Labelling USB sticks


I'll occasionally scoop up the plain Jane Kingston brand, when they're on sale..., lot's of room to write on them...

fd.jpg
 

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    ASUS ROG Strix
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I put individual USB sticks into snack-sized Ziploc bags along with a Post-it note indicating the current contents. But, I'm cheap and lazy.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7/10/11, Fedora 40
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo W530
    CPU
    i7-3720QM @ 2.60Ghz
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000, NVIDIA Quadro K2000M
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB
@kelper What I meant was I haven't found any USB sticks that are really flat and really strong.

I have a couple USB sticks in a metal housing that come close, from Silicon Power and Kingston. I tried to search for them just now, and yikes, I found none!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro
Top one is called Ventoy. Bottom one is called Ventoy. Box I got from the fishing gear shop only has some vape related stuff like tiny blue screwdrivers─and a couple of red ones.

EMTEC.jpg
 

My Computers

System One System Two

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    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
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    Asus TUF Gaming F16 (2024)
    CPU
    i7 13650HX
    Memory
    16GB DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Cooling
    2× Arc Flow Fans, 4× exhaust vents, 5× heatpipes
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    Logitech K800
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    Logitech G402
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  • Operating System
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    Medion S15450
    CPU
    i5 1135G7
    Memory
    16GB DDR4
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    Intel Iris Xe
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    2TB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
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    Logitech K800
    Internet Speed
    20Mbit/s up, 250Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
A bit of painter's masking tape and a marker.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    I8700k
    Motherboard
    MSI Z370A Pro
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    1070ti
    Sound Card
    On-board realtech
A credit card sized USB flash drive. Not sure if is really practical, but it is on the market, and there is sufficient space to write a lot of text in big letters!

download.jpg
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro
I use nylon cable tie tags that I bought on Amazon.

flashlabel.jpg
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS TUF Gaming A15 (2022)
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 6800H with Radeon 680M GPU (486MB RAM)
    Memory
    Crucial DDR5-4800 (2400MHz) 32GB (2 x 16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA RTX 3060 Laptop (6GB RAM)
    Sound Card
    n/a
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6-inch
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 300Hz
    Hard Drives
    2 x Samsung 980 (1TB M.2 NVME SSD)
    PSU
    n/a
    Mouse
    Wireless Mouse M510
    Internet Speed
    2000Mbps/300Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom build
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming WiFi II
    Memory
    G.SKILL Flare X 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-RTX3060TI-08G-V2-GAMING (RTX 3060-Ti, 8GB RAM)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung S23A300B (23-in LED)
    Screen Resolution
    1080p 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    2TB XPG SX8200 Pro (M2. PCIe SSD) || 2TB Intel 660P (M2. PCIe SSD)
    PSU
    Corsair RM750x (750 watts)
    Case
    Cooler Master MasterCase 5
    Cooling
    Scythe Mugen 6
    Mouse
    Logitech K350 (wireless)
    Keyboard
    Logitech M510 (wireless)
    Internet Speed
    2000 Mbps down / 300 Mbps up
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge, Chrome
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes (Premium)
    Other Info
    ASUS Blu-ray Burner BW-16D1HT (SATA) || Western Digital Easystore 20TB USB 3.0 external hard drive used with Acronis True Image 2025 backup software || HP OfficeJet Pro 6975 Printer/Scanner
I just label them in Windows drive properties, and I usually know which drive is for what. If not sure, pop them into pc and look at properties.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Zenbook 14
    CPU
    I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB soldered
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop OLED screen
    Screen Resolution
    2880x1800 touchscreen
    Hard Drives
    1 TB NVME SSD (only weakness is only one slot)
    PSU
    Internal + 65W thunderbolt USB4 charger
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois (UK pint cans - 568 ml) - extra cost.
    Keyboard
    Built in UK keybd
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    Bluetooth , wireless dongled, wired
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    900 mbs (ethernet), wifi 6 typical 350-450 mb/s both up and down
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    Edge
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    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0, 2xUSB4 thunderbolt, 1xUsb3 (usb a), 1xUsb-c, hdmi out, 3.5 mm audio out/in combo, ASUS backlit trackpad (inc. switchable number pad)

    Macrium Reflect Home V8
    Office 365 Family (6 users each 1TB onedrive space)
    Hyper-V (a vm runs almost as fast as my older laptop)
To be honest, I have 2 or 3 emergency/toolkit thumb drives...,
I'll transfer large amounts of data maybe once or twice a year...,
aside from that, I rarely use thumb drives anymore.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Strix
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS VivoBook
Haydon said:
A credit card sized USB flash drive. Not sure if is really practical, but it is on the market, and there is sufficient space to write a lot of text in big letters!

