Let's look at the nuances of which flash drive to choose. Tips for choosing the right flash drive The largest micro flash drive in terms of volume

Hello, dear readers!
From this article we will learn what USB drives are, how to choose them, and list the TOP 10 popular manufacturers.

Do you remember the times when a PC owner's shelves were full of floppy disks and CDs? Today, Flash drives are used to store information and provide convenience.

Flash memory is a very convenient tool with large storage capacity and high data transfer speed. Today there is a huge range of storage devices. That is why, when purchasing such a gadget, you need to understand the device with what characteristics you need.
We know very well what a USB drive looks like, but what is a flash drive anyway? A Flash drive is a removable storage medium with a specific type of file system that has no moving elements in its structure.

Criteria for choosing a USB drive

Which device is better (why)? When choosing a flash drive, you should pay attention to its type, data transfer speed and, of course, memory capacity.

Types of information storage devices

There are only three types of USB drives: 2.0, 3.0 and 3.1. But flash drives are divided into types based on appearance:

– With removable cap. The most popular plate protection option.

Caps are made from different materials to prevent debris and moisture from entering.

– Rotary. Such a drive consists of a bracket and the body of the device, and they rotate sideways in relation to each other. In this case, the plate is protected from scratches, but is susceptible to debris and moisture.

– Sliders. In such a device, the connector is hidden inside the housing. Protection from mechanical damage is good, but not from moisture and debris.

Devices with a combined protection system are considered the best. For example, a metal body with a rubberized base. These are the most reliable flash drives, but, of course, they are more expensive.

It is also necessary to take into account that the fewer moving parts a flash drive has, the longer it will last, because after a month or two of using it nothing will break.

Data transfer rate

One of the main criteria when choosing a device is the data transfer speed. This criterion includes the write speed to the flash device and the read speed of the flash drive. The speed of interaction between the drive and the computer depends on them. The USB drive can be rewritten many times, so the maximum data transfer speed will be appropriate.

This parameter is expressed in megabits per second (Mb/s) and is always indicated on the packaging. High-speed drives cost more.

Memory

How to choose a usb flash drive from memory.

The volume of the device is the most important characteristic that is important for the person who purchases a flash drive. This characteristic is expressed in gigabytes. Today, USB drives are designed for 32/64/128/more GB, and if necessary, you can purchase 2/4/8 GB. That is, today the maximum capacity of a flash drive is 2048 GB.

Do not forget that a flash drive is a compact device for storing information.

Based on memory capacity, the following types of drives can be distinguished:

– cheap, but with a small volume – 2-8 GB;

– affordable price and optimal volume -16-64 GB;

– high cost, but large volume – 128 GB or more.

USB storage performance

Also, one important criterion when choosing a device is its performance, which depends on the following factors:

Chips used in flash memory. The most common trade-off is between high-speed, expensive chips that have single-level cells, and low-cost flash chips that have few levels with multi-level (MLC)/triple-level (TLC) cells at regular speed.

Flash memory device controller. The flash memory controller is a special chip that controls the interface and controls all actions with the drive. If the controller supports fast data transfer, it saves time.

The host device to which the device connects. A limited host device will not provide high drive performance. Let's give an example: if the computer supports speed 2.0, then a usb 3.0 flash drive will not work at the required speed.

Rating of USB drive manufacturers

You already know that today a huge number of companies are engaged in the production of USB drives. Everyone who wants to purchase such a device wonders which flash drive is best for a computer. Yes, yes, specifically for the computer, because there are special storage devices (SD) for cameras and phones. Of course, they also connect to the computer, but only through special adapters (card readers).

Well, let's look at the TOP 10 companies whose flash drives are preferred by users:

1. Transcend. This is a well-known company that began its work back in 1988. Flash drives from this company are known for their individual style and long service life.

2. Silicon Power. Devices of this form are sold in more than 90 countries around the world.

3. Kingston. This company is an old-timer among manufacturers of USB drives. It was created back in 1987 and today is not inferior to other manufacturers.

