USB Support In Windows
Last Updated: 11 Jul 2005
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*** PLEASE NOTE: Link(s), If Provided, May Be Wrapped ***
Microsoft does not support USB in Windows NT. Officially,
the only Microsoft OSes to support USB natively are
Win95 OSR2, Win98/ME (all editions), and Windows 2000 and
higher.
There are 3rd party solutions for NT, but don't expect
full support for every USB peripheral. More than likely,
you will be limited to Mice, Keyboards and Printers.
If you really want USB support for an NT system, your best
option is to upgrade to 2000 or later.
WHITEPAPERS & TECH DOCUMENTS
• http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/input/usbhost.mspx?pf=true#usbh1
• http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev/bus/USB/USB2support.asp
• http://support.microsoft.com/?KBID=196661
• http://www.winnetmag.com/windowsnt20002003faq/Article/ArticleID/13830/windowsnt20002003faq_13830.html
THIRD PARTY PRODUCTS
• http://www.bsquare.com/products/devtools/usbwin40/
• http://www.ionetworks.com/press/nt.html
• http://www.ltitl.com/solutionsfr.html
PERSONAL NOTES
• Jul 2005: Added Microsoft WHDC link on USB operation
• USB 2.0 support comes native with Windows XP SP1, but
can also be downloaded via Windows Update.
• Microsoft has no plans for USB 2.0 support for any
version of Windows prior to Windows 2000 (e.g. NT4,
Win9x/ME)
