usb-c port and dvd drive question

comcom said:

If a USB-C device is plugged into A vs B, would there be any difference to the device? Would A and B supply the exact same specifications to the device?

A. USB-C device is plugged into "[USB-A male to USB-C female] adapter plugged into front PC case USB-A port"

B. USB-C device is plugged into "Front PC case USB-C port"

No because you will only get usb 3 speeds but through a usb c connector in the A example.

Malneb said:

They need to ditch usb c and just go with usb4. This will be a hard sale because usb c has been around for a while so its ingrained.

That would certainly fit in with the forced need for more new equipment.

Berton said:

That would certainly fit in with the forced need for more new equipment.

What do you mean?

Malneb said:

What do you mean?

There's a lot of traffic/posts on forums about Win10 and earlier versions on computers more 3-4 years old not being able to properly install/run Win11 properly due to System Requirements of the CPU and TPM meeting the requirements, forcing getting a new computer when EOL/EOS of Win10 ends on Oct. 14, 2025.

That is hard line requirement on scope that effects computers where USB C does not Apply natively and its different context all together whole different scope. You can also buy pcie cards for support on those computers.

What i was alluding to was that USB C is older the original standard out of the two but USB 4 is backwards compatible to USB C.

Overall USB C is a "loose" standard it does not define many things and its a bit "Lazy" where as USB 4 is about standardizing the USB C connector with more defined standards and capabilities.
We see now edge case that USB C is more of a term used generically. Really its USB 4 capability in most cases, but they label the port as USB C because of the connector. That image of the case is a good example.

Overall i think the should stop calling it usb c because usb 4 sounds better but they wont because it uses the connector so its going to get blindly called usb c in many scenarios.

USB standard overall has been messy since the mp3 player with all these adhoc usb connectors.

comcom said:

Can an external DVD drive use a boot disk like the internal DVD drive?

For example, if one day I switch on my PC and I am unable to go into Windows 10, can I insert my Windows DVD or Macrium Reflect DVD then restart my PC to boot into the DVD to do restore/repair/reinstall etc?

I wouldn't count on it. I can't boot from an external DVD from either my Acer or ASUS laptops. Doing that is not really done anymore anyways. It makes more sense to boot from a USB flash drive. A USB flash drive is also much faster than a DVD. Most programs including Macrium Reflect can create rescue media on a USB flash drive.

I needed to reinstall Windows 7 on my old laptop. I used the external DVD drive on my new laptop to burn the Windows 7 Pro DVD media from an ISO file.

comcom said:

During power off you insert the USB flash drive, then you power on you PC or laptop, does it auto boot from the USB flash drive? Do you need go into BIOS to set anything in the BIOS?

Normally it won't boot from the USB drive unless it is the first boot option on BIOS.
You can use the one time boot menu. During POST press F8(?). A table with the boot options will open. Select the the USB drive.

comcom said:

Can an external DVD drive use a boot disk like the internal DVD drive?

For example, if one day I switch on my PC and I am unable to go into Windows 10, can I insert my Windows DVD or Macrium Reflect DVD then restart my PC to boot into the DVD to do restore/repair/reinstall etc?

Mine does, it's a Hitachi-LG Data Storage Portable DVD.