4. Team Group. Regarding this company, it is worth noting that its range is growing every year.

5. SanDisk. Another fairly old company on the market. Devices with a simple design and at a reasonable price.

6. Apacer. The company produces flash drives, which are famous for the quality of data storage.

7. Pretec. And the drives of this company are used for military and industrial purposes. This is probably the very indicator of quality and reliability that many users are looking for.

8. Adata is a company with the motto: “Trust and reliability.” And I would like to note that since its formation in 2011, the company has lived up to it.

9. P.Q.I. And this company began its work precisely with the production of USB drives.

10. Corsair. This company produces exclusive products, such as flash drives with a body made of natural rubber, whose flash drives are long-lasting.

The most reliable flash drives

Of course, it is better to buy devices for storing information, especially large volumes, from official stores, because today a huge number of fakes are produced in China. Let's look at the five most reliable USB drives:

1. . A device with a simple design. This model is suitable for users who need high performance at a low price.

This device is distinguished by its cell design, allowing data processing to be performed at a high level.

This model is simple and practical and has a sliding plastic body.

A flash drive that is perfect for work or school because it is small in size and convenient.

This model has a convenient fastening system.

Do not forget that defects occur in production, and therefore the rating changes.

So, when you finally decide to buy yourself a USB drive, first decide what it is intended for in order to decide on the device that will suit you. If you need a flash drive to copy work files, then a device with a memory capacity of 8 GB is suitable.
When purchasing, consult with a consultant, because, as a rule, people only look at the memory capacity. You can purchase a device with a memory capacity of 128 GB, but the speed will be low and the movie will take a very long time to copy.

A computer flash drive is an accessory that should be on hand for everyone who at least sometimes works with a PC. It's not a matter of fashion, but a pressing need to quickly copy files from one computer to another. But other tasks, such as long-term storage of information or backups, which are often assigned to a flash drive, are best entrusted to other storage media. First things first.

What types of flash drives are there? Types of USB drives

The main characteristics of a USB keychain called a “flash drive”:

capacity;
type of connection to the computer;
data writing/reading speed.

How to choose a flash drive by volume (capacity)

The capacity of a flash drive is the simplest parameter to consider when purchasing. Modern models rarely have less than 4 gigabytes of memory. It is probably more practical and not much more expensive to take a model with a larger capacity - 8 or even 16 gigabytes. Flash drives with even larger amounts of memory, starting from 32 gigabytes, are rarely needed in households, and, as a rule, are much more expensive than slightly less capacious drives.

There is hardly any point in buying a more capacious USB drive model than 16-32 gigabytes. If the task is to transfer files (as it should be), then you should think about purchasing an external hard drive. Firstly, it is more reliable. Secondly, copying and writing data to it is many times faster, which can be very critical with such volumes. Waiting 5-10 minutes for information to be copied is a tedious task. Especially when there is a relatively inexpensive alternative (decent models of external hard drives cost from 50..80 dollars, and their capacity starts from 120-240 fast and reliable gigabytes). The hard drive will cope with copying information in a couple of minutes where a flash drive will take 8-10 minutes. But then you will also need to copy the information... Minutes of waiting turn into hours, hours into days.

You should not pay any attention to particularly large flash drives. 128 or 256 gigabytes - yes, such drives are found in nature. However, very often such numbers are just an unpleasant marketing ploy by dishonest lower-echelon manufacturers. The fact is that there is not so much real memory there - 64, 32, or even 16 gigabytes. But the special “firmware” inside the flash drive - a program that allows the computer to work with it, makes the PC “think” that there is actually more memory. Much bigger. In practice, it is rarely necessary to fill such a giant flash drive completely. As a rule, a flash drive of more than a few gigabytes is rarely required. This data is successfully placed on existing capacity. And the user remains unaware that only 10-20% of the total capacity remains free. After all, the computer “draws” completely different data - like the fact that the flash drive is only 5% full, and the rest of the space supposedly remains free.

So, the reasonable capacity of a flash drive in 2014-2015 is from 8 to 32 gigabytes. If you need more, it’s better to pay attention to external hard drives.

How to choose a flash drive: the dilemma between USB 2.0 and USB 3.0

The abbreviation USB is both a connector through which a flash drive is connected to a computer, and it is also a data transfer interface. The connector can be compared to a regular electrical outlet - electrical appliances “plug” into it, nothing complicated. There are “sockets” located on the computer case, and USB flash drives are connected to them like “plugs”.

