Need a new USB flash drive. Any suggestions?

Mike682
Mike682 Posts: 2,074
edited April 2 in Clubhouse Archives
My Sandisk cruzer micro decided to corrupt my files and as a result, my files on the drive were lost. Most of them were backed-up elsewhere and retrieved. I did get lazy and didn't back up the newer files during the past two weeks so I lost these files for good. It seems the drive can no longer permanently save files.

Anyway, I would like to get some opinions on others' experience with USB drives and any brands that work well.

I've been looking at, but not limited to, Crucial drives because they have a lifetime warranty. I would also consider a Sandisk again even though they only have a two year warranty....I guess I just need some re-affirmation of the Sandisk name.

Thanks
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Post edited by RyanC_Masimo on

Comments

  • audiobliss
    audiobliss Posts: 12,518
    edited April 2006
    My dad has been using a USB flash drive from SanDisk for about a year or so now. He hasn't had any problems with it.
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  • sucks2beme
    sucks2beme Posts: 5,602
    edited April 2006
    I use the heck out of my sandisk. I had a 256, just got a 1m.
    I always take time to shut it down before yanking(often im grabbing logs off a server-don't need any glitches there!).
    I like the thin size, and the green light to tell me if its active is essential!
    If its still active, I need to know or there will be hell to pay if i pull it live.
    $29 was the right price , too.
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  • brettw22
    brettw22 Posts: 7,624
    edited April 2006
    Get the Cruzer Titanium........never have to worry about a cap (the USB is retractable), completely metal encased and is rated to be able to withstand 2000 pounds.

    I have 2 1GB's and GLADLY got rid of the micro because of their **** plastic caps.
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  • I-SIG
    I-SIG Posts: 2,243
    edited April 2006
    I have a little 256MB Sony that works well. It has the ability to partition the drive and secure one part. You can set each side of the partition however large you want. I'm sure I paid a little extra for the Sony name, but I thought some extra security on the drive was worth it.

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  • Schris22
    Schris22 Posts: 983
    edited April 2006
    This is one where they rate a few

    http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/05/20/data_transfer_on_the_run/


    also go to fatwallet.com and they have tons of deals on their forums....

    such as this one which i tried...but will expire soon

    http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=a0453407
    No rebates...Ok so this deal is not so hot but If someone's looking for a 4gigger w/o rebates this might help.
    At Checkout apply $20 off $150 or more Coupon Code : BLKSK2?5HVT$D0 (Exp 04/20 6am CST or 1000 uses)
    Final Price: $161.95 - 20% instant - $20 = $109.56 + Free Shipping + No Tax in most states


    so anyway there are tons more on there.

    Hope that helps.

    Chris
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  • brettw22
    brettw22 Posts: 7,624
    edited April 2006
    That's a great price for that drive schris......but my experience with that particular model with the cap is that it's a pain in the ****. The one good thing about that model though is that there's no additional size to it so it won't affect plugging in another USB device into the drive next to it where some of them with flared bodies will make you unable to use another slot if your machine has a few next to each other.

    THIS is a HELL of a deal on this thing.......I'm almost thinking about getting it myself.
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  • Schris22
    Schris22 Posts: 983
    edited April 2006
    i work with the one i gave the link to, everyday. It's not the best...i'll admit, they get bent and are slow...so the titanium version might be better if thats what you need.
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  • Mike682
    Mike682 Posts: 2,074
    edited April 2006
    Thanks for the info guys, and thanks for the links Schris22 and Bretw22.

    Stores have some damn good prices on these drives today.
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  • Mike682
    Mike682 Posts: 2,074
    edited April 2006
    audiobliss wrote:
    My dad has been using a USB flash drive from SanDisk for about a year or so now. He hasn't had any problems with it.

    I had mine for about a year and a half before it died. Can't find the receipt to prove this to Sandisk.

    I heard that when these things die, they die fast with very little warning. Make sure he has his files backed-up just in case..
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  • faster100
    faster100 Posts: 6,124
    edited April 2006
    Their are so many of these drives available now, the choices are limitless.. I would test drive a few and see, I assume they are returnable.. or go with a suggested model that has been used and known to be good
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  • markmarc
    markmarc Posts: 2,309
    edited April 2006
    My rule on USB drives is only buy ones that are only SLIGHTLY wider than the plugin in, especially if you use laptops. otherwise you may end up unplugging other cables to get it to fit.

