# Sony 1 GB MicroVault USB Drive got SOAKED
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-1-gb-microvault-usb-drive-got-soaked/331143
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [November 15, 2005, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-1-gb-microvault-usb-drive-got-soaked/331143 "2005-11-15T08:37:01Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@noblebaron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/noblebaron)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2005, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-1-gb-microvault-usb-drive-got-soaked/331143/1 "2005-11-15T08:37:01Z")
My new 1GB $150 (CAD) USB drive went for a 30-min ride in the washing machine and was found by my g/f this morning.
I forgot to empty my pockets.
On that portable storage device was EVERYTHING digital that mattered to me… old email correspondences from important people, poems I wrote, diary, copies of websites I own, etc., etc.
ARGGGGGGGH. You would think.
My g/f was nice enough to blow-dry it with a hair dryer for 5 mins this a.m.
When I woke up, she said “there’s something I need to tell you… it’s really bad”. I thought someone close had died. She said, “it’s ok, no-one died, and Emma (our daughter) is ok.”
She told me my USB drive had just gone through the washing machine.
Ok, so I plugged it in after it dried.
And… it worked. NO DATA LOST. WOW!!! Thank you SONY!!
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### Author:  [@Viscera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Viscera)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2005, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-1-gb-microvault-usb-drive-got-soaked/331143/2 "2005-11-15T09:18:47Z")
Who needs backups? 😃
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### Author:  [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2005, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-1-gb-microvault-usb-drive-got-soaked/331143/3 "2005-11-15T15:44:45Z")
> [@noblebaron](#):
>
> And… it worked. NO DATA LOST. WOW!!! Thank you SONY!!
Yeah.
So.
Um, this isn’t really all that uncommon. It has no internal power source, and no moving parts. Unless you washed it in salt water, a one-time dunking followed by immediate drying really didn’t pose much of a threat to the device.
But take it out of your pocket next time.
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### Author:  [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2005, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-1-gb-microvault-usb-drive-got-soaked/331143/4 "2005-11-15T16:14:13Z")
> [@Viscera](#):
>
> Who needs backups? 😃
It’s a Sony. I wouldn’t be surprised if it secretly uploaded all the data on it to Sony, where they sort through it and sell what they can to advertisers. If they get caught, they were simply providing a ‘backup’.
Joking aside, sending a thumbdrive through the wash isn’t uncommon. There have been threads on the[reliabilty of USB drives](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=328727) before.
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### Author:  [@Bewildebeest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bewildebeest)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2005, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-1-gb-microvault-usb-drive-got-soaked/331143/5 "2005-11-15T16:26:18Z")
Just out of curiousity, did it go through the dryer as well?
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### Author:  [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2005, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-1-gb-microvault-usb-drive-got-soaked/331143/6 "2005-11-15T17:14:08Z")
I can top that.
A couple months ago, my partner left his cell phone in his pants. Pants and phone went through the wash - when he took the clothes out to put into the dryer, there’s his phone at the bottom of the washer.
I took the battery out and let it dry for two days and it’s good as ever. If you’re prone to leaving things in your pockets, have a look at LG phones. His is apparently all but waterproof. And idiotproof.
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### Author:  [@Firebringer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Firebringer)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2005, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-1-gb-microvault-usb-drive-got-soaked/331143/7 "2005-11-15T18:10:14Z")
Wonder if the hot water and detergent got rid of any viruses on the drive.
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### Author:  [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2005, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-1-gb-microvault-usb-drive-got-soaked/331143/8 "2005-11-15T19:50:47Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#):
>
> I can top that.
>
> A couple months ago, my partner left his cell phone in his pants. Pants and phone went through the wash - when he took the clothes out to put into the dryer, there’s his phone at the bottom of the washer.
>
> I took the battery out and let it dry for two days and it’s good as ever. If you’re prone to leaving things in your pockets, have a look at LG phones. His is apparently all but waterproof. And idiotproof.
That’s kinda funny. The only phone that I’ve ever drowned was an LG. And it died. And never came back. And I cried, but not really.
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### Author:  [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2005, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sony-1-gb-microvault-usb-drive-got-soaked/331143/9 "2005-11-16T14:09:51Z")
You paid **how much**?
Tris