There are two types of USB connectors – 2.0 and 3.0. Troika is a much faster interface. This is a relatively recent achievement of human computer science. Just a couple of years ago, flash drives and other devices with a USB 3.0 interface were expensive exotica, but today all modern computers are equipped with at least one or two USB 3.0 connectors. Most flash drives released before 2012-2013 were produced with a USB 2.0 interface. Their production still continues, but they are an endangered species. You can compare them with older versions of Windows - once Windows 98 worked on almost all computers, but by 2002-2005 this operating system had died out almost completely. And now a computer with the number 98 and “windows” looks like an unrealistic anachronism. Very soon, the same fate awaits USB 2.0 flash drives.

When choosing a flash drive for your computer, it is better to forget about the existence of drives with a USB 2.0 interface. They are noticeably slower than their newer counterparts at a comparable cost. Moreover, there is no need to think about whether a USB 3.0 flash drive will fit your computers. It will fit exactly and will work even in old USB 2.0 sockets. True, in this case there will be no gain in speed. Such cases will happen less and less often: all modern PCs are equipped with a high-speed USB 3.0 interface, and very soon the old 2.0 connectors will become a rarity. Same as old/slow USB 2.0 flash drives

The fastest flash drives: choosing a drive by copy speed

It would be more correct to call speed not copying, but writing and reading, but these are unnecessary details. The speed of USB drives depends, first of all, on the type of interface: modern USB 3.0 flash drives are noticeably faster than key fobs with a 2.0 connector. True, only when they are connected to the appropriate connector - more about this in the previous section.

Drives within the same generation also differ in speed. The differences here are not many times greater, but, at best, tens of percent. For example, especially high-speed flash drives produced by company “A” are capable of recording a set of files in 100 seconds. Their slower counterparts will complete the same task in 105 or 110 seconds. The difference in speed is not fundamental here, and choosing a flash drive based on speed becomes an unnecessarily difficult task.

In addition, speeds vary greatly depending on the task. Writing or reading from a flash drive 100 files with a small volume of 1-5 megabytes will take much longer than working with one large file of a gigabyte or two.

How to choose a flash drive by manufacturer: brands and brands of USB drives

USB key fobs for storing data are produced by hundreds of companies: from unknown “Chinese” to thoroughbred Verbatim or Kingston. There have been no frankly bad flash drives for a long time. However, in general, the overall level of their reliability and quality is decreasing from year to year. Once upon a time, flash drives were expensive and not so common items. Huge amounts of money were invested in their production, and USB drives were of better quality than they are now. Over time, manufacturers were forced to look for ways to reduce production costs. After all, if you use the same high-quality and expensive materials, you won’t be able to withstand the competition: less scrupulous brands will be able to crush a high-quality product with a low cost.

Therefore, in the era of mass production of flash drives, almost all of them are quite unreliable. But the cost of USB drives is such that purchasing a new one to replace the old one will not be difficult or a significant financial investment. You can compare the availability of flash drives with inexpensive wall clocks or ballpoint pens. If such an item breaks, it’s easier to buy a new one. True, there is a threat of losing a much more valuable thing - data. You should always have a backup copy of all files stored on the flash drive.

So what about flash drive manufacturers? Leaders and outsiders practically do not exist here. Write and read speeds rarely differ by more than ten percent, and even then: in some tasks one flash drive will be faster, in others - a completely different one. Reliability is relatively low among all flash drive manufacturers. Therefore, choosing a flash drive based on manufacturer is not entirely justified.

Tales and myths about computer flash drives

The first myth about flash drives: the larger the volume, the better. Once upon a time this was indeed the case. In that era (7-8 years ago), when these data transfer devices were expensive, and a gigabyte seemed like a serious amount, this volume was often not enough for everyday tasks. Now, with the “growth” of a typical flash memory drive to 4-16 gigabytes, this space is rarely needed. As a rule, only 2-3 gigabytes are filled, and the rest of the capacity is idle.

