# Is USB 3.0 backwards compatible? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 21, 2013, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-usb-3-0-backwards-compatible/676897 "2013-12-21T14:05:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-usb-3-0-backwards-compatible/676897/21 "2013-12-21T22:29:36Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > On a more general note, it’s not a good idea to plug your keyboard and mouse into USB 3 ports on any but the newest machines as the BIOS probably won’t recognise them. Leave them in USB 2 ports. Right. Also, for the types of things that a mouse or keyboard does, there is really no advantage to connecting them via USB3 anyway. As a few other people have suggested, i recommend buying internal drives and connecting them through an external enclosure. I quite like these [Thermaltake](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153066) docks, which allow you to slot drives in and out quickly. I have two of them at home, and they’ve been working fine. I also have a couple of these [dual-bay units from Rosewill](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153066), which have also worked for the last year or so without any glitches. One of them is plugged directly into my computer, and the other is connected via USB to my QNap NAS. Rosewill is, i believe, NewEgg’s own brand. Using internal drives in enclosures means that, if one of your drives does die (always a possibility, no matter which brand you get), you can just slot another one into the enclosure while you get the bad one replaced. Note that most external enclosures don’t come with any backup software, while external drives usually come with some sort of software that allows you to automatically back your files up to the drive. This doesn’t worry me, because some of that backup software is shitty and complicated anyway (i hate the Seagate version), and because there are a bunch of free backup utilities available for download anyway. I will note one reason that it sometimes makes sense to buy external drives, even if you only need an internal drive: sometimes the hard drive itself is cheaper that way. A few weeks ago, NewEgg had a deal on a Seagate 4TB external drive for about $140. If you bought that drive and ripped the internal drive out of it, you would still have saved about $40 over buying the exact same internal drive alone. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-usb-3-0-backwards-compatible/676897/22 "2013-12-21T22:38:17Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I was completely ready to disbelieve this, but a quick google confirms that the drive inside the WD Elements devices has a PCB that only bears a USB connector on it. But something has to control the drive - USB does not contain any provisions for managing hardware at that level. So there has to be a “controller” of some kind, just not a USB-to-SATA one… and I can understand how such a nonstandard device might be inferior. ---
**Author:** ![Doughbag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Doughbag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doughbag)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2013, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-usb-3-0-backwards-compatible/676897/23 "2013-12-22T02:03:22Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Why would that be? One would think that, without the need for a converter, there would be less to go wrong. One would think so, but usually the information (pictures, documents, etc.) on the drive is more worth to the person then the actual drive itself. There are two things that can go wrong with these external drives: 1. HDD failure – at which point there is nothing you can do, but send it in to a data retrieval company at a high cost 2. USB interface failure – meaning that your HDD is still fully functional, but not accessible over the USB board. Now, if the USB interface is integrated into the HDD and it fails you cannot retrieve the data by removing the drive from the case and plugging it into another case. I have many cases, where I can still retrieve data this way from a faulty or part faulty device. ---
**Author:** ![Doughbag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Doughbag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doughbag)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2013, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-usb-3-0-backwards-compatible/676897/24 "2013-12-22T02:11:09Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Okay so I should look for a drive that isn’t pure USB. How do I determine that’s the case? By avoiding buying a WD branded external drive. Stick to: Verbatim, Iomega & Silicon Image > [@buddha\_david](#): > > Huh. I never took the drive anywhere except to store in the safe when I’m not home, but always left the USB cable plugged in because I didn’t want to wear out the port on the drive