[47], Counterfeit USB flash drives are sometimes sold with claims of having higher capacities than they actually have. Floppy disks may be the method of choice for transferring data to and from very old computers without USB or booting from floppy disks, and so they are sometimes used to change the firmware on, for example, BIOS chips. These flash drives retain their memory after being submerged in water, and even through a machine wash. Leaving such a flash drive out to dry completely before allowing current to run through it has been known to result in a working drive with no future problems. [40] The small size, robustness and cheapness of USB flash drives make them an increasingly popular peripheral for case modding. COFEE is a set of applications designed to search for and extract digital evidence on computers confiscated from suspects. Some file systems are designed to distribute usage over an entire memory device without concentrating usage on any part (e.g., for a directory) to prolong the life of simple flash memory devices. Some USB flash drives use USB plug that does not protect the contacts, with the possibility of plugging it into the USB port in the wrong orientation, if the connector type is not symmetrical. A USB flash drive (also called a thumb drive)[1][note 1] is a data storage device that includes flash memory with an integrated USB interface. The drive is small and convenient, and more likely to be carried off-site for safety. Some LCD monitors for consumer HDTV viewing have a dedicated USB port through which music and video files can also be played without use of a personal computer. Digital audio files can be transported from one computer to another like any other file, and played on a compatible media player (with caveats for DRM-locked files). In Windows Vista and later versions, ReadyBoost feature allows flash drives (from 4GB in case of Windows Vista) to augment operating system memory.[60]. Premature failure of a "live USB" could be circumvented by using a flash drive with a write-lock switch as a WORM device, identical to a live CD. Furthermore, for installation of Windows XP, using USB flash drive with storage limit of at most 2 GB is recommended in order to boot from it. [30], On a USB flash drive, one end of the device is fitted with a single Standard-A USB plug; some flash drives additionally offer a micro USB or USB-C plug, facilitating data transfers between different devices.[31]. [44] Nowadays Triple-level Cell (TLC) is also often used, which has up to 500 write cycles per physical sector, while some high-end flash drives have single-level cell (SLC) based memory that is good for around 30,000 writes. [35] While some manufacturers are competing for the smallest size,[36] with the biggest memory, offering drives only a few millimeters larger than the USB plug itself,[37] some manufacturers differentiate their products by using elaborate housings, which are often bulky and make the drive difficult to connect to the USB port. Flash drives are used to carry applications that run on the host computer without requiring installation. [46], Regardless of the endurance of the memory itself, the USB connector hardware is specified to withstand only around 1,500 insert-removal cycles. Newer devices are built with USB flash drive support. In some cases a secure USB drive may use a hardware-based encryption mechanism that uses a hardware module instead of software for strongly encrypting data. Other applications requiring storage, such as digital voice or sound recording, can also be combined with flash drive functionality.[62]. Universal Disk Format (UDF) version 1.50 and above has facilities to support rewritable discs like sparing tables and virtual allocation tables, spreading usage over the entire surface of a disc and maximising life, but many older operating systems do not support this format. These are typically optimized for size and configured to place temporary or intermediate files in the computer's main RAM rather than store them temporarily on the flash drive. Such dual-partition drives are more expensive.[66]. Some devices combine the functionality of a portable media player with USB flash storage; they require a battery only when used to play music on the go. Flash drives have also experienced an exponential growth in their storage capacity over time (following the Moore's Law growth curve). Other forensic suites run from CD-ROM or DVD-ROM, but cannot store data on the media they are run from (although they can write to other attached devices, such as external drives or memory sticks). Flash drives' ability to do this is their major advantage over optical media. Altering the contents of a particular memory location involved copying the entire field into an off-chip buffer memory, erasing the field, modifying the data as required in the buffer, and re-writing it into the same field. Flash drives use little power, have no fragile moving parts, and for most capacities are small and light. For example, write protection makes a device suitable for repairing virus-contaminated host computers without the risk of infecting a USB flash drive itself. Several manufacturers are now offering warranties of 5 years or more. USB flash drives with images of dragons, cats or aliens are very popular in Asia. The ubiquity of SD cards is