What is USB 3.0?

Description: This explains what the new USB 3.0 is.

• USB 3.0 is the next generation of the USB or Universal Serial Bus Controllers.
• The USB 3.0 has a maximum transfer speed of 4.8Gbps. This SuperSpeed will be 10 times faster than the USB 2.0 480Mbps.
• It will be backwards compatible with the USB 2.0 devices. The cables and connectors for the USB 3.0 will for the most part be compatible with the older devices.
• The new USB 3.0 will be more power efficient, charging items faster and searching out devices that are not being used to draw the unused power and direct it to the devices that need it.
• It is the answer to connectivity for the Computer, Consumer Electronics, and Mobile devices. The connection is a bi-directional, low cost, fast interface for new attachable components.

For more assistance contact Technical Support here.

Troubleshooting USB wireless adaptor turns off or suddenly stops working

Description: This article will provide steps in troubleshooting the problem of a USB wireless adaptor that powers off and stops working.

Problem: Your newly installed USB wireless adaptor powers off or stops working. It is unable to connect to the internet and removing and plugging the USB adaptor seems to work for a while. Removing and reinstalling the software does not resolve the problem, even though the lights on the adaptor are on.

Resolution: The problem for the USB wireless adaptor is that Windows has control of the power management for that device and USB ports themselves. Disabling this feature in device manager should resolve this problem.

To open device manager for Windows Vista or Windows 7:

1. Click on Start, and on the search bar type in "Device Manager". Then press Enter.
   
   


2. In device manager click on the + or triangle for network adaptors.
3. Right click on the wireless adaptor (name will vary), and select properties.
   
   
   
   


4. In the properties window for the wireless card, click on Power Management tab.
5. Remove the checkmark for "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power."
6. Click on Ok, and restart the computer.
   
   
   
   


7. The wireless USB adaptor will no longer power down or have trouble staying connected to the network.

You can also contact Technical Support here.

Create Toshiba Recovery Media using USB Flash

This guide will show you how to create the recovery media for your computer.

Before you begin:
If your computer experiences problems that are not recoverable by other methods, you may need to reinstall the Windows operating system and factory-loaded software and drivers. To reinstall using discs, you must create the set of recovery discs before you have a problem. To ensure that you have recovery options available, you should create a set of recovery discs as soon as possible.

If you are creating recovery discs, you should have several blank DVD±R discs ready. A new feature of the Recovery Media Creator is using a USB Flash Drive. If you choose this method, have at least an 8GB drive available.

Note: You cannot use DVD±RW or DVD±R DL discs to create the recovery media.
Close all open applications on the PC. You will not be able to use the computer while it is creating the recovery media.

1. Click Start » All Programs » My Toshiba » Recovery Media Creator.
2. Select DVD or USB Flash from the drop-down lists next to System Recovery Media and Application Discs, depending on the type of external media you want to use.
3. Select the items you want to copy to DVD or USB Flash drive by clicking the check box next to each item's Name—recovery files, applications (original bundled drivers and applications), or both the recovery files and applications.
   
   
   
   
   NOTE: Any information on the DVD or USB drive is erased during the recovery process. Ensure that you have saved any important information to another storage device or you are using blank media before performing this procedure.
   
   
4. Click Create.
5. Insert a blank DVD into your optical disc drive or insert the USB Flash drive when prompted.
6. As you create your recovery DVD set, be sure to label each DVD sequentially (for example, "1 of 3," "2 of 3," etc.), so that you will know in which order to insert the discs during recovery.
7. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the copy process.

Note: If you are copying the recovery files to DVDs, be sure to label each DVD in the set sequentially (for example, "1 of 3," "2 of 3," etc.), so that you will know in which order to insert the discs during recovery.

Move Files to New Computer with Windows Easy Transfer

Upgrading to a new computer is easier than ever before using Windows Easy Transfer. This feature of Windows transfers your files, settings, and user account information from your old machine to the new one.

It works with an Easy Transfer Cable, over a Network, or an external storage device like a flash drive or hard drive.

There are two methods for transferring files from an old machine (Windows XP) to a new machine (Windows 7):

• Using the Easy Transfer Wizard to install the software in Windows XP.
• Downloading the Easy Transfer Wizard from Microsoft’s website.

