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USB With Windows 98

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7 replies

by jingernut

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Hi Guys

Does windows install USB controllers even if you do not have any USB ports. It sounds a bit strange to me but somebody told me they have win 98 installed with no USB ports but yet they still have USB controllers in the device manager list. Can anyone clear this up for me? It does not make sense to me

Thanks for you help in advance

Cheers

Martin

7 replies

by vinnyd

Just because you do not see any usb ports on the back of the computer does not mean that you do not have the controller on the mother board.

A friend of mine had a computer like that. The connector and everything was on the mother board, but he did not have a cable to back of the computer to plug the usb cables into.

by david

USB controllers is encumbent to the win 98 OS although not the most stable it would probably be there even if win 98 was installed on an older 95 machine without the usb hardware connectors

by thechas

Windows does not install drivers for non-existant hardware.

In addition to the USB ports being "hidden"
(if this is an AT style motherboard, the USB ports are on an internal header)
(if an ATX, the ports may be blocked by a removeable panel on the I/O sheild)

It is possible that the driver was installed by the Chipset / motherboard driver utility.

The simplest thing to check, is to enter setup at boot, and look in the onboard periphials section.
If USB ports are listed, and enabled,they are there.

If you want to remove them, first remove them from device manager, then shutdown, and enter setup when you re-boot and disable the ports.

If you wish to use them, you will need to check the motherboard manual for the proper pinout and location of the header.
Then, get either a card slot adapter cable, or a front panel (drive bay) adapter.

Chas

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