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HyperDrive info

Moshe Ronen

New member
I'm interested in the 'HyperDrive' HD80. Can anyone please fill me in with the following details, which I couldn't find on their web site:

Which operating system is used?
Where is the OS stored? Flash memory? How large?
Any problem storing the device without batteries?
Which file system does it use, FAT32? NTFS?
Is firmware updating a simple process?
Any reliability or other problems?
Is card transfer to HD really as fast as they claim?
Anything else I should know?

Thanks,
Moshe
 

Jason Anderson

New member
Which operating system is used?
Hyper drives dont really use an operating system because they run independent of any computer. It's kind of like a large flash drive if you will.

Where is the OS stored? Flash memory? How large?
Since there is no OS no storage space is taken up. The entire drive is kind of like a flash drive - see above.

Any problem storing the device without batteries?
None that I know of.

Which file system does it use, FAT32? NTFS?
FAT32 - like most flash drives.

Is firmware updating a simple process?
Depends on how you define simple. I have found it so, but I also am quite familiar with the firmware update process as I've done it more time on more devices than I would care to count. The procedure though is pretty straghtforward and if you can follow directions, yo should be able to do it.

Any reliability or other problems?
None that I know of - just dont get it wet. But that's common sense for most gadgetry.

Is card transfer to HD really as fast as they claim?
Lab tests will always exceed real world tests. It may come close in the real world, but without knowing their benchmarks and testing environment it is safe to assume you will be able to see 75-85% of those speeds.

Anything else I should know?
Treat it like any field drive and you should be ok. Also, take spare batteries as they do suck a lot of power.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Moshe,

Welcome!

I'm trying to get info on this device too. I happen to use an iPod and also a Flashtrax. The latter has a nice screen and obeys the Mac operating system as well as PCs of course.

Asher :)
 

Jae_Moon

New member
Just a couple more comments:

Speed of backup: It is really fast as the spec indicates.
Battery: with four (4) 2500 mah NiMh batteries, I backed up up to 45-50 1G cards.
Dependability: It does not have any special shock absorber so handle as if it is your laptop (it uses laptop HD). I took it to my Antarctica trip and kept it inside pocket of outer jacket (for physical and temperature protection) and worked perfect.
Other: Get a HD with 8 or 16 MB buffer memory (it speeds up). Faster rpm does not help.

I hope it helped.

Jae M
 

Moshe Ronen

New member
Hi,

I currently use the FlashTrax and don't like it. It's terribly slow. I just backed-up a 2GB card, and it took about 20min! I don't need all the extra functions. The display is practically useless. I shoot mostly RAW and what you see is the low-res jpeg extracted from the RAW file, from which you can tell nothing, not even if the rest of the file is not corrupted.

The reliability of the FlashTrax is also questionable. If I leave it without battery for 2 - 3 weeks the firmware becomes corrupted and I must re-flash the unit. If I leave it with battery, the battery discharges (even with the unit off) and the same thing happens. To keep it alive I must recharge the unit every week or two.

The HyperDrive seems to give just the functionality needed. Less frills, less chance something will go wrong. And the standard AA batteries, I think, are a big bonus.

Moshe
 

Sid Jervis

pro member
I think the only real issue at present is availability. The good news is that if you preorder, the company include:

FREE Worldwide Shipping via UPS United Parcel Service (1-3 Day Courier)
8pcs Sanyo Rechargeable AA Batteries
Car charger/adaptor
* Promotion ends after this backorder period

Not a bad deal.

Does anyone know if the units contain a drive with an 8 or 16 MB buffer ?
 

Dave Newton

New member
Are there any 2.5" notebook drives that have a 16MB buffer around? I've just had a quick search of the usual suspects (IBM/Hitachi, Seagate, Western Digital and Samsung) and can't find any. Anyone any further info?

Dave
 

Dave Newton

New member
Thanks John, I've just found it in the UK - the Toshiba MK1032GAX - 100GB, 16MB cache, 5400rpm. Can't see it being worth the extra money to have 16MB cache though when 8MB should be more than enough and is about £10-20 cheaper.

Dave
 

Sid Jervis

pro member
Dave Newton said:
Thanks John, I've just found it in the UK - the Toshiba MK1032GAX - 100GB, 16MB cache, 5400rpm. Can't see it being worth the extra money to have 16MB cache though when 8MB should be more than enough and is about £10-20 cheaper.

Dave
So, what is the final drive selection? and where are you looking to buy the HD80? Welcome BTW.
 

Dave Newton

New member
I'm currently thinking the final drive selection will be:
Western Digital Scorpio 120GB WD1200VE 2.5" 8MB Cache, 5400rpm, 12ms access. Has 250G operating, 900G non-operating shock tolerance as well, so should be able to cope with life in my bag....

As for buyng the HD80, I might take advantage of their backorder situation and offer with free delivery and 8xAA batteries.
Are you going to get one?

Dave
 

Sid Jervis

pro member
The only decisions I have to make at present is what drive to install into the HD80. Oh, and when to spend the money.
 

Moshe Ronen

New member
I ordered my unit (40GB) from Adorama and they shipped it next day.

The installed drive was a Hitachi Travelstar 4K40 with 2MB buffer, 4200RPM. A full Sandisk Extreme III 2GB CF card took approx. 3 min to copy to the disk, without verification. With verification it took 12 min.

I replaced the disk with a Toshiba MK4025GAS which has a 8MB buffer, 4200RPM. The timings remained the same.