This guide shows how to transfer information from an old Windows XP computer to a new Windows 7 machine using a flash drive.

1. On the NEW COMPUTER Click on Start and type "easy transfer" without the quotes in the search bar. Choose the Windows Easy Transfer option as highlighted in this example to bring up the Windows Easy Transfer wizard.
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. The Welcome screen shows information regarding the wizard and what can be transferred. Click on Next to begin the transfer wizard.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Choose An External Hard Disk or USB Flash Drive and have a flash drive ready.
   Consider how much space is being used on your old computer.
   Make sure that the flash drive or external hard drive has enough free space to hold your information.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Choose This Is My New Computer as files will be transferred to this computer.
   
   
   
   
   
5. Choose No here to create the installation files on the flash drive.
   If you chose to download the installation files, you can skip to step 11.
   
   
   
   
   
6. Choose I Need To Install It Now so that you can create an installation file on your flash drive.
   
   
   
   
   
7. Plug in the flash drive and choose USB flash drive so that it will create the installation media.
   
   
   
   
   
8. Select the flash drive from the list. Note that the name and letter might vary. It will often be named after the manufacturer of the flash drive. Example: usbflash (E:)
   
   
   
   
   
9. Wait a moment as the program copies the installation files to the flash drive. This process should only take a minute.
   
   
   
   
   
   
10. Click on Next, remove the flash drive and leave the window open.
    To prevent data loss, it's recommended to remove your flash drive by opening Computer, right clicking on the drive and choosing Eject, then unplugging the flash drive.
    
    
At this point in the process it is time to move over to the Windows XP computer, the Old Machine. When you plug the drive in you may see a screen similar to this. Install Easy Transfer on the old PC.

11. If it does not start, you may have to open it manually. To do this click on Start, then click on My Computer and then double-click on the flash drive.
    
    
    
    
    
    
12. Windows Easy Transfer will install on the Windows XP computer and prepare to run. This process should only take a couple of minutes to complete.
    
    
    
    
    
13. Next, the program will scan the system to find out what can be transferred.
    Depending on the amount of data and settings, this process may take a few minutes. The program will check all the account settings as well as shared directories for files and settings to transfer.
    
    
    
    
    
14. Select the users to copy and click on Next. Make sure the flash drive is large enough to store the transfer file.
    
    Note the bottom right corner of the screen where it says "Easy Transfer file size: 2.5GB" in the above example. In your case, it may be more or less. Make sure your flash drive has enough free space to hold that data.
    
    You can check how much free space is available by clicking on Start, then opening My Computer, right clicking on the flash drive and choosing Properties.
    
    
    
    
    
15. If desired, create a password to secure the transfer data, and then click on Start.
    A password is used to secure the transfer information, just in case the flash drive is lost or stolen. Keep this password handy or you will have to restart the whole process.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
16. Select the flash drive and save the file to the drive.
    Saving the file may take some time based on the amount of data transferred. Be patient as it transfers the files on to your flash drive.
    
    
    
    
    
17. Click on Next, then click on Close and remove the flash drive.
    To prevent data loss, it is recommended to remove your flash drive by opening Computer, right clicking on the drive and choosing Eject, then unplugging the flash drive.
    
    
    

Now it's time to move back to the Windows 7 computer, the New Machine. Plug the flash drive in to the new computer and choose Yes.

If this window is no longer on your screen, repeat steps 1-5 and then jump back to this point.

1. Select the flash drive and choose the transfer file saved on the old machine.
At step 16, the files were saved on to the flash drive. Open those files in this window.

2. If you created a password to protect your file earlier, enter it here.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Check the user files and settings to transfer to the new computer, and then click Transfer. In most cases, you will want to have everything checked.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Wait as the items transfer. This process could take several minutes or more, depending on the amount of information.
   
   
   
   
   
5. The transfer is complete. Click on Close, the computer will restart. At this point, all of the files and settings you chose have been transferred.
   
   
Click See what was transferred to get a report on the files and settings that were moved from the old computer. Click See a list of programs you might want to install on your new computer to get a report on the applications that would need to be installed in order to work correctly. Shortcuts that were on the old computer desktop may not work correctly until the application that they are associated with are installed on the new computer.