Where is the USB port on my computer?

Computers have several types of information cables that support a wide variety of hardware devices, and allow data to be transferred to your PC from cell phones, cameras, external hard drives, mice, keyboards, printers, and even wireless network adapters.

The most common type of data cable is a USB cable (Universal Serial Bus - which is a protocol for transferring data to and from digital devices). USB 2.0 is the latest version of this protocol, and it supports data transfer rates of 12 Mbps, which is several times faster than a high-speed DSL broadband internet connection.

Most USB ports are located on the back side of your computer, and are about 5/8-inch wide and 1/4-inch tall. A single USB port can be used to connect up to 127 peripheral devices, such as mice, modems, and keyboards.

USB also supports Plug-and-Play installation and hot plugging, which means your computer will automatically recognize your device when you plugin in the USB data cable. In most cases it will find the appropriate driver for your device, or will ask you to provide a driver installation CD (which should have come with your hardware device).