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FAQ
What is LAMU?
LAMU stands for Life and Memories Unlimited. It is a software-on-drive device (a portable USB drive with pre-installed software) to store and organize photos. It is also a powerful personal photo information system that allows users to easily find, view, and manage their memories in ways they prefer.
Which Model Should I Choose?
Currently, LAMU has 4 different storage sizes: 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB. If you have mostly photos and very few videos, either 250GB or 500GB should be fine. If you have plenty of videos, then 1TB or 2TB models are better.
It will be helpful if you get a rough estimate of the storage size of your photos and videos. For photos and videos on your phone, you can get a report using the phone's storage report feature. If your photos and videos are in the cloud, you can get a report from for your cloud storage account.
For photos and videos on your computers, you can use our Free Photo Backup Tool to search through your computer and get a report on all the photos and videos. The report will list all the photos and videos with a summary at the end that shows how much storage these photos and videos take.
If you add up all the storages on computers, phones, and clouds, you will have a rough idea on how much storage is needed.
Do keep in mind there are probably lots of duplicates on these different storage location. LAMU will automatically identify and skip duplicates when it import photos and videos
Also it's important to leave some room for future growth of your photo library.
How can LAMU help me organize my photos and videos?
Currently LAMU offers 16 ways to organize/find photos: Timeline, Events, Calendar, Special Days, People, Social Network, Family Tree, Co-Appearance, Albums, Tags, Favorites, Folders, Places, Maps, Cameras, and Search. Additional ways will be developed as we hear the needs from customers.
LAMU comes with a large storage and the software to import your photos from many different sources. You can run LAMU on each of your Windows computer to search and find all photos on your hard drives. You can also import from Phones, Tablets, USB Drives, SD Cards, CDs, DVDs, etc..
While photos are imported, LAMU will retrieve metadata such as date and GPS location information. It automatically creates events and identify places based on these information.
LAMU then detects and recognizes faces and group these faces. You can then review and assign names to these face groups. LAMU automatically generate a social network view based on who has appeared in the same photos. You can also create a family tree.
The diagram below illustrates how LAMU works in a nutshell.
What are the requirements to run LAMU?
Windows 7-10, 64 bit, with .NET Framework 4.6 or later. Minimum 4 GB RAM.
A USB port to connect LAMU to your computer. An additional USB port to import from USB drives or Phones/Tablets.
Although LAMU will run on PCs that meets minimum requirements, please note that importing photos is a computationally intensive process. The processes to extract metadata, generate thumbnails, detect/recognize faces, and cataloging photos and videos require significant computational power.
How long does it take for LAMU to import photos and videos?
Our tests show on a mid-range modern computer (Intel i5-8250U quad core with 12 GB RAM), when importing from hard drives, LAMU can complete import process for about 2,000 photos per hour (this include import photos into LAMU, retrieve metadata, generate thumbnails, facial recognition, and cataloging). Importing from phones is slower, the speed is about 1000 photos per hour.
Below are some experimental results for your reference:
| Processor | From Drives | From Phone/Tablet |
| Intel Atom x7-Z8700 (4 core) | 250 photos per hour | 150 photos per hour |
| Intel Core i7-5500U (2 core) | 750 photos per hour | 500 photos per hour |
| Intel Core i5-8250U (4 core) | 2000 photos per hour | 1000 photos per hour |
Please note your results may vary significantly based on the configuration of your computer, the resolution of your photos, and the speed of USB ports. When you import a large amount of photos into LAMU for the first time, it might take many hours to complete. Subsequent incremental imports will be much faster.
For rule of thumb, you can use 500 photos per hour to estimate the total time needed for LAMU to import and organize your photos.
When importing from external sources such as phones, tablets, USB devices, your device only need to be attached during Phase 1 (Import Files) of the import process. Once Phase 1 is completed (workflow box turns forest green), you can detach the device. The remaining phases do not need to access the device.
Which file formats does LAMU support?
LAMU supports most common personal media formats:
- Image: (.jpg, .png, .bmp)
- Audio: .mp3, .wma, .wav, .m4a, .mpa, .midi
- Video: .mp4, .mov, .mpg, .mpeg, .m2ts, .wmv, .avi
LAMU does not support camera raw files.
How does LAMU handle duplicate photos?
LAMU detects and skips duplicates when importing photos. Duplicates are determined based on file content. So if you have multiple copies of the same photos in different locations, even with different file names, the same photo will not be imported into LAMU again.
What can I do with my photos on PCs from more than a decade ago?
If you have photos on PCs that do not meet the minimum requirements to run LAMU, the best way is to copy those photos out onto a USB drive and then import them into LAMU from a newer computer.
If you are not sure where those photos are located, LAMU can provide you a utility program that can run on old PCs. It will search through all your files on those PCs to find photos and copy them to a location you designate.
The utility program is free. You can download from this page.
Can I run LAMU on Mac?
No. Currently LAMU is only available for Windows.
If you have both Windows and Mac computers, you can export photos from Mac onto a USB Flash Drive and then import them using a Windows computer.
Can I view photos on LAMU using my phone?
Yes. You can view all photos you imported into LAMU using any device that has a web browser: phones, tablets, other PCs, Mac, and smart TV. You can also download photos from LAMU onto your device through the web browser.
How can I update my LAMU software?
LAMU software is updated regularly to fix bugs and introduce new features. All LAMU devices comes with life-time free software updates. Updated software can be obtained from within the LAMU software.
Click on the LAMU logo at the bottom left of the Main Screen. Then click on the "Updates" button in the Action Bar at the top right of the screen. The software update window will open. It will immediately check if there are updates available. It will then download and install the latest version of components if you choose to update your LAMU.
LAMU does not automatically check for updates each time you run it. It is important that you check and update your LAMU once a while in order to receive new features and bug fixes.
What's the refund policy for LAMU?
We offer 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee.
In order to be eligible for a refund, you have to return the product within 30 calendar days of your purchase. The product must be in the same condition that you receive it and undamaged in any way. Original purchase receipt or package slip must be included in the return to be eligible for refund.
After we receive your item, we will inspect it and process your refund. The money will be refunded to the original payment method you’ve used during the purchase. For credit card payments it may take 5 to 10 business days for a refund to show up on your credit card statement.
We will also refund you the returning shipping cost. Return must be made using USPS First Class or Priority Mail to be eligible.
If the product is damaged in any way, or you have initiated the return after 30 calendar days have passed, you will not be eligible for a refund.
What's the warranty policy for LAMU?
We offer 1-Year Limited Warranty on the Hard Drive.
We warrant that the hard drive is free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one (1) year from the date of shipment. If the hard drive proves defective during the warranty period, at our option, we will:
(1) repair the product by means of email/telephone support at no charge, or
(2) replace the product with a comparable product which may be new or refurbished, or
(3) refund the amount paid for the product, less a reasonable allowance for usage, upon its return.
What is .NET Framework?
According to Microsoft's official definition, .NET Framework is a software development framework for building and running applications on Windows.
You can read more about it from Microsoft and from Wikipedia.
.NET Framework is pre-installed on Windows computers and are automatically updated together with Windows Updates.
LAMU requires .NET Framework 4.6.1 or higher. .NET Framework 4.6.1 was released on November 30, 2015. So if you have Windows 7-10 and have completed at least one full Windows update since December 2015 you should be good.
If you would like to get the latest .NET Framework, please visit https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet-framework.