Question 1

Can I use my DataTraveler as a bootable USB device?

Accepted Answer

Although it is possible to boot from the DataTraveler, it is not a feature Kingston supports.These drives are intended as storage devices.

Question 2

Is there any security or write protection feature available for this DataTraveler?

Accepted Answer

Unfortunately this unit does not have any security or write protection feature. If you receive a write protection message with this drive, check for the following:

Verify that you are allowed to write to removable storage devices. There may be a security setting in the OS that disables write access to removable storage devices.
Make sure you have not enabled write protection on the drive by using a third party software.
If none of the above apply, the drive may be defective. Contact Kingston Technical Support for further assistance.

Question 3

My DataTraveler will not accept a 4GB or larger file. Why?

Accepted Answer

To transfer files larger than 4GB, the DataTraveler must have a NTFS or exFAT file system. Unfortunately, the FAT32 file system is not capable of handling a single file larger than 4GB (to be exact, one byte less than 4GB). Follow the steps below to format the DataTraveler with an NTFS File system:

Warning, all data on the DataTraveler will be lost! Please backup the data on the DataTraveler before proceeding.

Type This PC in the Windows search bar. Right-click on the Kingston drive and select Format.
Select NTFS or exFAT from the file system drop-down list.
Select Quick Format as the Format option and click Start.

Note: macOS X has read-only access for drives formatted with NTFS file system. Additionally, some multi-media devices may not support NTFS.

Question 4

Why is the available storage capacity of my product slightly less than the advertised capacity?

Accepted Answer

This is common for flash storage, whether internal SSD, Flash Card, or external USB storage, and is due in part to a variance in how flash memory vs spinning platter hard drive manufacturers calculate megabyte. Hard drive manufacturers calculate a megabyte (or 1,000x1,000 bytes) as 1,000KBs, whereas the binary calculation for flash-based storage is 1,024KBs.

Example: For a 1TB flash-based storage device, Windows will calculate it as having a capacity of 931.32GB. (1,000,000,000,000÷1,024÷1,024÷1,024=931.32GB).

Furthermore, Kingston reserves some of the listed capacity for formatting (e.g., File Allocation Table) and other functions such as firmware and/or controller-specific information, and thus some of the listed capacity is not available for data storage.

Question 5

What operating systems support exFAT?

Accepted Answer

The Windows exFAT file system is supported natively on Windows 7 and above and macOS X 10.6.6 and above.

Question 6

I formatted my DataTraveler that is 32GB or larger using NTFS and I want to format it back to FAT32. How do I do this?

Accepted Answer

As Windows is unable to format a drive over 32GB with FAT32, the use of third-party software is required. Although we cannot assist in acquiring or using third-party software to format a drive as FAT32, there are a number of free applications that can be found via Google or Bing search.

FAQ: KDT-010611-GEN-14

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Question 7

My DataTraveler is not recognized by macOS X. How do I resolve this?

Accepted Answer

To resolve, make sure to insert the drive directly into the USB ports located on the computer. The USB ports found on the keyboard and some hubs may not supply sufficient power to properly operate the Kingston DataTraveler. Also, go to Finder>Preferences>Sidebar to ensure CD, DVD and iPod and External Disks are checked. If you have an Encrypted USB drive, please make sure you have the latest firmware. If the drive has the latest firmware and still is not recognized or not accessible on macOS, please contact technical support for assistance.

FAQ: KDT-010611-GEN-19

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Question 8

On a Mac, my DataTraveler does not show free space after deleting files. How do I resolve this?

Accepted Answer

When you delete files from a storage drive while the drive is connected to a macOS system, macOS will keep a backup of the deleted files, allowing you to recover files if accidentally deleted. Because of this feature, macOS will also reserve space on the drive in the event that you do recover the deleted files. Therefore, in order to recover the available storage space back to the drive, you will need to empty the macOS Trash Bin, while the drive in question is connected to the masOS computer.

Should this not work, a complete format of the device should be done. Please follow these instructions to format your Kingston drive.

WARNING: Formatting will erase all your data so please make sure you have a copy before proceeding.

Go to Go > Applications > Utilities and Open Disk Utility.
Choose your drive from the left panel and then click Erase on the right.
Select a Volume Format. Select MS-DOS File System or exFAT if you plan to use the drive on macOS and Windows. If used only in a Mac then select Mac OS Extended as the Volume Format.
Click Erase.

Question 9

While trying to transfer a file to or from the Data Traveler, the macOS displays an error stating that the file cannot be modified or moved. Why?

Accepted Answer

This happens if the DataTraveler has been formatted with Microsoft Windows NTFS. To resolve, format the DataTraveler with macOS X using MS-DOS File System.

To format the DataTraveler with macOS, do the following:

Click on the "GO" option on the menu bar.
Double-click on "Utilities" (If you do not see Utilities, double-click on Applications and then double-click on the Utilities folder.)
Double-click on the "Disk Utility" icon.
On the Disk Utility Dialog box, click once on the Kingston DataTraveler active partition.
Note: There will be two listings for the Data Traveler, the first one is the active partition and the second is the volume label.
Click the erase tab located on the right side of the screen.
Using the Volume Format drop-down, select "MS-DOS File System" from the list.
Click Erase.

