I also have a laptop that I bought in December, 2000. Should I assume that my USB port is a 1.1? Or how do I verify? Everything I've looked at on my computer just says "USB" without specifying 1.1, 2.0, etc.

: : I have a laptop and have a USB1.1 and considering buying a CD-RW and i know that USB2.0 works a lot faster than USB1.1. Is there a cheap way of upgrading from USB1.1 to USB2.0? if so can you explain?

: All you need is a USB 2.0 Cardbus adapter. Adaptec, IOGear, Keyspan, Orange Micro, Siig and USBGear all offer them. They cost between $50 and $100. Here's one:

: http://www.usbwholesale.com/usb_2_0_cards.html

: http://www.us.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10313884&hdwt=30451&loc=101

: You will need Win98SE or better. Be aware that these require an AC adapter to power the USB 2.0 card.