The picture below represents the most common ports on computers today.
| USB port - a universal connector |
| A universal serial bus port, introduced around 1997, is the gateway to your computer. It's used to connect all kinds of external devices, such as external hard drives, printers, mice, scanners and more. There are normally two half-inch long USB ports on the back of computers built since 1998. Sometimes there are USB ports built into a hatch on the front of a computer. If you use a USB hub, (example: 4 port hub), you can connect as many as 127 devices to a USB port. It can transfer data to a speed of 12 megabits per second, but those 127 devices have to share that speed. Since USB-compliant devices can draw power from a USB port only a few power drawing devices can connect at the same time without the computer system complaining. In 2003, USB 2.0 connectors were introduced on computers. These transfer data at 480 Mbps. Older USB devices work with USB 2.0 ports, but at 12 Mbps. USB 2.0 devices also work with older USB ports, again at the lower speed. |
Ethernet port - connect to a network and high speed Internet |
| For faster Internet connections and for networking, an Ethernet or network port is used. This looks like an oversized North American telephone jack. The port is used to connect network cabling to a computer. Cable plugged into this port can lead either to a network hub (a junction box that can wire lots of network cables together), directly to a cable modem or DSL modem (both used for high speed Internet) or to an Internet gateway which shares a fast Internet connection between computers. Most new computers have one of these ports. They can either be built-in to or appear on the exposed part of an Ethernet PCI card, which inserts into a slot inside the computer. Data moves through them at speeds of either 10 megabits or 100 megabits or 1 gigabit (1,000 megabits) depending on what speed the network card in the computer supports. Little monitor lights on these devices flicker when in use. The "ACT" light flickers when data is moving through the network to or from the port. The 10 or 100 lights relate to data speed. "10" means data is moving across the network at 10 Megabits per second. "100" means the network is moving data at 100 megabits per second. |
| Phone port - connect by phone to the Internet |
A modem port looks like a standard North American telephone jack. This connects an internal modem to a telephone line. A modem (for those who are new to the computer world), is used to connected a computer to the Internet by making a data call to an Internet service. Normally there are two modem ports side by side. The one marked "line" (or with a phone jack symbol) is connected to the wall jack. The one marked "phone" (or that has a phone symbol) can optionally be connected to phone handset in case you only have one jack near your computer that would otherwise have a handset plugged into it. If you computer doesn't have an internal modem installed in your PC then will not see these ports.
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| Parallel port - connector for scanners and printers |
| A parallel port is used to connect external devices such as scanners and printers. The 25-pin port is sometimes it is called a printer port. It's also known by the gruesome named: IEEE 1284-compliant Centronics port.The port is sometimes also called more simply a "printer" port. There are two variants for this type of interface. The ports look exactly like the traditional parallel port but are called ECP (Extend Capabilities Port) and EPP (Enhanced Parallel Port). These interfaces are ten times faster than the older printer port and can support two-way data so that computers can ask for information from a printer as well as send it. |
| Monitor port - a video port for your monitor |
This connector is used to attached a computer display monitor to a computer's video card. The connector has 15 holes. It sort of looks like a serial port connector, however that port has pins not holes in it
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| Serial port - for external modems and old computer mice |
| A serial port is used to connect external modems or an older computer mouse to the computer. It comes in two versions a 9-pin version (on the left) or a 25-pin model. The 9-pin is found on most newer computers. Data travels over a serial port at 115 kilobits per second. |
If your still not sure about your computer ports or how to connect it then feel free to Contact Us. |
