# Today I bought a 1 GB Flash Drive... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 16, 2006, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-bought-a-1-gb-flash-drive/372918 "2006-09-16T02:40:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-bought-a-1-gb-flash-drive/372918/1 "2006-09-16T02:40:09Z")
…from Staples, for $24.98. It is made by SanDisk. Anyone know if it’s any good? (Of course the clerk told me it was a great buy.) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-bought-a-1-gb-flash-drive/372918/2 "2006-09-16T02:51:05Z")
[QUOTE=BarnOwl] …from Staples, for $24.98. It is made by SanDisk. Anyone know if it’s any good? (Of course the clerk told me it was a great buy.) [/QUOTE] SanDisk and Lexar are the two most reputable Flash memory manufacturers. I think you did fine. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-bought-a-1-gb-flash-drive/372918/3 "2006-09-16T03:37:59Z")
[QUOTE=pulykamell] SanDisk and Lexar are the two most reputable Flash memory manufacturers. I think you did fine. [/QUOTE] Thanks!! I fully expected to be excoriated for being a fool. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-bought-a-1-gb-flash-drive/372918/4 "2006-09-16T03:44:18Z")
I’ve been using a SanDisk flash drive for about a year now and it works great. And you seem to have gotten a bargain. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-bought-a-1-gb-flash-drive/372918/5 "2006-09-16T03:45:11Z")
[QUOTE=BarnOwl] Thanks!! I fully expected to be excoriated for being a fool. [/QUOTE] According to the Google ads you coulda got it for free just by taking a survey! ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-bought-a-1-gb-flash-drive/372918/6 "2006-09-16T03:45:46Z")
Are you sure it’s not _Sans_Disk? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-bought-a-1-gb-flash-drive/372918/7 "2006-09-16T03:54:24Z")
Is everybody else seeing google ads for pork? ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-bought-a-1-gb-flash-drive/372918/8 "2006-09-16T04:02:49Z")
Another vote of confidence; I’ve got a 256 MB SanDisk flash drive, and it’s never given me any trouble whatsoever. It’s the only no-kidding “plug and play” device I’ve ever tried; on every computer, Mac or PC, I’ve plugged it in and presto, it’s worked. Actually, now that I think about it, I had to download and install a driver to get it to work on my creaky old Win98 machine, but on every other machine/system it’s worked instantly. ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-bought-a-1-gb-flash-drive/372918/9 "2006-09-16T05:12:11Z")
[QUOTE=BarnOwl] …from Staples, for $24.98. It is made by SanDisk. Anyone know if it’s any good? (Of course the clerk told me it was a great buy.) [/QUOTE] I’ve had a SanDisk 512 MB flash drive (MiniCruzer) for about a year and a half – has always been reliable. ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-bought-a-1-gb-flash-drive/372918/10 "2006-09-16T05:13:45Z")
[QUOTE=jackelope] Actually, now that I think about it, I had to download and install a driver to get it to work on my creaky old Win98 machine, but on every other machine/system it’s worked instantly. [/QUOTE] That’s only natural, as Win 98’s support for USB devices has always sucked, big time. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs\_Johnson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@Mrs\_Johnson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs_Johnson)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-bought-a-1-gb-flash-drive/372918/11 "2006-09-16T05:17:04Z")
I have a 1 gig SanDisk - micro, mini or something like that. It works without any problems. You paid about half of what I paid. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-bought-a-1-gb-flash-drive/372918/12 "2006-09-16T06:51:34Z")
Very nice deal! Makes me feel a little less proud of the $18 I spent on my 128MB Kingmax USB stick (it goes on my keychain, and has a thumb switch that makes the USB connector pop out or go back in) ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-bought-a-1-gb-flash-drive/372918/13 "2006-09-16T13:38:47Z")
Well now tha tyou have it, grab some [Legos](http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~dhc02001/legousb.html) ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-bought-a-1-gb-flash-drive/372918/14 "2006-09-16T14:33:54Z")
I’ve had several SanDisk sticks and cards. One had its data and external structure survive a trip through the washer AND the dryer, despite FlashMemory’s reputation for losing data on a sharp impact. Backup your stuff, though. I bought a 2GB SanDisk MicroCruzer with skins in June to take my school data home, and it just failed out of the blue on me. I found out I had not backed it up as recently as I thought, and I needed to get the data off the faulty stick. I can’t recommend the shareware from [here](http://www.datadoctor.biz/) highly enough. Saved my ass from redoing weeks of work. Meanwhile, online tech support at SanDisk responded right away, and as it’s still in the 2-year warranty period, they’ll exchange it for me. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-bought-a-1-gb-flash-drive/372918/15 "2006-09-16T14:46:43Z")
