[Q] External SSD with W8.1 is recognized as HDD - Windows 8 General

I am reading up about optimizing of SSD drives and I'm seeing that Windows 8 is supposed to be pretty good with automatically deciding whether to optimize or defragment drives based on what they are (SSD vs HDD). But I have a problem. I just bought an SSD but under the Optimization menu it is showing up as a Hard Drive.
It's a brand new Samsung 840 EVO 500GB and I'm going to be using it solely for music and movies as an external drive. I also bought an Anker external SATA III to USB 3.0 enclosure. I have the drive recognized and everything under the File Explorer but I'm just a little nervous that it's listed as a Hard Drive under the Optimization menu. How can I get Windows to see that it's in fact an SSD?

Hmm. Leaving aside the fact that "solely for music and movies" is an absurdly pointless waste of an SSD (those are large, contiguous, non-latency-sensitive, moderate-to-low bandwidth files; in other words they are everything that a traditional magnetic disk is good at and an SSD is not) I would guess that the issue lies in the SATA3-USB3 conversion. If there's any drivers available for that enclosure specifically, you could try installing them (though they really ought to have installed automatically). Beyond that... does Windows even schedule automatic "optimization" of removable drives (presumably it *does* see your drive as removable)?
If I were looking for a portable media drive, I'd frankly just return that one and use the money to buy a traditional 2.5" HDD with 2-4x the storage capacity. There's literally not a single reason I can think of to use an SSD there unless you plan on dropping the drive a lot while it's in use (modern laptop drives will lock their heads if they sense a sudden drop, so even there the SSD has only a small advantage). Magnetic storage will give you much better capacity and probably last longer, too.

I got the SSD on a really good sale and I'm definitely not returning it, the price I paid for it was absolutely bonkers and I'd be foolish to return it. I figured I'd buy it because I never know when I'm going to see it for the cheap again. I got it for 150 bucks CAD. So when I get a bigger drive in the future I will have an SSD
The software that came with the SSD for some reason won't install and the Samsung software won't recognize the SSD. Windows saw it right away as a portable media drive and I went into disk management, created an MBR volume and formatted it under NTFS. This was the only solution because many other users of this SSD have had the same problems as me - it straight up won't be recognized by the software, presumably probably because of the USB 3 connection. That's ok though because the software is optional. This was suggested as a solution and it works perfectly, now I'm just worried about the drive being falsely defragmented by Windows.

Ah. Well, you could try installing the software using Compatibility Mode (maybe try Win7 first?) but it sounds like, whether or not the drive is in fact a great deal, it has lousy firmware. Unless you can flash an update to it that fixes the problem, your best bet would simply be to try making sure Windows never attempts to "optimize" the drive.
Of course, unless you remove or edit the files on there, there won't be any fragmentation anyhow. So attempting defrag probably wouldn't do anything in any case. Similarly, if you aren't deleting files then you don't need to TRIM their data, so the usual optimizations for SSDs don't matter much either. You might want to see if you can disable access-time updating for the drive though, as that's very wasteful on an SSD (you can globally disable access timestamps using fsutil, but I don't know if you can do so for a single drive on Windows).

Related

Photographers, Backing up Pictures from SLR (or card reader) to USB HDD?