The second myth about flash drives for computers: There is no need to buy USB 3.0 drives for the following reasons:

USB 3.0 flash drives do not work in older computers;
USB 3.0 devices are significantly more expensive than older ones;
The speed gain for USB 3.0 flash drives will not be noticeable.

The first “reason” does not stand up to criticism. A 2.0 flash drive will also work in the new 3.0 connectors. 3.0 flash drives will also work if you connect them to the old USB 3.0 interface.

The second part of the myth about flash drives, concerning their high cost, is already outdated. If at the beginning of the life cycle of USB 3.0 flash drives they were both rare and expensive devices, then, starting around 2012, the price difference between USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 is minimal, if not completely absent.

There is also a legend that no one needs USB 3.0 flash drives, since they do not provide more or less tangible superiority in copying speed. It's not like that at all. A computer flash drive with a USB 3.0 connector, connected to the appropriate port on the PC (by the way, these ports differ from ordinary ones in the blue color “socket”), is many times faster than outdated colleagues. But it’s difficult to give specific data transfer speed figures; a separate article on our website is devoted to this: The whole truth about computer speedUSB flash drives.

You just need to connect the USB 3.0 drive to the corresponding blue port. The performance increase will be noticeable to the naked eye. Even if you watch the process of copying to a flash drive with just one eye.

The third myth aboutUSB flash drives: These devices work great as a backup drive. In other words, flash drives can be used for backup - a copy of data that will save you if the main hard drive fails.

Unfortunately, this is not the case at all. The reliability of modern flash drives is too weak to seriously count on them. These devices only serve to transfer data between computers. You should not copy important files to them for storage. The probability of failure is very high. For backup, it is better to use external hard drives or cloud data storage on the Internet.

Having copied important data to a flash drive today, you should not be surprised if tomorrow the same device simply refuses to work. Of course, most likely the flash drive will last more than one month (or even a year). But it may not work even for a week.

Very often on forums, many people ask about how to choose a flash drive and what parameters you should pay attention to so that the purchased USB drive lasts a long time and exchanges large multimedia data without delays. As you know, nothing in this world is perfect, but still there are technical points that are worth focusing on in order to make the right choice. It is not surprising that in the large assortment of USB drives, people often get lost and do not know which flash drive to choose for daily use.

As a rule, inexperienced shoppers in a store pay attention to the modern design and size of a USB drive and very rarely look at such technical characteristics as the interface, data reading and writing speed. Let's take a look at all the main points in order and decide which flash drive to choose for storing information.

Manufacturers of flash drives.

You won’t find many manufacturers in the information flow of the Internet, and each of them has its own fan. Personally, I trust such manufacturers as Adata and Kingston. Both of these companies have long established themselves as reliable manufacturers of USB flash drives. The Adata company provides information on the read and write speeds for fast flash drives on its official website.

Kingston publicly provides the document DTFamily_RU.pdf in which it clearly outlines the speed of its drives. The document describing the latest developments in flash drives is updated from time to time.

Of course, there are other worthy manufacturers, such as Apacer, Silicon Power, Corsair, Transcend, TeamGroup, Sandisk, Lexar. Each buyer has his own leaders, but I don’t think it’s worth relying only on the brand. One way or another, each manufacturer has high-quality or lower-quality products that can work for years or fail at the most inopportune moment.

Depending on the series, the read or write speed may vary greatly. But at the same time, time-tested companies deserve trust because of their honest attitude towards the consumer and the high probability of long-term operation of the media.

Some complain about Chinese counterfeits, saying that due to cheap components and poor-quality soldering, they quickly fail. Indeed, counterfeits of brands with distorted names from the Middle Kingdom disappoint us, but in fairness it should be said that there are some pretty high-quality products. Since high-quality Chinese flash drives are still rare, it is better to give preference to the famous brand that you like.

Optimal flash drive capacity.

As a rule, the memory capacity of a flash drive is indicated on the packaging or case of each model. Usually in this matter people are guided by the concept that the more the better, but from the point of view of economy this method is not always relevant. That is, if you urgently need super mobility, a large amount of information storage and you are not limited by finances in any way, then why not, but if there is no urgent need for size and volume and you want to save at least something, then it is better to approach the choice of a flash drive constructively or look towards the external hard drive.

