Community Newsletter: Q&A: Dead flash drives? What's going on here?!
- 5/23/08 4:31 PM
task bar and Idiots
by soinel - 5/24/08 9:50 AM In reply to: Windows task bar by noelvmto the 63 yr old newbie.....don't worry KID, I'm 68, the TASK BAR has been there at least since WIN 95. get your tri-focals and look down in the lower right cornermove the indicator(thingy that looks like a pointed arrow)over the little pictures(Icons) the one with the little green arrow is the one, stop the indicator over it and a little box will open and in is printed "Safely Remove Hardware" now go back and read the rest of the nice person's suggestion....he/she knows what they are talking about. Hang on to those Dells....you can trade them in on a can of gas later this year....Soinel
IMHO to "noelvm"
by Pepsizpop - 5/24/08 3:42 PM In reply to: Windows task bar by noelvmMany of us have shared your frustrations w/wxp. Consider, however, that the GREAT BILL IN THE SKY will cause the release of a new software OS to replace Vista in two or three years. That release will become the current, Vista the immediately previous and wxp will join w98, w95, ... in "the graveyard of the feedbags of the milked to death." Unsupported operating systems and the hardware for which they were designed will perhaps best be shipped to Linux users.
The bottom line is you are still a young man by some standards (I'm 74), and many old timers remember the impatience of youth even in the process of forgetting the important stuff.
Corrupt flash drives
by ThePoke - 5/9/08 7:28 PM In reply to: Dead flash drives? What's going on here?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi Paul... Are you using "safely remove hardware" (system tray icon) before removing your flash drive from the computer?
Operating systems speed up access to memory devices (such as disk drives and flash memory) by using a cache. Simply put, the computer copies the device into it's faster memory and then reading and writing to the faster memory instead of accessing the device each time. The computer synchronizes the two at intervals or when you use "safely remove".
So if you pull the flash drive out and it hasn't synchronized, then files may have still been open causing them to become corrupt.
If you are removing the device correctly, ensure you are keeping the connectors covered between uses. Static electricity can damage not only the data, but it can totally destroy the device.
You can recover the data using shareware tools... but, this is an intermediate to advanced topic and something worth inviting a techie friend over for pizza to ask for his help & for him/her to teach you (as it's a good skill to learn)
Hope this helps!
Poke
Write cache, not read cache
by Olifrench - 5/18/08 2:44 AM In reply to: Corrupt flash drives by ThePokeIn your definition of cache you said "the computer copies the device into its faster memory and then reading and writing to the faster memory instead of accessing the device each time."
You imply that the entire contents of the device are copied into memory. As far as I know this is not done. Indeed most USB memory devices nowadays are bigger than the available memory. USB memory devices are treated like disks and as such are organised in 'sectors'. This means that reads and writes are done one sector at a time. This can be more data that what was required to be read.
If the device is deemed by Windows to be 'Optimised for performance' then a write cache is used. This is when it is important to remove the device safely. But there can be other writes in the background or files opened so it's always better safely to remove the device.
is my flash disk dead or corrupted??
by gershom13 - 5/19/08 10:42 PM In reply to: Corrupt flash drives by ThePokeone day I'm trying to back up my files from my flash disk to my PC, then suddenly a warning pop up appear and said your "UNKNOWN DEVICE"
what could be the problem of my flash disk and how can I solve it??
re bad flash drives
by barrymiller - 5/20/08 8:03 AM In reply to: Corrupt flash drives by ThePokeI have had several drop dead. The most recent one causes the computer to reboot on insertion. I tried on a different computer and it caused the operating system to lose files and crash instantly..Requiting re-installation of windows.. I am sure this is a hardware issue and not a matter of bad or corrupt files on the flash disk..
Operating System or Drivers
by XSYLUS - 5/9/08 7:29 PM In reply to: Dead flash drives? What's going on here?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I think the problem has more to do with the operating system and/or drivers than it does with the flash drives themselves. I have a lenovo thinkpad with a built-in multi-card reader. I've hot-swapped the SD cards from my PDA to my laptop on several occasions. However, one time the card reader on the laptop said that none of the cards were formatted, yet when I put the card in the PDA it read all the data fine. One thing to check (if you're using windows) is the device manager. With device manager open plug a flash drive in and see if it shows it under there. If you don't see it try refreshing the device manager window or choosing the option to search for new hardware. In most cases the operating system (Windows) uses generic device drivers for hot-swappable flash drives. If you know the manufacturer of the drives you might try looking for more specific drivers however this may not make all the much difference.
*If I think of anything else I'll post it.
Response
by mrobinsonjr - 5/9/08 7:36 PM In reply to: Dead flash drives? What's going on here?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
it seems based on the info that you gave me that your flash drives are on the Virge of crashing due to a memory malfunction inside the drive. There is a possible chance you could lose your data so the next time it works i URGENTLY RECOMMEND you back it up to your computers hard drive.
Flash drives cannot be put near a magnetic field. doing so could result in memory misinstuction which results in corrupted data or not being to recover the flash drive itself. there are a bunch of options you can go to circuit city, best buy, of even walmart. they also sell them online (which is where i got mine from). mine is a SanDisk 4 GB Titanium Cruzer U3 Edition flash drive. it a pretty good flash drive for every day use, i dropped the thing a whole lot and it still works good still. if you use your flash drive everyday i recommend this drive. the website i got mine from is: http://www.compuplus.com/i-SANDISK-4GB-4096MB-U3-Cruzer-Titanium-USB-Flash-Drive-SDCZ74096A10RB-SDCZ7-4096-A10RB-With-Readyboost-1009119~.html?t=Sandisk+Cruzer&sid=drnod803hyqm1ne&track=searchViewed
good luck!!
