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ports used with video equipment (among other devices) can be either 4-pin or 6-pin. The two extra conductors in the 6-pin connection carry electrical power. This is why a self-powered device such as a camcorder often connects with a cable that is 4-pins on the camera side and 6-pins on the computer
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musical instrument digital control interface. The original IBM PC also had two identical 5 pin DIN connectors, one used for the keyboard, the second for a cassette recorder interface; the two were not interchangeable. The smaller mini-DIN connector has been variously used for the keyboard and two
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Optical (light) fiber, microwave, and other technologies (i.e., quantum) have different kinds of connections, as metal wires are not effective for signal transfers with these technologies. Optical connections are usually a polished glass or plastic interface, possibly with an oil that lessens
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Physically identical connectors may be used for widely different standards, especially on older personal computer systems, or systems not generally designed according to the current
Microsoft Windows compatibility guides. For example, a 9-pin D-subminiature connector on the original
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Auto-detect or auto-detection ports are usually plug-and-play, but they offer another type of convenience. An auto-detect port may automatically determine what kind of device has been attached, but it also determines what purpose the port itself should have. For example, some
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side, the two power conductors simply being ignored. This is also why laptop computers usually have only 4-pin FireWire ports, as they cannot provide enough power to meet requirements for devices needing the power provided by 6-pin connections.
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The USB-C standard, published in 2014, supersedes previous connectors and is reversible (although not electrically), meaning it can be plugged both ways. Reversible plugs have a symmetric pinout. Other reversible connectors include
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Additionally, USB ports are color-coded according to the specification and data transfer speed, e.g. USB 1.x and 2.x ports are usually white or black, and USB 3.0 ones are blue. SuperSpeed+ connectors are teal in color.
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because a failure on one port may just mean a slow-down rather than a dropout. By contrast, in software port trunking (SPT), two agents (websites, channels, etc.) are bonded into one with the same effectiveness; i.e.,
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As of 2006, manufacturers have nearly standardized colors associated with ports on personal computers, although there are no guarantees. The following is a short list:
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Bent pins are easier to replace on a cable than on a connector attached to a computer, so it was common to use female connectors for the fixed side of an interface.
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452:(HPT) is a technology that allows multiple hardware ports to be combined into a single group, effectively creating a single connection with a higher
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family computers used the mini-DIN for a serial port or for a keyboard connector with different standards than the IBM-descended systems.
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refraction between the two interface surfaces. Microwaves are conducted through a pipe, which can be seen on a large scale by examining
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77:. The reason given is: Is missing newer ports, such as USB-C that includes power, HDMI and FireWire. Does it need to be updated?.
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Hot-swappable ports can be connected while equipment is running. Almost all ports on personal computers are hot-swappable.
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could have been used for monochrome video, color analog video (in two incompatible standards), a joystick interface, or a
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ports are designed so that the connected devices automatically start handshaking as soon as the hot-swapping is done.
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389:; then a dialogue box pops up on the computer screen asking whether the speaker is left, right, front, or rear for
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302:), etc. There is some standardization to physical properties and function. For instance, most computers have a
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Electronically, the several conductors where the port and cable contacts connect, provide a method to transfer
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Electronically, hardware ports can almost always be divided into two groups based on the signal transfer:
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sometimes referred to as a double-barrel approach. This technology also provides a higher degree of
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installations. The user's response determines the purpose of the port, which is physically a
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Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.
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can be plugged to link the device to external devices, such as another computer, a
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This article is about physical ports. For software communication ports, see
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send and receive one bit at a time via a single wire pair (Ground and +/-).
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Computer ports in common use cover a wide variety of shapes such as round (
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send multiple bits at the same time over several sets of wires.
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902:"A Brief Introduction to USB Color Code (USB Wire & Port)"
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Examples of computer connector sockets on various laptops
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B1 (64K) plus B2 (64K) equals data throughput of 128K.
126:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
422:Pastel pink: Microphone 1/8" stereo (TRS) minijack
360:After ports are connected, they typically require
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425:Pastel green: Speaker 1/8" stereo (TRS) minijack
966:. Archived from the original on March 9, 2023.
1582:History of computing hardware (1960s–present)
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385:allow plugging in several different types of
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377:ports and FireWire ports are plug-and-play.
