Magician - FAQ

Q1. Why does Benchmarking take long time for USB storage devices?

A1. Benchmarking speed depends on the device speed. Typically, USB storage device are not as fast as internal storage devices. The speed of a USB device will also be affected by the USB interface. The newest USB 3.0 interface will return faster speeds (with compatible devices) than the older USB 2.0 interface.

Q2. Why don't PC with AMD chipsets & AMD drivers sometimes support Magician features?

A2 .This is a limitation of the AMD driver, you can resolve this issue by installing the Microsoft driver or making sure you have the most up to date storage controller driver from AMD.

Q3. Why does Magician require a system shutdown after performing a live firmware update?

A3. The system must be restarted in order for the drive to reflect the new firmware update.

Q4. Can I use Magician in a software RAID environment?

A4. No, Running Magician in a software RAID environment is not recommended.

Q5. Does Magician support Hardware/Firmware RAID?

A5. No. Magician does not support Hardware/Firmware RAID, as Magician does not detect the SSD under these setups.

Q6. Which OS platforms does current Magician v8 will work on?

A6. Windows® 10 and Windows® 11 in 32 and 64 bit environments. MacOS High Sierra 10.13 or higher.

Linux environments are not supported.

Q7. Why does a frozen message always display when using Windows based Secure Erase feature?

A7. This happens on some machines because of compatibility issues. You can resolve this issue by either booting the machine in IDE mode or by using the DOS based Secure Erase utility. You can create a bootable USB drive, CD, or DVD containing the DOS-based utility via Magician.

Q8. Why is the actual capacity of the SSD less than the advertised capacity?

A8. Samsung SSD's conform to the International Disk Drive Equipment and Materials (IDEMA) standard, which classifies approximately 93 percent of their actual physical memory capacity as usable space for storage. To make calculations easier for consumers, manufactures rate drive capacity based on the assumption that 1 GB is equal to 1,000 Megabytes (MB) rather than 1,024 MB. When calculating capacity, the OS uses the more accurate 1,024 MB, resulting in the discrepancy you notice when looking at the reported capacity versus the actual capacity.

Q9. Why even after running Performance Optimization my SSD performance has not improved?

A9. The SSD might have already been optimized with respect to its current health.

Q10. Why does the DOS Firmware Utility application take such a long time to open?

A10. The DOS Firmware Utility tries to detect all disks connected to the system while it is launching. This may require a few minutes depending on the hardware platform and the number of disks connected to the system.

Q11. Why do I see the following messages?

• "Base Board" for Mother Board Information
• "To be filled by OEM" under System Information → DMI

A11. The above messages are shown if the operating system is unable to read the correct values.

Q12. Why does scanning take such a long time on my PC?

A12. The scanning duration varies, depending on the hardware configuration and the operating system. This may be because a CD or DVD is in the drive. Make certain to remove any disks from connected optical drives before scanning.

Q13. Why am I getting a “Loading FreeDOS No Kernel SYS” error while booting from the bootable USB created by Magician?

A13. In some PC configurations such as with an Intel D975XBX, you might get this error.

• Check the BIOS mode
• Set the "USB MASS Storage Emulation Type" to the "ALL FIXED DISC" option
• Boot from the bootable USB created using Magician.

Q14. Why is my desktop not showing the Magician application properly?

A14. The supported resolution for Magician is greater than 1024x768. If your resolution is less than this, you will not be able to see the full application.

Q15. Why is Magician not detecting my SSD(s)?

A15. The Magician application may not detect SSDs properly when connected to RAID/SCSI storage controllers.

Q16. Does the Magician DOS application support RAID or Other controllers?

A16. The DOS application in Magician only works for IDE and AHCI controllers. Others are not supported.

Q17. Why do the Drive Status and Total Bytes Written (TBW) indicators show N/A?

A17. Drive status and total usage information are only available for SSDs and will depend on which SMART attributes your SSD supports. All Samsung SSDs from the 830 Series onward support this Magician feature.

Q18. What should I do if DOS Fonts are not rendered properly in my system?

A18. Please use the switch "/s" command to launch the DOS application with another font or the "/c" command line interface. (e.g. DSRDGUI0.exe /s (or) DSRDGUI0.exe /c; SEGUI0.exe /s or SEGUI0.exe /c). See DOS-CLI section for more information.

Q19. Does Magician require the internet to run?

A19. No, Magician does not require Internet access to run. However, to get updates for the latest Firmware and the Magician application, you must connect.

Q20. Why is OP available space on Magician smaller than actual free space?

A20. OS reported free space and Magician reported OP available space may differ (OP available space is smaller than actual free space).

• After running defragmentation, Magician detects the correct OP available space, which is same as the actual free space.
• For e.g., D drive free space is 60 GB but Magician may set OP space only up to 30 GB. After defragmentation, Magician can set OP space up to 60 GB.
• This issue can be fixed by running Disk Defragmenter. Since this will affect the SSD lifespan, frequent running of the defragmentation is not recommended.

Q21. Even though "AHCI" mode is activated in the BIOS, it is shown as Deactivated in Magician Disk Drive.

A21. When "AHCI" mode is activated in the BIOS and SSD is connected through ATA to a PCIe card, it will show "Deactivated" in Magician Disk Drive depending upon the PCIe card and driver.

Q22. What happens if the user replaces the connected SSD with another SSD in the same port and click the SMART button without refreshing?

A22. In this case, Magician will display information on the current SSD in SMART details. The home screen will have the details of the removed SSD. The user must refresh the application for updated information.

Q23. How to Start/Disable a Windows Service?

A23. Steps for how to start/disable a windows service:

• Open the Control Panel (icons view), click on the Administrative Tools icon, click on Services.

OR

• Open the Start Menu, type services.msc in the search box, press Enter.
• In the Services window, right click on the Service you want to start or disable and click on Properties.
• To Disable a Service
• Click on the Stop button and wait a sec for the service to stop.
• Startup Type — Select Disable from the drop-down list.
• Click on the Apply button.

NOTE: If the service does not stop and gives an error, then you will need to restart the computer to stop the service.

• To Start a Service
• Startup Type — Select Automatic or Manual from the drop-down list.
• Click on the Start button.

NOTE: If the Start option is grayed out then you need to restart the computer to start the service.

Q24. Why Duplicate Entries are shown in Magician when HDD and SSD are connected to Nvidia \ ASmedia Storage Controller?

A24. If two different storage devices like HDD or SSD are connected to the system via Nvidia \ ASMedia Storage Controller Port, Magician may show duplicate entries, in such scenario, please use the latest driver for the storage controller or try connecting to different storage ports.