For example, a 128 GB (Gigabyte) flash drive is often comparable in price to a 1 TB (Terabyte) external hard drive. Of course, the principles of operation of these devices are different, but if you do not want to purchase a drive with aluminum or glass plates coated with a layer of ferromagnetic material, and finances are not tight, then you can take a closer look at expensive SDD drives. However, if you need a flash drive, then according to my preference, they could be roughly divided in volume ratio approximately like this:

from 4 to 16GB, low-volume but cheap;
from 16 to 64GB, of lesser quality and at a reasonable price;
from 128GB, for a specific purpose at an inflated price.

This is my association with flash drives :). In my opinion, the optimal volume of a flash drive should be based on the goals set, but... It just so happens that flash drives with a large capacity are sold at an inflated price and is not always quite justified for the first batches with a new volume. Manufacturers compete with each other and in order to quickly be among the first on the market, they often test their models incorrectly and send them for sale “raw”.

Flash drive read and write speed.

Unlike the memory capacity, the speed capabilities of a USB flash drive are very often not indicated on the packaging and, accordingly, it is not always possible to evaluate the merits of the purchase. But some conscientious manufacturers still provide such data. Typically, data on speed characteristics on the packaging of flash cards (described here) and USB flash drives (read here) are indicated with a special rating of 200x, where x = 200 KB/s. That is, the speed in this example will be 30 MB/s.

Rating/Multiplier (X)	Speed (MB/s)	SDHC class
6x	0,9	n/a
13x	2,0	2
26x	4,0	4
32x	4,8	5
40x	6,0	6
66x	10,0	10
100x	15,0	15
133x	20,0	20
150x	22,5	22
200x	30,0	30
266x	40,0	40
300x	45,0	45
400x	60,0	60
600x	90,0	90

It should be said that this is in relation to the read speed, but the write speed is usually not indicated and you can actually find out it only after special testing. Most often, the write speed of a cheap flash drive is half the read speed. This is a pretty significant difference.

There is a wonderful website where you can see the test results of USB flash drives from different manufacturers and different sizes. In addition, the results of the latest tested flash drives are provided here. I think this information will help you navigate the world of removable flash drives. In general, the speed characteristics of a flash drive depend on the installed flash memory and controller, but for the average user it is now impossible or quite difficult to find this information.

Unfortunately, sometimes the declared speed characteristics in cheap flash drives do not correspond to reality due to low quality, but even in expensive high-speed components they can put in anything. However, relatively cheap ones usually use MLC, TLC or TLC-DDR memory, while high-speed ones use DDR-MLC or SLC memory in addition to MLC. It is not surprising that USB 3.0 flash drives are backward compatible with USB 2.0, but you need to remember that you can copy large and memory-demanding files at the advertised speed when using it with a USB 3.0 port.

For example, a high-performance drive that provides read speeds of up to 260 MB/s and write speeds of up to 240 MB/s allows you to copy 1,000 photos or a full-length movie in seconds.

The additional functions of a flash drive are on the one hand a marketing ploy, and on the other hand useful “buns”. There isn't any additional software. For example, access to information using a fingerprint (so-called biometrics), data compression to increase data storage density, an application for creating a protective area with password access, and so on. A lot of manufacturers these days supply their products with various kinds of software designed to preserve confidentiality and make life easier for consumers.

All these software features very often do not provide any benefit, but rather, on the contrary, complicate working with a flash drive. In reality, worthwhile and necessary software is rare. All these promising inscriptions on the packaging about necessary and useful software are often just an advertising ploy and nothing more. You have to pay for all these additional options, so decide for yourself what you really need from all this variety.

We decide on the flash drive casing.

