How to use hidden usb ports?

I am out of usb ports and i want to use the hidden usb ports. 4 are at the back(main ones). 2 hidden ports are being used in the front i/o panel of the cabinet. i want to use others also(at least 2).

A technician told me that to do this i need to approach the mobo company and no one else will do that and so i hav to either use a pci-e to usb converter card or a usb hub. but i guess the performance will not be as good as the usb ports in the front i/o panel. i couldn't understand that if this is true then from where they connect the usb ports in the front panel of cabinet.

i dont know what to do? plz help....

W

there is a thing called header(small thin single pins usually in a group).all the cabinet buttons,lights,usb ports etc are connected to these headers on mobo.usually when you connect cabinet usb ports to header mobo disables the 2 rear side usb ports.this is a limitation of mobo & nothing can be done about this.if you have unused pci/pci-e slot buy usb card & if possible prefer usb3 card but it is costly.for cheaper option buy usb hub but again simple usb hub(without its own external power adapter) divides power between ports so power hungry devices like 3g modems,usb webcams etc may work correctly & usb mobile hard disk will most certainly won't work on such usb hubs.

So, the pci-e to usb card will also disable some more usb ports or it will work differently? Also, will the performance of these port be comparable to other usb ports?

i only want to get some more usb ports which perform as good as the existing ones.

W

pci slots are independent from headers & pci-e(different from pci which has a longer slot like graphics card) usb card performance will be similar.

edit:found this & seems like a good option.since it has its own power adapter no problem of insufficient/low power like with simple usb hubs.
Belkin 4 Port USB Powered Hub - www.deltapage.com

then whats the use of the hidden usb ports?

W

they are optional.if you want to use them you have to disconnect front usb port header which will disable front usb ports.

if i can enable 4 or more usb ports by giving up the front usb ports, i am ready to do that. Plz explain how can i do that?

W

see your motherboard manual which should have the exact procedure.

What do you mean by hidden USB ports? I'm considering that you mean, the USB ports are non functional. If so, just get hold of your motherboard manual, it shows the whole schematics (layout) of your motherboard. As indicated in the manual, just connect the USB headers *www.racenerd.com/usb.gif carefully. and your front USB ports will get functional. The point here giving front USB ports and not making them functional is that the user has the option to either making it functional as required. Same is the case with the front audio ports also.

Apart from that as people have suggested above, you can simply buy a PCI USB card (ebay link), which is a totally different thing from onboard USB. It actually uses a PCI slot on the motherboard which again is different from PCI-E. You can actually use onboard - 4 at the rear +2 in the front panel + 4 on the PCI USB Card usb ports.

+1 to pci usb card. I am using it to connect my kb ,mice, xbox controller, logitech joystick and bluetooth dongle. Never faced any issue in last 2yrs

Thanx Cyberkid, i got some info from the mobo manual. My mobo has 4 JUSB connectors. there are only 2 in use at the front i/o panel. only JUSB1 provides MSI super charge technology except from the back usb ports in the back panel.

Now how can i use them.

W

usually just disconnecting the header wires coming from front usb ports to mobo jumper does the job.

Siddharth_1 said:
Thanx Cyberkid, i got some info from the mobo manual. My mobo has 4 JUSB connectors. there are only 2 in use at the front i/o panel. only JUSB1 provides MSI super charge technology except from the back usb ports in the back panel.

Now how can i use them.

It's a bit confusing from your point that you've stated

there are only 2 in use at the front i/o panel.

If the front panel is already connected it should be working.
ELSE
Please do post the exact mobo model no. (if possible, with revision number-usually found printed on the mobo as rev-xx) and we should be a help you out with that. IMO, the motherboard manual guides you the best. I knew this as a result of using my own mobo manual.

After again reading your first post, something clicked me. Is it that all of your USB ports including the front USB ports are working and you want more of them? If so, you need to get yourself a PCI USB card usually priced from Rs. 250 onwards. Else if your front USB ports are not working, try following the steps in the user manual to connect the Front USB pin headers to your motherboard.

^^ i did not say(or mean) that the front usb ports are not working. i meant that there are 4 JUSB connectors in the mobo. only 2 are being used in the front panel(which are working). This means that only 2 out of the 4 JUSB connectors are in use. So the other 2 JUSB connectors can be used for more usb ports.

This is perfectly fine as i need 2 more usb ports and this will fulfill my requirement.
But for this i wanted to know that how can i use those 2 JUSB ports. or want kind of wire or card will be required for the this?

Also, my pc config along with my mobo model is there in my signature.(open the spoiler)

That I wanted to know in my first post. See the first sentence.
I think, you won't be able to use that coz that's on the system/cabinet manufacturer. If the manufacturer has provided you with only two USB ports on the front panel, you'll have to do with those two only. IMO, you can't get any extra usb slots (USB connectors-Female) with the connecting wires, ready to be attached to the mobo's JUSB pins, and even if you get them, you'll face problem housing them on your cabby's front panel. AFAIK, most 3.5 inch things (card readers and such) supposedly connect using SATA. I'll suggest get yourself the PCI USB card some of us suggested above.

