1. What is PSD?

PSD stands for Portable Storage Device. This device is used as a data backup for memory cards. For instance, you have a 512 MB CF card for digital camera and you need something to store the photos and delete them from the card in order to give extra space for more photos. Instead of carrying a laptop around, you can simply use a PSD. Just plug your memory card into the PSD and press the button, photos will be downloaded to the internal hard drive within 100 secs with CompactDrive PD7X. Here PSD acts as an agent between your computer and your memory cards. It is light, small and less expensive compare to laptop. It saves you hundreds of dollars in purchasing memory cards, which is an ideal data backup solution for professional users such as photographers, music editors and so on.

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2. What is CompactDrive and PD7X?

CompactDrive is one of the most popular and powerful PSDs available. The ultra performance in download speed and the long battery life have made PD7X the very best portable storage in the market. Compare to similar products, CompactDrive is up to 8 times faster in data transferring and up to 12 times more lasting in battery life. The new release, CompactDrive PD7X, has all the features that the earlier models had plus some new features such as support for almost all types of memory cards. Memory cards supported by PD7X are CF Type I & II, MD, SD, MMC, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, xD. The PD7X's case is made of aluminium, making it much stronger but light. Here's more test results and comparisons over a range of similar products.

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Our bench test shows that from a 1 GB CF card to PD7X it takes 4 minutes 22 seconds to complete the whole process of copy.

Here's more test results.

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- Support CompactFlash type I & II any size
- Support IBM / Hitachi MicroDrive any size
- Support SD card any size
- Support MMC card any size
- Support MemoryStick and Memory Stick PRO any size
- Support xD PictureCard any size

If our CompactDrive does not support your memory card listed above, we will refund you in full.

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The default firmware of our CompactDrive PD7X uses FAT16 / FAT32 on the flash card interface. Flash cards fommated in FAT12 are no longer supported. If you use memory card smaller or equal to 64 MB, which might be formatted in FAT12, we will change the firmware (supports FAT12 / FAT16 only) for you on special request prior to shipment. Please inform us by mail if this is the case. Please note, once the firmware is changed to FAT12/16, memory cards larger than 2GB (formatted in FAT32) will not be supported.

You are most welcome to consult us anytime about this issue.

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Yes it does by default. The CompactDrive PD7X has two different firmware: one supports FAT12/16 and the other supports FAT16/32. By default, our workshop will install the FAT16/32 firmware. However, if you request the FAT12/16 firmware, we can install it for you before shipment. Please refer to question 5 for more details.

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Yes it can. Please read FAQ 5 and 6 for memory card file system issue. However, if our product does not support your card, we will refund you in full within the warranty period (1 year).

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There are two file systems inside our CompactDrive PD7X. One is the hard disk drive interface which has been formatted to FAT32. The other one is flash memory card interface. Our CompactDrive PD7X supports FAT16/FAT32 memory cards by default. If your memory card is smaller than or equal to 64MB and formatted in FAT16, we can specifically install the FAT12/16 supported firmware for you. However, once the firmware is changed to FAT12/16, memory cards larger than 2GB (formatted in FAT32) will no longer be supported. Please read FAQ 5 and 6 for memory card file system issue.

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The CompactDrive also functions as a USB 2.0 portable hard disk. Theoretically the transfer speed is up to 480Mbps (60MB/s). In real life, the transfer speed is around 6 MB/sec, which is nearly 10 times faster than USB 1.1 standard.

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CompactDrive supports a standard 9.5 mm 2.5" hard disk (widely used by laptops). However, we only use a special batch of Fujitsu MHT/U Series HDD. These drives are designed with extra low power consumption and fitted with Fluid Dynamic Bearing for silent operation, and are made with high shock tolerance, this special batch of Fujitsu HDD are been fitted on HP Rugged Notebook nr3600 and Panasonic weather proof Toughbook for the Extreme environments.

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CompactDrive PD7X uses 4 standard AA Batteries, eg. Alkaline Manganese Dioxide Zinc (Alkaline), Lithium Manganese Dioxide (Lithium), Nickel Cadmium (NiCd), Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMh), Carbon Zinc (Super Heavy Duty).
It has a built in battery charger for Ni-MH and Ni-Cd battery. PD7X can be used as a batteries charger to charge almost all brands of Ni-MH and Ni-Cd batteries.

You should only charge rechargable NiCd or NiMH batteries. Very importantly, in no circumstances should you charge the Lithium, Alkaline and Carbon Zinc batteries in CompactDrive PD7X. These batteries are not designed to be charged or it will explode and cause personal injury.

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Here's our test result:

Battery: 4 * 2200 mA NiMH Powerex AA
Data: 1 G data on CF card
PSD: 40 G CompactDrive PD7X

Transferred 28 GB data from CF card to PD7X.
Here's more test results.

We advice you to buy the highest capacity NiMH batteries. Here's a good guide for rechargable battery performance.

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Yes it certainly does.

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The PD7X can be used as USB2.0 7 in 1 card reader which reads CF Type I & II, SD, MMC, MemoryStick, MemoryStick PRO, MicroDrive, XD PictureCard (No adapter required). Please note, to use CompactDrive as a stand alone card reader, you must not remove the internal hard drive.

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15. Does CompactDrive PD7X work with Macintosh?

Yes, certainly. CompactDrive PD7X supports Mac OS 9.0 ~ 10.3 with plug-and-play feature. If your PD7X does not work on Mac, it is most likely that your CompactDrive has the older firmware installed. The new firmware has fixed a few bugs and s available for uers to download.

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16. How heavy is the device?

This device is all metal construction, Aluminium casing, looks heavy but it is actually light and strong, the main unit with 4 AA Battery and HDD is 446 grams in total.

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17. How much does it cost?

We offer several options for buyers: CompactDrive PD7X with different size of HDD. To see updated prices please see: How to buy.

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18. How to format the hard disk from my computer?

All our CompactDrive's are pre-formatted and tested before shipment. If you need to reformat the device again, it is highly recommended that you format the CompactDrive hard disk using the formatter.exe tool, which can be downloaded from our website. In this way you can achieve the highest reliability for the CompactDrive.

Note, the hard drive has to be formatted in FAT32, which is the default option with our own formatting ultility.

Please note, under Windows FAT32 file system, the maximum supported size is 32 G.

In most cases, formatter.exe should format your hard drive within a few seconds (about 8 seconds to format a 40 G hard drive). In some rare event, the format progress (shown on the progress indication bar) may be unreasonably slow (>30 seconds). In this case, please quit the program and run the formatter again. This is caused by the USB 2.0 synchronization issue and your PC decided to drop the speed back to USB 1.1.

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In Windows 98 you need to download a driver for your CompactDrive PD7X.

Here's the download page.

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