Administator for GetUSB.info
GetUSB.info started in 2004 with the concept of providing USB information for everything USB related. At the time, USB was gaining momentum and every day new products, articles and news became published. Today, the site is focused on bringing technical information, tricks and hacks to USB related products. The site does publish off topic information as well, to keep the variety up. Please visit the footer area of any page if you or your company is interested in article or product placement via purchased advertising.
The Anker Powerhouse 200 is a product which you would say “I should have thought of that years ago.” Well this charging station, is truly that, a station of power.
I’m not even going put the features in some lofty gargon sentence, but rather list them off like a spelling test in 5th grade. After you read the following paragraph, I wonder what you will think; here we go…
Input High-Voltage Protection, Output High-Voltage Protection, Input Current Regulation, Automatic Current Matching, Input Short-Circuit Protection, Device Overcharge Protection, Static Resistance, Output Short-Circuit Protection, Output Current Regulation, Battery Overdischarge Protection, Output Temperature Control. That is an awesome sounding product.
Specifications are below, but we couldn’t find out how heavy the Powerhouse 200 weighs.
Capacity: 57600mAh/218.8Wh
Input: AC/Power Delivery
USB Output: 5V=3A (15W)
Power Delivery Output: 5V=3A, 9V=3A, 15V=2A, 20V=1.5A (30W)
Today, Hynix put out a press release on their Gold S31 solid-state drive (SSD). The SATA III, first generation, is the first of their SuperCore series of products.
With a 560MB/s read speed, this device becomes an ideal SSD drive for high demand users, such as Gamers. What’s also somewhat unique about the new Gold S31 drives is that they’re entirely built in-house.
“All key components in Gold S31, from NAND flash and built-in controller to DRAM and firmware, were designed and produced by SK Hynix. The in-house components are built for robust performance and reliability,” SK Hynix says.
What is more interesting, at least for us at this moment, is the history of SK Hynix we uncovered by doing some research about the company.
I always wondered what happen to Maxtor, an optical media giant back in the early 2000s. Well, SK Hynix bought them. SK Hynix is the third largest conglomerate in South Korea.
Hynix is the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker (after Samsung ) and the world’s 3rd-largest semiconductor company. Founded as Hyundai Electronic Industrial Co., Ltd. in 1983 and hasn’t stopped growing since.
Hynix memory is well know for quality flash and used in products made by Apple, Asus, Google, Dell, Nexcopy and Hewlett Pakard.
The company also merged with LG Semiconductors in 1999.
These guys had an operating income of 18 billion for 2018, so it’s a company with
Came across an article today, which I thought was a very good read. It’s a niche article, but for anyone who deals with flash drives, I would suggest checking it out.
From the article:
The optical drive is nearly dead – they are no longer found in laptops and rarely found in tower PCs. With that said, the trend for giving out data is shifting to USB flash, not CD or DVD media. Because of this shift, many companies are taking a closer look at buying a USB duplicator.
There are several factors one must consider before spending thousands of dollars on a USB duplicator. We have broken down the most important considerations into four categories. After reviewing these four categories, you should have an excellent idea of which type of duplicator is best for your organization.
USB Duplication Speed
Speed is the first area you should analyze to figure out which direction you should go. When considering speed, we are not simply talking about the copy speed of the USB duplicator, but other factors as well, such as number of USB sockets and the user interface required for feedback during operation. Questions you should ask, include:
# How many USB drives will you need to copy in a day or week?
# How large is the data load in MBs or GBs?
# What kind of turn-around time do you have between a duplication request and when that request should be completed?
# Is there printing, or branding required, on the outside of the USB?
# Do you need proof of performance via a log file?
Answering the above questions will give you an idea of what type of USB duplicator to consider. The type of duplicator will be size, how many USB sockets, copy speed of the duplicator and what type of software, if any, your organization will need.
Your Production Crew
Your next step is to consider the production crew who will be running the equipment. Will there be non-technical people running the equipment, or will a more hands-on approach be required? Is the IT department looking to restrict user access to the equipment or restrict access to the data content during the duplication process?
