WEBVTT - How do you add a USB device if you've run out of ports?

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<v Speaker 1>com slash brain Stuff. Hi. I'm Marshall brain with today's question,

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<v Speaker 1>how do you add a USB device to your computer

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<v Speaker 1>if you've run out of USB ports? A typical desktop

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<v Speaker 1>machine comes with four USB ports, and laptops can come

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<v Speaker 1>with as few as too, so it's easy to use

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<v Speaker 1>them up. Because there are so many USB devices out

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<v Speaker 1>there mice, keyboards, scanners, printers, thumb drives, external drives, microphone, webcams,

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<v Speaker 1>and so on, they all need a port, and with

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<v Speaker 1>so many USB devices on the market today, you can

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<v Speaker 1>run out of sockets very quickly. The easy solution to

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<v Speaker 1>the problem is to buy an inexpensive USB hub. The

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<v Speaker 1>USB standard supports up to a hundred and twenty seven devices,

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<v Speaker 1>and hubs are a part of that standard. Hub typically

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<v Speaker 1>has four new ports, but could have many more. You

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<v Speaker 1>plug the hub into your computer and then plug your

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<v Speaker 1>devices or other hubs into the hub. By chaining ubs together,

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<v Speaker 1>you can build up dozens of available USB ports on

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<v Speaker 1>a single computer. Hubs can be powered or unpowered. If

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<v Speaker 1>you have lots of self powered devices like printers and scanners,

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<v Speaker 1>then your hub does not need to be powered. None

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<v Speaker 1>of the devices connected to the hub need additional power,

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<v Speaker 1>so the computer can handle it. If you have lots

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<v Speaker 1>of unpowered devices like mice and cameras, you probably need

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<v Speaker 1>a powered hub. The hub has its own transformer and

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<v Speaker 1>it supplies power to the devices that connect to the

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<v Speaker 1>hub so the devices don't overload the computer's power supply

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<v Speaker 1>from maximum speed. Make sure that the hub you buy

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<v Speaker 1>handles USB two point oh one advantage of buying a

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<v Speaker 1>hub if you buy one that looks good on your desk,

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<v Speaker 1>is that it makes USB access a lot easier. When

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<v Speaker 1>you need to plug in a thumb drive, you can

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<v Speaker 1>do it at desk level rather than down at floor level.

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