I picked up a gtab and want to use it while on vacation or backup the photos from my SLR's compactflash memory cards to a portable hard drive. Is this possible?
Basically it would be the usb adapter, then USB hub, with a compactflash (or SD) memory card reader and usb hdd off of it.
Anyone who has tried this, can you comment on the speed of transfer? The RAW images are around 30mb each and I have a 16gb and 2x 8gb memory cards.
Here's my method... I have a Canon 40D.
1. Like it or not the world revolves around SD, not Compact Flash. So, don't use Compact Flash, use SD memory. Buy an adapter here and then you need only ever use SD cards going forward.
2. You can load your photos onto your TAB using Samsung's USB adapter for the TAB. Plug in an USB based SD card reader into the TAB and suck all the pictures off the SD card.
3. Get a Microsoft Live account. It's free. Along with the Microsoft Live account you get a free 25GB "Sky Drive" to store whatever you want.
4. Go to the marketplace and search for Sky Drive. There are a couple of apps there that will let you move files from your tab to the Sky Drive.
If you need more than 25GB of space then you can do this to free up space on the Sky Drive...
1. Put Microsoft Live on one of the computers in your home.
2. Put the free version of Logmein on your home PC.
3. Buy and install Logmein Ignition for the Tab.
4. Log into your home computer from the Tab via Logmein and move the files from the Sky Drive to your home PC.
You might be able to create a script to move the files from Sky Drive to the PC automatically, thus saving you the purchase of Logmein Ignition.
I am a Pro, and I wish the Pro world revolved around SD, but current generation Nikons are all CF.
Having said that, I have read some people being able to mount portable HDDs with rooted Transformer and Iconia and have access to the full capacity of the drive. But, they also have a full USB port built in.
The Market App is: https://market.android.com/details?id=au.dach.drivemount
TabGuy said:
1. Like it or not the world revolves around SD, not Compact Flash. So, don't use Compact Flash
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I stopped reading after this. ALL Pro bodies use compact flash. They have higher capacities, and are more resilient to damage than SD. This will never change. Anyone saying SD is better than CF doesn't know their Aperture size from their shutter speed.
evanrich said:
I stopped reading after this. ALL Pro bodies use compact flash. They have higher capacities, and are more resilient to damage than SD. This will never change. Anyone saying SD is better than CF doesn't know their Aperture size from their shutter speed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are correct, I'm not a pro photographer. However, I've shot over 40,000 photos on my 40D ALL on SD without ever a single SD failure. I'd say that's a pretty good track record.
The world does revolve around SD. It's the vast majority and the most compatible. It rules the market the way Windows rules the PC operating systems.
Is it better? I don't know. I didn't say one way or the other. To paraphrase your post: A person that thinks I said that SD was better than Compact Flash doesn't know their verbs from their nouns.
It's simply more convenient, cheaper, and in almost all cases just as safe. Maybe, back in the early days of SD it was prone to more failure but living in the past is no way to be successful in the future.
For the time being I can't move away from compactflash. When I get a new camera in a few years, I'll see what camera floats my boat then. Please keep this on compactflash since that's what I have now Although, I do appreciate the suggestions. I am not a "pro" photographer (actually an engineer). But, it is one of my favorite hobbies.
When I travel to other countries, I usually either don't have access to wifi or I don't have access to fast enough wifi to upload the pictures to a cloud drive. I really need to be able to plug in the card reader AND the hdd at once (since the gtab doesn't have enough internal space for my pic backups). I haven't seen anyone post in the forums yet that they confirmed you can access 2 drives (reader and hdd) simultaneously to copy between then
If I can find a usb adapter at best buy and a powered hub I'll try it. Supposed I can take them back if it doesn't work. Just hoping someone already tried it and could tell me which hub/cardreader/etc to get to save some hassle of swapping out a few hubs/card readers.
TabGuy said:
You are correct, I'm not a pro photographer. However, I've shot over 40,000 photos on my 40D ALL on SD without ever a single SD failure. I'd say that's a pretty good track record.
The world does revolve around SD. It's the vast majority and the most compatible. It rules the market the way Windows rules the PC operating systems.
Is it better? I don't know. I didn't say one way or the other. To paraphrase your post: A person that thinks I said that SD was better than Compact Flash doesn't know their verbs from their nouns.
It's simply more convenient, cheaper, and in almost all cases just as safe. Maybe, back in the early days of SD it was prone to more failure but living in the past is no way to be successful in the future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasn't implying SD cards would fail, as I have an SD card in my pocket camera I use when I don't want to take a Large Body/Lens set with me. I wasn't necessarily implying that SD cards fail, more that due to their thinness, they could snap, warp, etc. Also, as CF cards have a much more rigid body, they're more resilient in a disaster case. Ever tossed a memory card through the washer/Dryer? Run over it with a car? CF cards can stand a lot of abuse.
The one nice feature of SD cards that I wish CF cards had is the write protect switch. I have a memory card holder for my CF cards that has colored tabs you can use to tell if they're full or not, but a Write protect switch would be kinda nice.
A few years ago, SD cards were extremely expensive, compared to CF for GB to GB comparison. Today, the price gap is much much narrower, in some cases SD is cheaper than CF (although usually slower in terms of read/write speeds)
Both formats have their place. I don't discount SD, nor do i imply you're wrong in any way for using them, as I have a number of devices that use them, but CF also has it's place, in the professional world where photographers require the utmost performance and reliability from their memory devices.
On a side note, my company produces industrialized standalone computers that are remotely deployed on telephone and light poles in Pakistan to collect RFID tags on shipments bound for Afghanistan. These devices run solely on CF cards as well due to their durability.
adamjt said:
I picked up a gtab and want to use it while on vacation or backup the photos from my SLR's compactflash memory cards to a portable hard drive. Is this possible?
Basically it would be the usb adapter, then USB hub, with a compactflash (or SD) memory card reader and usb hdd off of it.
Anyone who has tried this, can you comment on the speed of transfer? The RAW images are around 30mb each and I have a 16gb and 2x 8gb memory cards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
30MB! You must have 5DII, 1DMKx or D3X? Anywho, like mentioned, the best bet would try a usb hub
adamjt said:
I picked up a gtab and want to use it while on vacation or backup the photos from my SLR's compactflash memory cards to a portable hard drive. Is this possible?
Basically it would be the usb adapter, then USB hub, with a compactflash (or SD) memory card reader and usb hdd off of it.
Anyone who has tried this, can you comment on the speed of transfer? The RAW images are around 30mb each and I have a 16gb and 2x 8gb memory cards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'd have probably been better off buying one of those portable image transfer drives...they're made for this exact purpose. Take a memory card, plug it in, hit copy. They're only like 100-150 or so, much cheaper than a tablet.
http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-MSV-01-Coolwalker-Digital-Storage/dp/B0006283AG
http://www.digitalfoci.com/media_buddy_selection.html
http://www.amazon.com/PicPac-Memory-Reader-Storage-7632/dp/B003QP49NA/ref=dp_cp_ob_p_title_2

