's current process so that the device can send or recieve information to be processed. There are 16 IRQs; but 4 are used for the internal system, 3 for the normal filesystems (1 floppy, and 2 IDE ports), 2 for the keyboard and mouse (unless using USB devices), 1 or 2 for the sound card, 1 for the graphics card, 1 for each USB root, 1 for each serial port, 1 for each parallel port (though as mentioned they may not be used), etc... ~~~)-Steven---- "I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country..." General George S. Patton
Post #102,367 by Nightowl 5/17/03 1:51:07 AM Reply	Re: IRQs Okay, thanks for explaining that. I forgot to ask John about it tonight, cause I got excited listening to the Ducks Vs Wild game, so I'll ask him tomorrow. Nightowl >8# "Only dead fish swim with the stream." Linda Ellerbee
Post #102,380 by Nightowl 5/17/03 1:12:08 PM Reply	Re: IRQs John says Epstein (The Epson LQ-570+) has a parallel port that uses one IRQ, and Xavier (The Xerox one) also has a parallel port who uses an IRQ. He says we have more than enough IRQs to handle the printers. :) Thanks. Nightowl >8# "Only dead fish swim with the stream." Linda Ellerbee

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