As a new type of storage media, Usb flash drives and flash memory cards become more and more useful in our contemporary world. However, have you ever encountered the cases that you could not open the files saved on a flash drive or memory card, even if you can see the file names in windows explorer? Windows would tell you that the files were corrupt and refuse to load them. This thing is not strange because the flash chip installed inside your Usb flash stick has its life cycle. For example, a Tlc flash chip can only be written about 500 - 1,000 times before it goes bad. A Mlc flash chip can last longer, nearby 10,000 write times. When the flash chip begins to go bad, it generates some unstable memory blocks called bad blocks, and your files will corrupt if they use the bad blocks on the flash chip.
Big Issues
You can't tell either your flash chip is still in good condition or not! Let's imagine the following cases:
You saved a lot of leading files on it. Few days later, you found the files could not be opened, while you didn't have any backup file. Could you tell me your feeling?
You copied some business files to your flash drive, and then went out for a presentation with your clients. Unfortunately, you found the files were corrupt and you could not continue your presentation. What could you do?
You find some bad blocks on your flash drives, are you going to trash them? It will be a big waste since they are not cheap, and a whole of good blocks are still ready on them.
Two Ways To Test The condition condition Of Your Usb Flash Drives And Memory Cards
One choice is to do it manually. First, you can copy a test file to the Usb flash drive, and then unplug it from the computer in order to clear the cache memory. After that, plug it to your computer again, and go to the windows command prompt mode. Now you can type a Dos command in the command window: "Fc filename1 filename2 /b". Please replace the "filename1" with the actual file on your flash drive (full path should be included), and replace the "filename2" with the same file on you computer hard drive (full path should be included). When the comparison is done, windows will tell you either they have any dissimilarity or not. If they are the same, congratulations, the file on your flash drive is Ok. Now you can do the comparison for the second file.
However, if you have a lot of files on the flash drive, you have to do the comparisons for each file, which is a minute bit annoying, sometimes even impossible. Moreover, if you find a bad block manually using the above method, it's not easy for you to fix it manually, and you might need to trash the whole drive for security reason.
Another convenient way is using expert software to scan and find out all the bad blocks automatically. Some grand software can even quarantine the bad blocks for you transparently, so your files won't be able use these bad blocks in the future. Therefore, you can save your hard earning money and don't have to buy the new Usb flash sticks and memory cards every once in a while.
What Should You Keep In Mind When selecting The Software
Is the software easy to use with convenient interface?
Can the software detect your Usb flash sticks and memory cards automatically?
Since large-size Usb flash drives and memory cards use Fat32 file theory in windows, does the software withhold them too?
Does the software come with built-in quarantine feature, so it can fix your flash drive automatically when bad blocks are found?
If the software does come with quarantine feature, is this function totally transparent to the user, so the user doesn't have to know anything about windows file system?
Is the software price reasonable?
If you need more information on how to test and fix your Usb flash drives automatically, please check out the following link:
| Price : $32.98 | Post Date : Apr 09, 2012 10:34:06