Much of the above depends on how the data is received before copied to the USB flash drive. For example, a duplication company might receive a physical master from a client; where-as a fulfillment house may get content delivered from a server from an on-line order submission process.
Will the organization require multiple USB duplicators located in different parts of the world? Said another way, many global companies standardize on one manufacturer so the user experience is the same across multiple locations. This also makes production easier as both support and experience can be shared between divisions to streamline processes on a global scale.
Knowing the production crew, their capabilities and responsibilities will help narrow the search for the right piece of equipment.
Read-Only or Read-Write
The third category worth investigating is asking the state of what the USB should be once sent delivered. Is the organization looking to ship out a read-only flash drive? By default all flash drives are read-write. Because of this, many organizations fear a virus could jump onto the drive and spreading to other computers. With that fear in mind, most companies are looking for a USB duplicator which creates a read-only drive product. This means the USB drive is locked, or write protected. The files cannot be deleted or formatted off the drive, and more importantly, files cannot jump onto the drive.
Nexcopy is world leader in read-only flash drive duplicators and therefore used as an example of a duplicator system worth considering.
The most common reason why only one USB drive can be used in Windows is due to multiple USBs connected with the same USB device signature, or disk signature collision.
If you are dealing with bootable devices and seeing this problem, we are confident a collision is the issue. If you are not dealing with a bootable device, then our information below will probably not help.
What is a USB signature collision?
A signature collision can happen on any bootable device, such as Compact Flash cards, SD cards, microSD cards, and USB flash drives. A disk signature is a unique identifier number (UID). It is a unique identifier stored as part of the MBR (Master Boot Record) for an operating system loaded on the device. The operating system uses the UID to identify and distinguish between storage devices. It is commonly made up of eight alphanumeric characters. A disk collision occurs when your operating system (Windows) detects that there are two disks with identical signatures.
For Windows 7, 8, 8.1, and 10, these versions of Windows will disable the second drive and will not allow that second volume to mount until the disk collision has been rectified. If you are reading this article, chances are, this is exactly what is happening to you.
The first thing to do is navigate to the Disk Management tool within Windows. To do this, use the search tool and type in Disk Management. This will take you to the utility that Windows offers. Here you can see your multiple devices connected. If you click or hover over the device not working you will see one of two messages:
“The boot selection failed because a required device is inaccessible” or “This disk is offline because it has a signature collision.”
What created the USB disk signature collision?
Making a bit-by-bit copy of one device to another, like using a USB duplicator, would create a disk signature collision. Because these binary duplicators copy the MBR information, that UID is also copied to the target device. Stepping forward, once those two devices are connected to the same computer, “boom” you get the collision.
Chances are, the situation you are in right now is due to a cloning process you have just completed. But don’t worry, we have the fix!
Fixing a USB disk signature collision
There are two methods for fixing the collision issue. The first solution is using DiskPart, which is a free command line tool provided by Microsoft and is found on all Windows 10 computers. This is a one-by-one process. If you have multiple devices with this problem and need to fix all of them, best to use option number two.
DiskPart Method
To launch DiskPart, simply go to the search function and type DiskPart
You now see the command prompt for DiskPart and type list disk
DiskPart will list all the storage devices connected to your computer. From this list, identify which USB is your problem device. The easiest way to determine this is to check the capacity for the drive listed by DiskPart.
Select the disk you want to change the signature ID for, for example Disk 1, which is the second disk listed (typically disk 0 is your C drive). Type select disk 1
Now that disk one is selected, type uniqueid disk and the utility will spit out the disk signature for disk 1.
Our final step is to change this value. Knowing a hexadecimal value we can use, such as A53AEBE9, type the following in DiskPart: unique disk ID=A53AEBE9 and click Enter.
With this change, you can now go into Disk Management and put the device Online. When the device is online, Windows Explorer will see the device and you can use it. There is no longer a USB disk signature collision.
If your hexadecimal value will not take, it means your MBR file doesn’t have a signature you can change. You will need to flash the device with your bootstrap code. More details on that from a previous article found here.
