Are Usb flash drives worth it?

[Capt Caveman]

Here are some review round-ups and you'll find that speed can vary greatly between brands:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/memory/display/10usbflash-roundup.html
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/memory/display/12usbflash-roundup.html
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/memory/display/4gb-usbflash-roundup.html

 

[Thetech]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
Here are some review round-ups and you'll find that speed can vary greatly between brands:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/memory/display/10usbflash-roundup.html
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/memory/display/12usbflash-roundup.html
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/memory/display/4gb-usbflash-roundup.html

Woot! thank you very handy

 

[Leros]

Originally posted by: thirtythree

Originally posted by: Leros
I do all of my school work on a flash drive so I can take it with me. When I plug I plug it into my main computer, it gets automatically synced with a folder on my computer's harddrive just in case the flash drive fails.

How do you have that set up?

Currently I'm using Allway Sync. Its free for a personal use, which is some amount that they determined (if you repeatedly transfer 100GB of data it will start pestering you to register). But for a small flash drive, it should be fine. You can set it up to watch for a certain device to be plugged in and then it syncs. Thats pretty much it.

I don't really like that solution since it requires an additional program to be running on my pc at all times. I'm looking for something better. Possibly a script that autoruns when the flash drive is plugged in. It could somehow check to see if its on the syncing computer, and if so, sync up. I just haven't gotten around to doing it yet.

 

[bassoprofundo]

I carry a couple of smaller flash drives (512mb, 1gb) for quick file storage/transfer. However, I've found that it's much quicker and easier to use a 2.5" hard drive in an enclosure for backups and large file transfers (DVDs, ISOs, etc.). As an earlier post said, it's painful to use a larger flash drive for big file moves. Get one with top specs for transfer rates if you go that route.

 

[thirtythree]

Originally posted by: Leros

Originally posted by: thirtythree

Originally posted by: Leros
I do all of my school work on a flash drive so I can take it with me. When I plug I plug it into my main computer, it gets automatically synced with a folder on my computer's harddrive just in case the flash drive fails.

How do you have that set up?

Currently I'm using Allway Sync. Its free for a personal use, which is some amount that they determined (if you repeatedly transfer 100GB of data it will start pestering you to register). But for a small flash drive, it should be fine. You can set it up to watch for a certain device to be plugged in and then it syncs. Thats pretty much it.

I don't really like that solution since it requires an additional program to be running on my pc at all times. I'm looking for something better. Possibly a script that autoruns when the flash drive is plugged in. It could somehow check to see if its on the syncing computer, and if so, sync up. I just haven't gotten around to doing it yet.

Hmm, not a bad program. It also places hidden folders in the synced folders though, which can be annoying.

 

[Leros]

Originally posted by: thirtythree

Originally posted by: Leros

Originally posted by: thirtythree

Originally posted by: Leros
I do all of my school work on a flash drive so I can take it with me. When I plug I plug it into my main computer, it gets automatically synced with a folder on my computer's harddrive just in case the flash drive fails.

How do you have that set up?

Currently I'm using Allway Sync. Its free for a personal use, which is some amount that they determined (if you repeatedly transfer 100GB of data it will start pestering you to register). But for a small flash drive, it should be fine. You can set it up to watch for a certain device to be plugged in and then it syncs. Thats pretty much it.

I don't really like that solution since it requires an additional program to be running on my pc at all times. I'm looking for something better. Possibly a script that autoruns when the flash drive is plugged in. It could somehow check to see if its on the syncing computer, and if so, sync up. I just haven't gotten around to doing it yet.

Hmm, not a bad program. It also places hidden folders in the synced folders though, which can be annoying.

Yah. Plus if you plug in another device and it shows up as the same drive letter, it could try to sync that device and wipe out your old data.

So, a better solution is needed. I'm thinking I place a file somewhere on my C drive, containing a code number and a location of where to sync to. Then on the flash drive, I put a program that autolaunchs. The program checks to see if that file exists, and if it does it checks to see if the number in the file matches its own "code". If so, it syncs to the location listed in the file. I just need to get around to doing it.

The file could have multiple numbers and multiple sync locations so that multiple drives could be supported.

Or, if somebody else wants to do it and share with me, I'm totally game for that.

..and my next class starts in 5 minutes. *runs to class*

 

[techwanabe]

I think Muse put it well above.

My own opnion is - whats not to like about flash drives? They, along with CDRW drives killed the floppy drive for good. I actually ordered my first computer 3 years ago without a floppy drive. I suppose in the future, we might buy and put in the closet a USB floppy 3.5 inch drive for the very rare occasion we might need to access old floppies that are still in the drawer.

I have a 16mb (freebie), a 128mb, a 512mb and a 1Gb. I find them useful for tranfering files - the bigger ones have let me tranfer a game or large file downloaded from the internet. Burning CD's is good but you can end up with a ton of them after a while.

 

[Zepper]

I think they are worth having if your USB ports work - mine don't at the moment...

They have some that will hold SD flash cards (sort of a mini SD card reader). That is nice as you only need one to handle a bunch of SD cards...

I have a Verbatim 1GB unit that has worked fine for me and it comes with some semi-useful software installed on it. It has a neck strap to make it harder to lose.

.bh.

 

[0roo0roo]

http://portableapps.com/
good?

thumb drive is good for troubleshooting.
esp if that pc has network down or whatever and needs some files from another. that or use to boot. sure cd/dvd works, but burning/wasting a disc is just inconvenient

 

[Ika]

I got my 4gb drive for somewheres around $10 or $20 AR. I love it. It makes it very easy to transport large files (music and movies) between computers, or when you simply need to move something big. Too bad it's slightly too small to hold DVD-size things, though.

 

[tw1164]

I've had my USB drive go through the washing machine twice. I have an old sandisk cruizer 128, haha one of the bigger one available at the time.

 

[corkyg]

Aren't they what replaced floppy drives? I could not get along without my flashes. I always have one on my key chain that has essential access tools such as Roboform Mobile.