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    Left side USB - is it USB3?

    Discussion in 'Alienware M11x' started by irishsumo, Jul 12, 2011.

  1. irishsumo

    irishsumo Notebook Consultant

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    Hi all,

    Is the USB on the left side the USB3 one? I'm curious as I can't get it to recognise my 3G dongle (Vodafone UK). Gonna try to update the Vodafone software and drivers tonight and see what that does - the stick is admittedly several years old but the cost of upgrading to a more modern one seems silly for exactly the same functionality... was going to wait till 4G became widespread before doing it. Still, USB3 is meant to be completely backwards compatible with all other flavours back to USB1.

    Or possibly buying the internal module which wasn't an option on the UK Alienware site.
     
    irishsumo, Jul 12, 2011
    #1
  2. M11x ftw

    M11x ftw Notebook Consultant

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    No it isnt if this is a R1 or an R2, since they do not have Usb 3.0. What the left side usb is, is a powerred usb slot. Although if you have an R3 just disregard what I said.
     
    M11x ftw, Jul 12, 2011
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  3. irishsumo

    irishsumo Notebook Consultant

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    Apologies ftw (second of the day!) - should've specified that I've got the R3 version! Thanks for the reply
     
    irishsumo, Jul 12, 2011
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  4. Grimgrak

    Grimgrak Notebook Geek

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    Fergot where I read it but pretty sure only the right sides are usb 3.0 Not that you'd ever have real use to be transfer 3x usb 3.0
     
    Grimgrak, Jul 12, 2011
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  5. JTOverath

    JTOverath Notebook Evangelist

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    According to the manual the 2 on the right are the USB 3.0 ports. The one on the left is the the USB PowerShare port that if enabled in the BIOS allows charging of some USB devices while the laptop is off.
     
    JTOverath, Jul 12, 2011
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  6. Lazerpooper

    Lazerpooper Notebook Enthusiast

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    That explains why my mouse stays lit up all night unless I unplug the laptop or the mouse.... lol, I was so confused.
     
    Lazerpooper, Jul 12, 2011
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  7. martinroshak

    martinroshak Notebook Consultant

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    Can definitely confirm that the right hand USB ports are USB 3.0, as on a clean install you have to install the USB 3.0 drivers to get them to work, and being curious I tested to see if this was the case and... lo and behold, they will only work with the 3.0 drivers!
     
    martinroshak, Jul 12, 2011
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  8. irishsumo

    irishsumo Notebook Consultant

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    Thanks for the replies all - kudos to y'all! I'll investigate why my 3g stick doesn't work with the left one, as it's a PITA in the right ones, being too fat to easily insert another device next to it...
     
    irishsumo, Jul 12, 2011
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