Archangle:Saving SD Card Data

This page is geared towards Windows users

Saving SD card images

Note that by "image," I mean a complete copy of the data on the SD card.

Some of the CPAP machines do "non-standard" things to the SD card and you may not actually get ALL the data off of the card, and that you may not be able to restore the data back to the SD card.

1) Open "My Computer"

Depending on which version of Windows you have, it may be called "Computer." It may be on the desktop, or under Start->Computer.

2) Insert the SD card into your computer.

3) Left click on the drive that represents your SD card.

Note that you can rename this card from with windows. I find it useful to rename it to something like "S9-SDcard" so that it's easy to spot.

4) Right click and select "copy." Do NOT select "CUT".

5) Open the directory you want to put the data into.

I use a directory called "C:\S9".

6) Paste the data into that directory. You will end up with a directory called "S9-SDcard" or something like "Removable disk" if you haven't renamed the SD card.

7) Right click on the new directory and rename it to something useful. I usually name mine something like 150326 for today's date. 2015/03/26.

Sharing your SD Card Data

If you want to send your data to someone else on the internet, you need to put it into a "zip" file of some sort so that it is one file instead of many files.

Creating a .zip file

With some versions of Windows, you can use New->Compressed folder. Then you can paste your data into this new folder.

I prefer the free and open source 7-zip program. http://www.7-zip.org/

7-zip is a really great program that opens and creates all kinds of archive files.

Once you install z-zip, Right click on the directory you want to create a zip (archive) file for. You should have a 7-zip-> item in the menu. You can select "add to ?.zip." This will create a .zip format file that contains your data.

You can also create .7z format files, which are a little smaller. More people know how to open a .zip file, but many experienced users prefer .7z.

You can also use .7z->add to archive, which gives you more options, including encryption.

Sharing your data

You can e-mail the .zip or .7z file you just created. However, the files are large enough that you may not be able to send them via e-mail.

You can also store it on the internet somewhere. Dropbox.com is one site many people use. Sign up for an ID, and upload the file there.

Dropbox will want you to install dropbox software on your PC. As far as I know, this software is entirely legitimate, but you don't have to install it. Dropbox will work just fine using only a web browser, although you will not be able to use some of the more powerful features of Dropbox.

Privacy

There are some legal requirements on sharing medical data, but I believe you are free to share your own medical data. Choose wisely. I would be very careful about sharing someone else's data.

Even if it's your own data, realize that you are exposing some data about yourself. You'll be exposing:

Your CPAP usage.
The hours you sleep every night.
How well your therapy is working. Waveforms of your breathing patterns.
Your machine type and serial number.

I don't think your CPAP machine saves any personal information like name, e-mail, credit card, social security number, but someone with access to your real world medical info might be able to link your internet identity to your real world data. It should only be a problem if someone in your doctor's office or the supplier finds your post and decides to look you up. It seems really unlikely they'd find your post and take the trouble to "hunt you down." It doesn't seem like something that would attract hackers or "data miners," even if they did have access to the records of your doctor or supplier. Note that the data you put into SleepyHead, Encore, or ResScan does not get put on the SD card.

I don't think people can see your file on Dropbox unless you tell them the URL.

If you want extra privacy, 7-zip will allow you to create an encrypted file. You can put a file on dropbox, and then send the key via a different method such as e-mail or PM.

I believe you can set the file to only be accessible on dropbox to certain dropbox users.

You can make the file public on Dropbox by sharing the URL.

Remember that once your personal information "escapes" onto the internet, you generally can't remove it from the internet.

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