I don't know if file size makes a difference. In this case the files were 24MB each. Perhaps the buffer has to be larger than the file size, to make a difference.

Anyway, 8MB didn't help. Perhaps 16 will.

Moshe
 

Ray West

New member
Hi Dave,

I bought the unit with the 100gb drive fitted by the supplier, a few months ago. The price/value for that option beat trying to get a drive here. If I was upgrading a notebook PC, then it may be different, putting the nb drive into the hyperdrive. It is faster than the few other devices I've used, and it performs as described. There was a whole thread, going on fm, running for weeks, iirc re. delivery times/concerns re the usa supplier, etc. I did not find it a problem, however, although I did email him to remind him that I'd paid a few weeks b4. I think the vat was about £7.00, but they charged an extra £12.00 to collect.

Best wishes
Ray (UK too)
 
Last edited:

Dave Newton

New member
Hi Ray,

thanks for the info especially on the delivery and VAT. Think I'll go ahead and order one while it's on backorder and has that special offer active.
I'll have a look at getting one with a drive fitted too...

Dave
 

Sid Jervis

pro member
Dave,
I did get a comment recently that the WD drive was not the best one to use in this unit.

If you find out what HD fit to their product, please let us know.
Thanks.
 

Dave Newton

New member
Did you get any info back about what was the best drive to use? AFAIK, they use Samsung drives when they ship them (I'm sure I read that somewhere!)
I'll have another look and see what I can find...

Dave

Edit - Eastgear (who ship the identical, but differently badged PD70X) use Hitachi or Samsung drives - that's where I must have got it from...maybe looking at those two manf. might be the best idea....
Is that a vote for the 7200rpm Hitachi drive then? MMmmm
 

Sid Jervis

pro member
You can always ask for a recommendation from their support people via email.

So, we are looking for a fast 2.5" drive, high working G specification and very low power consumption. Any other requirements?
 

Dave Newton

New member
Well, I guess the ultimate drive would be one with HGST (Hitachi) shock protection (300G op. shock), 7200rpm spindle, sensible power usage (although if I can only transfer 30GB instead of 50GB I wouldn't be too unhappy!) and ideally a 16MB cache...unfortunately, such a drive does not yet exist AFAIK.

Nearest? The Toshiba mentioned earlier, or one of the Hitachi range.

Did they say why the WD was not good to use?
 

Ray West

New member
Hi Dave, 11th June 2006

p9 of the hd80 manual - drive must be less than 10mm thick, 44pin ide, 2.5inch 5V (+/- 5%).

P38 - hdd with 8MB cache or more, a 4200rpm disk with 8MB cache will perform better than 5400rpm disk with 2MB cache. Use the built in formatter. Copy speed with fat16 cards faster than fat12 or fat32.

They no not always reply to emails - never in my case
 

Dave Newton

New member
Well, I had an automated reply telling me that received my query, but I have not had anything else back from them yet. I'll give them until tomorrow (that will allow a couple of working days) then I'll try again.

Sid, if you're getting responses, you don't fancy asking the same question do you? Namely, which is the best drive in terms of performance, to put in one?

Dave
 

Dave Newton

New member
How interesting, within 15/20mins of putting the last post up, I got this as an email from Hyperdrive:

"Sorry for the late reply.
We would recommend either Hitachi or Samsung 5400rpm 8MB buffer IDE/ATA-6/ATA-100 2.5" hard disk for good value/performance.
If you don't mind paying more, go for Hitachi or Samsung 7200rpm 16MB buffer IDE/ATA-6/ATA-100 2.5" hard disk, but be prepared to pay much more for the premium performance, about 10-20s faster per GB transferred."

Are Hyperdrive reading this, or is it just coincidence?

Anyway, very useful info that should help make up my mind - if I can find the funds for and location of the 7200rpm 16MB cache drives.....

Dave
 

Sid Jervis

pro member
Dave Newton said:
How interesting, within 15/20mins of putting the last post up, I got this as an email from Hyperdrive:
Are Hyperdrive reading this, or is it just coincidence?
I would not be too shocked if they were reading this, but either way you got an answer.
Please let us know. where and how much when you have the information.
 

John Hollenberg

New member
I have been using the Hyperdrive with 100 GB 7200 RPM Hitatchi drive. While the unit is a bit quirky in its design (e.g., battery gets run down if plugged in while unit is on) it is very simple to use. Just have unit turned off, insert CF card, and turn it on. Automatically creates a folder on hard disk and lets you know when it is done, and whether it was successful. I download to the hyperdrive, then connect the unit to my laptop and copy the images there. That way I have a backup should one of the drives fail.

--John
 

Erik DeBill

New member
John Hollenberg said:
I have been using the Hyperdrive with 100 GB 7200 RPM Hitatchi drive. While the unit is a bit quirky in its design (e.g., battery gets run down if plugged in while unit is on) it is very simple to use. Just have unit turned off, insert CF card, and turn it on. Automatically creates a folder on hard disk and lets you know when it is done, and whether it was successful. I download to the hyperdrive, then connect the unit to my laptop and copy the images there. That way I have a backup should one of the drives fail.

--John

How does it handle file names/directory structure? I'm shooting cannon and I'm wondering if it will preserve the file names and directory structure from the CF card, or if it will rename files and impose it's own.

My scripts and filing system use those numbers to uniquely identify original images.
 
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