Q1.
Which memory card formats are supported by Photo Safe II ?
Photo Safe II directly reads from and writes to: CompactFlash
Type I (including Extreme III, IV, UDMA), MultiMedia Card, SD
Card, SDHC cards, miniSD, Memory Stick, MS PRO, MS Duo, MS PRO
Duo, and xD-Picture Card.
Q2. How many
photos can I store on Photo Safe II?
80GB (actual storage space 74.5GB): ~ 31,000 photos
160GB (actual storage space 149GB): ~ 62,000 photos
* Photo capacity based on 5-mega-pixel photos (approximately 2.4
MB each);
Q3. Can
I transfer photos from the camera to Photo Safe II via USB
2.0 port?
No you will not be able to transfer files from the camera to Photo
Safe II via USB. You may, however, insert the digital camera memory
card directly into Photo Safe II to transfer the files.
Q4. Can I download
RAW images and video files into Photo Safe II?
Yes, Photo Safe II can copy and store any type of file formats.
The files will be copied in their original file names with any
alternations. You can retrieve the original files you copied onto
Photo Safe II by connected it to a computer. However, please note
that you cannot view pictures on its screen. Photo Safe II has
a text-based LCD screen where you can view file information, copy
progress, copy confirmation etc.
If you would like a device with a color LCD screen where you can
view images, see .
Q5. How big
is the LCD screen? Can I view pictures on the screen?
Photo Safe II has a 2.0" text-based LCD screen where you
can view copy progress, copy confirmation, memory card type, active
partition, remaining hard drive capacity, battery life, etc.
If you would like a device with a color LCD screen where you can
view images, see .
Q6. What is
the copy speed from a memory card to Photo Safe II?
Please note that the actual transfer time depends on various factors
such as type and speed of the memory card and number of files.
It takes approximately 5 minutes to copy a full 1GB regular speed
CF card to Photo Safe II; and approximately 3.5 minutes to copy
a full 1GB Ultra II SD card to Photo Safe II.
Q7. What type
of copy information is shown after each memory card backup?
During each copy, Photo Safe II shows the percentage of the total
copy task completed as it progresses.
When copy is completed, you will see
- Copy confirmation {OK} and {100%}, indicating that data on the
card has been copied
- The total number of files copied
- The folder number created to which the files are copied
You can also see the amount of data on the inserted memory card,
and available hard drive space on Photo Safe II.
Q8. How does
Photo Safe II keep track of the different backups from memory
cards?
Each time you use the copy function on Photo Safe II, a new folder
will be created to store your copied files. The created folder
and copied contents will be located within the default FILES folder
on the Photo Safe II hard drive. Locate the files you want to
access by looking under the corresponding folder name.
The folder names are made up of 2 pieces of information. The first
two characters are letters that indicate the type of memory card
copied. The next 5 characters are sequential numbers starting
from '00001' that that indicate the order of the folder created
for the specific card format copied.
These letter prefixes correspond to the memory card types:
CF = CompactFlash
SD = Secure Digita, MicroDrivel
MMC = MultiMedia Card
MS = Memory Stick formats
xD = xD-Picture Card
For example, an folder name 'CF00003' means that this is a backup
from CompactFlash format, and this is the 3rd folder created for
the CF card format.
Q9. If I copy
the same memory card a second time, does it write over my data
on the hard drive?
No, when you copy the same memory card a second time, a new unique
folder will be created for the second copy. For example, the first
copy will save files in folder name 'CF0001', and the second copy
will save files in folder name 'CF0002' etc.
Q10. Can I
copy a specific folder or file from my memory card to Photo Safe
II?
No, you can only copy the content of the entire memory card.
Q11. Can
I copy data on my Photo Safe II to a memory card directly?
Photo Safe II can only copy data from the Memory Card to the Photo
Safe II hard drive. You will not be able to copy data from the
Photo Safe II directly onto a memory card without a computer.