itself. Was that a mistake? USB is built to be plugged in and out. > [@buddha\_david](#): > > And is it okay to go with pure USB (if that’s all I can find in my price range) if I never intend to travel with the drive? For the End User – you – they all look the same and work the same. Price is basically the same. When you’re drive does not work anymore, data retrieval however might be possible, if this is what you need or want. ---
**Author:** ![Doughbag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Doughbag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doughbag)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2013, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-usb-3-0-backwards-compatible/676897/25 "2013-12-22T02:21:43Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > But something has to control the drive - USB does not contain any provisions for managing hardware at that level. So there has to be a “controller” of some kind, just not a USB-to-SATA one… and I can understand how such a nonstandard device might be inferior. Here a USB to SATA controller: [Link Board & HDD](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nwgeGoQxJy4/Tv-Ig_kAntI/AAAAAAAABzU/3Pa8vEBQyXg/s320/P1000277.JPG) [Link](http://parts.com.hk/1/images/16_Verbatim/verbatim_e2905-09541-2d_01.JPG) [Link](http://circuitremix.com/images/209/5.jpg) Board with integrated USB [Link](http://www.jax184.com/projects/verbatim/T3i_2021s.JPG) ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2013, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-usb-3-0-backwards-compatible/676897/26 "2013-12-22T02:47:09Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I was completely ready to disbelieve this, but a quick google confirms that the drive inside the WD Elements devices has a PCB that only bears a USB connector on it. > > I reckon there might still be a SATA (or possibly IDE) interface in there - but that they have integrated the USB to IDE/SATA chipset onto the main PCB of the drive. > > (My reason for thinking this is that it would be simpler to integrate two common existing technologies on one PCB than it would be to invent a direct USB drive controller from scratch) Yeah, it’s probably smaller and cheaper to combine SATA and USB into one PCB. This is what the PCB of my drive looks like [https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-8aOmukb37FU/T\_4vhl83rsI/AAAAAAAA-7M/uw\_yHzRTk9A/s1000/CIMG1034.JPG](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-8aOmukb37FU/T_4vhl83rsI/AAAAAAAA-7M/uw_yHzRTk9A/s1000/CIMG1034.JPG) ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2013, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-usb-3-0-backwards-compatible/676897/27 "2013-12-22T04:58:36Z")
> [@Doughbag](#): > > By avoiding buying a WD branded external drive. > Stick to: Verbatim, Iomega & Silicon Image Iomega, eh? Surprised they’re on the trusted list, after the Zip Drive fiasco. Anyhow, I did locate a nice looking 3TG Seagate drive on Amazon that’s right in my price range. Verbatim & Iomega had drives up to 2TB but were more expensive, unformatted, and/or contained features I won’t be using any time soon. (Don’t really require more than 1TB at the moment, but hey, it’s a hard drive…always buy more space than you need!) Found nothing at all for Silicon Image. > [@Doughbag](#): > > For the End User – you – they all look the same and work the same. Price is basically the same. > When you’re drive does not work anymore, data retrieval however might be possible, if this is what you need or want. Data retrieval isn’t worth the cost, since my crucial files were already secure. The only major thing I lost was a shit-ton of mp3s and movies, which means I have to reburn my entire CD/DVD collection…AGAIN. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2013, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-usb-3-0-backwards-compatible/676897/28 "2013-12-22T07:23:01Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Iomega, eh? Surprised they’re on the trusted list, after the Zip Drive fiasco Uh, there are people graduating from college who were born after the “Zip Drive fiasco” – not to imply that you’re, uh, old or anything. ---