It would seem that there is nothing complicated in choosing a case, but some points are still worth considering. There are several main types of USB connectors:

open connector (no protection)- this type of connector is usually found on the smallest flash drives. Of course, it is very convenient to carry a small drive with you, but due to the lack of protection for the contact plate of the connector, scratches may appear, which can lead to premature failure of the drive.
with removable cap- the most popular and practical type of connector protection. Caps are made of rubber, plastic... The use of rubber allows you to fix the cap without clamps and better protect the connector from moisture and dust. Even though the cap can be lost, it is the best protection for the flash drive connector from physical impacts.
bracket— the design consists of a housing and a bracket, which is fixed on the outside and can be rotated from side to side, which makes it possible to close the USB connector in a certain position. This design has very low protection from external factors and, moreover, the bracket is not fixed very reliably.
slider— with this arrangement of the case, the connector is hidden inside and removed from there using a movable key. The disadvantage is that the latch that holds the connector in the extended position may break, and it is quite difficult to use a drive with a broken physical function. In addition, although the connector is hidden in the housing, it does not have sufficient protection from dust and moisture, since the contacts remain open.

The case for a flash drive is made of metal and plastic and sometimes a protection system from external influences is used in the form of rubber. Due to the tight rubber fit of the body, moisture and dust do not get inside.

Sometimes the case itself is made of rubber to protect the internal components of the drive not only from dust and moisture, but also from excessive shock. It should be said that such cases practically do not withstand the fracture test. It is desirable that such a rubber protection system be based on a rigid body. Regardless, such protection can save you important data if you drop your USB flash drive into water or from a relatively high height. By the way, sometimes an LED indicator of the usage status is built into the flash drive case.

Instead of conclusions. In the final part of the publication, I will provide some basic tips and recommendations for choosing a USB drive. Before you buy a flash drive, decide in advance what technical characteristics it should have in order to easily perform your tasks and sometimes save time. That is, what should be its speed and capacity. Be sure to choose a brand that you can trust and do not buy USB drives from dubious manufacturers (accessories in the form of key fobs).

Look at the specification on the company’s official website and base your choice of flash drive on it. It is advisable to select several models with the necessary parameters and compare them with similar flash drives at a price on the website of other manufacturers. This approach will help you correctly determine the parameters and additional functions before purchasing and save a certain amount of money.

2018-01-01T18:38:10+00:00

Transparent is dead. Kingston, Verbatim and Chinese flash drive are all working.

2017-03-06T10:15:22+00:00

So you switch the lever on the memory card

2017-02-11T19:15:52+00:00

Hello, what is the best flash drive to buy for playing in a car? Maybe you have your own favorites? It doesn’t work out with memory cards, after a while they all stop recording, that is, everything is readable, but it’s impossible not to write or delete information from the PC. This is already the second one like this...

2016-07-08T14:50:15+00:00

There can be no clear answer here. Both portable drives use flash memory to store information. That is, they all depend on the number of write cycles... But as a rule, both USB flash drives and SSD drives fail not because of expended cycle resources, but for other reasons. Reliability and quality depend on the manufacturer. P.S. For occasional recordings (photos, videos, personal information...) it is better to use a USB flash drive, and for system deployment, games, programs, it is better to use the full potential of an SSD drive.

2016-07-08T12:04:19+00:00

Hello, please help me choose. I want to buy a 128 GB flash drive and transfer all the photos and videos from my computer to it. And in order to use it in the future only as a growing photo archive. While I was looking for which one to choose, I came across SDD drives. I can’t decide which is more suitable for my purposes, and more importantly, which is more reliable and durable???

2016-05-30T16:35:18+00:00

There are most likely no independent tests from specialized laboratories. I would recommend focusing on the testing results posted on a specialized website. P.S. The link (wonderful site) to it is under the image with the TOP 10.

Sometimes a flash drive, after formatting or incorrect ejection, begins to incorrectly display the memory size - for example, instead of 16 GB, only 8 GB or even less is available. There is another situation in which the declared size is initially much larger than the actual volume. Let's look at both cases to figure out how to restore the correct storage capacity.

Step-by-step instructions for volume restoration

To restore the actual size of the flash drive, you need to perform a low-level format. As a result, all data will be deleted from the flash drive, so first transfer the information to another medium.

You have received a completely clean media, now you need to re-label it. This procedure is performed through the task manager:

After formatting is complete, the storage capacity will be the same as it was before. If you have a flash drive from Transcend, then you can restore its actual size using the free Transcend Autoformat utility. This program independently determines the volume of the flash drive and returns its correct display.