However, if you have Photo Safe II connected to a computer, you
can use the computer to copy and past files from the Photo Safe
II hard drive to a memory card.
If this is an important feature for you, please take a look at
the Digital Foci Picture Porter Elite. The complete comparison
chart can be found here:
Q12. Can
I copy data from one memory card to another directly?
You can use Photo Safe II to copy card content from a Memory Stick,
SD/HC, MMC or xD-Picture Card onto a CompactFlash card.
Q13. Can I
set the date and time for folder to which the files that are copied?
Photo Safe does not have an internal clock so when the folders
are created, the folders will not show accurate dates and times.
Instead you can use a combination of the folder name sequence
number and the dates and times of your photo and video files copied
from you digital camera within each folder to find a particular
set of files.
Q14. Can I
delete my memory card contents after a copy?
You can use Photo Safe II to delete all the data on your memory
card. However, we recommend that you always use the 'format' feature
in your digital camera to delete your card because different cameras
will have their own factory settings for the memory card.
Q15. Can I
delete my copied files directly on Photo Safe II ?
You cannot delete files on the Photo Safe II directly. To manage
the data on your Photo Safe II hard drive, you can do this with
your computer with Photo Safe II connected by USB. Once connected,
your computer will automatically recognize Photo Safe II and show
2 removable devices (for the card slots), and 1 hard drive. To
access the Photo Safe II hard drive, double click on the drive
labeled ‘HARDDISK. The files you copied from memory cards
to Photo Safe II will be located within the default FILES folder.
You can delete files or photos on the Photo Safe II hard drive
as you would on other drives on your computer.
Q16. How long
is the battery life of Photo Safe II on a full charge?
A full battery charge is capable of up to 80 minutes of continuous
operation.
It can copy a 512MB regular speed CF card 18 times on a full charge
(9 GB of data), and a 1GB Ultra II SD card 16 times on a full
charge (16GB of data) with a few days of shelf time in between.
This translates to approximately 60 minutes of battery life with
shelf time in between.
Q17. Is the
battery rechargeable?
Yes, you can recharge the battery either with the included AC
power adapter or via USB power. Please note that charging via
AC power adapter will be faster.
Q18. Is the
battery users-removable?
Yes, you can easily replace the battery by removing the front
battery door of Photo Safe II.
Q19. Is it
O.K. to recharge at any level of remaining charge i.e. must it
be depleted before recharge?
With the current Lithium-Ion battery technology (the same that
Photo Safe II uses), the result called "memory-effect"
is not a problem. In early rechargeable batteries (the Nickel-Metal-Cadmium),
when you charge the battery at the 1/2 way point, you 'reset'
the total capacity of the battery to the point where you started
to recharge it.
With Photo Safe II, it is safe to recharge it at anytime, and
you should avoid depleting the battery completely before recharging.
Please also note that it is beneficial to avoid storing a lithium-ion
battery at full charge. A Li-ion battery stored at 40% charge
will last many times longer than one stored at 100% charge. Storing
the battery in a cool place when not in use will also prolong
its battery life.
Q20. Can Photo
Safe II run on AC power instead of battery?
Yes Photo Safe II runs on either battery or AC power adapter.
So you can always use the power adapter as a power source for
Photo Safe II. The battery will charge as you use it on AC power.
We also have car adapter / battery charger available as an extra
accessory so that you can conveniently charge Photo Safe II on
the go.
Q21.Will I
be able to use the included AC adapter to charge the Photo Safe
II battery while I'm traveling in Europe, where the voltage is
not 110V?
The specs on the power adapter is AC 100-240V. So it can be used
in European countries without a converter. You just need to get
a plug adapter to fit the different shape of the wall plug.
Q22. Can Photo Safe
receive power from the USB port?
Yes, Photo Safe II runs on USB power when connected to your computer.
You can also charge the Li-Ion battery via USB power by connecting
Photo Safe II to your computer.
