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USB flash drive
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"JumpDrive" redirects here. For the fictional propulsion system, see Jump drive.

A 16 GB USB retractable flash drive.

A USB flash drive consists of flash memory data storage device integrated with a USB (Unive
USB flash drives are often used for the same purposes as floppy disks were. They are smalle
Flash drives use the USB mass storage standard, supported natively by modern operating syst
Nothing moves mechanically in a flash drive; the term drive persists because computers read
A flash drive consists of a small printed circuit board carrying the circuit elements and a
Most USB flash drives draw their power from the USB connection, and do not require a batter
[edit] Technology
Main articles: Flash memory and USB
Flash memory combines a number of older technologies, with lower cost, lower power consumpt
Hardware designers later developed EEPROMs with the erasure region broken up into smaller "
The development of high-speed serial data interfaces such as USB made semiconductor memory
Computers access modern flash memory systems very much like hard disk drives, where the con
Many low-cost MP3 players simply add extra software and a battery to a standard flash memor
[edit] History
[edit] First commercial product
Trek Technology and IBM began selling the first USB flash drives commercially in 2000. The
In 2000 Lexar introduced a Compact Flash (CF) card with a USB connection, and a companion c
In 2002 Netac Technology, a Shenzen consumer electronics company which claims to have inven
Both Trek Technology and Netac Technology have tried to protect their patent claims. Trek w
[edit] Second generation
Modern flash drives have USB 2.0 connectivity. However, they do not currently use the full
Typical overall file transfer speeds vary considerably, and should be checked before purcha
[edit] Design and implementation
One end of the device is fitted with a single male type-A USB connector. Inside the plastic
Drives typically use the USB mass storage device class to communicate with the host.
Internals of a typical USB flash drive
1 USB connector
2 USB mass storage controller device
3 Test points
4 Flash memory chip
5 Crystal oscillator
6 LED
7 Write-protect switch (Optional)
8 Space for second flash memory chip
[edit] Essential components
There are typically four parts to a flash drive:
• Male type-A USB connector – provides an interface to the host computer.
• USB mass storage controller – implements the USB host controller. The controller co
• NAND flash memory chip – stores data. NAND flash is typically also used in digital
• Crystal oscillator – produces the device's main 12 MHz clock signal and controls th
[edit] Additional components
The typical device may also include:
• Jumpers and test pins – for testing during the flash drive's manufacturing or loadi
• LEDs – indicate data transfers or data reads and writes.
• Write-protect switches – Enable or disable writing of data into memory.
• Unpopulated space – provides space to include a second memory chip. Having this sec
• USB connector cover or cap – reduces the risk of damage, prevents the ingress of fl
• Transport aid – the cap or the body often contains a hole suitable for connection t
• Some drives offer expandable storage via an internal memory card slot, much like a
[edit] Size and style of packaging

Flash drives come in various, sometimes bulky or novelty, shapes and sizes, in this case ik
Some manufacturers differentiate their products by using elaborate housings, which are ofte
USB flash drives have been integrated into other commonly carried items such as watches, pe
Heavy or bulky flash drive packaging can make for unreliable operation when plugged directl
[edit] File system
Main article: Flash file system
Most flash drives ship preformatted with the FAT or FAT 32 file system. The ubiquity of thi
Defragmenting: Flash drives can be defragmented, but this brings little advantage as there
Even Distribution: Some file systems are designed to distribute usage over an entire memory
Hard Drive: Sectors are 512 bytes long, for compatibility with hard drives, and first secto
[edit] Fake products
Fake USB flash drives are fairly common. These are typically low capacity USB drives which
[edit] Uses