**Author:** ![Doughbag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Doughbag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doughbag)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2013, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-usb-3-0-backwards-compatible/676897/29 "2013-12-22T10:43:59Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Iomega, eh? Surprised they’re on the trusted list, after the Zip Drive fiasco. > > Anyhow, I did locate a nice looking 3TG Seagate drive on Amazon that’s right in my price range. Verbatim & Iomega had drives up to 2TB but were more expensive, unformatted, and/or contained features I won’t be using any time soon. (Don’t really require more than 1TB at the moment, but hey, it’s a hard drive…always buy more space than you need!) Found nothing at all for Silicon Image. > Data retrieval isn’t worth the cost, since my crucial files were already secure. The only major thing I lost was a shit-ton of mp3s and movies, which means I have to reburn my entire CD/DVD collection…AGAIN. :rolleyes: The ZIP drive was awesome at the time (in the beginning) - 100MB storage on ONE single disk – HUGE!! However, it became very quickly completely useless – but we are talking about HDD’s here. Not worth the cost? Buy a cheap case for less than €10 put your drive in and save the hours of ripping your mp3’s? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2013, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-usb-3-0-backwards-compatible/676897/30 "2013-12-22T12:00:11Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > Yeah, it’s probably smaller and cheaper to combine SATA and USB into one PCB. This is what the PCB of my drive looks like [https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-8aOmukb37FU/T\_4vhl83rsI/AAAAAAAA-7M/uw\_yHzRTk9A/s1000/CIMG1034.JPG](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-8aOmukb37FU/T_4vhl83rsI/AAAAAAAA-7M/uw_yHzRTk9A/s1000/CIMG1034.JPG) I wonder what those 12 pins are to the right of the USB socket - could be that they represent the SATA connection, bypassing the USB (perhaps for use in testing/formatting/preloading the drive in the factory) ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2013, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-usb-3-0-backwards-compatible/676897/31 "2013-12-22T13:03:11Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I wonder what those 12 pins are to the right of the USB socket - could be that they represent the SATA connection, bypassing the USB (perhaps for use in testing/formatting/preloading the drive in the factory) Why don’t they use testing connections directly on the PCB? I just found out rows of gold contacts on PCBs are used for testing - e.g. in this picture: [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-m\_-1QFdC7ps/UorFQGWoHqI/AAAAAAABY-0/p44fsdh2QxQ/s800/CIMG4604.JPG](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-m_-1QFdC7ps/UorFQGWoHqI/AAAAAAABY-0/p44fsdh2QxQ/s800/CIMG4604.JPG) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2013, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-usb-3-0-backwards-compatible/676897/32 "2013-12-22T13:49:47Z")
Would eSATA be something that would work for people like the OP? Should be faster than USB 2.0, right? ---
**Author:** ![Doughbag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Doughbag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doughbag)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2013, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-usb-3-0-backwards-compatible/676897/33 "2013-12-22T14:03:58Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Would eSATA be something that would work for people like the OP? Should be faster than USB 2.0, right? eSATA is basiclly dead these days ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-usb-3-0-backwards-compatible/676897/34 "2013-12-22T14:26:08Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > Why don’t they use testing connections directly on the PCB? I just found out rows of gold contacts on PCBs are used for testing - e.g. in this picture: [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-m\_-1QFdC7ps/UorFQGWoHqI/AAAAAAABY-0/p44fsdh2QxQ/s800/CIMG4604.JPG](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-m_-1QFdC7ps/UorFQGWoHqI/AAAAAAABY-0/p44fsdh2QxQ/s800/CIMG4604.JPG) Not sure - looks like those pins are something else entirely after all - I found a page that details how to solder a SATA connector onto the board - and it doesn’t use any of those pins: > **[How to connect and recover USB-only western digital drives with HD Doctor...](https://www.datarecoverytools.co.uk/2010/05/05/how-to-connect-and-recover-usb-only-western-digital-drives-with-hd-doctor-suite/)** > > So far in the hard disk market, we can find many western digital hard drives with USB interface only. You can seldom find some data recovery tools which ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2013, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-usb-3-0-backwards-compatible/676897/35 "2013-12-22T17:24:21Z")
> [@Doughbag](#): > > The ZIP drive was awesome at the time (in the beginning) - 100MB storage on ONE single disk – HUGE!! > > However, it became very quickly completely useless – but we are talking about HDD’s here. Ah yes, I remember those heady days…100MB was up to half the size of a typical HDD, CD-R was a black art and DVDs didn’t exist…totally forgot it was so long ago, as long ago as Pulp Fiction, wow… Grrrrr get off my lawn, kids! > [@Doughbag](#): > > Not worth the cost? Buy a cheap case for less than €10 put your drive in and save the hours of ripping your mp3’s? I may give the drive to a tech-savvy friend to see if he can rescue anything from it. He’s rather hard to pin down, though. But I’m fairly sure the drive itself is FUBAR, so replacing the case (a tough job, it’s a WD Elements 1.5TB and the “case” is sealed black plastic) probably won’t help. (Last time I plugged it in, it said “Unrecognized Device”.) Haven’t resorted to any last-ditch efforts yet, such as freezing, dropping, etc. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-usb-3-0-backwards-compatible/676897/36 "2013-12-28T20:19:49Z")