    No USB is protected from corruption problems, etc. I'm on my third one in five years. I do try to reformat it every few months.
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  • brettw22
    brettw22 Posts: 7,624
    edited April 2006
    It is true that whatever you have loaded onto it you should have a copy of somewhere else..........it just takes once for it to corrupt and kill everything on it.
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  • billbillw
    billbillw Posts: 6,815
    edited April 2006
    I've been using a small 32MB Kingston for about 3 years now (it was on closeout for about $15 back then). No corruption problems. I've never bothered to reformat it either. I mainly use it to take files from work to home and vice versa. 32MB sounds small, but I mainly deal with Word/Excel files that aren't very big to start with. Sometimes a PDF or two and a handfull of photos, but I've never filled it up all the way. I'll probalby pick up a larger one at some point, but thus far, I haven't needed it.
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  • dylan
    dylan Posts: 453
    edited April 2006
    I've been using a Kingston 1GB for about a year now. By accident I ran it through the washing machine for about 10 minutes last summer. Reformatted it, and have used it at work almost every day since. Lost the cap long ago though.
  • petrym
    petrym Posts: 1,912
    edited April 2006
    I have a PNY Attache 512 MB USB Drive, it's been on my keychain for about a year now. The outside looks a little scratchy, but the cap stays on and I've never had a problem with it. Worky Good! :D
  • Kris Siegel
    Kris Siegel Posts: 309
    edited April 2006
    I have 2 SanDisk Cruiser Micros and both work great. One of them went through a complete wash cycle with the washing machine (opps). I dried it off the best I could and it worked fine (and still works fine).

    If you want a fast thumb drive (even USB 2.0 labeled thumb drives usually take forever to copy data to and from), you need to be looking for a thumb drive with dual channels. Check out this OCZ thumb drive. This will be my next one :cool:
  • petrym
    petrym Posts: 1,912
    edited April 2006
    Kris, that OCZ drive totally rules, that's my next one as well. Thanks for the tip. :D
  • brettw22
    brettw22 Posts: 7,624
    edited April 2006
    I like the speed and size of the OCM, but those loseable caps bug the hell out of me.
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  • Kris Siegel
    Kris Siegel Posts: 309
    edited April 2006
    brettw22 wrote:
    I like the speed and size of the OCM, but those loseable caps bug the hell out of me.
    I don't think that can really be avoided. My SanDisk thumb drives came with 2 different caps (1 that just goes over the plug and 1 that covers the entire drive). Both become loose after a very few uses and can be easily lost. The same with my Gateway thumb drive.

    Honestly, I haven't seen a thumb drive that has a cap that won't come off (though some seem to last longer than others).

    Still, that OCZ thumb drive is cheap and comes with a lifetime warranty. Plus, I haven't seen any other brands that include dual channel technology yet.
  • brettw22
    brettw22 Posts: 7,624
    edited April 2006
    I guess the only question I have is if the dual channel technology is propriatery and will it be showing up on other brands drives.......
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  • Kris Siegel
    Kris Siegel Posts: 309
    edited April 2006
    brettw22 wrote:
    I guess the only question I have is if the dual channel technology is propriatery and will it be showing up on other brands drives.......
    Honestly, I don't know if it's more of a standard or if it's propritery and others will duplicate it.

    I just noticed Crucial has one with dual-channel but from the specs, it doesn't seem to be as fast as OCZ's and it looks more expensive.
  • brettw22
    brettw22 Posts: 7,624
    edited April 2006
    If Sandisk starts implementing it on their titanium drive, that would be the ideal for me. The appeal of never having lid issues because of the retractable port is HUGE. With my SD Micro, I've had to bend/pry the drive back into shape on several occasions and I'm sure it's gonna die soon because of that.
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  • Dennis Gardner
    Dennis Gardner Posts: 4,861
    edited April 2006
    I just got the SD 512 Micro for $19 from Radio Shack with rebates. Too cheap to pass up at this price. I don't use it for anything other than MS Office files, so no real speed issues here.
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  • brettw22
    brettw22 Posts: 7,624
    edited April 2006
    Ya, I can't really say that I've had any complaints with the drives that I've used.....just the overall design longevity issues with the port itself.
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