How does a usb memory stick tell you it's about to die?

[VectraMan]

XP Embedded could be setup not to use a swap file, and to hold back "disk" writes until shutdown (or running out of RAM) as a way of prolonging flash memory. I think Linux Embedded would be the same (and possibly other flavours of Linux too).

Of course the problem with that is you lose data if you lose power.

I was working on all this last year, but the project got shelved before I got any real hardware to play with.

[minestrone]

We would regularly knacker cards on a previous PDA based project by running a database on them.

I had a LAMP server running on a cheap one for plan B work in the office, never lasted long at all.

[Fred Bloggs]

For about £4 I'd just get another one. I always use them in pairs for important stuff anyway so that if one fails the other should still be OK. I've just "retired" a pair of them after 5 years use.

[voodooflux]

I know that these things have a shelf life of so many writes, but when is it time to throw it away (data regularly backed up, btw)?

Might be worth trying one or more of these diagnostic utilities.

It can get even better: good makes use algorithms to map the logical addresses to physical, so you are not generating "hot spots" that get all the writes and so fail first.

"wear-levelling" - the best implementations are usually in industrial class cards. We would regularly knacker cards on a previous PDA based project by running a database on them.

[expat]

Modern flash memory has the ability to take 100,000 write cycles.

That's gonna take some time to use up on a USB key.

As long as your rate of write cycles is of the order of "human", i.e. it does a write when you say so, like saving pictures; and not of the order of "machine", e.g. you have operating system temp files on it.

It can get even better: good makes use algorithms to map the logical addresses to physical, so you are not generating "hot spots" that get all the writes and so fail first.

Try formatting it again and see how much usable space you get.

[DimPrawn]

Modern flash memory has the ability to take 100,000 write cycles.

That's gonna take some time to use up on a USB key.

[DaveB]

How does a usb memory stick tell you it's about to die?

If you listen very carefully you'll hear it whisper "Rosebud".

[cojak]

I know that these things have a shelf life of so many writes, but when is it time to throw it away (data regularly backed up, btw)?

After a blameless 12 months I'm getting the odd strange message and loss of data - I'm not sure whether to pin the blame on the USB stick or the laptop (ClientCo fiddles with the config of it quite regularly...)

It would be irritating to throw it only to discover the same thing happening with a new stick...