| Let's do a quick rundown on the types of ports you can add to your computer system: Parallel ports are used primarily for connecting printers to your system Serial ports are used to connect some types of mice, keyboards, and printers, as well as PDAs, PC cameras, and other assorted peripherals USB ports are used to connect just about any type of peripheral; peripherals conforming to the new USB 2.0 standard run much faster than the existing 1.1 devices FireWire (IEEE 1394) ports are used to connect fast digital devices, such as digital video recorders and digital still cameras SCSI ports are used to connect fast external hard drives
Most computers today come with a single parallel port, one or two serial ports, a FireWire port, and anywhere from a couple to a half-dozen USB ports. As you can see, if you add enough new devices to your system, you easily run out of available connectors. caution | To install a USB 1.1 port on your system, your computer must be running Windows 98 or later. To install a USB 2.0 port, your computer must be running Windows XP with Service Pack 1 installed. To install a FireWire port, your computer must be running Windows 98 or later. |
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