A. Used for Connecting Older Style Keyboards and Mice

Connectors by Category

1)  Mini DIN-Deutsches Institut für Normung (The German Institute for standardization) (DIN was discontinued many years ago)

a.  Used for connecting older style keyboards and mice.

2)  USB-Universal Serial Bus—most common, general purpose connector found on the PC

a.  Several features that make USB very popular

i.  USB devices are hot—swappable (they can be inserted or removed without restarting or shutting down the computer)

ii. Many USB devices get their electrical power through the USB connection so they don’t need batteries or a plug for an electrical outlet.

iii.  Some devices such as cell phones can be charge by plugging them into a USB port

b.  Found on many devices including

i.  Mice

ii. Keyboards

iii.  Printers

iv.  Cameras

v.  Scanner

vi.  And many others

3)  FireWire Connectors—also known as IEEE 1394

a.  Moves data at incredibly high speeds perfect for streaming videos from camera to hard drive

b.  Special 6 wire connection or a smaller 4 wire version

c.  FireWire is hot—swappable like USB

4)  DB Connectors—D—sub or D—subminiature

a.  Have been used for almost every type connecter except keyboards

b.  Slightly “D”shaped which allows for only one way to insert the plug into the port. The “D” shapes helps you to Identify the connector and its name.

c.  Each male DB plug has a group of small pins that connect to female ports

d.  Female DB plugs connect to DB ports on the PC unit.

e.  DB plugs and ports can have anywhere from 9 to 37 pins or sockets (rarely do you see DB connectors with more than 25 pins or sockets.)

5)  RJ Connectors

a.  RJ11 (common telephone connector) Used almost exclusively for modems

b.  RJ45 (the wider of the two) is used for Ethernet or network connections

6)  Audio Connectors

a.  Mini connectors used to connect speakers, microphones, and headphones to the PC unit

b.  May be found in the back or front of the PC unit.