Browse our FAQs about General knowledge

• Each USB device (such as an Integral USB Flash Drive) that you plug into a PC or Mac draws power from the system. Each device draws the power consumption that it needs to operate. Each device is slightly different in what power it draws.
• If you use a USB hub so that you can plug in many USB devices, then this will also be quite a drain on the power from the PC/Mac. The more USB devices you have, the more power you are drawing from the PC/Mac and there will come a cut off point where the PC/Mac cannot output enough power to support all the devices.
• We suggest that if you are connecting a USB hub to attach more USB devices to your PC/Mac then you will need to independently power the USB hub (e.g. plug into mains power) so that it will have sufficient power for all USB devices attached to it.
• You can remove other power hungry USB devices, so that you can use the USB drive.

Copying files could be done in many ways. First insert your USB into the PC after it has booted. The USB should be recognised by the PC and assigned a drive letter. Look under “My Computer” to see the letter assigned.

Using a Windows PC, some of the easiest ways to copy data to your Integral USB Flash Drive are:-

A. Select the files that you want to copy.
B. On the toolbar click on Edit =>Copy. This copies the location to the system memory on the PC.
C. Open the drive for the USB Flash Drive. On the toolbar click on Edit => Paste. This copies   the files from the PC memory to the USB Flash Drive.

Or

A. Select the files that you want to copy.
B. Right-click on one of the files (you will see that the rest of the files stay highlighted) and click on Copy. This copies the location to the system memory on the PC.
C. Open the drive for the USB Flash Drive. Right-click in a white empty space on the drive and click on Paste. This copies the files from the system memory to the USB Flash Drive.

Or

A. Select the files that you want to copy.
B. Press Ctrl and C (this is the Windows shortcut for copy) on the keyboard. This copies the location to the system memory on the PC.
C. Open the drive for the USB Flash Drive. Click in a white empty space on the drive and press Ctrl and V (this is the Windows shortcut for paste) on the keyboard. This then copies the files from the PC memory to the USB Flash Drive.

Yes you can, the Integral Flash Drive will function as if it were utilizing a USB 2.0 port.

Your data on the USB Flash Drive can become corrupted or lost and the file system of the Flash Drive may become corrupted as well. It is always recommended to use the “Safely Remove Hardware/USB” option when using your Integral Flash Drive on a PC or Mac.

Memory cards and USB drives are NOT designed for long term storage. You should always backup your data on to another device. The data will normally stay valid for a period of up to 10 years if stored under normal conditions. The data cells inside carry a charge which can dissipate over time. The data can be refreshed; copy all data off card and then format the card or USB drive and then restore all data to extend the data for another 10 years.

The difference is due to way that most storage manufacturers and PC manufacturers define a scale. There are two systems decimal and binary.

Storage devices use a decimal system and PCs use the binary system -this leads to some discrepancy between actual capacity and reported capacity by a PC. The difference can be between about 2% – 9% depending on the capacity of the drive.

Some additional capacity is taken up by features required by the operating system e.g. FAT tables and the flash drive controller e.g. spare blocks for wear levelling.

Yes, Integral USB 3.0 Flash Drives and card readers are backwards compatible with USB 2.0 ports. The USB 3.0 Flash Drive or card reader will work at the speed of the port, for example if you use a USB 3.0 Flash Drive in your USB 2.0 laptop, it will work at USB 2.0 speed. Most systems available today fully supports USB 3.0 SuperSpeed devices and includes all required drivers for desktop and laptop PCs that feature USB 3.0 ports.

Yes, a compatible driver is required for USB 3.0 SuperSpeed products such as Flash Drives and Card Readers. This should be included by the manufacturer of the PC or laptop, motherboard or add-in (PCI) card that has the USB 3.0 ports. Most systems available today have native USB 3.0 support.

Yes, you can use a USB 3.0 Flash Drive on USB 2.0 devices now, as they are backwards compatible. When you upgrade to a USB 3.0 system you can then benefit from the faster “SuperSpeed” data transfer rates. Integral have also found that our USB 3.0 Flash Drives perform faster on USB 2.0 systems then current USB 2.0 Flash Drives.

The difference between USB 3.1 Gen 1 and USB 3.1 Gen 2 is the speed. USB 3.1 Gen 1 supports speeds of up to 5Gbit/s while USB 3.1 Gen 2 supports speeds of up to 10Gbit/s.

‘USB 3.1 Gen 1’ is the revised name for ‘USB 3.0’, as managed by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF). There are no changes in technical specification between USB 3.0 and USB 3.1 Gen 1. USB 3.1 Gen 1 (USB 3.0) also known as ‘SuperSpeed USB’, provides up to 10X the performance (copying data to and from the USB drive and your PC/Mac) than a USB 2.0 drive, when using the drive in a USB 3.1 Gen 1 (USB 3.0) port.

Yes, Integral USB Flash Drives and Card Readers are compatible with the latest Microsoft Windows operating systems. All Integral USB drives and Card Readers support: Windows XP Windows Vista Windows 7 Windows 8 / 8.1 Windows 10 Windows 11