Q23. My computer
only has USB 1.1 ports available. Can Photo Safe II still be connected?
Yes, Photo Safe II is backward compatible with USB 1.1. Just note
that the copy speed will be slower with a USB 1.1 port.
Q24. Do I
need to install device driver before I can connect Photo Safe
II to my computer?
There is no software driver installation required for Windows
Vista, XP, 2000 (SP4), and Mac OS 10.0 or higher. Simply connect
Photo Safe II to your computer using the USB cable included in
the package. Once connected, Photo Safe II will show up as a removable
hard drive. You can use it just like you use the hard drive on
your computer.
Q25.Where
are my copied files on the Photo Safe II hard drive when connected
to the computer?
For each copy, Photo Safe II creates a unique folder name indicating
memory card type and copy sequence number for each card type to
help you easily locate your files. The created folder and copied
contents will be located within the default FILES folder on the
Photo Safe hard drive. Locate the files you want to access by
looking under the corresponding folder name.
Q26. Can I
use Photo Safe II as an external hard drive or memory card reader?
Yes, when connected to the computer, you can use Photo Safe II
as an external hard drive to back up data on your computer. In
additional, you can use it as a memory card reader to read from
you memory cards or copy data from your computer on the card.
Q27. For Windows
OS - How do I create multiple partitions on my Photo Safe II hard
drive?
You may use a partition software called SwissKnife to format the
Photo Safe II hard drive in multiple partitions. Make sure that
the partitions are formatted with FAT32 as primary partitions.
Please note that the Photo Safe II hard drive has to be formatted
in FAT32 format (or MS-DOS File System for Mac)
for the card copy function to work.
1. Download the software at: http://www.compuapps.com/Download/swissknife/swissknife.htm.
2. Connect Photo Safe II to your computer. Make sure you plug
in the AC power adapter to prevent power interruption. Power interruption
during hard drive formatting can damage your hard drive.
3. Run the software.
4. Under Devices, select USB > USB Host Adapter 3.
5. Click on “Device Info” on the left side and the
Disk information will show up. Click on MORE INFO to confirm that
Model Number says “PST”.
6. Next, click on “Partition and Quick Format”.
7. Highlight the partition and click “DELETE”. This
will delete the partition (the hard drive space will be indicated
as ‘Unallocated’.
8. Next, under Volume Label, change the drive name to something
easy to identify (such as PST1).
9. Leave Partition Type as Primary and File system as FAT32.
10. Type in the size you’d like to assign to the first partition.
You can also drag the divider to change the size.
11. Click “CREATE” to format the first partition of
the Photo Safe II hard drive.
12. The created partition will be indicated under “Current
partition(s) details”.
13. Click on “Free Space” under “Current partition(s)
details” and repeat Steps 8 to 11 to create additional partitions.
Again, under Volume Label, change the drive name to something
easy to identify (such as PST2).
14. If the newly created Photo Safe II hard drive partitions do
not show up on your computer. Disconnect it and reconnect it to
your computer to verify that it has been formatted correctly.
Mac uses: Please refer to Q28.
For instructions on how to copy memory card content to different
partitions on your Photo Safe II hard drive, please refer to Q29.
Q28. For Mac
OS X - How do I create multiple partitions on my Photo Safe II
hard drive?
1. Connect Photo Safe II to your Mac with the USB cable. Please
make sure you have AC power plugged in.
2. On Mac, select Finder > Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility.
Double-click to open the Disk Utility application.
3. In Disk Utility, select the appropriate drive for Photo Safe
II, and click on the Partition tab.
4. From the Volume Scheme pop-up menu, choose the number of partitions
you'd like to create.
5. Click each partition and type a name* for it, choose a format**,
and type a size. You can also drag the divider between the partitions
to change their sizes.
*This is the name that will show up under the drive icon on your
desktop.