USB flash drive with lanyard

[edit] Personal data transport
The most common use of flash drives is to transport and store personal files such as docume
[edit] Secure storage of data, application and software files
With wide deployment(s) of flash drives being used in various environments (secured or othe
[edit] System administration
Flash drives are particularly popular among system and network administrators, who load the
[edit] Application carriers
Flash drives are used to carry applications that run on the host computer without requiring
The U3 company works with drive makers (parent company SanDisk as well as others) to delive
Ceedo is an alternative product with the key difference that it does not require Windows ap
Similarly, other application virtualization solutions and portable application creators, su
A wide range of portable applications which are all free of charge, and able to run off a c
[edit] Computer forensics and law enforcement
A recent development for the use of a USB Flash Drive as an application carrier is to carry
[edit] Booting operating systems
Most current PC firmware permits booting from a USB drive, allowing the launch of an operat
While a Live USB could be used for general-purpose applications, size and memory wear make
• Loading a minimal, hardened kernel for embedded applications (e.g. network router,
• Bootstrapping an operating system install or disk cloning operation, often across a
• Maintenance tasks, such as virus scanning or low-level data repair, without the pri
[edit] Windows Vista and Windows 7 ReadyBoost
In Windows Vista and Windows 7, the ReadyBoost feature allows use of flash drives (up to 4G
[edit] Audio players
Many companies make small solid-state digital audio players, essentially producing flash dr
Many of the smallest players are powered by a permanently fitted rechargeable battery, char
[edit] Music storage and marketing
Digital audio files can be transported from one computer to another like any other file, an
Artists have sold or given away USB flash drives, with the first instance believed to be in
[edit] In arcades
In the arcade game In the Groove and more commonly In The Groove 2, flash drives are used t
In the arcade games Pump it Up NX2 and Pump it Up NXA, a special produced flash drive is us
In the arcade game Dance Dance Revolution X, an exclusive USB flash drive was made by Konam
[edit] Brand and product promotion
The availability of inexpensive flash drives has enabled them to be used for promotional an
Usually, such drives will be custom-stamped with a company's logo, as a form of advertising
Flash drives can be set up to automatically launch stored presentations, websites, articles
[edit] Backup
Some value-added resellers are now using a flash drive as part of small-business turnkey so
• This is simple for the end-user, and more likely to be done;
• The drive is small and convenient, and more likely to be carried off-site for safet
• The drives are less fragile mechanically and magnetically than tapes;
• The capacity is often large enough for several backup images of critical data;
• And flash drives are cheaper than many other backup systems.
It is also easy to lose these small devices, and easy for people without a right to data to
[edit] Advantages and disadvantages
[edit] Advantages
Data stored on flash drives are impervious to scratches and dust, and flash drives are mech
Flash drives also store data densely compared to many removable media. In mid-2009, 256 GB
Compared to hard drives, flash drives use little power, have no fragile moving parts, and f
Flash drives implement the USB mass storage device class so that most modern operating syst
Some flash drives retain their memory even after being submerged in water,[27] even through
[edit] Disadvantages
Like all flash memory devices, flash drives can sustain only a limited number of write and
Most USB flash drives do not include a write-protect mechanism, although some have a switch
A drawback to the small size is that they are easily misplaced, left behind, or otherwise l
Compared to other portable storage devices, for example external hard drives, USB flash dri
[edit] Comparison with other portable storage
[edit] Tape
The applications of current data tape cartridges hardly overlap those of flash drives: the
[edit] Floppy disk