[QUOTE=Bear\_Nenno] Are you sure it’s not _Sans_Disk? [/QUOTE] Rather witty, Bear! It could be _sans_ disk for all I know. I haven’t used it yet. I have an HP laptop with some sheet music CDs saved in it. Could I download them to the Flash Drive and upload to my Dell (that has the printer hooked to it? But then, am I not supposed to get rid of the data still in the Fash Drive? How do I do all this? The little booklet tells how to use the thing for Windows (in general), but then says, you don’t need to do this for XP. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-bought-a-1-gb-flash-drive/372918/16 "2006-09-16T14:57:32Z")
A week or two ago, I inquired about the Flash Drive at [staples.com](http://staples.com). They were advertising it but were out of stock. When it got back in stock, the price was still $24.98, but delivery was an added $7.95, plus I’d have to pay CT sales tax. So I told 'em No thanks, and went to the real store and bought it there. Anyway, now their online price is up to $26.98. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-bought-a-1-gb-flash-drive/372918/17 "2006-09-16T15:01:36Z")
It’s quite common to find flash drives for cheap now. My parents got me a 1 gig TechSolutions flash drive for $20 for my birthday. It’s been fantastic for transfering files from PC to Apple. ---
**Author:** ![ChicanoRojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@ChicanoRojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChicanoRojo)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-bought-a-1-gb-flash-drive/372918/18 "2006-09-16T15:03:49Z")
[QUOTE=BarnOwl] …from Staples, for $24.98. It is made by SanDisk. Anyone know if it’s any good? (Of course the clerk told me it was a great buy.) [/QUOTE] I had mine already for 4 mos. I had their 256MB, but lost it. :smack: But. Have worked without a problem. 1GB for $25 is a very good price considering that a year or two ago a 256MB went for much higher. BTW, my 1GB is all I’ll ever need for storage space at work. I been at my job for three years and put all my file on the 1GB flash drive. It took 1/3 of the space! :eek: Good buy! ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-bought-a-1-gb-flash-drive/372918/19 "2006-09-16T15:30:24Z")
[QUOTE=BarnOwl] Rather witty, Bear! It could be _sans_ disk for all I know. I haven’t used it yet. I have an HP laptop with some sheet music CDs saved in it. Could I download them to the Flash Drive and upload to my Dell (that has the printer hooked to it? But then, am I not supposed to get rid of the data still in the Fash Drive? How do I do all this? The little booklet tells how to use the thing for Windows (in general), but then says, you don’t need to do this for XP. [/QUOTE] Well, hopefully your laptop has a USB jack to fit the drive. Plug it in, and your computer will take a few seconds to figure out what sort of USB device you’ve plugged in. Move the data to the stick. It will have been given a drive letter by the OS, which you can figure out by opening “My Computer”. It’s the “Removable Disk”. Then close all programs that might have been using files from the stick. Then, in the lower right hand part of the screen, in the System Tray, there’s now a little icon somewhere that looks like a little memeory stick with a green arrow over it. Click on this, and it will pop up a box that says “Safely Remove USB Mass Storage Device (Driveletter:)” Click on THAT, and after a moment, a balloon that says “Safely Remove Hardware” will show up. Also, any lights on your stick will have gone out. If, instead, an alert box pops up saying “Blah Blah can not be stopped right now”, there’s still a program interacting with files on the drive. Exit that progarm and try again. Once it’s ready, pull out the stick gently\*. Plug the stick into your Dell. The computer figures out its a stick, and now that there are files on it, you may get some noise from some auxiliary programs trying to guess what you want to do with the files. If you get a Windows window that gives you several options, choose “Open folder to view files”. Pick the one you want to print, and you know what to do from there. And backup your stick files onto your hard drive. You can leave data on the stick for as long as you like. \*The reason for this step is that Flash Memory is an EEPROM technology, which means data is erased by running an electric current through it. Since the stick is powered by the jack, yanking it out while power is still flowing could cause electricity to arc (like when the wall plug sparks when you pull out the vacuum cleaner cord while it’s running, although the USB jack won’t spark) with unpredictable results. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-bought-a-1-gb-flash-drive/372918/20 "2006-09-16T15:46:38Z")
Thank you, **scotandrsn**! I’ll give it a try. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-i-bought-a-1-gb-flash-drive/372918.md?page=2)