From: John Ruschmeyer (jruschme_at_comcast.net)
Date: Sun Mar 28 2004 - 13:54:21 PST
Okay, this is off-topic, but since we have a number of gadget gurus and
experts on Flash memory, I'm hoping someone can give me some information.
A while back, I came into a USB pen drive (JMTek USBdriveSD- 256mb with
an MMC/SD reader slot) which my boss was tossing as it had become
"unreliable". Fooling around with it, I was able to bring home some
170mb of files one day just fine, but had it corrupt a similar amount of
data the next day.
Trying to be scientific, I discovered I could plug in the drive, copy
some files, do a successful chkdsk, and unplug the drive. If I
immediately replugged the drive, the data would be intact. If, I then
unplugged the drive and waited five minutes, I could plug the drive back
in, and have checkdisk fail with a corrupt FAT.
At this point, I assumed the data was being corrupted either during the
unplug or replug or by the absence of power.
On a whim, I plugged it in and copied about a 100mb to it. This time,
though, I left it plugged into the computer for 36 hours. Since then,
I've plugged it a couple of times to briefly check for corruption. So
far, though, there has been no corruption in over 24 hours.
At this point, I'm confused. The behavior indicates I'm dealing with a
volatile memory which is being backed up by a battery or capacitor that
needs a good charge. But I thought these things were all flash memories
and, as such, wouldn't need power.
Any gurus have any insight?
Thanks...
<<<john>>>
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