Usable with USB 2 and USB 3 without reformat? Could I, for example, write contents onto the drive using USB 3.0 and give it to someone with a USB 2.0 and would he be able to read/write then could we pass it back and forth using such procedures?
121412
you certainly can use both USB 3.0 and USB 2.0; the only difference is transfer speed.
1827011
Of course. USB 2.0 will never match 3.0 speed. When the drive worked read on 3 was at least 4 times faster
482905
I haven't tried it but the only limitation I found is with USB 3.0 it won't see the drive.
608329
It worked 3TB drive only after firmware update [ didn't even work with usb 3.0 without update] and following instruction from this link. http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-performance/i-have-a-3-tb-drive-windows-7-ultimate-wont-format/b1cc3811-f25f-e011-8dfc-68b599b31bf5. hope it helps.
1752867
Deborah ---I don't know the answer to that question. I have never tried to reformat a disk with the external USB A Drive. But, originally when an A drive was an internal part of an older computer disks could be reformatted using the internal A drive. All I can say is give it a try. Bev
508478
It should work just fine. Totally backwards compatible. I partitioned mine, my wife and I share 3TB, 2.0 USB for both. Works great! Enjoy!
36841
My similar drive (5TB) is also equipped for USB 3, but it works great on my 2.0 ports. I assume it could transfer faster on 3.0, but there's no incompatibility.
1653137
It worked fine for me on the lowly Windows 7 *Starter* edition (on a cheap mini Acer netbook), *but* I didn't install the Iomega *software* because Windows 7 was able to read and write to the drive without any extra software. I formatted the disks using Windows (the usual right-click menu thing) but I don't remember if I used FAT or NTFS or what, and I don't have the Zip drive (or the netbook) anymore so can't do further testing.
1733285
I plugged in a crappy USB 2.0 key to test this - an old Verbatim that I would swear is slower than a floppy drive. It didn't slow down the read/writes on my super speedy USB3 Patriot Magnum at all. So, no, USB 2 devices won't slow down USB 3 devices.
1669121
Yes. I tested the SanDisk Extreme 32GB USB 3.0 flash drive on a laptop running Windows XP that had only USB 2.0 capability, and also in the USB 2.0 ports of a Win7 desktop that is equipped with both 2.0 and 3.0 ports. The flash drive worked fine in all of the tests. As I understand it, the USB 3.0 technology is generally supposed to be backward-compatible, so that a 3.0 drive should work with all earlier USB versions.
585185
USB 3 is in fact backward compatible with USB 2. You will find that using this device with USB 2 yields a rather sluggish display. This is ok for text, but poor for video. Using it with USB 3 is a far better experience.
668780
Yes, of course. You have to format it in ExFAT, it supported by Win7 and Mac without problem.Also you can format any flash drive in ExFAT, it allows files more than 4Gb
695275
Yes it will work in a USB 2.0 port, however you will only get USB 2.0 speed out of the drive when it is used in this way. To get 3.0 speed, the drive must be plugged into a 3.0 port.
1703918
It'll just be the USB 2.0 device that runs at the 2.0 speed. Your 3.0 devices will still run at 3.0 speeds. BUT take note of any bottleknecks! If your computer doesn't support 3.0 or you don't use a 3.0 port, you will not get 3.0 speeds! Also, something like transferring a file from a 2.0 ext HDD to a 3.0 ext HDD will only operate at 2.0 speeds max.
1669126
Yes, I've used it in USB 2.0 drives and it works fine, a bit faster than a USB 2.0 flash drive but of course not the speed of 3.0 if used in a 2.0 port. USB drives are generally backwards compatible with earlier USB standards.
1054713
I have used the NewerTech USB 3.0 many times connecting a "raw" 3.5" desktop or 2.5" laptop drive to either a USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 port on running XP, Vista, Win 7 or Win 8/8.1 system. To belabor a point, by "raw" I mean a drive not in an enclosure. I have never had a problem using the adapter.
301146
Should work. As I do the same thing within my own house with flash drives. My desktop is win7 / USB 2.0, my Laptop is win7 / USB 3.0. I've never needed to re-format my flash drives and I do get the speed increase from the USB 3.0 Laptop. I can imagine, with the proper operating systems involved: Portable HDDs should't be any different.