**Update:** New Seagate drive arrived today. Seems to work great, and using USB 2.0 is no slower than I’m already used to. 🙂 Couple questions: (1) One thing I don’t like is how the drive is designed to stand vertically, instead of laying flat like the WD Elements (p.o.s.) did. I live in earthquake country, and a moderate jolt could potentially knock it over. Is it safe to lay a drive like this on its side, as long as no vents are obscured? [Here is the drive in question.](http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Backup-Desktop-External-STCA3000101/dp/B00829THQE/) (2) How long of a “burn in” time should I allow before assuming it’s good to go? I’d like to clear some room on my desktop but don’t want to lose anything due to an early out-of-the-box failure – don’t have much experience with exHD’s and their reliability. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-usb-3-0-backwards-compatible/676897/37 "2013-12-28T20:34:25Z")
Generally the problem with disks is moving them back and forth from the horizontal to vertical (and frankly, even that’s not a big deal any more). Format it in the orientation you want it in, and as long as air flow is OK, it’ll be fine. The drive mechanism inside isn’t going to care. According to this fairly detailed [study](http://blog.backblaze.com/2013/11/12/how-long-do-disk-drives-last/), the rate of hard drive failures in the first one and a half _years_ is about 5%, pretty much independent of manufacturer and price. That’s a long burn-in time, so assume it’s going to fail and get a backup plan in place to protect you. Backblaze (coincidentally the company that did that blog) is pretty good; I use them for my home systems. Costs about $5/month per machine. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-usb-3-0-backwards-compatible/676897/38 "2013-12-28T20:37:38Z")
(1) Laying the drive on its side will be fine. The drive inside is a regular internal drive, and the vast majority of such drives in computers lie on their side by default. Just make sure that you have enough airflow around it, and that any vents for airflow in the casing aren’t covered. (2) In my opinion, an external drive should never be used as the exclusive place for storing any files that you’re not willing to lose. It should be used to store backup copies of files that are also stored elsewhere (either on your main drive, on another backup drive, in the cloud, whatever). The only files i ever put on external drives without other backups are files i’ve created myself from my own media (e.g., ripped CDs, oncoded movies, etc.). In that case, if the drive dies, the worst that happens is that i have to rip and encode the files again, but i don’t actually lose anything. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2014, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-usb-3-0-backwards-compatible/676897/39 "2014-01-18T09:30:22Z")
I’ve run into my first serious problem using 3.0 -\> 2.0 ; apparently, and this appears to be confirmed, any DVD I’ve saved on the external drive cannot be played by any software that I own, nor can I rip DVDs to the drive directly (whether the disc is one that I purchased or created myself, it makes no difference.) The former Elements drive had no issues, and granted my computer is fairly ancient with extremely outdated software, so YMMV. (The obvious workaround is to copy any movie I want to watch to the main HD itself prior to viewing it.) ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-usb-3-0-backwards-compatible/676897/40 "2014-01-20T07:41:06Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > I’ve run into my first serious problem using 3.0 -\> 2.0 ; apparently, and this appears to be confirmed, any DVD I’ve saved on the external drive cannot be played by any software that I own, nor can I rip DVDs to the drive directly (whether the disc is one that I purchased or created myself, it makes no difference.) The former Elements drive had no issues, and granted my computer is fairly ancient with extremely outdated software, so YMMV. (The obvious workaround is to copy any movie I want to watch to the main HD itself prior to viewing it.) Any problem you are having with DVDs is not due to USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-usb-3-0-backwards-compatible/676897.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-usb-3-0-backwards-compatible/676897.md?page=3)