HDD Question

I've had my Toshiba Satellite C660-15R since 2010 and I'm not sure if it's time to replace the 320GB Hitachi 10080PBN200CSHPN HDD that was Installed by Toshiba, as Ubuntu Linux says the HDD has 1 Bad Sector back when I was using Ubuntu, but using Segate Sea Tools for Windows its passed all tests.
I'm unsure if it would be wise to replace the HDD based on its age, or stick with it due to the test results from Sea Tools for Windows?
Roland
Id say keep it, 1 bad sector equates to a negligible amount of data (handful of Mb) and isn't necessarily an indicator that the disk is dying, it could have just been scratched if the laptop moved during a write operation ir anything.
It may fail soon, it may not, I have an 80gb drive as a secondary in my desktop which is date stamped as 2003, my old laptops first hard drive lasted just 2 years.
Only reason I would swap the laptop in that machine if the disk is still working is as an upgrade to a bigger size or an SSD or something and that may not even be required
SixSixSevenSeven said:
Id say keep it, 1 bad sector equates to a negligible amount of data (handful of Mb) and isn't necessarily an indicator that the disk is dying, it could have just been scratched if the laptop moved during a write operation ir anything.
It may fail soon, it may not, I have an 80gb drive as a secondary in my desktop which is date stamped as 2003, my old laptops first hard drive lasted just 2 years.
Only reason I would swap the laptop in that machine if the disk is still working is as an upgrade to a bigger size or an SSD or something and that may not even be required
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok thanks.
I've swapped it out for a 1TB HDD, since I've been upgrading the Wifi Card and adding a new battery when it arrives, going to use the old drive in a USB caddy attached to the Router as a backup drive.land
It's also given me a reason to have a fresh start and sort out what needs to be on my HDD and what can go on the Network drive.
Ro