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53:Learn how and when to remove these messages
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445:with "funnels" on them leading to pipes.
204:Learn how and when to remove this message
186:Learn how and when to remove this message
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416:Blue or magenta: Parallel printer DB-25
306:port (currently a Universal Serial Bus
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410:Orange, purple, or grey: Keyboard PS/2
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1587:List of pioneers in computer science
124:adding citations to reliable sources
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34:This article has multiple issues.
856:infographic - What are PC Ports?
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111:needs additional citations for
42:or discuss these issues on the
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395:1/8" tip-ring-sleeve mini jack
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1577:History of computing hardware
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135:"Computer port" hardware
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419:Amber: Serial DB-25 or DB-9
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876:"What is a computer port?"
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391:surround sound
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176:February 2024
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137: –
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131:Find sources:
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109:This article
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85:February 2024
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1433:Power MOSFET
1416:Power supply
1385:Data storage
1321:Flash memory
1299:Optical disc
1281:data storage
1002:. Retrieved
998:Appleinsider
996:
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937:. Retrieved
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910:. Retrieved
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886:February 18,
884:. Retrieved
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352:Serial ports
339:Analog ports
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274:data signals
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118:Please help
113:verification
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36:Please help
33:
1532:Serial port
1523:(IEEE 1394)
1500:DisplayPort
1490:Thunderbolt
1363:Motherboard
1326:Memory card
1294:Floppy disk
1136:Touchscreen
815:USB 3 cable
791:SCSI cables
684:Serial port
672:Serial port
634:Color codes
574:DisplayPort
538:DisplayPort
532:DisplayPort
383:sound cards
362:handshaking
253:piece on a
1602:Categories
1279:Removable
1264:Sound card
1194:Sound chip
1189:Sound card
1179:Microphone
1069:components
880:TechTarget
862:References
779:SCSI ports
146:newspapers
39:improve it
1542:PS/2 port
1537:Game port
1450:Fax modem
1289:Disk pack
1141:Trackball
1104:Light pen
454:Bandwidth
448:Hardware
325:Macintosh
257:where an
45:talk page
1521:FireWire
1514:Obsolete
1480:Ethernet
1259:Speakers
1157:Keyboard
1131:Touchpad
1066:computer
1023:TVicHW32
1004:July 12,
972:cite web
939:July 12,
912:July 12,
845:See also
754:D-sub 15
729:VGA port
500:DVI port
434:FireWire
304:keyboard
288:FireWire
255:computer
251:hardware
239:Mac Mini
1570:Related
1473:Current
1314:Blu-ray
1252:Plotter
1247:Printer
1230:Monitor
1206:Softcam
1114:Optical
160:scholar
75:updated
1428:MOSFET
1368:Memory
1235:Screen
1201:Webcam
1064:Basic
963:USB-IF
882:. 2024
666:Serial
316:IBM PC
241:(2005)
162:
155:
148:
141:
133:
1547:eSATA
1465:Ports
1150:Other
1109:Mouse
958:(PDF)
933:PCMag
741:Cable
696:Cable
646:Cable
610:Cable
586:ESata
580:eSATA
512:Cable
300:DB-25
296:D-Sub
249:is a
167:JSTOR
153:books
1505:HDMI
1421:SMPS
1409:SSHD
1403:NVMe
1399:SATA
1378:BIOS
1006:2024
978:link
941:2024
914:2024
888:2024
767:SCSI
761:SCSI
709:DE-9
616:PS/2
463:ISDN
320:MIDI
284:PS/2
139:news
1557:VGA
1552:DVI
1485:USB
1438:VRM
1395:SSD
1390:HDD
1373:RAM
1309:DVD
1172:GPU
803:USB
797:USB
525:DVI
375:USB
308:USB
265:or
122:by
1604::
1401:/
1304:CD
995:.
974:}}
970:{{
960:.
930:.
904:.
878:.
473:.
245:A
48:.
1405:)
1397:(
1057:e
1050:t
1043:v
1008:.
980:)
943:.
916:.
890:.
222:.
207:)
201:(
189:)
183:(
178:)
174:(
164:·
157:·
150:·
143:·
116:.
87:)
83:(
55:)
51:(
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