USB memory stick

JamieEdwards · 4 Aug 2006 at 22:22

Hi there;

How reliable are these sticks for very frequent use?

Also, why do I need to "Safely remove hardware" before removing the USB key?

Thank you;

spirit · 4 Aug 2006 at 22:35

well i use mine a lot, never had any problems.

the safely remove thing: well it can cause problems if you don't for instance my old one has now gone read only (u can see all the old data, just not add anyhting and no its not a little switch on it) after i pulled it out

semi-pro waster · 5 Aug 2006 at 02:03

Pretty reliable considering there are no moving parts to break or wear out, you can wreck them but they are are fairly robust.

Part of the reason for the "Safely remove hardware" message is that some use write caching so if you remove the drive before the write is complete then it will not be stored.

JamieEdwards · 5 Aug 2006 at 13:27

Ok, thanks

Do you have any opinions on what the fastest stick you have seen is (reading and writing)?

TheVoice · 5 Aug 2006 at 17:23

JamieEdwards said:
Also, why do I need to "Safely remove hardware" before removing the USB key?

Thank you;

You don't absolutely have to; providing there are no open files or windows (and the LED on the flash drive itself isn't flashing), it's fairly safe to just remove it (providing, as mentioned, you haven't turned Write Caching on, it's off by default).

noxidjkram@hotm · 5 Aug 2006 at 19:03

If you pull the USB pen out while a write operation is in progress you can bork the pen - irretrievably.

I've had one die on me - they are usually good for a few hundred thousand write cycles IIRC.

M

HicRic · 5 Aug 2006 at 20:28

I've had a 512mb stick in daily use, in and out of computers over and over with numerous read/writes over the last 16 months and haven't had a single problem with it. Of course I can't speak for all usb memory sticks but I'm very happy with mine. Super convenient.