Encrypted solid state drives utilize the hard drive security command available on most business class computers and motherboards. It is accessed through the BIOS. This will allow you to create a password for many HDD’s and SSD’s and to securely erase the drives if needed. Some computers will not have this feature. If this is the case, the drive can still be used, just without these security features. Be sure not to confuse BIOS password with the hard drive security password.

FAQ: KSD-011411-ENC-01

No, the standard drivers for any HDD will support Kingston SSDNow drives as plug and play components, such as those bundled with Windows or MacOS.

FAQ: KSD-011411-GEN-04

SSDs do not require defragmentation. Since there are no physical disks, there is no need to organize the data in order to reduce seek time. Therefore defragmenting an SSD is not effective. Also, defragmenting an SSD can put undue wear on specific areas of the drive. SSDs are designed to write data as evenly as possible over the entire drive to reduce undue wear to any one location. Nonetheless defragmenting your SSD drive a couple of times will not harm it. However if it is done continuously over a long period, it may reduce the life of the drive.

FAQ: KSD-011411-GEN-03

Over time, most of the storage locations on an SSD get written to. When they get written to again, they need to be conditioned in order to accept new data. This can cause a delay and is seen as a reduction in drive performance. Garbage collection is a function built into a SSD that reconditions empty storage locations so when new data is written to the drive, there are locations on the SSD ready to accept data.

Although Garbage Collection function is built into most SSD drives, some drives do a better job at it than others. TRIM resolves this issue by letting the operating system tell the drive when to perform this function. At this time, only Windows 7, Server 2008, MacOS 10.7 and newer versions of Linux use TRIM. Also, there are no RAID configurations that support TRIM no matter what operating system is used. All of Kingston’s MLC based SSDNow drives are TRIM compatible. Some of our first generation SSDNow drives are not TRIM compatible. 

FAQ: KSD-011411-GEN-13

First, open an Elevated Command Prompt window.

To open an Elevated Command Prompt window: Click on Start Orb > Type "CMD.exe" in Search box > Right click on "CMD" and select "Run as Administrator" (If you receive a prompt confirmation, click YES)

To verify the TRIM command is enabled, type the following and press enter in the Elevated command:

fsutil behavior query disabledeletenotify

The results will be as follows: DisableDeleteNotify = 1 (Windows TRIM commands are disabled) DisableDeleteNotify = 0 (Windows TRIM commands are enabled)

To enable the TRIM command, type the following and press enter in the Elevated command:

fsutil behavior set disabledeletenotify 0

To disable the TRIM command, type the following and press enter in the Elevated command:

fsutil behavior set disabledeletenotify 1

FAQ: KSD-072211-GEN-18

Performance decrease has been reported on some of the SSDNow drives. If you have an older SSD drive that does not have effective Garbage Collection, SSD drive performance will drop over time. This is due to the way the system overwrites data that has been flagged for deletion.

Try using the Secure Erase tool like HDDErase to wipe the drive and restore it to original condition.

FAQ: KSD-011411-GEN-12

You can but you first must disable the security for the drive in the original computer. Then you can enable it again in the new computer.

FAQ: KSD-011411-ENC-02

No. If you forget the password for this drive, it cannot be accessed. Be aware that forgetting your password is not covered under Kingston’s warranty.

The only exception to this is using a master or administrative password for the drive. The BIOS would have to support this and it would have to be enabled at the time you initiated the ATA security for this drive. Using a master password would allow an administrator to reset the drive.

FAQ: KSD-011411-ENC-03

FAQ: KGF-022811-GEN-02

Systems Affected:
HP Proliant DL, BL and ML series servers that utilize the HP p400i, p410i,, p420i RAID Controller or any HP RAID Controller that features the "Predictive Failure Technology" built into the RAID controller.

Cause:
HP RAID controllers with "Predictive Warning Technology" are designed to monitor the ATA SMART attributes on hard drives and solid state drives to alert the user of a potential drive failure prior to complete failure of the device. This monitoring system built into the RAID Controller is reading a SMART attribute on the Kingston SSD's (listed below) incorrectly and triggering a false "Predictive Failure" warning message in the HP SMART Array RAID Management Utility.

Kingston is currently testing and working with it's suppliers to find the root cause of the issue and ultimately a permanent fix. Please check back periodically for updates.

Kingston SSD's Affected
KC100 all capacity's
VP200 all capacity's
HyperX all capacity's
HyperX 3k all capacity's

We have a page specifically for upgrade kit support at the link below. http://www.kingston.com/us/support/technical/faq?model=ssd_bundle

FAQ: KSD-073112-GEN-19

Try the other SATA ports on your motherboard. Make sure you have the latest BIOS updates for your motherboard. Disable the AHCI feature in the BIOS. If you cannot find this setting in your BIOS, please refer to your manual or contact your motherboard or computer manufacturer. If none of this helps, please contact technical support for help.

FAQ: KSD-011411-GEN-11

Any of our SSDs can be used in RAID. But due to endurance specifications, only certain part numbers should be used in RAID. For servers, please contact Kingston to determine the best Kingston SSD to use for your workload.

FAQ: KSD-052511-GEN-17

Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T.) is a built-in monitoring capability in hard drives and SSDs. It can allow users to monitor the health of a device. It does this through monitoring software designed specifically for the S.M.A.R.T. feature. All of our SSDNow drives support S.M.A.R.T.

FAQ: KSD-011411-GEN-10

The Windows Experience Index (WEI) merely measures the relative capability of components. The WEI only runs for a short time and does not measure the interactions of components under a software load, but rather characteristics or your hardware.

Thus the WEI does not measure performance of a system, but merely the relative hardware capabilities when running Windows 7. An article about the WEI can be found here: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/e7/archive/2009/01/19/engineering-the-windows-7-windows-experience-index.aspx

In Vista, the WEI scores ranged from 1.0 to 5.9. In Windows 7, the range has been extended upward to 7.9.

FAQ: KSD-011411-GEN-08

SSDNow drives are tested and validated to work on the latest notebook AND desktop platforms.

FAQ: KSD-011411-GEN-07

Kingston realizes the importance of keeping our customers’ personal data and information confidential and secure. Kingston takes measures to ensure the security of all of our customers’ personal information when a Solid State Drive (SSD) is returned to our RMA facility for warranty replacement or repair. When an SSD reaches our repair center, it will undergo a thorough testing process. During the first phase of testing, an ATA Secure Erase is performed on the SSD which erases all data and information. ATA Secure Erase is federally-approved by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST 800-88) for legal sanitization of confidential user data. If the SSD is not in a functional state and not capable of undergoing an ATA Secure Erase, the SSD is dismantled and the NAND Flash Memory is destroyed.

FAQ: KSD-022411-GEN-15

No. The cloning software will fail to execute if a password is enabled on the source hard drive. Passwords should be disabled prior to the cloning process.

FAQ: KSD-030111-GEN-16

If your computer has an Intel based system, you may need to disable the Intel RST driver and revert back to the Microsoft default AHCI driver and then run the toolbox. On an AMD based system, the AMD AHCI driver may be blocking the toolbox.

The Windows AHCI driver must be loaded. To do this, right click on Computer and choose manage. Go to IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers>AMD SATA Controller or Intel SATA Controller. Right click on this and choose Update Driver software. Select Browse>Let me pick. Choose "Standard AHCI" from the list. Then reboot the computer. Then you should be able to run the toolbox.

FAQ: KSD-100812-LSI-02