View attachment 55481
Click to expand...
If I used one of those on my laptop, I wouldn't have access to the other USB port, as it would be blocked. On some of my USB thumb drives, I just use old labels with sticky-back adhesive. On the super small ones, I just put them in a small envelope and label the envelope.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 3793
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 1065G7 @ 1.30GHz Ice Lake 10th Generation
    Motherboard
    Dell Inc. 0V996R
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Iris Plus Graphics with shared graphics memory
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Laptop Display 17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2, NVMe SSD boot, 1 TB SATA SSD data drive .
    Internet Speed
    100 Mbs
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge / Firefox
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    F-Secure Security Suite
    Other Info
    Upgraded from Windows 10 to Win 11 on 10-21-21
    Upgraded to Win 11 22H2 on 9-20-22 (Clean Install)
    Upgraded to Win 11 23H2 on Halloween 2023
    Replaced original optical drive with a 1 GB SATA SSD
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
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    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 3910
    CPU
    12th Gen Intel Core i7-12700 processor (12-Core, 25M Cache, 2.1GHz to 4.8GHz)
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    Dell 0KHP4K
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    16 GB
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    Intel(R) UHD Graphics 770 with shared graphics memory
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 27" Monitor S2721DS,
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    QHD 2560 x 1440 @ 75 Hz
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    1TB M.2, PCIe NVMe, SSD
    Internet Speed
    100 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
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    F-Secure Security Suite
    Other Info
    Bought in November 2022
    Updated to 23H2 10-31-23
When I label my flash drives, I label it with a paper and double-sided tape it to the drive.

When I have my new flash drive, I bought one of @DigitalGoat said in #3 and put it on the drive.

In top of that, I also label my drives in Windows.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo
    CPU
    Core i5-12450HX
    Memory
    20GB DDR5-4800
    Graphics Card(s)
    iGPU + RTX 3050 Mobile (6GB)
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    the built-in laptop screen, and a generic monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1080p * 2
    Hard Drives
    GIGABYTE NVMe SSD 256GB (GP-GSM2NE3256GNTD)
    Micron NVMe SSD 512GB (MTFDKCD512QFM-1BDIAABLA)
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    Core i3-2100
    Memory
    4GB DDR3-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    iGPU
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Antivirus
    WD
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26100.3194 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦24H2 ♦♦♦non-Insider
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 4702)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Internet Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 13 years?
Haydon said:
Folks, can this be real? 1 TB for $20