Debating whether or not to exchange 16GB for Pro

After using a 16GB Darcy for 10 days I'm now tempted to exchange it for a Pro. Basically, I could use the extra space. I was going to buy a USB 3, 500GB ssd for adopted storage which will put me at the cost of a Pro anyway. I tried adopted storage on Darcy with a 320GB HD and set it all up, but as soon as I opened ES file explorer and gave it the permission it asked for, I lost access to the disk and had to forget it then reformat it. My guess is I should have Denied that permission request because once ES cached it's files and wrote to the disk it must have invalidated it. I'll know that for next time but my point is that adopted storage on Android can be tricky. So I'm wondering, can you hear the SSHD in the Pro spin when things are quiet? That would be a con for me. And the biggest con is the lack of ir blaster on pro remote. I have volume on my TV working with this and how would I accomplish that with the Pro? I don't believe CEC can control volume on my TV. Just CEC power control is working for me. If someone with some experience with these models can chime in here it will help me make a decision. Thanks.
DJarkIV said:
After using a 16GB Darcy for 10 days I'm now tempted to exchange it for a Pro. Basically, I could use the extra space. I was going to buy a USB 3, 500GB ssd for adopted storage which will put me at the cost of a Pro anyway. I tried adopted storage on Darcy with a 320GB HD and set it all up, but as soon as I opened ES file explorer and gave it the permission it asked for, I lost access to the disk and had to forget it then reformat it. My guess is I should have Denied that permission request because once ES cached it's files and wrote to the disk it must have invalidated it. I'll know that for next time but my point is that adopted storage on Android can be tricky. So I'm wondering, can you hear the SSHD in the Pro spin when things are quiet? That would be a con for me. And the biggest con is the lack of ir blaster on pro remote. I have volume on my TV working with this and how would I accomplish that with the Pro? I don't believe CEC can control volume on my TV. Just CEC power control is working for me. If someone with some experience with these models can chime in here it will help me make a decision. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have had the shield pro for almost a year now, never heard the hard disk, control volume with the shield fine, if it cant then the settings is in your tv to use external volume source. I may also add been rooted since day one with zero problems that I didnt cause myself
jionny said:
I have had the shield pro for almost a year now, never heard the hard disk, control volume with the shield fine, if it cant then the settings is in your tv to use external volume source. I may also add been rooted since day one with zero problems that I didnt cause myself
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info. I want to clarify that ES didn't ask for root permission regarding the adopted storage. It was simple storage permission request, "access storage, photos, etc." ES may have viewed it as external storage although it was setup as internal through Android. I'll have to experiment with that again to confirm that's what happened.
DJarkIV said:
Thanks for the info. I want to clarify that ES didn't ask for root permission regarding the adopted storage. It was simple storage permission request, "access storage, photos, etc." ES may have viewed it as external storage although it was setup as internal through Android. I'll have to experiment with that again to confirm that's what happened.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use to use es when I first rooted but my personal opinion is it sucks, I now use Xplore
jionny said:
I use to use es when I first rooted but my personal opinion is it sucks, I now use Xplore
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't agree more. ES has practically became malware over the years. On my phone I use Amaze. I installed Amaze on the Shield but can't use it without a mouse. I just downloaded Xplore as you recommend and will give it a try. Speaking of mouse, I'm looking to purchase a Bluetooth RII i8 mouse/keyboard/ remote. Is Bluetooth the way to go over Wifi-Direct on newer Shields?
DJarkIV said:
I couldn't agree more. ES has practically became malware over the years. On my phone I use Amaze. I installed Amaze on the Shield but can't use it without a mouse. I just downloaded Xplore as you recommend and will give it a try. Speaking of mouse, I'm looking to purchase a Bluetooth RII i8 mouse/keyboard/ remote. Is Bluetooth the way to go over Wifi-Direct on newer Shields?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My personal experience with the RII i8 with the shield is doesnt work very well, maybe just my experience. I happened upon a logitech K400 plus keyboard/mouse and it works flawless, only disapointment is I rather have something smaller like the i8
DJarkIV said:
Thanks for the info. I want to clarify that ES didn't ask for root permission regarding the adopted storage. It was simple storage permission request, "access storage, photos, etc." ES may have viewed it as external storage although it was setup as internal through Android. I'll have to experiment with that again to confirm that's what happened.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my guess is that is what happened, personally I believe es explorer is garbage at one time the best but not anymore, I use Xplore
I've a 2017 16gb model with a 250GB Samsung EVO SSD in a USB 3 enclosure. I filled it with 50+ games (more than 10 of LightSpeed Studios) and emulators, the speed is awesome and the problems non existant. The free space is aroud 100 GB.
For file management I use Solid Explorer. It's not remote friendly, but you can use it very well with the joystick.
cyberdionisio said:
I've a 2017 16gb model with a 250GB Samsung EVO SSD in a USB 3 enclosure. I filled it with 50+ games (more than 10 of LightSpeed Studios) and emulators, the speed is awesome and the problems non existant. The free space is aroud 100 GB.
