Insufficient USB ports

[krys]

This puppy is 3 years old, and I really am not quite ready to turn it in.

I broke the one in the front....pushed too hard and popped it into the machine case.

The one in the back is used for something important that I can't do without.

Is there a way to turn some of the unused pin connectors (don't even know what they're for) into additional USB ports?

I suppose I can take it out to somebody to have more installed?

Thanks

[Steve!]

Yup.

[igotout]

USB Hub

[Steve!]

Better still!

[pawtucket]

Krys,

Just about every office supply store sell USB hubs.

You plug it into your USB port in back and you instantly have 4 ports.

[krys]

Is there any type of parallel or serial connection which will provide this conversion?

What do you think my chances are of pushing the one back in from inside the machine. That is, it is now inside the case....is I open the case (which I am loath to do.....fear ya know) is it plausable to think I could restore the one I have?

Thanks you guys. You are both ever vigilent to check this area out for us....who don't have such knowledge and never fail to offer valuable help.

Me - and my compadres are in your debt~

krys

[Steve!]

Krys -

The one that's in back that you're using for something you can't do without? Plug the USB hub into that, and then plug the whozywhatsis into the USB hub.

[Zixar]

Krys: Think of a USB hub as an extension cord with multiple outlets. You unplug whatever's connected to the computer's port, plug the hub into there instead, then plug your device into one of the hub's 4 (or 7) ports instead. The computer won't care because USB is a plug-and-play system.

[krys]

I'm not so sure I can get a hub back there. It's a pretty tight squeeze as it is.

[Steve!]

Krys -

You hook up the hub to the computer with the use of a USB cable. So you don't have to get the hub back there.

[krys]

oh!!!

[igotout]

Extension cable

Dumb desingers. USB and Firewire ports should have always been in the front where they have belonged all along.

I guess no one knew the amazing popularity that would happen with USB.

Whether it is faster or slower, it is kicking Firewire's butt in popularity.

And those USB key drives are here to stay too. Carry around 3GB on your keychain now! Someday it will be 100GB, mark my words.

[krys]

Thanks John. I think I love you.

[satori001]

There is some hubbub about USB hubs. See here. Not sure how they got their Top 10 list, but annoyances.org is a respected site.

[igotout]

Thanks, those are great and often overlooked. BSD's almost always seem to indicate some sort of hardware conflict or failure. But I have no clue what all the gibberish means on the screen.

In my opinion the big ones on there that are most likely are a bad or overworked power supply and overheating.

We tend to think the software is the problem when sometimes it is a hardware problem. Notice no mention of hard drive failure on there. Interesting.