How to Initialize new disks

Yes, Apple iOS and Google Nexus devices support USB On-The-Go (OTG) . 

The files on your  OTG USB Flash Drive can be accessed via your Android device’s file explorer. The file explorer can be found in the apps menu of your Android device. If your device does not have a file explorer we recommend you download your preferred file explorer app from Google Play™.ES File Explorer is available for free download.

Memory modules can be made in different ways to allow for additional functions. These functions require additional components.

Registered memory has registers or buffers included on the module for better flow of data which increases data reliability. It also allows for greater memory scalability (larger amounts of RAM can be installed). Because of this, registered memory is used mostly in servers. Some Registered DIMMs comes with a parity function. This is used for additional error checking. Your computer's motherboard would have to support parity in order for this function to be used. But parity registered memory can be used in systems that just takes registered memory. The parity function will just not be used. Registered memory includes ECC functionality but not all ECC is registered.

Fully buffered memory takes some of the functions of the memory controller (a chip that controls the data flow of RAM) and puts it on the memory module. This increases memory scalability further. Fully buffered memory cannot be used in a computer that takes registered memory or vise versa. Fully buffered memory includes ECC functionality but not all ECC is fully buffered.

Unbuffered memory is memory that does not include any buffers or registers. It is the memory most commonly used in desktop and notebook computers. You cannot use registered memory or fully buffered memory in a computer that takes unbuffered memory.

ECC (Error Correcting Code) memory includes an additional memory chip which allows the motherboard to detect and correct one bit errors. This increases data reliability and can help identify a failing memory module. All registered and fully buffered memory modules also include ECC functionality. But there is also ECC unbuffered memory that is usually used in higher end workstation computers. In some cases, you can use ECC unbuffered memory in a computer that takes unbuffered memory but does not have ECC functionality. It just will not use this feature of the memory.

No. Registered and Unbuffered RAM can't coexist. Registered and Unbuffered are two different memory technologies. Installing the incorrect memory or mixing these technologies could cause damage to the motherboard and/or memory module(s).

The memory speed in a server will depend on several factors: CPU, number of memory ranks installed and voltage.

Your CPU may only be able to run memory up to a certain speed, regardless of the memory you have installed. For example, you may have 1600MT/s memory installed, but the CPU is only capable of running memory at 1333MT/s.

Memory ranks can affect speed the more modules you have installed. For example, if you have a system that runs memory in triple channel and install one set of 3 modules, it may run at 1333MT/s if they are single or dual ranked. But once a second set of modules is installed, the speed is reduced to 1066MT/s. If the first set was quad ranked, it may only run at 1066MT/s and down clock to 800MT/s with a second set. Quad ranked modules would be used because they are usually higher capacity.

 Some systems are compatible with load reduces DIMMs (LRDIMMs). These modules allow for higher capacity modules at higher speeds.

If you install low voltage DIMMs, They may run at a slower speed than the same number of standard voltage DIMMs. For example, you may be able to install two set of 1.5V memory at 1333MT/s. But with 1.35V memory, the modules would run at 1066MT/s.

Please refer to your system or motherboard manual for specific memory configurations.

1. The UFD could be conflicting with a pre-assigned drive letter. To resolve, do the following (Do not do this for a ""Privacy"" drive that assigns two drive letters):

  1) Insert the UFD and open "Control Panel". Then open "Administrative Tools".

  2) Open Computer Management

  3) Select “Disk Management” on the left window pane.

  4) Locate the UFD on the right window pane.

  5) Right-click on the drive and select “Change Drive Letter and Paths.”

  6) Click Change and select a new drive letter from the drop-down box. Then click OK.

2. The UFD may be conflicting with pre-installed software. Disable all applications running in the background prior to installation of the Data Traveler.

  1) Make sure Windows, any USB controller drivers and the system BIOS for you computer is up to date.

  2) If you have a desktop computer, make sure the UFD is inserted directly into one of the main USB ports on the back of the PC. Front ports, keyboard ports or USB Hubs may not supply sufficient power for the High Speed UFD to function properly.

  3) Check for a possible conflict is another USB device such as a printer or USB card reader. Unplug the other USB device, insert the UFD drive and restart the system. After the UFD is configured you should then be able to connect the other USB device."

Windows may not recognize the MacOS Extended or Standard file system. To resolve, format the drive in MacOS DOS so that it can be used in both environments.

WARNING: Formatting will erase all of the data on the UFD. Back up your data before proceeding.

