I checked the Computer-related questions sticky post and also did a search in the GQ forum and couldn’t find my question, so I am going to risk posting a thread. If the answer exists on the SDMB, feel free to link me to it and then mock me.
the question:
I am working between my computer and a desktop at my client. The easy way to do this is to use a memory stick, so I got a SanDisk at Staples. At the client site, I manage my data on the stick. At home, I have been copying the data onto my hard drive, working, then copying the updated data to the stick when I am heading back to my client.
Which is safer - the approach I describe above or just leaving the memory stick in my home machine, continuing to manage my data on the stick, and just bringing it with me to the client?
Pro’s of current approach - I make a copy to my hard drive for backup; I avoid the risk of the stick failing somehow if left in my USB port for days at a time (is this a genuine risk or can I leave the sucker there for days and days? It doesn’t appear to generate heat or anything…)
Pro’s of keeping everything on the stick all the time - less risk of version-control problems if I blow my routine of copying between PC and stick.
If you tell me that I can basically leave the stick in the USB port for days on end and treat it like a hard drive, I will probably do that - I hate version control issues…
Having an extra backup copy is always safter than not having a backup copy.
Consider that the primary uses for memsticks when they were created were for digital cameras and mp3 players. That said, the information on the stick was expected to be written, rewritten, overwritten and accessed heavily.
Anectodal: I have been using the same memstick in my camera for 4 (~13000 photos taken including copying, moving, formatting, etc.) years now and have never had a problem. I think it’s been taken out of the camera maybe once but then put right back in. Also, the only place I’ve ever heard of memsticks failing is on amazon.com reviews, so take that for what it’s worth.
The only thing I would worry about this is having temp files clog up your stick (my camera makes all sorts of odd folders on my stick, but I presume that using it as a straight data transfer from your PC wouldn’t do this so it’s a nonissue).
I presume by version control issuses you are describing what happens with the file and not the card. To eliminate that problem, save the file as a filetype for the lower of the two versions.
AFAIK you won’t have any problems, but making an extra backup isn’t ever a bad idea.
You want to copy to your hard drive before working.
Two reasons:
a) Flash memory is slow to access.
b) You have a limited number of read/write cycles on flash memory. Granted, it’s in the thousands of cycles, but why push it?
Keep backup copies on your hard drive. I have had flash memory not exactly fail but just wind up corrupt so that the only solution was to reformat the card. Several times, happened on a variety of digital cameras and different types of media.
Seconded. I wore out a flash stick from working directly off it for over a year. It was only a cheap one, but it still proves it can happen. Luckily, I was in the habit of copying everything from the stick over to my HD every night so I didn’t lose too much.
I have also lost a stick on my way home, so do make as many backup copies as you can.
The speed and temp file issues mentioned above are also very valid, plus some flash sticks use older file systems (such as FAT) so that can potentially cause problems with certain programs saving files with long names etc.
Wow! I didn’t know it was such a necessity to back up my Flash drive. I work off of a SanDisk USB pendrive pretty much entirely – all my schoolwork is on there (ended up saving my ass when my hard drive failed recently when I had been working on a paper – just took my flash drive over to the nearest computer lab, popped it in, and kept right on rolling).
It’s off topic, but I’m typing it anyhow…
My friend and I were editing the file system headers on a Compact Flash card (some Olympus cameras only let you use the “panorama” feature with their brand of card for no reason at all), and looked up the specs for it.
The header section contains a version, manufacturer, some other stuff, and a table of bad sectors. Apparently it functions similarly to the way HDs keep track of bad sectors, except in this case the OS is expected to honour and update this list accordingly. I imagine USB keys include similar features, for those who may be wondering.