Flash Drives - Page 2

Mike,

Same here -- the HTF is notorious for educating people. ;)

I've been creating folders for the past hour, and now wonder why I had not considered doing so before today. Besides the space I am now able to use, the organizational benefits are excellent.

Mike,

That's very interesting, and helpful.  My wife loves scrapbooking and photography, and although she is very organized, she would probably like to use this photo organizer.

Does anyone know how to delete files from a flash drive when the message you receive when trying to do so reads "Access is denied"?  I have even attempted to reformat the drive, with no luck.  It tells me that FAT 32 is too large.  Any help would be appreciated!  Thanks. :)

Edit: I just called Kingston support, and they could not help me.  Oh well.  It's a good thing I have that Beatles set arriving soon. ;)

After a while of digging, I was able to get by these blocks.  I ended up reformatting to NTFS (rather than FAT 32).  I hope that's okay.  I have reading a bit about the 'wear and tear' NTFS can cause on a flash drive.  In any event, I did learn some interesting things today about flash drive management.

 

Edited by Ockeghem - 9/11/09 at 11:44am

Dave,

For some reason (probably the thread that I'm in here), the impression has been given that I use a Mac.  I don't.  This has nothing to do with a Mac.  When I wrote the first post here several months ago, I did mention that I wasn't sure where to post my initial thoughts, and chose this thread.  If I'm not mistaken, a sub-thread was made shortly thereafter.

Anyway, I have a 64 GB flash.  So far, so good.  The NTFS file system seems to be working quite well.  I've read more positive than negative regarding NTFS vs. FAT.  We'll see how it goes long-term.  The one concern I have is something I read about the wear-and-tear that NTFS can wreak on a flash.  Have you heard or found this to be the case in your experience?

Dave,

I suppose I'd laugh as well had I not written a disclaimer in the original post in this thread, and had not a subdivision of the thread been created after I had posted the original question.  In other words, my original post was in a thread that did not carry this title.  It was logical to continue posting here for the sake of continuity. :)

Yes, I transfer files from one computer to another on an almost daily basis.  If nothing else, it does indicate to some extent how durable / non-durable some flash drives might be.  May I send the bill to you if/when I purchase another one? ;)
Edited by Ockeghem - 9/12/09 at 10:08am

Dave,

Thanks for taking care of my bills.  It's much appreciated.

I download hundreds of images a day (images for a couple of books I'm working on), and I transfer and store Word documents four or five times a day.  These documents are around 1300 and 750 pages in length.

I read different views on which file system (FAT 32 or NTFS) is more reliable.  I'm beginning to think no one really knows for certain, as the views are numerous and often times contradictory.  (I'm speaking of reviews of both I've read, not what I have read on HTF.)

Thanks for the advice, though.  It's helpful and informative. :)

Dave,

Look what I found today with a little more digging:

"For readers with a Microsoft Windows XP/Vista operating system and looking to store files larger than 4GB on the drive we highly recommend formatting this drive immediately upon receipt to an NTFS file table to increase the performance and capability of the drive. Users who anticipate moving the DT150 frequently between OS X, Linux and Windows based may want to retain the original FAT32 file table on the drive for maximum compatibility between operating systems."

As I use Microsoft Windows XP and Vista every day, I wish I had known this when I first purchased the drive.

http://www.everythingusb.com/kingston-data-traveler-150-flash-drive-15865.html

I have a flash drive with many corrupted files. I do not wish to reformat, as I will (I think) lose what data I do have that is not corrupted. I am finding several sites that offer this and that, but I really don't know where to begin to recover corrupted files. It may be that the utility exists on our PCs here at work, but I am not certain. I have tried the Tools function under Properties ("This option will check the volume for errors"), with no luck. I have also scanned with Malware, but the drive is still corrupted. And when I plug it in, a folder appears rather than a 'drive' icon.

I have been looking at the following site, but I don't know if it is reliable. It may be that I can fix this problem without going here.
 

http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Utilities/Backup_and_Copy_Utilities/USB_Flash_Drive_File_Recovery_Review.html

and (navigating from the above URL):

http://www.stellarinfo.com/partition-recovery.htm?gclid=CODc94fWsJ8CFQjyDAoddHa9dQ

Note: The flash drive is a Kingston, and it is currently formatted in NTFS.

What steps does one take, and in what order, to fix corrupted files on a flash drive? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

I fixed my flash drive problem. :)

Well, a couple of days after I wrote to Kingston and received word that they had no plans to make available the 256GB flash drive in the U.S., I read this today (on the DT310):

 

http://www.kingston.com/press/2010/flash/02d.asp

 

It’s simply astonishing to me how fast the technology for data storage is progressing.  I'd speculate that the USB terrabyte stick is probably 1-2 years away, if not sooner.

Dave,

And I'm still waiting for an affordable 128GB or 256GB flash drive.  I'm considering putting much of my home library on it (in my spare time, of course). :)

Well, I don't know if I'll ever want (or need) one of these, but the Kingston 256GB flash drive (DT 310) as of about two weeks ago is now available in the U.S.  And it carries quite the price tag, as one might expect.



http://www.kingston.com/press/2010/flash/02d.asp

I'm still waiting on the first terrabyte stick.