Over the years, various storage media were introduced into the market to cater to this voracious hunger for storage space. In the late 90s we saw the addition of USB flash drives to this long list of storage devices. The very first USB flash drive was marketed by Trek in early 2000. Since then the market for USB flash drives has skyrocketed from $717 million to $ 5.3 billion by 2004.
What is a
A USB flash drive is basically a plug-and- play handy storage device that uses flash memory. It is very small in size and is compatible with most of the existing computer hardware. Once a USB flash drive is plugged into the USB port of a computer, the computer immediately recognizes it as a removable media and allocates it a drive letter. USB flash drives are devoid of any power cords and batteries and are powered through the USB ports of the host computers. USB flash drives are often used by professionals and lay users to transfer data from one computer to other and for backup purposes.
How do USB Flash Drives Work?
In fact the USB flash drive was made possible by the combination of a number of existing old technologies. With the latest advances in the microprocessor technology it became possible to come out with a storage device that offered such low cost, frugal power consumption and an exceptionally small size. USB flash drives are basically based on EPROM technology.
A simple USB flash drive comprises of four essential components i.e. a male type USB connector that is used to connect a USB flash drive to the USP port of a computer, a crystal oscillator that controls the device's data output, a NAND flash memory chip that stores data and a USB mass storage controller that contains a microprocessor.
Advantages of using a
1) Portable
The extremely small size of a flash drive makes it extremely portable. Thus it becomes very convenient to carry data from one computer to other.
2) Easily Available
USB flash drives are easily available in the market with storage capacities ranging from 32 megabytes to 64 gigabytes.
3) Compatibility
All USB flash drives are positively compatible with most of the existing computer hardware.
4) Does not Require Rebooting
A USB flash drive does not require any special configuration and rebooting and is simply a plug and play device.
5) High Capacity
As compared to other portable devices such as floppies, CDs and DVDs, USB flash drives offer a relatively high storage capacity.
6) Reliable
As compared to CDs, DVDs, USB flash drives are extremely reliable and seldom suffer from data loss situations.
7) High Speed
So far as processing and loading of data is concerned, USB flash drives offer a very high speed.
8) Hardy
USB flash drives do not contain any external mechanical components and are encased in plastic or metal jackets. This makes them very sturdy and dependable.
9) Supported by all Operating Systems
All the major operating systems like Windows, Unix and Linux support USB flash drives.
10) User Friendly
USB flash drives are easy to use and do not require any special knowledge or expertise on the part of a user.
Demerits of Flash Drives
1) Can get Lost
USB flash drives because of being small and compact are prone to getting stolen or lost.
2) Compatibility
USB flash drives are not compatible with some of the old computer hardware that is in use.
3) Can become Obsolete
In the near future, USB flash drives may be replaced by some new technology and they may become obsolete.
4) High Price
At present the price of USB flash drives is very high. Hence they fail to fit into the budget of many individual and organizational users.
5) Absence of Right Protect Mechanism
Most of the USB flash drives do not have a write protection mechanism and are prone to getting contaminated by malware.
Data Loss in USB Flash Drives
Though USB flash drives are more resistant to abuse or mishandling as compared to mechanical or optical drives, still the data stored on them get corrupted in case of a severe physical impact. In such a situation it becomes necessary to solicit the services of some reputed data recovery company who has the requisite know how to retrieve data from a damaged flash drive.
James Walsh is a freelance writer and copy editor. If you are concerned about data loss and would like more information on Data Recovery see http://www.fields-data-recovery.co.uk
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Word Count Appx. : 1504 | Article Views 247 Published 01-12-2007