Today, more than ever before, individuals are working from home offices. A comfortable and productive environment is one of the main reasons so many love working from home. However, even with all the conveniences, sometimes the home office lacks the computer equipment needed to handle specific tasks. With many businesses now practicing social distancing, certain tools are still essential. Let us look at a unique product by Nexcopy, the home office USB duplicator.

Consider the niche requirement to make USB duplicates at home. For example, an IT manager might need to prepare bootable recovery sticks, or a software engineer might need to send program updates to remote sales teams. These professionals require a fast, simple, and economical device to do the job efficiently.

The compact USB flash drive duplicator from Nexcopy is the perfect solution for this need. Measuring just 15cm long and 10cm wide, it fits easily into any computer bag and is as light as a book.

The USB duplicator is a one-master to four-target copy station. It is a digital binary copier capable of duplicating any file system or structure provided by the master flash drive. Using a USB cable, the duplicator can power up to five USB flash drives, though it is not recommended for USB hard drives.

With this device, making duplicates in a home office is quick and easy. The unit has four menu buttons: Enter, Escape, Up, and Down. It operates with a single button press, making it ideal for non-technical users. The duplicator can be set for a standard binary copy or a copy-and-compare function, ensuring every duplicate is an exact match to the master for added peace of mind.

Key Features of the Nexcopy USB104SA:

• Asynchronous copy mode at all times
• Binary copier supports all formats: FAT, FAT32, exFAT, NTFS, HFS, Ext2,3,4, Proprietary
• Binary CRC verification algorithm
• Quick Erase and Full Erase for data sanitization
• Four language modes on the LCD menu (English, Spanish, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese)
• USB speed benchmark utility
• Firmware upgradeable for future updates

Is this mini-sized USB duplicator worth the investment for a home office? The easiest way to decide is to consider how much time it saves. The Nexcopy USB104SA can copy 1GB of data to each device in just over one minute. If an IT manager or developer had to manually load 12GB of data onto four drives using a PC, it would take about 12 minutes. The duplicator accomplishes this in a fraction of the time. Using the copy-and-compare mode adds some time, about 1.5 minutes per GB, but still remains extremely fast.

The Erase function is another valuable feature. Unlike a simple format, which only removes the file allocation table (directions to data), Erase overwrites memory blocks with random binary data, making data recovery impossible. Quick Erase scrubs portions of the drive, corrupting most data, while Full Erase writes random 0s and 1s to the entire NAND memory, ensuring complete and irreversible data removal.

The USB benchmark utility is a convenient tool for testing read and write speeds, especially with lower-quality promotional USB media, which can be unstable. A write speed below 4MB/s indicates poor quality memory. Speeds above 8MB/s for USB 2.0 or 20MB/s for USB 3.0 are considered good quality.

The duplicator uses CRC (Cyclical Redundancy Check) for data verification. Learn more about this in our article on CRC vs Checksum verification for USB flash drives.

This Nexcopy duplicator is backward compatible with USB 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 flash drives and writes as fast as the connected device allows. For best performance, USB 3.0 media is recommended.

Source: GetUSB.info

USB-C is a great technology, offering ultra-fast data transfer rates close to 10Gbps and increased power delivery for charging laptops, monitors, and TVs. However, the power advantage of USB-C diminishes over longer cable lengths. According to the USB-C (USB 3) specification, optimal power and transfer rates are maintained only when the cable length is under two meters (about six feet).

Power over Ethernet (PoE) is a proven way to deliver both data and power over long distances via cable. PoE Texas has introduced a product that extends USB-C connections using this technology.

“As a standard, USB-C offers amazing speed and power delivery. Unfortunately, USB-C can only transmit power less than ten feet (three meters), and the cable infrastructure comes at a cost premium. Ethernet cable, nearly ubiquitous in modern construction, can transmit power and data up to 328 feet (100 meters). USB-C power and data transmitted over Power over Ethernet significantly lowers the cost of adopting USB-C by eliminating the need for new electrical infrastructure.”