Size comparison of a flash drive and a 3.5-inch floppy disk

Floppy disks are rarely fitted to modern computers and are obsolete for normal purposes, al
[edit] Optical media
The various writable and rewritable forms of CD and DVD are portable storage media supporte
Optical storage devices are among the cheapest methods of mass data storage after the hard
Universal Disk Format (UDF) version 1.50 and above has facilities to support rewritable dis
[edit] Flash memory cards
Flash memory cards, e.g. Secure Digital cards, are available in various formats and capacit
Some manufacturers, aiming at a "best of both worlds" solution, have produced card readers
An additional advantage of memory cards is that many consumer devices (e.g. digital cameras
[edit] External hard disk
Main article: External hard disk drive
Particularly with the advent of USB, external hard disks have become widely available and i
Unlike solid-state memory, hard drives are susceptible to damage by shock, e.g., a short fa
[edit] Obsolete devices
Audio tape cassettes are no longer used for data storage. High-capacity floppy discs (e.g.
[edit] Encryption
As highly portable media, USB flash drives are easily lost or stolen. All USB flash drives
Other flash drives allow the user to configure secure and public partitions of different si
Newer flash drives support biometric fingerprinting to confirm the user's identity. As of m
Some manufacturers deploy physical authentication tokens in the form of a flash drive. Thes
[edit] Security threats
Flash drives present a significant security challenge for large organizations. Their small
For computers set up to be bootable from a USB drive it is possible to use a flash drive co
USB flash drives may also be used deliberately or unwittingly to transfer malware and autor
Some organizations forbid the use of flash drives, and some computers are configured to dis
[edit] Security breaches
Examples of security breaches as a result of using USB drives include:
• In the United States:
o A USB drive was stolen with names, grades, and social security numbers of 6,500 for
[edit] Naming
By August 2008, "USB flash drive" had emerged as a common term for these devices, and most
The myriad different brand names and terminology used, in the past and currently, make USB
[edit] Current and future developments
Semiconductor corporations have worked to reduce the cost of the components in a flash driv
Flash drive capacities on the market increase continually. As of 2008 few manufacturers con
Lexar is attempting to introduce a USB FlashCard,[39][40] which would be a compact USB flas
SanDisk has also introduced a new technology to allow controlled storage and usage of copyr
[edit] Flash drives for non-USB interfaces
See also: Solid-state drive
The majority of flash drives use USB, but some flash drives use other interfaces, such as I
In late 2008, flash drives that utilize the eSATA interface became available. One advantage
[edit] See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: USB flash drives
• USB Flash Drive Alliance
[edit] References
1. ^ http://peripherals.about.com/od/removablestorage/f/USBFAQ.htm
2. ^ "Kingston unveils 256GB thumb", MobileWhack.com, July 20 2009, webpage: MobileWha
3. ^ "Imation Swivel Pro Flash Drive", About.com, 2008, webpage: AboutCom-Swivel-Pro-F
4. ^ a b USB flash drives allow reading, writing, and erasing of data, with some allow
5. ^ "USB flash drive 10-year products", Trade Media Ltd, September 2009, webpage: [1]
6. ^ "8MB USB Memory Key - Overview". www.ibm.com. http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/s
7. ^ Netac Company Introduction Netac Official Site
8. ^ a b Netac TimelineNetac Official Website
9. ^ "Singapore firm wins patent on thumb drive". The Straits Times. http://www.bangko
10. ^ "Patent decision". http://www.ipo.gov.uk/patent/p-decisionmaking/p-challenge/p-ch
11. ^ Netac And Huaqi Settle Suit JLM Pacific Epoch
12. ^ G. Frank Deng: An IPR warrior leading a new industry Netac Official Site
13. ^ [2] - Xiaoguang YANG, Zhongzi Law Office
14. ^ Flash memory disk market under fireXinhua - English 2006-10-17 13:31
15. ^ a b Gathering Storm Netac Official Website
16. ^ http://www.ces-show.com/2006/review/pny/pny_usb_flash_drive.html
17. ^ http://www.techchee.com/2008/05/20/bluetrek-bizz-an-expandable-usb-drive-and-a-bl
18. ^ USB 1.0 Spec Position on Extension Cables and Pass-Through MonitorsPDF (13.7 KiB)
19. ^ USB 2.0 Specification Engineering Change Notice (ECN) #1: Mini-B connectorPDF (95
20. ^ USB Flash Tools
21. ^ "Microsoft device helps police pluck evidence from cyberscene of crime". The Seat
22. ^ Brinkmann, Martin (2008-11-01). "Windows 7 to Extend Readyboost". Windows 7 News.
23. ^ CHR – Available for Airplay. FMQB. Accessed September 23, 2007
24. ^ [3]
25. ^ "PART ONE/// WITH HEARTS AS ONE USB Wristband". Hillsong.com. http://www.hillsong
26. ^ USB flash drive auto run setup, article from Flashbay.com
27. ^ "Kingmax Super Stick". http://www.kingmaxdigi.com/news/news_product/news_p2005111
28. ^ testing removable media on the Gadget Show.
29. ^ http://www.bress.net/blog/archives/114-How-Long-Does-a-Flash-Drive-Last.html
30. ^ http://www.corsairmemory.com/_faq/FAQ_flash_drive_wear_leveling.pdf
31. ^ http://linux-usb.sourceforge.net/USB-guide/x498.html
32. ^ Flash Memory vs. HDD - Who Will Win? - article on STORAGE search .com
33. ^ A million cycles in trade adverts
34. ^ "MobileLite 9-in-1 Reader". Kingston Technology. http://www.kingston.com/flash/mo
35. ^ "MobileMate Memory Stick Plus 4-in-1 Reader". Sandisk Corporation. http://www.san
36. ^ Access to protected data areas without the right fingerprint
37. ^ [4]
38. ^ Global Sources list
39. ^ Lexar Unveils New USB Card Form Factor and Introduces New USB FlashCard
40. ^ USB FlashCard (UFC) Highlights
41. ^ Pretec i-Disk Diamond (the smallest USB flash drive)
42. ^ "SanDisk Ultra II SD Plus Cards". SanDisk. http://www.dpreview.com/news/0501/0501
43. ^ http://www.faqs.org/patents/app/20080222349
44. ^ a b http://www.kanguru.com/fireflash.html
45. ^ http://reviews.cnet.com/1990-3201_7-6278177-1.html
46. ^ http://www.acesuppliers.com/Supplier_Company/Firewire-Flash-Drive-FirePen_Product
47. ^ http://www.legitreviews.com/article/877/3/
[show][show]
v • d • e
Memory cards

[show][show]
v • d • e
Basic computer components

[show][show]
v • d • e
Audio recording formats

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_flash_drive"

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