How to tell if you have USB 2.0 or USB 1.0
Windows XP and Windows Vista

USB 2.0 was introduced in 2002 and is a faster USB port then 1.0. Most computers made since 2002 will have 2.0 which is required for high speed devices and if using Vista, it is needed for ReadyBoost.

If you are not sure what your USB speed is, click Control Panel, classic view, System, Device Manager OR Control Panel, Category view, Performance and Maintenance, System, Hardware tab, Device Manager.

Look near the bottom of the list for Universal Serial Bus Controllers - click the + to expand the list.

You will see a list of Universal Host controllers. Look for one that includes "USB2 Enhanced Host Controller" in this list. If you see it listed, then you have USB 2.0 ports. See screenshot below:




More about USB:

You can connect up to 127 individual USB devices (printers, external hard drives, scanners, USB Flash Drives, etc) but since some larger devices reserve bandwidth, it may reduce this maximum. However, adding independent PCI-USB add-on cards can increase this even more.

Most computers made after 1996 will have at least one USB port. Most have very many USB ports.

If you do not have 2.0, you may get a warning or popup saying that you are using a 2.0 device on a 1.0 port which is sacrificing speed.  You can still run the device, but it may not perform as fast or may deny you some features that require a 2.0 high speed port.