Transcend's utility will perform low-level formatting, after which the actual available memory will be displayed in the properties of the flash drive.

Working with Chinese flash drives

Chinese flash drives, purchased on Aliexpress and other similar online platforms for little money, often have one hidden drawback - their actual capacity is significantly lower than the declared volume. The flash drive says 16 GB, but you can read no more than 8 GB from it - the rest of the information is not actually written anywhere.

This effect is achieved by flashing the controller. If the recorded files do not exceed the actual available capacity of the flash drive, then you will not understand that you have been deceived until you are faced with the fact that some of the information has disappeared. But you can determine the size of the drive in advance without leading to an unpleasant situation:

If the actual size of the drive matches the declared parameter, then the test will end with the phrase “Test finished without errors.” If the memory of the flash drive is actually not so voluminous, then you will see a report in which there will be two lines - “OK” and “LOST”.

“OK” is the actual memory of the flash drive, the volume that you can fill with data. “LOST” is a fake value, an empty space known only to the reflashed controller. To avoid confusion, you need to restore the actual storage capacity. This can be done through the free Chinese program MyDiskFix. The utility does not have a Russian-language interface, so you will have to navigate using the screenshot.

A USB drive or simply a flash drive is an integral attribute of our everyday life today. When buying it, each of us wants it to last longer. But most often the buyer pays attention to its price and appearance, and is rarely interested in its technical characteristics.

To select the right drive, you need to proceed from the following criteria:

manufacturer;
purpose of use;
capacity;
read/write speed;
connector protection;
appearance;
peculiarities.

Let's look at the features of each of them separately.

Criterion 1: Manufacturing company

Each buyer has his own point of view about which company is the leader among manufacturers of removable drives. But in any case, you shouldn’t rely only on the brand. Of course, most popular companies that produce storage media can boast of high-quality products. Time-tested manufacturers certainly deserve great trust. By purchasing a flash drive from such a company, the likelihood that it will last longer increases.

Among the variety of products in this category, the most popular and reliable are manufacturers such as Kingston, Adata, Transcend. Their advantage is that they offer a wide range of models with different pricing policies.

Conversely, buyers are often skeptical about Chinese flash drives. After all, due to their cheap components and poor-quality soldering, they quickly fail. Here is brief information on some popular companies:

These companies are currently considered the most popular according to users. To understand this, forums and social networks were explored. In any case, by purchasing USB drives from well-known brands, you will be confident in the quality of the product and the correctness of the stated characteristics.

Do not buy flash drives from dubious companies!

Criterion 2: Storage capacity

As you know, the memory capacity of a Flash drive is measured in gigabytes. Most often, the capacity of a flash drive is indicated on its case or packaging. Often, when purchasing, people are guided by the principle “more is better.” And, if funds allow, they purchase a drive with a larger capacity. But, if this is not necessary, then this issue needs to be approached more constructively. The following recommendations will help with this:

Removable media capacity less than 4 GB is suitable for storing regular text files.
Devices with a capacity of 4 to 16 GB are the best option. To store movies or operating system distributions, it is better to purchase a drive of 8 GB or more.
Drives over 16 GB are already sold at a higher price. So, a 128 GB flash drive is comparable in price range to a 1 TB external hard drive. And USB devices with a capacity of over 32 GB do not support FAT32, so purchasing such a flash drive is not always advisable.

You should also remember that the actual capacity of a USB drive is always slightly less than stated. This is explained by the fact that several kilobytes are occupied by service information. To find out the actual size of the flash drive, do this:

go out the window "This computer";
right-click on the line with the flash drive;
select a menu item "Properties".

In addition, the new USB drive may contain support software.

Criterion 3: Speed of work

The data exchange speed is characterized by three parameters:

connection interface;
reading speed;
recording speed.

The unit of measurement for the speed of a flash drive is megabytes per second - how many were written in a specified unit of time. The read speed of a removable drive is always higher than the write speed. Therefore, if the purchased drive will be used for small files, then you can purchase a budget model. Its read speed reaches 15 MB/s, and write speed up to 8 MB/s. Flash devices with read speeds from 20 to 25 MB/s and write speeds from 10 to 15 MB/s are considered more universal. Such devices are suitable for most tasks. Flash drives with high speed characteristics are more attractive for work, but they are also more expensive.