Extending USB-C Connections with Power over Ethernet

Real-World Example of PoE USB-C in Use

A user has a workstation located about 30 feet away from the production unit it needs to communicate with. The production unit is a USB-C duplicator by Nexcopy. The workstation manager controls the data to be loaded onto USB-C flash drives, while the production manager physically connects and disconnects the USB sticks during the duplication process.

Because a standard USB-C cable cannot cover the required distance, the user can employ the USB-C Power over Ethernet solution to deliver both power and data effectively to the remote device.

• Conference Room Setup: A USB-C monitor is mounted 40 feet away from the docking station. Using PoE to USB-C allows both video data and charging power to reach the display over a single Ethernet cable.
• Security Camera Installation: A USB-C powered 4K security camera is installed 80 feet from the control room, receiving both power and data via PoE without additional electrical wiring.
• Point-of-Sale Terminal: Retail stores can power USB-C tablets located 50–75 feet from the main server rack using PoE, avoiding the need for extra outlets and USB hubs.
• Industrial Automation: A USB-C duplicator or machine placed 60 feet from the workstation uses PoE adapters to maintain stable power and high-speed data transfer without costly long USB cables.

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Product Page: POETexas.com

Reference: Power over Ethernet (Wikipedia)

The Decline of Optical Media in Modern Computing

Let’s face it, optical discs are large and bulky. At nearly five inches in diameter, they feel oversized compared to modern laptops and tablets. Even though optical drives have been reduced in size over the years, many laptop manufacturers have eliminated them entirely to save space and power.

Beyond the size factor, space once used for an optical drive could be better allocated. It could house a larger battery for extended runtime, a faster solid-state drive for improved performance, or a more powerful graphics solution for design work or gaming.

When CD-R drives first entered the market, they offered massive storage compared to traditional magnetic media of the time. With 650 MB of capacity, they outperformed most hard drives of that era. DVDs expanded this further, offering 4.7 GB on recordable discs.

While optical media grew steadily, it never matched the exponential growth of hard drives and USB flash drives. Optical storage remains limited to gigabytes, while modern hard drives now store terabytes of data. Using CDs, DVDs, or Blu-ray discs for storage has become impractical—the write speed is slow, and retrieval times are equally sluggish. Hard drives and portable USB flash drives have become the dominant solution.

USB Duplicators: The Modern Replacement for Optical Disc Copiers

Given these points, it’s easy to see why optical media is fading out. CD-R and DVD-R may survive for a few more years, but USB drives and hard disks have already taken over. The next logical question is: how do you efficiently load data onto USB drives? In the optical era, you had CD/DVD tower duplicators, often with robotics and printers for disc labeling. These systems are now rare.

The solution today is USB duplicators. These are high-speed flash memory copier systems designed to load content onto USB drives quickly and efficiently. Similar to how optical duplicators had different burning methods, USB duplicators support multiple copy modes—file copy, binary copy, and duplication from ISO or IMG files.

It’s important to choose a USB duplicator that supports all these functions. Some models offer up to six copy modes, making them highly versatile. Options may include file copy, copy add, unique data streaming, copy from a physical device, and image-based duplication from IMG or ISO files. This flexibility ensures compatibility regardless of how the source content is provided.

In a recent news press release from Nexcopy Inc., it appears USB Type C is trending up for consumer demand.

Via the EIN News Wire Service, Nexcopy announced a twenty target USB-C Duplicator. Some of the information posted in the release talks about the upward trend manufacturers are seeing with USB type C product. In addition, the production of a mass aggregator, or duplicator, is another indication users are data loading, in bulk, to USB-C product.

“Apple computers and Iot, or Internet Of Things, are driving the force behind the increased demand for USB-C flash drive consumption. Although the internet is great for many data sharing applications, there is still a great need for data dissemination off line. USB is still the definitive choice among users to share data via flash memory,” states Greg Morris, President of Nexcopy.

Morris continues, “We see the demand of USB-C duplication to only rise in the coming years. In technology, smaller is always better, and as devices get slimmer in size the USB type A socket will eventually phase out and USB type C taking over. The transition is slow, but it is inevitable; and with that said, we are ready – today.”

Nexcopy is also well known for the PRO series duplicators that perform advanced functions to flash drives, such as USB write protection (USB read-only), partitions at the controller level, and serial number control for UFD identification. From the press release, these advanced functions will also be available on the USB-C200PC duplicator.