Another reason why option number two, below, is better is that the hexadecimal number assigned to the partition is automatic and works. There is no guessing on what hexadecimal to assign to the partition, a step you must do in DiskPart.
The second solution is downloading the freePartition Wizard and opening the software. The Partition Wizard software will automatically identify the USB disk signature collision and update the necessary MBR. Super simple!
There is more technical information about disk collision issues from Wikipedia. You can brush up on the details there if so inclined.
Legrand now offers the XSOLARCS USB charging station for public works, schools, parks and transportation centers.
With the Legrand solution, there is no construction required in order to install the charging station. The unit is a self contained solar panel tower, with six USB charging ports pulling from the solar panel. There are three shelves which can mount in adjustable locations to the panel tower poll. Each shelf containes two USB ports with up to 3.1A of shared power between them. There is no trenching required or other expensive construction projects in order to get the EXSOLARCS going.
USB sockets are protected from the eliments with a sliding door in front of the two port socket assembly. Not only is there protection, but LED illumination at each port for after-dark identification and ease-of-use. If the light is illuminating, the station can provide a charge. This implies there is some type of battery inside the station, which we’ve emailed Legrand to find out exactly what.
The XSOLARCS was designed with the elimints in mind. The USB charging station is designed to withstand hurricane-force winds and has the full RoHS certificate compliance.
Japan has been a long time supplier for three key elements used in the manufacturing of NAND memory and semiconductors. Because of recent trade war issues between Japan and South Korea, these elements are getting very hard to obtain.
Japan produces about 90% of the world’s supply of flurinated polyimide and resists, and about 70% of the world’s supply for hydrogen fluoride. This puts everyone at risk if Japan will not supply those demanding it.
Those chemicals are used by Korean manufacturers to produce semiconductors, and are crucial for making components — including memory chips, microprocessors and integrated circuits.
We have seen the direct impact already. For the first time in over eight months, the price of NAND memory for flash drives have gone up. For each GB capacity the percentage increase is different, but most notably are the 32GB and 64GB wafers. They have jumped nearly 25% from the previous week ( this article was posted on July 25th).
Japan has sited inadequate management of those chemicals by purchasing countries. Said another way, these chemicals can also be used to manufacturer military weapons and Japan is claiming those supplies have been diverted to do just that. Japan’s response; restrictions on the chemicals.
Who will lose from this trade war? None other than any person who uses technology. Cell phones, processors, flash memory, circuit boards, the list goes on.
For a more dry version of this report, and our source visit: here
To learn more about the polyimide chemicals a quick read on this wiki page is fairly interesting.
Continue Reading
Nexcopy is a bit of classic entrepreneurial story, starting out in a home garage and sales on the first day of business, this is a story about a copy that has gone only upward.
Tech Company News had some time to sit down with the owner of Nexcopy, Greg Morris, and fire off some questions.
Here is a snippet from the interview…
Question: What kind of technology does Nexcopy offer?
Answer:Nexcopy has a specific focus on flash memory duplication, printing and production needs. The business started out with one product geared towards USB duplication. From that single product, Nexcopy’s business has expanded into other duplication equipment such as SD card duplicators, microSD cards duplicators, Compact Flash cards duplicators, and of course our most recent product, the USB Type C duplicator. During this expansion process of hardware, Nexcopy also developed copy protection of digital files on USB drives and mobile devices. Several years ago, Nexcopy introduced a USB flash drive printer which really rounded out our product offering. From the devices, to the duplication equipment to the branding equipment, Nexcopy is a one-stop manufacturer for anyone who deals in flash memory.
What can you get with a 3D printer and plenty of flash drives? A hedgehog USB holder. With over 200+ downloads head over to Thingiverse to get your 3D template download. Looks like the hedgehog holds about 15 devices
Just finished print a hedgehog usb holder! Much easier way to keep all of these organized then thrown in my draw! Next up is a really cool bearing system! pic.twitter.com/dbtkv6Dn97
What do you call a bee born in the United States?
A USB.