Dead flash drive
by furlong64 - 5/9/08 7:50 PM In reply to: Dead flash drives? What's going on here?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Have you tried booting your PC with the flash drive already inserted into the USBB port? I have to do this because my work PC never recognizes my flash drive (or any other) unless it's in the USB port when Windows loads.
Yes, it's recoverable
by fredzy47 - 5/9/08 7:58 PM In reply to: Dead flash drives? What's going on here?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The good news is your data is recoverable, just like any damaged drive. I was working on a project and shuttling files betwee two computers when I plugged in the flash drive one day and it was totally blank. Nada. Nothing. So I took it to my friendly tech wiz pal and, using a data recovery program, he retrieved it all. It was still on the drive, just not readable. As to what happened,it has to be about where and how the drive is stored when not in use. There are no moving parts to crash. Some way, the drives are being damaged.
Flash Drive Failures
by Zouch - 5/9/08 8:18 PM In reply to: Dead flash drives? What's going on here?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi Paul,
this isn't, or shouldn't be a "common problem" - I have a bunch of these drives, some bought, some freebie handouts from trade shows, etc., and in 3 years, I haven't had a failure. So three different drives all failing suggests a problem somewhere in your environment.
At risk of "teaching grandma to suck eggs", you are handling these things correctly, I assume. Like not just pulling the things out. On a Windows system ALWAYS use the green icon in the task bar to stop the drive and wait for the confirmation that it is safe to remove the drive. This will ensure all files are closed and buffers flushed. If you don't get the confirmation message, leave the drive in place until you shut the computer down. Any other method risks corrupting the data or worse, the FAT.
Don't defrag these drives. The drives do have a finite number of write cycles and by default, the drives will scatter the writes across the whole drive. By defragging, you move the date back to the starting sectors and you will wear them out faster. Fragmented flash drives do not have the performance problems associated with spinning disks.
Looking though your list of potential damages that you know haven't happened, the only omission I can see is a static discharge. Most flash drives, at least the metal cased ones, are reasonably well protected but a static discharge could affect the drive if it hit the connector. Try not to touch the actual connector.
I've assumed that the cables from the motherboard on your PCs to the external ports are correctly wired - it is possible on some boards to plug the connector in the wrong way round - most plugs have pin 1 marked in some way. Maybe worth a check.
Is the data lost forever? Maybe or maybe not. If it was data corruption on write, you might expect only the file you were writing to be affected but not necessarily so. To write a block, these drives read the whole of the sector in which the block is to be written, erase the whole sector and write the sector back with the new data added to the existing data, so some older files may be affected.
There are specialist data recovery companies that may be able to retrieve your data but these can be expensive. One of the better ones here in the UK is Kroll Ontrack. Their web site has trial downloads that you can use to look at the drive and see whether anything can be recovered. If so, you can buy the package to do it yourself. If the trial doesn't show up anything, they do have a free call and quote service. During normal business hours, one of their techies gets back to you within a couple of hours to discuss your problem. If they think the data can be recovered, they will give you a no obligation quote for their services. They may operate in other countries too or there will be equivalents.
Good luck!
Easier way
by pjmarkert - 5/17/08 8:45 PM In reply to: Flash Drive Failures by ZouchHere is an easier way than the safely disconnect icon:
Open My Computer
Right click on flash drive and click on "Eject"
Wait until the flash drive name goes away then pull it out.
Easier?
by Olifrench - 5/18/08 3:01 AM In reply to: Easier way by pjmarkertIt does the same thing but I fail to see how it's easier.
If all your tray icons are displayed 'Safely remove' takes 2 clicks. 3 clicks if you need to unhide the icon first.
If your 'My Computer' icon is visible on your desktop that's one click to open it, a right click on the device and, after finding the 'eject' from a typically longer list than the list of devices in 'safely remove, another click to eject. 3 clicks. Of course if the My Computer icon is not visible you need to make it visible first...
Flash Drive Problem
by jj9f - 6/7/08 5:32 PM In reply to: Flash Drive Failures by ZouchI have a Gateway desktop using Windows XP through SB3. I don't think that I have a problem of lost data as I have not been able to use the drive which is a 4.0GB SanDisk Cruzer. Everything appears to check out. I get a sound when I plug it in. If I run diskmgmt.msc, I see a Drive (M) 3.81 GB Healthy 97% Free and if I go to Hardware, Drive (C), I see San Disk U3 Cruzer USB Device and This device is working properly. "Optimize for quick removal" is also checked. The problem is, I can't find a icon representing the availability of the drive. The "Safely remove hardware" icon is in the tray as well as other icons, but none representing the Flash Drive. If I look in at My Computer, I do not see the drive listed under "Devices with Removable Storage". A friend of mine tried to use his flash drive in my computer with the same results. Am I missing something simple??? Appreciate any thoughts. Thanks.
hmmm
by santoshmadigela - 5/9/08 8:42 PM In reply to: Dead flash drives? What's going on here?! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
maybe you wont use "safely remove mass storage device" option while removing your flash drive. this is the only case. try to reinstall usb drivers on your PC. if again problem occurs, there might be problem in flash drive port. it is not that you are connecting three drives or many.. usb use parallel communication.. so can connect as many as you can... if you think i can help.. contact me.
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