Unfortunately, information about the operating speed of the purchased device is not always present on the packaging. Therefore, it is difficult to evaluate the device’s performance in advance. Although some companies indicate a special rating of 200x on the packaging for high-speed flash drives. This means that such a device can operate at a speed of 30 MB/s. Also, the presence on the packaging of an inscription such as "Hi-Speed" indicates that the flash drive is high-speed.

A data transfer interface is a technology for interacting a USB drive with a computer. A computer drive may have the following interface:

USB 2.0. The speed of such a device can reach 60 Mb/s. In reality, this speed is significantly lower. The advantage of such an interface is its low load on computer equipment.
USB 3.0. This is a relatively new type that was designed specifically to speed up data exchange. A modern flash drive with such an interface can have a speed of 640 MB/s. When purchasing a model with such an interface, you need to understand that for its full operation you need a computer that supports USB 3.0.

You can find out the data transfer speed of a specific model on the manufacturer’s official website. If the model is fast, then its speed will be indicated exactly, and if it is "Standard", then this is a regular model with standard speed. The performance of the flash drive depends on the installed controller model and memory type. Simple samples use MLC, TLC or TLC-DDR memory. For high-speed types, DDR-MLC or SLC memory is used.

The high-speed storage medium undoubtedly supports interface 3.0. and the read operation occurs at speeds of up to 260 MB/s. Having such a drive, you can download a full-length movie to it in a few seconds.

Manufacturers are constantly improving their products. And after a certain period of time, the same flash drive model contains different components. Therefore, if you are going to purchase an expensive USB device, then you need to correctly find information about it, focusing on the date of purchase.

It is useful to familiarize yourself with the results of testing flash drives from different manufacturers on the website. Here you can also see the latest test results.

Let's say you bought a USB drive with a large amount of memory for recording movies. But if the speed of this media is low, then it will work slowly. Therefore, when purchasing, you need to take this criterion responsibly.

Criterion 4: Housing (appearance)

When choosing a flash drive, you should pay attention to its body, more specifically, to the following characteristics:

size;
form;
material.

Flash drives come in different sizes. It is probably better to have a medium-sized flash drive, because a small thing is easy to lose, and a large one is not always convenient to insert into a computer connector. If the drive is of the wrong shape, then problems will arise when connecting to a device in an adjacent slot - they may simply interfere with each other.

The body of a flash drive can be made of various materials: metal, wood, rubber or plastic. It is better to take a model with a waterproof case. The higher the quality of the material used, the higher the price.

The design of the case is striking in its diversity: from the classic version to original souvenir forms. As practice shows, flash drives with a simple casing last longer than non-standard forms. Funny shapes and moving parts are not practical as they can fall off or cover adjacent slots on the computer.

When choosing a flash drive, it is important to pay attention to the protection of the connector. After all, the reliability of the device depends on this. The following types are distinguished:

Connector is open. There is no protection on such a device. Usually small flash drives come with an open connector. On the one hand, it is convenient to have a compact device, but on the other hand, due to the unprotected connector, such a drive can fail prematurely.
Removable cap. This is the most popular type of connector protection. For better adhesion to the body, plastic or rubber are usually used to make removable caps. They perfectly protect the flash drive connector from external influences. The only drawback is that over time the cap loses its fixation properties and begins to slip off.
Rotating bracket. This bracket is fixed on the outside of the flash device case. It is movable, and in a certain position it covers the connector of the storage medium. This type does not close the connector tightly and thus provides poor protection from dust and moisture.
Slider. This case allows you to hide the flash drive connector inside the structure using a locking button. If the latch breaks, then using such a device will be difficult and unreliable.

Sometimes it's better to sacrifice appearance for the sake of device reliability!

Criterion 5: Additional features

To attract customers, companies add additional features to their products:

The above functions are not always needed by the average user. And if they are not necessary, then it is better to abandon such models.

So, in order for the choice of a flash drive to be successful, you must decide for what purposes you are purchasing it and what capacity it should have. Remember the practicality of the case and don't bother with additional features if you don't need them. Have a nice shopping!