Insert the UFD into the Mac OS X machine and wait for it to mount.
Click on the ""GO"" option on the menu bar.
Double-click on Utilities (If you do not see Utilities, double-click on Applications and then double-click on the Utilities folder.)
Double-click on the Disk Utility icon.
On the Disk Utility Dialog box, click once on the UFD active partition. Note: There will be two listings for the UFD, the first one is the active partition and the second is the volume label.
Click the erase tab located on the right side of the screen.
Using the Volume Format drop-down, select ""MS-DOS File System"" from the list.
Click Erase.
Be aware MacOS 10.6.5 will support full read and write access to exFAT formatted drives. So formatting the drive using exFAT file system may also resolve this problem. MacOS still has read only access to NTFS formatted drives.

Some devices (MP3 players, digital photo frames, etc) will not read NTFS or exFAT file systems.

Also Windows XP and Vista will require an update in order to access exFAT.

Follow the steps below to format the UFD with an NTFS File system using Windows PC.
Remove all other external flash devices from your computer.

Right-click My Computer (Computer in Vista) and select Manage.
Note: If User Account Control is enabled in Windows Vista, an alert will display. Click Continue to proceed.
From the right side window, double-click Storage and then double-click Disk Management.
From the right side window, right-click the drive and select Format.
Note: You may receive a warning: "This is the active partition on this disk. All data on the partition will be lost. Are you sure you want to format this partition?" Click Yes to proceed.
In the Format window, select ""NTFS"" file system and a check the box next to ""Perform a quick format."" Click OK.
Click OK on the Format warning window.
The  drive window will display ""Formatting"" while the drive is being formatted. Once the format is complete, the status will revert to "Healthy."

You may have formatted the drive with an exFAT file system while using Windows 7. In order to resolve, reformat the drive with the FAT32 or NTFS file system. You may also be able to update your operating system to be compatible with exFAT. But be aware some devices (MP3 players, digital photo frames, etc) will not read exFAT file system.

There is a incompatibility between the card and the device. This can be due to the device not supporting the capacity of the card or the card uses a newer technology than the device is able to use. In some cases, there are updates to the device that allow it to read newer or larger cards. Please check with the device manufacturer or on our website to see what cards are supported with your device.

Many devices that use flash cards only recognize the FAT32 file system. Windows will automatically default the file system to exFAT for any removable storage device above 32GB. It will not give the option to format is FAT32. When you insert this card into your device, it will see the card as not formatted. The best practice is to format the card in the device you primarily use the card with.

Warning: Formatting a flash card will erase all the files on the card. Most devices you use the flash card with will (i.e. camera) have a format feature. Before you use this feature, make sure that this size card and type is supported by the device. Also make sure that the format the device uses is compatible with any other device you might use it with (i.e. the camera formats in FAT32 but a digital frame can only read FAT).

If you are using a card reader and a PC to format the card, open "My Computer" in XP or ""Computer"" in Vista and Win7 and highlight the drive that corresponds to the card. Make sure you choose the correct drive letter. Then with the right mouse button, click on the drive. Then choose "Format" from the menu and click on it with your left mouse button.

Choose the file system that is appropriate for the card size and the device you are using it with. 2GB and below should use FAT. Above 2GB should use FAT32, NTFS or exFAT. NTFS and exFAT should only be used if you are copying files 4GB and larger to the card or the card is above 32GB.

If you are using a card reader and a Mac, open the "G"" menu and double-click on Utilities (If you do not see Utilities, double-click on Applications and then double-click on the Utilities folder). Double-click on the Disk Utility icon. On the Disk Utility Dialog box, click once on the flash card's active partition.Note: There will be two listings for the card, the first one is the active partition and the second is the volume label. Click the erase tab located on the right side of the screen. Using the Volume Format drop-down, select “MS-DOS File System” from the list. Click Erase. 

First, make sure you have the correct memory for your Notebook. After you confirm that you have the correct memory for your system, do the following:

Prior to memory installation, first shut down the Notebook, then remove the battery pack and unplug the power cord. Reseat the memory firmly into the socket and then push down on the memory to lock it in place. Replace the battery pack and power cord and boot the system. If the installation is still unsuccessful, try inserting the memory into a different slot, if available.

First, make sure you have the correct memory for your Notebook. After you confirm that you have the correct memory for your system, do the following:

Prior to memory installation, first shut down the Notebook, then remove the battery pack and unplug the power cord. Reseat the memory firmly into the socket and then push down on the memory to lock it in place. Replace the battery pack and power cord and boot the system. If the installation is still unsuccessful, try inserting the memory into a different slot, if available.

Windows 10: Click on the start button and select System. Installed memory (RAM) is displayed under the System section.

Windows 8: Select File Explorer. Right-click Computer and select Properties to display System. Installed memory (RAM) is displayed under the System section.

