Windows OS notes
Windows has a couple of annoyances that aren’t present on Mac and Linux.
“Are you sure you want to copy this file without its properties?”
The poi’s flash drive uses a universal file system called FAT (File Allocation System) to store bitmaps and configuration data. Whenever you start to copy files from a Windows computer to the hoop, it will annoy you with a little message “Are you sure you want to copy this file without its properties?” You can simply press “Yes” and additionally check “Do this for all items” so it won’t bother you again… Until the next time you try to copy files to the hoop. Windows does not provide any way to disable this message. If it becomes too annoying to deal with, we suggest installing the free version of TeraCopy. TeraCopy can replace the default Windows copy function and won’t show that annoying message.
Fixing Slow Transfer Speeds
Windows by default has a setting that causes extremely slow speeds when copying hundreds or thousands of small files to a FAT drive. This can be fixed by changing a setting in the hoop drive’s properties. Unfortunately we haven’t found a way to do this for you automatically so you will have to do it yourself.
- Right click on the hoop drive, then click Properties.
- Click over to the Hardware tab.
- Make sure the hoop’s flash drive is highlighted then press Properties.
- You should now be in the General tab.
- Click the Change Settings button.
- Click the Policies tab.
- Select the option Better Performance, then press OK.
Write speed should now be dramatically improved. You should only have to do this once for your device. BUT make sure to use the option “Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media” in the Taskbar (lower right of screen) before unplugging the hoop drive. This makes sure that the computer is done writing data to the hoop and that unplugging won’t corrupt the drive. FYI even if you corrupt the drive the worst you’ll have to do is reformat it and reload the patterns (make sure to keep backups of all your patterns on your computer!).
“There’s a problem with this drive. Scan the drive now to fix it.”
As a result of performing the above setting to improve transfer speeds, you might see an error when you plug in your computer saying that your disk contains errors and needs to be checked. Unless you are experiencing an actual problem with your hoop this error is incorrect and can be safely ignored. But it doesn’t hurt to do scan your drive and “fix” it and we’ve noticed that this can make Windows stop bothering you about it so may as well give it a try.
File copy hangs at 99%
For some reason the file copy progress bar on Windows jumps to 99% and just waits there until the transfer completes. It shouldn’t take more than 30 seconds for medium sized transfers, or 2-3 minutes if you are transferring thousands of files.
File didn’t save properly
If you make some changes to options.txt on your hoop’s flash drive but the changes are not saved properly after you unplug the device, you may need to use the Windows function Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media. Click the corresponding icon in the taskbar and select your hoop’s flash drive for ejection.
Show File Extensions (.bmp, .hex, .txt, .zip)
File extensions refers to the part at the end of a filename that indicates what type of file it is. Some examples you’ve already seen in this manual: bitmap files have the file extension .bmp, text files have the file extension .txt, compressed zip files have the extension .zip, and hexadecimal files have the file extension .hex. Windows hides these helpful indicators by default. You can fix this in the View tab of Windows File Explorer (highlighted). If you don’t see the following try a quick google search for “show file extensions” for your version of Windows. It’s pretty easy to change.