For file management I use Solid Explorer. It's not remote friendly, but you can use it very well with the joystick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I ended up keeping the 16GB darcy and added a 500GB Samsung T5 SSD as adopted stage. Seems like a good setup so I'm happy. I also have a new USB 3 hub on the inner port. Now I just have to figure out how to bypass the convertible mode on the outer port so I can have adb on without losing the ability to hook up media/storage devices to that port. I may have found a way but it requires a factory reset after the build.prop string is added. I'll get around to trying it out soon.
Sorry to barge in on this convo - but I have a similarish qu. I've just bought the 16Gb today (not shipped yet) and will be either using a 256 flash drive, or my 1TB WD USB 3 HDD.
The thing that's putting me off is the fact that when you add the HDD/SD to the Shield, it can't be read on a PC afterwards. So how on earth would I transfer anything to it once it's been formatted by the Shield?
jonboyuk said:
Sorry to barge in on this convo - but I have a similarish qu. I've just bought the 16Gb today (not shipped yet) and will be either using a 256 flash drive, or my 1TB WD USB 3 HDD.
The thing that's putting me off is the fact that when you add the HDD/SD to the Shield, it can't be read on a PC afterwards. So how on earth would I transfer anything to it once it's been formatted by the Shield?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're not barging in, that's what xda is for. So I'm not sure what your goal is but if you want to add to the Android internal storage then you will keep that Drive of your choice plugged into the Shield and consider it integrated. To transfer files back and forth you could use another drive of your choice which would just be a transfer drive. That Drive is not formatted by the Shield but it's readable and you can manage it with a file manager. My preferred method would be just using a usb 3 cable (usb a to usb a) Shield to computer directly. It's basically the same way you would hook up your phone to the computer to transfer files. Another way which is supported by most file managers would be wireless transfer. You have a lot of options. I recently just added a Samsung SSD as adoptable storage which is now considered part of the internal storage. It's working well.
DJarkIV said:
You're not barging in, that's what xda is for. So I'm not sure what your goal is but if you want to add to the Android internal storage then you will keep that Drive of your choice plugged into the Shield and consider it integrated. To transfer files back and forth you could use another drive of your choice which would just be a transfer drive. That Drive is not formatted by the Shield but it's readable and you can manage it with a file manager. My preferred method would be just using a usb 3 cable (usb a to usb a) Shield to computer directly. It's basically the same way you would hook up your phone to the computer to transfer files. Another way which is supported by most file managers would be wireless transfer. You have a lot of options. I recently just added a Samsung SSD as adoptable storage which is now considered part of the internal storage. It's working well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha I know, I'm just being courteous
That makes perfect sense though. In which case I might use the 1TB hard drive for removable storage (movies etc) and then get a 128Gb flash drive to replace the integrated 16Gb (ie adoptable).
The other thing is, I didn't buy the Shield controller. I do have a spare Xbox One & PS4 pad. Do they work equally as well - bearing in mind that I'll be using it for PC streaming, emulation and Android gaming?
Cheers!
That makes perfect sense though. In which case I might use the 1TB hard drive for removable storage (movies etc) and then get a 128Gb flash drive to replace the integrated 16Gb (ie adoptable).
Just to clarify, it won't replace the 16GB internal storage but add to it. The Android System will still remain on the 16GB internal but the drive you add as adopted will contain the Data portion after you set it up and have the Shield "move Data" to it. It's not a perfect system and some apps will still prefer to install to the 16GB. But if you enable developer options and check "force apps to external regardless of manifest" you will have the ability to move the stubborn apps to your adopted storage drive.
The other thing is, I didn't buy the Shield controller. I do have a spare Xbox One & PS4 pad. Do they work equally as well - bearing in mind that I'll be using it for PC streaming, emulation and Android gaming?
As far as the controller, I'm not 100% sure. If those controllers use Bluetooth to pair they should work. You can select settings-add accessory and attempt to pair them. If you look around you will find that answer.
If you change the external storage as a GPT drive instead of MBR. the nVidia Shield can use it for added internal storage. But it won't do it without this change which you can do on a Windows PC with Disk Management.You don't need a PRO.
orbinick said:
If you change the external storage as a GPT drive instead of MBR. the nVidia Shield can use it for added internal storage. But it won't do it without this change which you can do on a Windows PC with Disk Management.You don't need a PRO.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, we're way of topic at this point. I decided a while ago I'm not exchanging for the Pro. Instead I added a Samsung T5 500GB. Your post is very interesting, can you explain further? I'm a Mac user so I did originally format my disk with the GUID partition scheme (GPT) before setting it up as adoptable storage. But from my experience, you can pretty much add just about any disk I ever tried as adoptable storage regardless of the partition scheme. The Shield ends up formatting it beforehand although I'm not sure if it changes the partition scheme for you. What more can you do with GUID that you can't do with MPT?