Windows 7 Click on the Start button and right-click Computer. Select Properties to display System. Installed memory (RAM) is displayed under the System section.

MacOS X: Select ""About This Mac"" or ""About This Computer"" from the Apple menu in the upper left corner of your Desktop.

Linux: Open a terminal window and enter the following command: cat /proc/meminfo

Additional memory will not necessarily increase the performance of your computer. It will allow you to run more programs or processes at once or more memory intensive programs. There may be a performance increase if the original amount of memory installed was close to insufficient for the programs and processes you use the computer for.

Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T.) is a built-in monitoring capability in hard drives and SSDs. It can allow users to monitor the health of a device. It does this through monitoring software designed specifically for the S.M.A.R.T. feature. All of our Mmonent drives support S.M.A.R.T.

"When the SSD is recognized in the BIOS, but Windows 7 installation does not detect the drive, follow these steps:

Disconnect any other hard drives or SSDs. Boot the Windows 7 installation disk. Choose repair, then advanced, then command prompt. Type: ""diskpart"" without quotes and press Enter. You will see a prompt labeled ""diskpart"". Type the following commands and press enter after each one.

Diskpart > Select Disk 0
Diskpart > Clean
Diskpart > Create Partition Primary Align=1024
Diskpart > Format Quick FS=NTFS
Diskpart > List Partition
Diskpart > Active
Diskpart > Exit

Then reboot the computer to the Windows 7 installation disk."

First, open an Elevated Command Prompt window.

To open an Elevated Command Prompt window: Click on Start Orb > Type ""CMD.exe"" in Search box > Right click on ""CMD"" and select ""Run as Administrator"" (If you receive a prompt confirmation, click YES)

To verify the TRIM command is enabled, type the following and press enter in the Elevated command:

fsutil behavior query disabledeletenotify

The results will be as follows: DisableDeleteNotify = 1 (Windows TRIM commands are disabled) DisableDeleteNotify = 0 (Windows TRIM commands are enabled)

To enable the TRIM command,type the following and press enter in the Elevated command:

fsutil behavior set disabledeletenotify 0

To disable the TRIM command,type the following and press enter in the Elevated command:

fsutil behavior set disabledeletenotify 1

Open the control panel, open administrative tools and then open computer management. Click on Disk Management and see if the SSD drive is seen in the right window pane. If it is, right click on where it is labeled as disk 1, disk 2, etc and select "Initialize disk" (this may come up automatically when you go to Disk Management).

SSDs do not require defragmentation. Since there are no physical disks, there is no need to organize the data in order to reduce seek time. Therefore defragmenting an SSD is not effective. Also, defragmenting an SSD can put undue wear on specific areas of the drive. SSDs are designed to write data as evenly as possible over the entire drive to reduce undue wear to any one location. Nonetheless defragmenting your SSD drive a couple of times will not harm it. However if it is done continuously over a long period, it may reduce the life of the drive.

High-performance NVMe SSDs require adequate airflow for maximum bandwidth and performance. During heavy workloads or extensive benchmarking, the drive will heat up and the controller firmware may implement thermal throttling in order to maintain proper operating temperature and ensure drive integrity. If performance degradation is observed within these circumstances, confirm the SSD is receiving adequate cooling and/or increase the system’s fan speed to reduce drive temperatures.　

The drivers for this drive are available for Windows 8 and up and Server 2012R2 and up by either downloading it within the installation or are built into the OS. We do not support using this drive with Windows 7 or below. It will work with newer Linux versions. Please verify if your distribution supports NVMe. These are not supported in any version of MacOS

Trim and garbage collection are technologies that modern SSDs incorporate to improve both their performance and endurance. When your SSD is in its fresh out of box condition all of the NAND blocks are empty so the SSD can write new data to the empty blocks in a single operation. Over time most of the empty blocks will become used blocks that contain user data. In order to write new data to used blocks the SSD is forced to perform a read-modify-write cycle. The read-modify-write cycle hurts the SSDs overall performance because it now must do three operations instead of a single operation. The read-modify-write cycle also causes write amplification which hurts the SSDs overall endurance.

Trim and garbage collection can work together to improve SSD performance and endurance by freeing up used blocks. Garbage collection is a function built into the SSD controller that consolidates data stored in used blocks in order to free up more empty blocks. This process happens in the background and is completely handled by the SSD itself. However the SSD may not know which blocks contain user data and which blocks contain stale data that the user has already deleted. This is where the trim function comes in. Trim allows the operating system to inform the SSD that data has been deleted so that the SSD can free up those previously used blocks. For trim to work both the operating system and the SSD must support it. Currently most modern operating systems and SSDs support trim however most RAID configurations do not support it.