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HyperDrive info

Jason Anderson said:
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.

This is incorrect. Devices of this sort often use two OSes. The first is an embedded OS/microkernel/RTOS like VxWorks and the second is a custom embedded OS layered atop the first which provides the user interface and device specific funtionality.

The fact that the devices are computing devices and that they run independently of a host computer implies they contain an operating system. It is just a custom one.

Jason Anderson said:
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.

Again, incorrect. Some past devices have stored the OS/es on the hard drive itself. With the advent of user replaceable drives the data is likely stored on some internal flash memory or an EEPROM (yes, I know an EEPROM is flash memory but not of the consumer sort).

Since the OS/es exist/s they must be stored somewhere.

Jason Anderson said:
Which file system does it use, FAT32? NTFS?
FAT32 - like most flash drives.
Many flash drives use lesser versions of FAT except for the largest. And this device is not a flash drive, it is a hard drive with an embedded OS attached to it to enable its usage without a host computer.

enjoy,

Sean (getting the words straight as unlearning "facts" is harder than learning the correct facts)
 

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
Buffer size 2/8/16 MB...

I'd like to react to the discussion re. the buffer size of the hard disk in order to improve transfer speeds. In this particular scenario, we will be copying a complete CF/SD card of let's say 2 GB in one go to the drive. The size of the HD buffer will not be relevant then, since it will be saturated after the first 16 MB of data transfer and the perfomance will then solely depend on the real write speed (throughput) of the hard disk. The drives with faster average throughput will perform better, even if they carry a buffer of "only" 8 MB instead of 16 MB.

Regards,

Cem

(just my $ 0.02)
 
Cem Usakligil said:
The drives with faster average throughput will perform better, even if they carry a buffer of "only" 8 MB instead of 16 MB.

It should also be noted that drives with lower power consumption per MB transfered will perform better in the field (not on a USB port, but via battery life) which could let you use that extra set of AA batteries for your flash.

I am not saying a 4200 RPM drive is better, but if the transfer rate of a 4200 RPM drive is fast enough then it will likely yield better battery life using the same drive platter technology.

Who really cares how fast it is hooked up to your computer, its performance in the field is much more important to your photography. At home or the studio you can grab a cup of coffee and wait. In the field dead batteries and no transfer implies you are done shooting. What is your priority? Shooting? Bragging rights on fast transfers that fail to happen?

No answers here, just serious questions that matter.

enjoy,

Sean
 

Erik DeBill

New member
Cem Usakligil said:
I'd like to react to the discussion re. the buffer size of the hard disk in order to improve transfer speeds. In this particular scenario, we will be copying a complete CF/SD card of let's say 2 GB in one go to the drive. The size of the HD buffer will not be relevant then, since it will be saturated after the first 16 MB of data transfer and the perfomance will then solely depend on the real write speed (throughput) of the hard disk. The drives with faster average throughput will perform better, even if they carry a buffer of "only" 8 MB instead of 16 MB.

Plus, if they want to by truly safe from filesystem corruption, they'd want to disable the write-buffer anyway. Otherwise, it's impossible for the device to actually know when data has been fully written to the disk (and thus it is safe to power down).
 

Ray West

New member
From cf to hdd, about 1 Gb per minute. Files can be verified with a checksum, if you wish.

The reference I gave earlier to the manual, answers most of the questions being asked here.

Best wishes,

Ray
 

RoyVarley

New member
I have the PD70X - otherwise known as "Hyperdrive".

My experience so far (12 months or so) is that it is very reliable and fast. However there is one "gotcha" that you should be aware of.

When it comes time to delete the files from the drive, if you use Windows Explorer on your PC to do the job, this can leave the drive in a state which seems not to be compatible with the internal firmware of the PD70X. During one gig, having deleted the files using the PC, I was able to load 2 x 2Gb cards successfully and then no further copies would work. Each copy failed after a few files had been transferred. Now, I guess I have to say that I can't "prove" that using Windows Explorer caused the problem but now that I don't do that, I don't have the problem....

The solution is to always format the drive using the recommended procedure. Once you've got the hang of it, it's only a minute or so's effort. I've never had a problem uploading cards to the drive when the drive has been formatted - nearly all the way to its 60Gb limit.
 