Some questions about using SSD for adapted storage

I'm getting a 500gb SSD to replace (adapt) my 16gb internal storage. It's my understanding that the Shield encrypts the drive and so it can't be accessed otherwise. Meaning you pretty much just leave it hooked to the Shield all of the time. But what about trim and leveling?
Also I presume since it's USB-3 that performance isn't an issue and even a cheap ssd will work fine. Planning on using Adata su-800 but does it matter to have dram for example?
And for the second external drive I use just for media, does anyone know how much power the usb outlets put out? Am thinking about getting a 2.5" 5tb (mechanical & almost entirely for videos) and wondering if the usb power is enough to handle these type of drives. I think these drives require the better part of one amp to operate properly. Also can this second drive be removed safely without shutting down the Shield?
As-long as the second drive is not adopted it should be fine and dandy, just ensure that you eject it from the storage menu. I'll let someone else who knows more about adopted storage and USB power chime in for the rest
Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk

General Booting OS from sd card

Hey guys, just putting this out there.
Valve said that you can install any OS you want on this including windows which is better for game support. Proton is great and all but doesnt have 100% coverage.
So what this means is it probably has an accessible BIOS (maybe even cpu undervolting possible) and should let you boot from sd card. This would be great for keeping steam os on the main storage just to see how it goes and for emulators. And then any game that doesnt run properly under proton you can quickly plug in an sd card with bootable windows and play those games there.
What do you guys think if this is possible would you do it? or what other os would you install?
As seen on many SBCs (i.e. RPi, odroid...), sd-card booting is rather slow.
You Do not want that for a Windows-Installation.
My guess is that they wanted to make thing as cheap as possible. A Windows 10 license adds somewhat $50-$100 to the pricetag. Plus they would have to certify the steamdeck for Windows.... Also adds costs, time and maybe IT is not possible at all.
I'd rather go with swapping PCIe-SSDs. Although that might void the warranty.
I agree, I think sd card booting will be slow. But, it's not impossible. Think, booting Ubuntu with a CD. It's slow to boot but once booted mostly everything is in memory and pretty quick.
Ssd... usb... same ole...
My ole elite book 820 1st version, is a corporate laptop, more open than oems, I5 is rapid, 256 pcie used for (broken)wan, wiped giving me a 250 c drive, sata filled with 250gig of fruity midi and softsynths, when hooked up to my studio, best sounds where i live lol, no lag, latency pretty much zero, using win 7 x64 ultimate
Same speeds, usb3 speed, that's how I see it, or usb 2 most likely for most...
That's your actual hardware speed...
chip performance re: running an os, my ssd is faster than the old ones with moving part's... ssd loses files, the old ones we could find easier... with rstudio etc..
Think about it... your ssd is using usb (most likely 3) to transfer through the usb bus...
And if memory serves me correctly, ssd's can only handle on average 200,000,000 read write's, now what does all this mountin partitions do?
Wear the heck out of those rw
ssd all the way.... the frequencies are the key to speed
i wish they would have put a usb A port on the device and that they would have planned for easier replacement of SSD.

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