https://www.amazon.com/Umeway-Waterproof-Keychain-Storage-laptops/dp/B0BX3GPG8V/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=2P9F4JN0UNB1E&keywords=usb+flash+drive+ruichenxi&qid=1679023642&sprefix=usb+flash+drive+ruichenxi,aps,121&sr=8-2-spons&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzUU5VNVdWVU5EOUVWJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNzAxNzA4MlFNWjNHRUhLRTlKSiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMjIxNTc5MzRPNDJJNU84NDIwTiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU&th=1
Click to expand...
I would be cautious about cheap solid solid state drives. There are too many scam drives out there. I don't put any weight on the few reviews for it. They only indicate the drives works not how well they work and whether the drives even have 1TB of storage. If you want you can buy one and report on how real it is.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS TUF Gaming A15 (2022)
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 6800H with Radeon 680M GPU (486MB RAM)
    Memory
    Crucial DDR5-4800 (2400MHz) 32GB (2 x 16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA RTX 3060 Laptop (6GB RAM)
    Sound Card
    n/a
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6-inch
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 300Hz
    Hard Drives
    2 x Samsung 980 (1TB M.2 NVME SSD)
    PSU
    n/a
    Mouse
    Wireless Mouse M510
    Internet Speed
    2000Mbps/300Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom build
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming WiFi II
    Memory
    G.SKILL Flare X 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-RTX3060TI-08G-V2-GAMING (RTX 3060-Ti, 8GB RAM)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung S23A300B (23-in LED)
    Screen Resolution
    1080p 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    2TB XPG SX8200 Pro (M2. PCIe SSD) || 2TB Intel 660P (M2. PCIe SSD)
    PSU
    Corsair RM750x (750 watts)
    Case
    Cooler Master MasterCase 5
    Cooling
    Scythe Mugen 6
    Mouse
    Logitech K350 (wireless)
    Keyboard
    Logitech M510 (wireless)
    Internet Speed
    2000 Mbps down / 300 Mbps up
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge, Chrome
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes (Premium)
    Other Info
    ASUS Blu-ray Burner BW-16D1HT (SATA) || Western Digital Easystore 20TB USB 3.0 external hard drive used with Acronis True Image 2025 backup software || HP OfficeJet Pro 6975 Printer/Scanner
wabbit said:
If I used one of those on my laptop, I wouldn't have access to the other USB port, as it would be blocked
Click to expand...
There are two parts. The thumb drive separates from the credit card.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26100.2894
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Swift SF114-34
    CPU
    Pentium Silver N6000 1.10GHz
    Memory
    4GB
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD
    Cooling
    fanless
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    Webroot Secure Anywhere
    Other Info
    System 3

    ASUS T100TA Transformer
    Processor Intel Atom Z3740 @ 1.33GHz
    Installed RAM 2.00 GB (1.89 GB usable)
    System type 32-bit operating system, x64-based processor

    Edition Windows 10 Home
    Version 22H2 build 19045.3570
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.2506
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Mini 210-1090NR PC (bought in late 2009!)
    CPU
    Atom N450 1.66GHz
    Memory
    2GB
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    Webroot
Haydon said:
@kelper What I meant was I haven't found any USB sticks that are really flat and really strong.

I have a couple USB sticks in a metal housing that come close, from Silicon Power and Kingston. I tried to search for them just now, and yikes, I found none!
Click to expand...
These are tiny and durable - Sandisk Ultra Fit - up to 256GB

iu
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26100.2894
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Swift SF114-34
    CPU
    Pentium Silver N6000 1.10GHz
    Memory
    4GB
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD
    Cooling
    fanless
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    Webroot Secure Anywhere
    Other Info
    System 3

    ASUS T100TA Transformer
    Processor Intel Atom Z3740 @ 1.33GHz
    Installed RAM 2.00 GB (1.89 GB usable)
    System type 32-bit operating system, x64-based processor

    Edition Windows 10 Home
    Version 22H2 build 19045.3570
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.2506
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Mini 210-1090NR PC (bought in late 2009!)
    CPU
    Atom N450 1.66GHz
    Memory
    2GB
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    Webroot
@kelper These tiny USB stubs are too small for labelling. What I meant by really flat and really strong is something like the following, although I have doubts about this particular one for different reasons, see my previous post.

51GlWmV7VVL._AC_SL1500_.jpg
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro
I just use a label maker that I already have for labeling other things and use a smaller font so I can get two lines out of it for the label. The width is perfect and requires no trimming.USB_label_75.jpg
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Professional (x64)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inc. G16
    CPU
    Intel Core i9
    Motherboard
    Dell Inc. 0FDMYT A00
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX
    Sound Card
    Realtek(R) Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor (15.3"vis)
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    4TB SSD
    PSU
    Dell
    Case
    Laptop
    Cooling
    Air
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    10 Mbps (Dismal, slow DSL over phone line)
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Webroot SecureAnywhere
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
If the write speed happens to be a lot slower than 250 MB/s and/or I can see quite a few user reviews saying that it runs hot so that it breaks easily, then I just label it "DO NOT BUY". :D
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus TUF Gaming F16 (2024)
    CPU
    i7 13650HX
    Memory
    16GB DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Cooling
    2× Arc Flow Fans, 4× exhaust vents, 5× heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Internet Speed
    20Mbit/s up, 250Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
  • Operating System
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Medion S15450
    CPU
    i5 1135G7
    Memory
    16GB DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    2TB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Internet Speed
    20Mbit/s up, 250Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
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