such that, circa 2011, due to economies of scale, their price is now less than an equivalent-capacity USB flash drive, even with the added cost of a USB SD card reader. Data stored on flash drives is impervious to mechanical shock, magnetic fields, scratches and dust. There is a widespread opinion that defragmenting brings little advantage (as there is no mechanical head that moves from fragment to fragment), and that defragmenting shortens the life of the drive by making many unnecessary writes. The system is designed so the target machine will not operate except when the flash drive device is plugged into it. in ignorance of their technology, USB drives' failure is more likely to be sudden: while rotating drives can fail instantaneously, they more frequently give some indication (noises, slowness) that they are about to fail, often with enough advance warning that data can be removed before total failure. However, because a flash drive appears as a USB-connected hard drive to the host system, the drive can be reformatted to any file system supported by the host operating system. The flash drives present a simple block-structured logical unit to the host operating system, hiding the individual complex implementation details of the various underlying flash memory devices. Although inexpensive card readers are available that read many common formats, this results in two pieces of portable equipment (card plus reader) rather than one. A minority of flash drives support biometric fingerprinting to confirm the user's identity. In particular, circumstances that often lead to speeds much lower than advertised are transfer (particularly writing) of many small files rather than a few very large ones, and mixed reading and writing to the same device. Unpopulated space provides space to include a second memory chip. Flash drives can be set up to automatically launch stored presentations, websites, articles, and any other software immediately on insertion of the drive using the Microsoft Windows AutoRun feature. ][77] This should be a consideration when using a flash drive to run application software or an operating system. Also, standard FAT maintenance utilities (e.g., ScanDisk) can be used to repair or retrieve corrupted data. [68], Lexar is attempting to introduce a USB FlashCard, which would be a compact USB flash drive intended to replace various kinds of flash memory cards. [54] Some motherboard manufacturers are also allowing such updates to be performed without the need for entering system's firmware update component, making it possible to easily recover systems with corrupted firmware. In contrast to SD cards, write protection on USB flash drives (when available) is connected to the drive circuitry, and is handled by the drive itself instead of the host (on SD cards handling of the write-protection notch is optional). [8] Some allow up to 100,000 write/erase cycles, depending on the exact type of memory chip used, and are thought to physically last between 10 and 100 years under normal circumstances (shelf storage time[9]). In the arcade game In the Groove and more commonly In The Groove 2, flash drives are used to transfer high scores, screenshots, dance edits, and combos throughout sessions. Because the USB port connectors on a computer housing are often closely spaced, plugging a flash drive into a USB port may block an adjacent port. Some manufacturers, aiming at a "best of both worlds" solution, have produced card readers that approach the size and form of USB flash drives (e.g., Kingston MobileLite,[70] SanDisk MobileMate[71]) These readers are limited to a specific subset of memory card formats (such as SD, microSD, or Memory Stick), and often completely enclose the card, offering durability and portability approaching, if not quite equal to, that of a flash drive. These differences differ radically from one drive to another; some drives could write small files at over 10% of the speed for large ones. USB flash drives use the USB mass storage device class standard, supported natively by modern operating systems such as Windows, Linux, macOS and other Unix-like systems, as well as many BIOS boot ROMs. Flash drives are cheaper than many other backup systems. Installers of some operating systems can be stored to a flash drive instead of a CD or DVD, including various Linux distributions, Windows7 and newer versions, and macOS. [citation needed], In the arcade games Pump it Up NX2 and Pump it Up NXA, a specially produced flash drive is used as a "save file" for unlocked songs, as well as for progressing in the WorldMax and Brain Shower sections of the game. Capacities exceeding 256GB were available on the market as early as 2009. Most of the time, a break at the stress point tears the joint from the printed circuit board and results in permanent damage. Flash memory uses floating-gate MOSFET transistors as memory cells. These speeds are for optimal conditions; real-world speeds are usually slower. Transport aid the cap or the body often contains a hole suitable for connection to a, Some drives offer expandable storage via an internal, Bootstrapping an operating system install or. In a typical well-conducted review of a number of high-performance USB3.0 drives, a drive that could read large files at 68MB/s and write at 46MB/s, could only manage 14MB/s and 0.3MB/s with many small files. While any standalone application can in principle be used this way, many programs store data, configuration information, etc. Motherboard firmware (including BIOS and UEFI) can be updated using USB flash drives. The operating system can use any file system or block addressing scheme. Rave, a compilation album released by the Kiss Network in April 2007.