The USB-C duplicator has a list price of $1,299 from what we understand and available now through a list of on-line retails like Amazon and NewEgg. The product is also available through a worldwide network of authorized resellers.

Nexcopy did allude to

Using Windows 10, you can partition a USB flash drive into multiple partitions. The process is not difficult; you simply follow some easy steps. This tutorial will partition the drive so that your device is assigned multiple drive letters when connected to the computer.

This partition process is not done at the USB controller level, or said another way, done at the hardware level. This USB partition process, for lack of better terms, is done at the software level. What does this mean for you? It means the partitions can be wiped off the drive and the full capacity of the USB flash drive can be restored.

When a USB stick is partitioned at the controller level, or at the hardware level, there is no way to reverse the partition. The multi-partition drive is permanent. At the end of this tutorial is the solution for a hardware-based partition solution.

So let’s get started.

How to partition a USB flash drive in Windows 10:

Connect the USB flash drive to your Windows 10 machine. Be sure there is nothing valuable on the USB as this process will remove all content from the drive.

Right Click the Windows icon and select Disk Management.

The Disk Management window will appear with all the connected devices. Select your USB flash drive by clicking one time. By selecting your flash drive, it will allow Windows to apply the partition to that device.

You will see your flash drive as Disk X. The device is represented by diagonal gray lines. Right Click your device in the diagonal gray line area on your screen and select Delete Volume.

Windows will display an error message stating all the contents of the device will be removed. Confirm Yes.

You will now have an unallocated partition for the flash drive. This means a file system is not assigned to the drive. Having no file system on your USB means you cannot save data to the drive. We need to create a file system for this partition, i.e., FAT, FAT32, NTFS, or exFAT.

At the same time, we assign a file system to this partition, we will also slice up the USB flash drive to create multiple partitions.

Right Click the unallocated space on your screen, represented by the diagonal gray lines. Select New Simple Volume from the options presented.

A Microsoft wizard utility will start. Click Next from the first introductory screen. Windows will display the total amount of memory available to the device. This is where you will enter the size of your first partition. In this example, I am using a 2GB flash drive (1,896MBs) and will make a first partition of 500MBs.

The rest of the wizard utility is auto-populated and straightforward. For example, the wizard will ask if you want a specific drive letter assigned to the partition once the process is done.

The wizard utility will ask you what file system you want for this new partition. If you are not sure, just leave the auto-populated selection from Windows.

TIP: If you want the dual partition USB drive to also work in Mac computers, be sure to format the drive as FAT, FAT32, or exFAT. Do not use NTFS, as Mac computers will only read the content but cannot write to the device. In fact, read this article on why to never format USBs as NTFS.

Be sure to set a volume name to the device so the partition (new drive letter) will be easy to recognize.

Click Finish for Windows to make this first partition. Looking in Disk Management once the wizard has closed, you will now see the device with one partition and a balance of the drive as unallocated.

Rinse and Repeat. Do the same steps as above for this smaller unallocated memory space.

After the second pass using the partition wizard for Windows, you will have a dual partition USB drive with two drive letters. Each USB flash drive letter will work and appear like a normal, single flash drive. You can data load each partition as normal. You can even flash one partition to make it bootable if you are into making bootable USB sticks.

Although the above tutorial makes things easy to partition a USB flash drive into multiple drive letters, this method is not permanent. Using the same steps, you may clear out all the partitions and its content. For some users or companies, having an unsecured dual partition drive is not ideal for their business practice or application. There is an alternative. There is a method to partition a USB at the hardware level.

In order to partition a USB drive at the hardware level, or controller level, you will need some specific controller chips and the vendor commands to set up the partitions. These tools are not readily available as there are hundreds of chip makers and thousands of USB suppliers. However, Nexcopy has a solution for business-to-business applications for creating dual partitions at the controller level.

In addition, Nexcopy has the ability to make these partitions write-protected, or read-only. If this hardware solution is what you need, please contact them.

