Too many USB Hard Drives!

Stevie-

Stevie-

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Right - this will probably be such a rudimentary question for you guys but I'm not much of a computer guy.


Basically I don't have enough USB port on my Mac - all 4 are in use 3 Hard drive and 1 wireless key thingy for the keyboard.

How to I add more? - is it a simple case of buying a multi way adapter - will that slow s*** down?

Am I just being thick?
 
Any will be fine. Ebay or PC world etc. Shouldn't be more than a tenner
 
Search USB Hub on Amazon. Prices start from 2 quid. Most have 4 or more ports. Some are powered, some not, some are small and sexy, some have loads of ports. Get one of each!
 
If you are going down the hub route, remember that although you have additional ports, the total throughput is limited to the original port. So reading and writing to several drives via an external port, if the drives are connected to the same hub transfer will be slower due to the maximum throughput of the original port. Also some printers my not like working via a hub. I've had this problem myself . Remember as well the maximum power from each USB port , from the computer is 500mA, so if you want to run USB powered accessories you'll probably need to opt for a powered version
 
Stevie- said:
Powered hub! I had no clue! Any recommendations or is it just don't but anything stupidly cheap?
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A USB hub is a bit like a power extension for plugs. You plug the hub into one USB port on your computer, then you plug any other devices (usually 4) into the hub. In the similar way as you plug the extension into the only wall socket you have, and you now have four sockets for four plugs.

A powered hub is a bit like you not only plug the hub (by means of USB) into the computer, but you also plug the hub into the mains (by means of a plug) to power it up.
 
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