[65]. "Jump drive" redirects here. Some flash drives use retractable USB connectors instead. Alternatively, the drive can be left inserted through the business day, and data regularly updated. In addition, many home Hi-Fi and car stereo head units are now equipped with a USB port. While use of flash drives is common, the drive must be Linux compatible. Applications must be modified for the U3 platform not to leave any data on the host machine. Such warranties should make the device more attractive for more applications. Given these competing claims to inventorship, patent disputes involving the USB flash drive have arisen over the years. Some manufacturers deploy physical authentication tokens in the form of a flash drive. Storage capacities in this range have traditionally been considered to offer adequate space, because they allow enough space for both the operating system software and some free space for the user's data. Some of these players are true USB flash drives as well as music players; others do not support general-purpose data storage. The actual EEPROM writing and erasure processes are, however, still very similar to the earlier systems described above. However, any USB flash drive can be used in this arcade game. Like all flash memory devices, flash drives can sustain only a limited number of write and erase cycles before the drive fails. Many of the smallest players are powered by a permanently fitted rechargeable battery, charged from the USB interface. Please help this article by looking for better, more reliable sources. Most flash drives ship preformatted with the FAT32, or exFAT file systems. Ceedo is an alternative product, with the key difference that it does not require Windows applications to be modified in order for them to be carried and run on the drive. SanDisk has also introduced a new technology to allow controlled storage and usage of copyrighted materials on flash drives, primarily for use by students. Most flash drives use a standard type-A USB connection allowing connection with a port on a personal computer, but drives for other interfaces also exist (e.g. Unreliable citations may be challenged or deleted. [19][20][21] However, despite these lawsuits, the question of who was the first to invent the USB flash drive has not been definitively settled and multiple claims persist. [45] There is virtually no limit to the number of reads from such flash memory, so a well-worn USB drive may be write-protected to help ensure the life of individual cells. micro-USB and USB-C ports). Packet-writing utilities such as DirectCD and InCD are available but produce discs that are not universally readable (although based on the UDF standard). Such cables are USB-compatible but do not conform to the USB standard.[38][39]. Flash memory cards, e.g., Secure Digital cards, are available in various formats and capacities, and are used by many consumer devices. Originally, this potential failure mode limited the use of "live USB" system to special-purpose applications or temporary tasks, such as: As of 2011[update], newer flash memory designs have much higher estimated lifetimes. Flash drive capacities on the market increase continually. The basis for USB flash drives is flash memory, a type of floating-gate semiconductor memory invented by Fujio Masuoka in the early 1980s. Maintenance tasks, such as virus scanning or low-level data repair, without the primary host operating system loaded. When used in the same manner as external rotating drives (hard drives, optical drives, or floppy drives), i.e. [17] Finally Pua Khein-Seng, a Malaysian engineer, has also been recognized by some as a possible inventor of the device.[18]. For the fictional space travel method, see. 20,000 USBs to be smuggled into North Korea", "#SXSW: How Activists Are Using Technology to Fight Dictators", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=USB_flash_drive&oldid=1100512561, Articles with self-published sources from June 2017, Articles lacking reliable references from June 2017, Articles with multiple maintenance issues, Articles containing potentially dated statements from March 2016, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2022, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2018, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2009, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2011, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2022, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2022, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2005, Wikipedia articles in need of updating from November 2010, All Wikipedia articles in need of updating, Articles lacking reliable references from December 2011, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. As of 2013, single-packaged devices with capacities of 1TB are readily available,[59] and devices with 16GB capacity are very economical.
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