When the person who invented the USB drive dies:
They will lower the coffin into the grave and realize it’s the wrong direction. Flip it, and try again.
Why do people complain about plugging in USB cables?
I always connect them on my second try.
Amazon offers a USB-powered taillight:
It’s used to backup your computer.
Arguing with your wife is like a USB port:
You will only be right 50% of the time.
I ate my USB flash drive:
It only took 1 byte.
If you are carrying around a USB stick:
Do you have mobile data?
What do you call a USB stick in Russia?
A “Put-in”
The USB Type C design is brilliant:
I can’t see a downside to it.
How do you stop an elephant from charging?
Take away its USB cable.
From this article, the Raspberry Pi 4’s USB-C power port was designed outside of official USB-IF specifications, making it incompatible with many USB-C chargers and/or power supplies. You can read more about from the link above and the information gathered to come to such a conclusion was done by a well known Google engineer, Benson Leung.
The raspberry Pi is a collection of small computer boards put together in a simplistic way to create the foundation of a computer system. The Raspberry Pi (also known as RPi) was released back in Feb of 2012 in the United Kingdom. The original intent of the RPi was to develop a low cost and simplistic computer which students could learn and develop.
The original model became far more popular than anticipated, and started selling outside its target market for uses such as robotics. It does not include peripherals (such as keyboards and mice) or even come inside a case. Literally a bare-bones product.
To give you an idea of the popularity, the RPi products have sold over 19 million units between its release in 2012 to the end of fiscal year 2018. This makes the RPi one of the best-selling computers in the world, although a computer with limited resources. Until now.
This week the Raspberry Pi Foundation has released the Pi 4. This is one hell of a great product. Check out these specifications:
A 1.5GHz quad-core 64-bit ARM Cortex-A72 CPU (~3× performance)
1GB, 2GB, or 4GB of LPDDR4 SDRAM
Full-throughput Gigabit Ethernet
Dual-band 802.11ac wireless networking
Bluetooth 5.0
Two USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports
Dual monitor support, at resolutions up to 4K
VideoCore VI graphics, supporting OpenGL ES 3.x
4Kp60 hardware decode of HEVC video
Complete compatibility with earlier Raspberry Pi products
In addition to the hardware improvements, the Raspberry Pi Foundation says
Problem Issue: Windows Will Not Assign Drive Letter To USB Flash Drive
This is happening on Win8 and Windows 10.
When I remove a USB drive and reconnect it, Windows will not assign a drive letter. Clearly this is a problem as every other computer I use assigns a drive letter.
There are three solutions. All of which will work:
You can go into Disk Management and select the device to assign a drive letter. This is a manual process and not ideal for each time you plug in a flash drive.
There’s a good chance the driver or registry entry for that device is rogue or corrupt. Use this USBScrub tool to remove the registry entry. Chances are this will fix the problem. USBScrub link
Use ‘diskpart’ and enable the automount feature.
Open Command Prompt as Administrator (search for Command Prompt in the Start Menu, right click, Run as Administrator)
Type ‘diskpart’ and hit Enter.
Once in the ‘diskpart’ command prompt, type ‘automount enable’ and hit Enter.
Type ‘exit’ and click Enter.
For solution number one from above, Disk Management is really the GUI version for diskpart, but with scaled-down functions compared to what diskpart can really do.
Diskpart has 37 commands that you can use to perform very cool tasks. The 38th command is
Today Apple announced the new iPadOS will support USB thumb drives. The iPad has long been toughted a workers tablet from Apple, but the relaity is their iPad didn’t provide much functionality. In addition, the devices have limited storage.
With today’s announcement the above argument could get a little muted.
Update: We learned the iPad will allow other storage devices such as external hard drives and SD or microSD cards (with USB adapters). The USB port will also allow for HID devices, such as a USB mouse and keyboard. We are not sure if the iPad will support Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, but we’ve got to assume, right!
There is no word about the connection. The connection could be one of three; an adapter, USB-C socket size or the classic USB type A socket size.
Your Production Crew
Source: 