**For memory card copy function to work, you must format the drive
in MS-DOS File System.
6. Click on the Partition Button in the lower right corner of
the window.
7. The created drives should now appear in the list of disks and
volumes. You will also see the volumes in the sidebar of Finders
window.
Q29. How do
I copy to different partitions on my Photo Safe II hard drive?
Press the 'ENTER' button once, and Photo Safe II will show you
the first partition and its remaining hard drive space. Then,
you can press the 'POWER/SELECT button to toggle between the partitions
on the hard drive. Once you see the desired partition, you can
insert your memory card into Photo Safe II and start the copy
task. Your memory card content will be copied to the specific
partition you selected.
Q30.
What are the differences between Picture Porter
Elite, Photo Safe II, and Photo Safe (PSF-250)?
In short, Photo Safe is strictly a photo storage device (no picture
viewing) and a low-cost alternative to Picture Porter Elite. Picture
Porter Elite has color LCD screen for viewing photos and videos,
direct printing, and video/audio recording capabilities on top
of storage capability.
To see the Comparison Chart, go to:
The main differences between Photo Safe II (PST-251) and Photo
Safe (PSF-250) include:
• Photo Safe II has an additional card slot to support MS
Duo and miniSD directly
• Photo Safe II added rubber covers to protect card slots
from dust
• Photo Safe II improved the battery compartment/connector
so it is more user-friendly for inserting/removing the battery
• Photo Safe II uses SATA hard drives; Photo Safe uses PATA
hard drives
• Photo Safe II does not support MicroDrives (CF Type II)
cards; Photo Safe does.
Q31. In the
case that Photo Safe II encounters an erroneous operation and
freezes, is there a way to reset it?
To reset Photo Safe II, please remove the battery from the battery
compartment. Photo Safe II will reset the operating system. You
can then replace the battery and power on Photo Safe II and return
to normal operations.
Q32. I am
a Windows user, I deleted the files from Photo Safe II but found
that the files are only deleted from the directory, but the storage
space is not returned. How can I free up the hard disk space on
my Photo Safe?
One possible reason for the situation is that the deleted files
still exist in the ‘Recycled’ folder on your Photo
Safe II. To check for these ‘hidden files,’ you may
do the following:
1) In My Computer, select the backup folder under Photo Safe II
2) Select TOOLS > FOLDER OPTIONS
3) Select View tab
4) Under Files and Folders, go to Hidden Files and Folders
5) Select “Show hidden files and folders”
This way you’ll be able to see the hidden files. You will
see a ‘Recycled’ folder, and you can access this folder
and delete these files from your hard drive.
You can change the settings to delete the files directly without
sending them to the Recycled folder:
1) Right click on the ‘Recycled’ folder under Photo Safe II
2) Select Properties
3) Select the Photo Safe II hard drive
4) Select the option: ‘Do not move files to the Recycle Bin. Remove
files immediately when deleted’.
Q33. I am
a Mac OSX user, I deleted the files from Photo Safe II but found
that the files are only deleted from the directory, but the storage
space is not returned. How can I free up the hard disk space on
my Photo Safe II?
In Mac, any files or folders you deleted (drag to the Trash) will
remain there until you empty the Trash. To free the disk space,
you need to empty the Trash by following these instructions:
1) Connect Photo Safe to your Mac with the USB cable.
2) On Mac, select Finder > Empty Trash.
This will delete your deleted files in the hidden '.trash' folder
and Photo Safe II disk space will be returned.
Q34. I reformatted
my Photo Safe II hard drive, and the copy function no long works.
Please note that the Photo Safe II hard drive has to be formatted
in FAT32 format (or MS-DOS File System
for Mac) for the card copy function to work. If you do wish to
format the Photo Safe II hard drive at any point (note that formatting
delete all data on the hard drive), make sure it is formatted
in FAT32 format. When formatted in NTFS file system, the Photo
Safe II hard drive can still work as an external hard drive when
connected to the computer, but the card copy function will not
work.