Please note, macOS will support full read and write access to exFAT formatted drives. So formatting the drive using exFAT file system may also resolve this problem. MacOS still has read only access to NTFS formatted drives.

Question 10

My DataTraveler is recognized in my MacOS but Windows prompts me to format. Why?

Accepted Answer

Windows may not recognize the MacOS Extended or Standard file system. To resolve, format the drive in MacOS DOS so that it can be used in both environments.

WARNING: Formatting will erase all of the data on the DataTraveler. Back up your data before proceeding.

Insert the DataTraveler into the Mac OS X machine and wait for it to mount.
Click on the "GO" option on the menu bar.
Double-click on Utilities (If you do not see Utilities, double-click on Applications and then double-click on the Utilities folder.)
Double-click on the Disk Utility icon.
On the Disk Utility Dialog box, click once on the Kingston DataTraveler active partition. Note: There will be two listings for the DataTraveler, the first one is the active partition and the second is the volume label.
Click the erase tab located on the right side of the screen.
Using the Volume Format drop-down, select "MS-DOS File System" from the list.
Click Erase.

Be aware MacOS 10.6.5 will support full read and write access to exFAT formatted drives. So formatting the drive using exFAT file system may also resolve this problem. MacOS still has read only access to NTFS formatted drives.

Some devices (MP3 players, digital photo frames, etc) will not read NTFS or exFAT file systems.

Also Windows XP and Vista will require an update in order to access exFAT.

Question 11

Is this DataTraveler supported by Linux?

Accepted Answer

Yes, this DataTraveler is supported by Linux as long as you have Linux Kernel 2.6.x and above.

Please note: If the DataTraveler comes with software, it will not function with Linux. Only the drive itself is compatible with Linux.

Question 12

My DataTraveler no longer works or I can no longer view files saved to the DataTraveler. Can the files on the DataTraveler be recovered?

Accepted Answer

If you have data on the DataTraveler that is important to you, we strongly recommend that you use one of the two possible ways for data recovery (see below). Kingston does not offer data recovery services. For more information on our warranty policy please visit http://www.kingston.com/company/warranty.asp

Contact a company that specializes in data recovery services such as Driver Savers at www.drivesavers.com and Ontrack at www.ontrack.com just to name a couple or you can do a search on Google for data recovery.
Go to www.download.com and do a search for data recovery and download one of the many utilities for data recovery which are fairly simple to use. We suggest trying one of the free versions as they work just as well as the paid versions. However for the possibilities for this option to work, the computer must assign a drive letter to the device. Even so it's not a guarantee. If not then option #1 would be your best bet.

KDT-012611-GEN-25

Question 13

My DataTraveler is not being detected in Windows. Why?

Accepted Answer

1. The DataTraveler could be conflicting with a pre-assigned drive letter. To resolve, do the following (Do not do this for a "Privacy" drive that assigns two drive letters):

1. Insert the DataTraveler and open "Control Panel". Then open "Administrative Tools".

2. Open Computer Management

3. Select “Disk Management” on the left window pane.

4. Locate the DataTraveler on the right window pane.

5. Right-click on the drive and select “Change Drive Letter and Paths.”

6. Click Change and select a new drive letter from the drop-down box. Then click OK.

2. The DataTraveler may be conflicting with pre-installed software. Disable all applications running in the background prior to installation of the Data Traveler.

3. Make sure Windows, any USB controller drivers and the system BIOS for you computer is up to date.

4. If you have a desktop computer, make sure the DataTraveler is inserted directly into one of the main USB ports on the back of the PC. Front ports, keyboard ports or USB Hubs may not supply sufficient power for the High Speed DataTraveler to function properly.

If none of the above apply, your USB DataTraveler drive may be defective. Please contact Kingston Technical Support for assistance.

Question 14

The computer has mapped network drives. Windows says the drive is installed correctly but no drive letter is assigned to it. Why?

Accepted Answer

Windows assigns new drives to the next available physical drive. It will sometimes take the same drive letter as a network drive for this reason. This is a common problem with removable storage devices.

To resolve this, go to Control Panel>Administrative Tools>Computer Management>Disk Management. Note the drives on the right windowpane. See if the Kingston (x) is recognized. (x) denotes the drive letter that Windows assigned for the DataTraveler.

If the DataTraveler is using the same drive letter as one of the other drives, right-click the Kingston Drive letter and click on "Change Drive letter and Paths".

On the next dialog box click on the "Change" button and assign a drive letter that is not currently being used.

Note: Do not manually change drive letters if you have a "Privacy" Data traveler that assigns two drive letters for the device.

Question 15

After inserting the DataTraveler into the USB port of a Windows computer, an AutoPlay dialog appears with an option to "Speed up my system using Windows ReadyBoost." What is this feature and can I enable it?

Accepted Answer

ReadyBoost is a Windows feature having the ability to utilize USB flash storage space as disk caching to improve system performance. Unfortunately, DataTraveler USB drives do not support Windows ReadyBoost.

DataTraveler SE9 G2 3.0 USB Flash Drive - Support

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