I remember reading somewhere that one of the three USB ports on the new Aluminum iMacs is weak (or the equivalent of using a USB Hub port). I can't seem to locate the article or anything for that matter on the subject via google. Can anyone here shed some light? Thanks!
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Weak iMac USB Port
- Thread starter derekr
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I was under the impression that all USB ports on the Alum. iMacs were 2.0 but they don't recommend hooking up any high powered devices such as an external HDD up to the USB ports on the keyboard.
Just make sure that you use one of the USB ports on the iMac itself and not the keyboard since you will probably notice a difference. I tested transfer rates with a Kingston USB thumb drive and it was considerably slower using the keyboard USB port which I expected.
Somethings I'll have a flash drive that doesn't want to work on the computer itself and then it will work on the keyboard then it won't. It's hit an miss. I don't use the USB for much anyway and I rarely use the flash drive so I don't worry about it.
they are all USB 2.0 so they should provide the full 500 mA allowance, although some USB ports can drive even more.
I agree with the earlier posts though... Don't go charging your iPod through the keyboard. You will get a low power notice if you run to many things off of the keyboard. It is an unpowered USB hub..
I think that Apple should sell a USB power injector that allows the use of high-power USB devices with no troubles on any Mac. I can't use the new aluminum keyboard with my PowerMac G4...
I agree with the earlier posts though... Don't go charging your iPod through the keyboard. You will get a low power notice if you run to many things off of the keyboard. It is an unpowered USB hub..
I think that Apple should sell a USB power injector that allows the use of high-power USB devices with no troubles on any Mac. I can't use the new aluminum keyboard with my PowerMac G4...
I was listening to a MacBreak Weekly podcast a few weeks ago and one of the folks on the show was using a USB mic on a MacBook over Skype. Intermittently he would start breaking up and his voice would sound like a cylon robot. He switched to the other USB port available on the laptop and the problem went away. They went on to talk about the issue and that it is a known problem on some of Apples laptops. Don't know if it translates over to the iMac (laptop components are used in much of it) but it is worth noting anyway. Considering that it was only a USB mic being used it was unusual to see that kind of issue.
The USB Ports On The Back of The iMac Are Completely 2.0 But The Ones On The Keyboard Are USB 1.1 (If Using The USB Keyboard)
It's strange because I've gotten several Warnings about this. I have 2.4GHz AL iMac.
Something about connecting the the Device to 2.0 USB. Just recently, one of the USB ports no longer works. Of course this occurs after a week the one year warranty ends.
Something about connecting the the Device to 2.0 USB. Just recently, one of the USB ports no longer works. Of course this occurs after a week the one year warranty ends.
This is wrong. All USB ports on the iMac and the keyboard conform to USB 2.0. This means they all offer the same data transfer rates. The difference lies in the maximum current you can draw from the ports. It is 500 mA per port for the fixed ones and 100 mA for the keyboard mounted ports.
Something about connecting the the Device to 2.0 USB. Just recently, one of the USB ports no longer works. Of course this occurs after a week the one year warranty ends.
Sounds like a possible loose solder joint?
Also, Apple may still repair it... You should call and check if they will. If they are a good company, they will, otherwise, you could go around telling people that their product only lasts one year!
Cheers
i find that i can never use more than one of the new keyboards USB ports at once. I can use one to charge an ipod, but if i put a flash drive into the other i get a USB low power notice. Fair enough i think, the iPod's probably taking a lot of power from the USB port in the iMac. But today i discovered i can't use both ports at once even with 2 flash drives, which i assumed would eb the lowest power consuming USB device of them all. I assume this isn't meant to be the case because otherwise there'd be no point in having 2 ports on the keyboard. anyone know if this is normal?
cheers, Joe
cheers, Joe