What happens when a flash drive wears out?

Posted by endolith on Super User See other posts from Super User or by endolith
Published on 2010-01-29T15:46:47Z Indexed on 2010/05/05 5:29 UTC
Read the original article Hit count: 285

Filed under:

usb

|

flash-drive

|

wear

|

hard-drive

|

failure

Flash memory has a limited number of read/write cycles, after which it fails. What happens when it fails? Is it like a hard drive, where a failed write is silently moved to another part of the disk and that sector marked as bad and never used again, without data loss? Are there a limited number of replacement sectors? Do operating systems warn the user in some way?

© Super User or respective owner

Related posts about usb

External HDD USB 3.0 failure

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
[ 2560.376113] usb 9-1: new high-speed USB device number 2 using xhci_hcd [ 2560.376186] usb 9-1: Device not responding to set address. [ 2560.580136] usb 9-1: Device not responding to set address. [ 2560.784104] usb 9-1: device not accepting address 2, error -71 [ 2560.840127] hub 9-0:1.0: unable… >>> More
usb mouse/keyboard doesn't work with 3.11.0-12-generic kernel

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
I can't use my usb keyboard/mouse after upgrade from raring to saucy. The keyboard works in grub menu and if I boot with the previous kernel version (3.8.0-31-generic). My new kernel version is 3.11.0-12-generic. I've got Mad Catz R.A.T.7 wired USB mouse, Canyon CNL-MBMSO02 wired usb mouse and Logitech… >>> More
USB Drive Not recognized

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
My Friend's Pen Drive, which was working well very well just few days ago, is not being recognized after getting used by a virus affected machine. Its not on fdisk -l or lsusb However in dmesg I can see the following: [ 977.300013] usb 5-2: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 2 [… >>> More
Error in installing ZTE AC2738 on ubuntu 3.0.0-12-generic

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
I am getting this error ,struct usb_serial_driver has no member named shutdown. I am installing on 64bit ubuntu 3.0.0-12-generic ... Beginning Verify CD ... ... Verify CD Succeed! ... Beginning Copy Install Package Files ... ... will take a long time, waiting 5 seconds, please ... Copy Install… >>> More
HSDPA modem only working on certain USB ports

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
Depending on which USB port I use to connect my HSDPA modem, the network manager will connect to the internet or not. I used to work (i.e. established a internet connection automatically) on all ports, but over time it simply stopped on some ports. lsusb output in all cases looks like that (Device… >>> More

Related posts about flash-drive

Create a Persistent Bootable Ubuntu USB Flash Drive

as seen on How to geek - Search for 'How to geek'
Don’t feel like reinstalling an antivirus program every time you boot up your Ubuntu flash drive? We’ll show you how to create a bootable Ubuntu flash drive that will remember your settings, installed programs, and more! Previously, we showed you how to create a bootable Ubuntu flash drive that would… >>> More
Create a Bootable Ubuntu 9.10 USB Flash Drive

as seen on How to geek - Search for 'How to geek'
The Ubuntu Live CD isn’t just useful for trying out Ubuntu before you install it, you can also use it to maintain and repair your Windows PC. Even if you have no intention of installing Linux, every Windows user should have a bootable Ubuntu USB drive on hand in case something goes wrong in Windows… >>> More
Creating a Windows XP installation flash drive in linux

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
How can I create a bootable flash drive to install Windows XP from under Linux? I have Ubuntu installed on my PC and want to install Windows XP parallelly. I already have an NTFS hard drive, so what I need is to install Windows there and make it available through a boot manager. I also have a Windows… >>> More
Looking for a USB Thumbdrive / Flash drive encryption solution (not TrueCrypt)

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
I am looking for a USB Thumbdrive / Flash drive encryption solution. I have searched the net but I have never come accross a solution which meets the following: Must handle at least 4GB volume If possible, fully portable (no install required required) Does not require admin rights in order to access/write… >>> More
What is casper rw loop file and why do I need it to make saving persistant on usb flash drive?

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
Suppose I've installed linux on my flash drive. Why do I need something like casper loop file to make saving persistant? So files are being erased? Isn't flash drive the same as actual hard drive? I'm linux noob so be patient. Or it is because linux on flash drive is actually live cd on flash drive… >>> More