RoyVarley said:
My experience so far (12 months or so) is that it is very reliable and fast. However there is one "gotcha" that you should be aware of.

When it comes time to delete the files from the drive, if you use Windows Explorer on your PC to do the job, this can leave the drive in a state which seems not to be compatible with the internal firmware of the PD70X. During one gig, having deleted the files using the PC, I was able to load 2 x 2Gb cards successfully and then no further copies would work. Each copy failed after a few files had been transferred. Now, I guess I have to say that I can't "prove" that using Windows Explorer caused the problem but now that I don't do that, I don't have the problem....

The solution is to always format the drive using the recommended procedure. Once you've got the hang of it, it's only a minute or so's effort. I've never had a problem uploading cards to the drive when the drive has been formatted - nearly all the way to its 60Gb limit.

Hi Roy,

Did you delete the files using Windows or did you reformat the drive using Windows? The first should work with any FAT drive. The latter can cause issues if the new FAT (File Allocation Table) is placed in the incorrect spot for the firmware in the drive. I had this issue years ago with a CF card formatted in computer and being unable to see the shots I took on the computer after that.

thanks,

Sean
 

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
Sean DeMerchant said:
Hi Roy,

Did you delete the files using Windows or did you reformat the drive using Windows? The first should work with any FAT drive. The latter can cause issues if the new FAT (File Allocation Table) is placed in the incorrect spot for the firmware in the drive. I had this issue years ago with a CF card formatted in computer and being unable to see the shots I took on the computer after that.

thanks,

Sean
I'm with Sean on this. Formatting from Windows is a NO-GO for this unit. Deleting files from within the explorer has not been an issue so far and works just fine. The disks are formatted by the unit itself using the FAT32 system. I use 120 & 160 GB disks BTW.

Cheers,

Cem
 

RoyVarley

New member
I formatted the drive using the PD70X procedure - not via windows. It was the deleting of the files using Windows that caused the problem. YMMV - but for me, once was enough, I won't risk that again - especially since the only way to find out if there is a problem is to have the unit fail in use - not an option!!

Edit: Thinking about it some more. Until that problem ocurred, I had been deleting some files and folders using Windows and then using the unit without hassle. This was the first time that I'd deleted everything from the drive using Windows. Maybe that's the issue. Still - I'll keep re-formating - works for me.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
160 GB seems pretty sweet! I like the fact that one doesn't need any adapters and it can run any card you can imagine!~

It looks good
HDS-Overview-300.jpg


The speed of about 20MB/second is pretty good. One can go faster but this is still up there.

- Fastest Memory Card Backup (20MB/s)
- Fastest USB Transfer Speed (28MB/s)
- Most Powerful Battery (100GB/charge)
- Directly accept 18 different card types
- Unlimited capacity (40~160GB & beyond)
- 32-bit copy verification system

Asher
 

Ray West

New member
I have used my hyperdrive (hd 80 type) only on two or three trips. During the most recent, I managed to damage the pins in its compact flash socket. The guides for the cf card are quite short, and it is easy to insert a card the 'wrong way round'. Part way through my trip, I found a centre pin was bent well out of alignment and also one of the end pins was broken, or pushed back. Using a needle and a piece of cardboard, I was able to straighten the pin, and it has worked flawlessly since then, although eventually, I suspect I will end up with a cf card with a broken pin in one of its sockets... The end pin is one of the grounds, and does not seem to effect anything.

Hyperdrive have suggested that they will repair it, but I may attempt it myself, the cost of Fedex, whoever, is too expensive, and normal post is too risky imho.

I have never had a problem with compact flash pins, although it is a recognised problem with cf design, but the hyperdive is the only unit that I know of, which uses this poorly designed short slot arrangement.

The 'space' unit is not so good, imnsho, at least for me. The slots are not at one end, so it is probably not so convenient if belt worn, it still has the rubbish cf slot, and doesn't use AA batteries. However, progress happens. It is still the best unit out there, for what it does, however.

Just a warning, as well as not relying on the velcro, as mentioned before.

Best wishes,

Ray
 
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