With flash memory continually becoming more spacious and more affordable, encryption and data security become a much greater challenge for larger loads of higher complexity. Nexcopy hasn’t shied from the challenge with their ever-improving CopySecure software and are proud to announce some version updates to make data protection even easier.

Larger Supported File and Filetypes

Fewer restrictions on data size means higher quality videos and images can be used in CopySecure content. With CopySecure, the bells and whistles of a site, program, or page can be stored on a safe drive, impervious to duplication.
Example: A 4K training video, which could be over 3GB in size, can now be securely stored and distributed without the need to compress or reduce quality.

Watermark Implementation

Branding your documents before encrypting them has been an issue in the past due to the nature of most watermarking software. Attempting to encrypt content with a portion of its data already encrypted had its challenges, but the newest version includes support for Adobe’s watermarking tool, Stamps.
Example: Educational institutions use watermarks on videos to discourage screen recording and unauthorized redistribution of their proprietary content.

Double The Storage Space!

Improvements to Nexcopy Duplicators as well as the software have made it incredibly convenient to protect more of your data, and in less time. With those upgrades, 128GB drives are now supported for loading and encryption using the CopySecure software.
Example: As average video file sizes continue to grow due to HD and 4K resolution standards, more storage capacity allows for more robust media distribution on a single USB drive.

For more information, here’s a page dedicated to information about the CopySecure software and the concept of Copy Protection.

Summary:
Nexcopy Adds Standalone microSD Duplicators With microSD Card Sanitization Features

Press Release:
LAKE FOREST, CA – CALIFORNIA, ORANGE COUNTY, June 22, 2016 – Nexcopy Inc., a leading manufacturer and developer of flash memory duplicators, introduces two new standalone microSD Duplicator models to Nexcopy’s line of flash memory duplicators and sanitizers. The 1-15 and 1-31 target systems offer unparalleled copy speeds to Secure Digital media with additional functions for device sanitization.

The duplicators function primarily as binary copiers with a variety of built-in features including:

• Bit by Bit Copying
• Benchmarking and Speed Test
• Pre-Scan Memory Features
• Speeds up to 1GB per minute
• Multiple Speed Copy Modes
• Control Equipment with Boot Password
• Set Language to: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese

The microSD duplicators operate as stand-alone devices where a host computer is not required to perform the bit-by-bit duplication or the binary sanitization processes. The simple one-button operation of these advanced duplicators is ideal for IT departments, fulfillment houses, flash memory manufacturers, businesses, software developers, and government agencies. For data professionals or businesses distributing data to employees or customers, a duplicator with this balance of speed and reliability can become an integral tool for daily activities.

Additionally, these new standalone microSD duplicators by Nexcopy can sanitize multiple devices simultaneously, saving IT professionals valuable time in flash memory management. Core functions of these new systems include the binary copy process used in the popular Nexcopy USB duplicator systems. Binary copy modes include the ability to copy bootable microSD media, FAT, FAT32, NTFS, ext2, ext3, ext4, and any other file format system, proprietary or public.

“Pivoting from our core binary copy firmware, Nexcopy expands our technology to include sanitization features now being sought by IT professionals,” says Greg Morris, Nexcopy Inc. President. “It is important for Nexcopy to listen to the requests of our customers and act upon them to bring the best product to market.”

This release further reinforces Nexcopy’s commitment to innovation, as emphasized by Greg Morris in a recent interview:

“From a single USB duplicator in my garage to a full line of duplication and protection solutions, Nexcopy has always been about solving real-world problems with real hardware.”

You can read the full article here: Interview with Greg Morris – Flash Duplication Pioneer

Official Site Link

There are two stand-alone microSD duplicator models:
Part Number: mSD 115SA – 1-15 target microSD duplicator and sanitizer, 110–220V
Part Number: mSD 131SA – 1-31 target microSD duplicator and sanitizer, 110–220V

Product Images:
https://www.nexcopy.com/downloads/msd115sa.jpg
https://www.nexcopy.com/downloads/msd131sa.jpg

Availability: Nexcopy’s complete line of USB Duplicators, CF Duplicators, SD Duplicators, and microSD Duplicators are available through a worldwide network of authorized resellers.
Cyrus Riahi
Nexcopy
1 949 481 6478
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