Here are the instructions on how to use a software called SwissKnife
to re-format the Photo Safe II hard drive in FAT32:
1. Download the software at: http://www.compuapps.com/Download/swissknife/swissknife.htm.
2. Connect Photo Safe II to your computer. Make sure you plug
in the AC power adapter.
3. Run the software.
4. Under Devices, select USB > USB Host Adapter 3.
5. Click on “Device Info” on the left side and the Disk information
will show up. Click on MORE INFO to confirm that Model Number
says “PST”.
6. Next, click on “Partition and Quick Format”.
7. Highlight the partition and click “DELETE”. This will delete
the partition.
8. Next, under Volume Label, change the drive name to something
easy to identify (such as PhotoSafe).
9. Leave Partition Type as Primary and File system as FAT32.
10. Click “CREATE” to format the Photo Safe II hard drive in FAT32
format.
11. If the newly created Photo Safe II hard drive does not show
up on your computer. Disconnect it and reconnect it to your computer
to verify that it has been formatted correctly.
Mac uses: Please refer to Q28.
Q35. When
I check the available hard drive capacity on Photo Safe II by
pressing the [ENTER] button, it doesn't seem to give me an accurate
available capacity.
Please do the following to update the hard drive capacity displayed
on Photo Safe II:
1) Press and hold the [ENTER] button for 5 seconds on Photo Safe
II. Release the button when you see the 'HD' icon shows up on
the screen.
2) The HDD blue indicator will light up, indicating that Photo
Safe II is "re-initiating" itself and recalculating
its available hard drive space.
3) When the process is finished, Photo Safe II will display the
partition and its available hard drive capacity on the screen.
Q36. I tried
to copy from a card to Photo Safe II and I know I have enough
space on the hard drive. The copy task started, but stopped in
the middle of the copy task and showed an {ERROR} message.
If the copy progress reached a certain % then stops, one likely
causes is that there are some files/directories on the card that
were corrupt, interrupting the copying process.
To test this, please reformat the memory card in your camera.
Please note to back up your pictures before formatting the card
as it will delete all on the files on the card. After you re-format
the card, please take some pictures in your camera and try the
copy function again to see if Photo Safe II is now functioning
properly.
It is recommended that you reformat your memory card in the camera
on a regular basis to maintain data integrity.
Q37. My computer
does not recognize Photo Safe II.
• Make sure that the Main USB connectors are properly connected
to your computer and the Mini USB connector is properly connected
to Photo Safe II.
• Plug in the AC power adapter to Photo Safe II. Photo Safe
II might not be getting enough power from your USB port.
• Try different USB ports. On some computers, the USB ports
are not all the same. There might be one main USB port and the
other are extensions running off the main USB port. If you are
using a desktop computer, we recommend the USB ports on the back
of the computer as they are more stable.
• Try a different USB cable. The USB cable might have malfunctioned.
• If the above does not help, restart your computer and
try again.
• Also, check to see if there is a drive conflict between
any network drives or other devices connected to your computer
and your Photo Safe II hard drive. When your Photo Safe is connected
to your computer, it will look for the first available drive letter
and use 3 consecutive letters. The first two will be for the 2
memory card slot (for example G: and H:) followed by the one for
the hard disk (in this case, it will want to use I: for the hard
drive). If I: is already taken by another device, the hard disk
might not show up.
• If this is the case, you can manually change the drive
mapping for the Photo Safe hard drive by following these steps
in Windows:
> Right-click on the My Computer icon and select MANAGE.
> In the 'Computer Management' window, select 'Disk Management'
under the 'Storage' grouping.
> Locate the device 'Volume' for the Photo Safe hard disk and
right click on it to select 'Change Drive and Letter Paths...'.
> Select Change and pick an available drive letter.
> This will manually assign a drive letter to your Photo Safe
hard disk.
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