Usb Memory Sticks - Branded Versus Generic Devices
USB Flash Memory storage devices are a practical and highly portable method of storing and moving data between places. Flash Memory is highly practical for this task as it has no moving parts, supports fairly large storage and if used properly has very little chance of failing in any serious manner.
Unfortunately recently there has been a massive increase in the failure rate of these previously ultra reliable USB devices, so much so that the data recovery sector is now placing a lot of emphasis and time on USB memory stick recovery. The question has to be asked however what is the problem all of a sudden?
As with any storage technology over time costs drop and adoption increases and the humble USB memory stick is testament to this paradigm. From the time the technology went mainstream it has had a massive growth rate and recent years have seen a doubling of sales year on year . The expectation for the end of this year is expected top be circa three hundred million.
With such large quantities of devices arriving in consumer’s hands, there is, of course bound to be a number of failures experienced in the field. What data recovery experts at Flash Data Recovery have found is that failure rates could be running at up to 5% - this relates to a tremendously high number of devices failing in the field, up to 15 000 000 devices per year!
When a previously very reliable product starts to have increased failure rate, just as in any industry the repairers (in this case the data recovery companies) start to ask why and often collaborate on their findings. Investigations have started to reveal that the actual memory chips in the drives have not failed at all and are working just as expected.
Part of the problem lies with the consumer to some extent as the demand for ever cheaper products leads to the need for lean and more efficient or cheaper manufacturing requirements. A lot of failed devices are said to originate in the far east as are marketed as generic memory devices. In addition there is also a large increase in the number of fake devices in the market place as noted by one of if not the leading UK data recovery company in this article:
These fake devices often take advantage of the consumer by reporting much higher storage capacity than is actually available which is very misleading right from the off. Another problem here as well is the cost , yes they are cheaper but what are you actually getting for your money? The manufacturing process can only go so far and that only leaves one option, cheaper and substandard components!
Often These portable devices will hold a lot of your valuable data that if lost and not backed up could be lost forever. You get what you pay for as the saying goes so is it really worth the increased risk of data loss to save what is in reality a tiny sum compared to the cost of a branded device?
You can find more great advice on data recovery here or for general computing advice visit the Computer repair website.