^^ ok i'll tell you what i need.See the pic below-

This is a usb braket with 4 usb ports and is connected to the mobo vai 2 jusb connections.

Sorry, didn't knew about that. So, if you know what you want go get it and seems like you can connect this thing to the JUSB ports directly.

Thanx guys

Guys,

same problem with me, my 4 back + 2 Front ports are in use. And i want more ports. I've bought a low cost ENTER USB Hub 4 ports for Rs.100. But when i connect 2 pendrive or printer cable its wont work.

one port work at a time, sometime i get error : "not recognized".

So my question is that are all USB HUB works like this?

what about this ?
*i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii249/atthershabbir/Others/7port-1.jpg

My MB model : ASUS - Motherboards- ASUS P5KPL-AM/PS

kool said:
Guys,

same problem with me, my 4 back + 2 Front ports are in use. And i want more ports. I've bought a low cost ENTER USB Hub 4 ports for Rs.100. But when i connect 2 pendrive or printer cable its wont work. one port work at a time, sometime i get error : "not recognized".

So my question is that are all USB HUB works like this?

what about this ?
View attachment 8815

My MB model : ASUS - Motherboards- ASUS P5KPL-AM/PS

I had a similiar one , they had no issues. But never tried more than 2 devices at a time.

Well actually the thing is that you are basically drawing power from 1 USB port and distributing them in 7 parts. Now when you connect one device then its alright because you are basically just routing the power but when you connect 2 or more than 2 devices which requires good amount of power then the devices won't get necessary power and Windows will fail to recognize them so 1 device at a time.

BTW where you have connected this USB hub ?? In back I/O ports or the headers of your mobo ??

W

see my above post(post#4).you need a powered usb hub(aka having its own power adapter) which solves this problem of insufficient power.

Then what basically is the use of such USB hubs when you cant connect multiple devices at a time?
If you connect only one device at a time, then its the same as connecting it directly to the USB port.

W

you can connect 2 or 3 pen drives which are among lowest usb power consuming devices but forget about using more power hungry devices like cameras,3g/wifi dongles etc.if you want to connect such devices simultaneously you have to buy an external powered usb hub(having its own power adapter).4 port belkin powered usb hub is available for ~1000(see link in my post#4 above).

Thanks for that info. :wink:

saswat23 said:
Then what basically is the use of such USB hubs when you cant connect multiple devices at a time?
If you connect only one device at a time, then its the same as connecting it directly to the USB port.

Its a gimmick.

Good USB hubs with external power supply cost more than these type of chepo hubs.

kool said:
So my question is that are all USB HUB works like this?

what about this ?

*i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii249/atthershabbir/Others/7port-1.jpg

My MB model : ASUS - Motherboards- ASUS P5KPL-AM/PS

It's... overkill..
You know what I mean..

d6bmg said:
It's... overkill..
You know what I mean..

No, i didnt get u.

By d way i'm getting this USB HUB for Rs.350 in local market, and it has DC port also, but they are giving me w/o adapter. So can i use this hub with power adapter ?

W

don't waste your money.if you want an external powered hub buy branded else don't buy at all.belkin 4 port costs ~1000(given link in post#4 above).

+1 to whitestar
@op dont get these local hubs i wasted my Rs.200 on a local/chienese 4-port usb hub. It has very less power not sufficient enough for HDD. Only one port works at a time.

Is it possible to connect 4 HDDs on the Belkin Adapter ?

Only if it takes power from external source.

W

depends on hdd.some hdd consume less power so can operate fine with 1 usb port only while some for smooth operation(note smooth because they will work even with 1 usb port but may sometimes show issues) need 2 usb ports using Y-usb cable.

whitestar_999 said:
depends on hdd.some hdd consume less power so can operate fine with 1 usb port only while some for smooth operation(note smooth because they will work even with 1 usb port but may sometimes show issues) need 2 usb ports using Y-usb cable.

I think you didn't read the post carefully. He is talking about connecting 4 HDDs simultaneously.

W

^^that's what i meant.low power consuming hdd each requiring 1 usb port so in total 4 such hdd will run fine with belkin 4 usp ports but if your hdd need 2 usb ports then you can only connect 2 such hdd with 4 usb ports of belink hub.

whitestar_999 said:
^^that's what i meant.low power consuming hdd each requiring 1 usb port so in total 4 such hdd will run fine with belkin 4 usp ports but if your hdd need 2 usb ports then you can only connect 2 such hdd with 4 usb ports of belink hub.

Oh OK. So Belkin one has external power source ??

W

yes.it is the only locally available branded powered usb hub available on major indian online sites.

Best Enter E-HP80 7 Port USB Hub with Power Price in India, Buy Enter Usb Hubs Online - Infibeam.com

How is this one, any idea, anyone ? Rs.1300 is quite a lot

This one is Rs.400

W

enter is a cheap products manufacturer so no idea.it may work fine or may fail just after a few weeks.if price is such a concern for you then take the risk.in worst case scenario you will lose only 400.