USB Flash Drive Overview

Despite the different brands and names you've heard for USB flash drives –
JumpDrives™, Pocket drives™, Pen drives™, and Thumb drives™ – they all pretty
much operate the same way. The difference is mostly in price, capacity, design,
functions and features (for example, some have built-in MP3 players). What's really
important, though, is what they share: They're all pluggable, portable, and powerful!

USB flash drives share some other characteristics, too.

• USB flash drives weigh about the same as a car key – in fact, some USB flash
drives are so lightweight that hypothetically it could take 14 ants to carry one!
• USB flash drives are about the size of a stick of gum.
• USB flash drives currently can hold up to two gigs of data – that's over 650 three-
minute songs (33 hours) recorded as MP3s or about three times the content of a
standard compact disc.
• If you share a computer, USB flash drives are a great way to store personal
information – use them instead of the computer's hard drive.
• According to some manufacturer's specifications, USB flash drives can maintain
data for 10 years – in that same period you’ll probably have to replace your
computer’s hard drive three times.

USB Flash Drives Vs.

USB flash drives compare favorably to other methods of storing or transferring data
because they alone are not only pluggable, portable, and powerful, but durable and
reasonably priced.

USB Flash Drives Vs Floppy Discs

USB flash drives are sturdier and offer more storage in a smaller form factor than floppy
discs. Better yet, they require no drive for your computer. Just insert the USB flash drive
into a computer's USB port using a modern operating system and you're ready to go to
work.

USB flash drives typically act like a portable hard drive letting you store and transport
your most precious computer data. They hold incredibly large amounts of information
and are small enough -- about the size of a pack of gum -- to slip easily into your pocket,
conveniently around your neck like a necklace, or on your keychain.
USB Flash Drives Vs Optical Storage (CD-R, CD-RW, DVD- R, DVD-RW)

Optical storage is often used for archiving and long-term data storage. While they can be
available at lower cost (in terms of straight data vs. data size) they are not as easy to use
and not as robust as USB flash drives. Re-writeable optical media typically require
additional application software to store data on the media while it is as simple as a drag
and drop operation to move data to and from a USB flash drive. Optical media are also
sensitive to surface scratches which require a certain level of caution when handling.
USB flash drives are more rugged and scratching the product can not impact your data.
While almost every computer has a USB port many computers do not have a drive
allowing optical media storage.

USB Flash Drives Vs Zip Drives

For desktop and laptop computers that don't come equipped with a Zip drive, transferring data to a Zip
can create problems. That's not an Issue with USB flash drives, which typically offer more storage
capacity in a smaller form factor and easily fit in your pocket or purse. USB flash drives are also more
durable, with no moving parts to wear out or break.

USB Flash Drives Vs External Hard Drives

These units are best suited for backup and storage of large amounts of data. External hard drives offer
storage of several 100GB of data. However, they are larger in size as well as sensitive to shock due to
Internal moving parts.

USB Flash Drives Vs Flash Memory Cards

Flash Memory Cards and USB flash drives are based on solid state storage using different mechanical
form factors and interface types. Flash memory cards are often used for internal storage in consumer
electronic devices such as digital cameras. USB flash drives, in contrast, are usually used for your
external portable storage needs, making your data ultra-portable. Both products have their markets and
applications and are expected to co-exist.

USB Flash Drive FAQ

Q. What is a USB Flash Drive?

A. A USB flash drive is a compact USB flash memory drive that acts like a portable hard drive, letting you store and
transport your most precious computer data. They hold incredibly large amounts of information and are small
enough -- about the size of a pack of gum -- to slip easily into your pocket, conveniently around your neck like a
necklace, or on your keychain.

Q. How do I use a USB Flash Drive?

A. Just plug your USB flash drive into the USB port of your computer or other USB-equipped device and drag the
files you want to take with you into the folder that appears on your screen. Your files are instantly transferred to
your USB flash drive. To transfer the items on your USB flash drive onto another computer, simply plug your USB
flash drive into the computer that you want the files transferred to, open the folder that appears on your screen,
and drag the desired files onto the computer's desktop.

Q. Will my USB Flash Drive work with any computer?

A. USB flash drives are using the USB protocol to interoperate with PCs (Macs too!) and devices with a USB port.
Typically USB Flash Drives use mass storage class drivers that are incorporated in Windows Me, Windows 2000 and
Windows XP or later as well as Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X or later as well as Linux 2.4.6 or later. Some manufacturers
offer drivers for Windows 98 SE or Windows NT. Apple offers a mass storage class driver update for Mac OS 8.6. For
more information, please consult with the manufacturer of the USB Flash Drive.

Q. How much data can a USB Flash Drive hold?

A. USB flash drives are currently available with up to 2 GB storage capacity, and are available in a variety of
storage sizes for different needs. For reference, a 2 GB USB flash drive can hold about 250 songs in MP3 format.

Q. What are the advantages of using a USB Flash Drive instead of a CD-R or DVD-R?

A. USB ports are much more common than CD and especially DVD burners, so your USB flash drive will work with
more computers than a CD-R or DVD-R. Also, the process of uploading files from your computer to a USB flash
drive is much faster and simpler than burning a CD or DVD.

Additionally, USB flash drives act like portable hard drives to which you can add and delete files as many times as
you like. With CD-Rs and DVD-Rs, you can only add data once, and you can't remove data once it's burned onto the
disc.

Q. What are the advantages of using a USB Flash Drive instead of a Floppy Disc?

A. A standard floppy disc can hold 1.44 MB, which is many times less storage space than a USB flash drive.

Q. What are the advantages of using a USB Flash Drive instead of an External Hard Drive?

A. At the size of a pack of gum, USB flash drives are far smaller than external hard drives, and with no fragile
moving parts that can break if dropped, they're more easily transported. USB flash drives also do not require the
time-consuming configuration required to connect an external hard drive to your computer.

Q: Who are USB Flash Drives for?

A. USB flash drives are for everyone! Power users will appreciate the power and portability that USB flash drives
provide, while tech novices will love how easily and intuitively USB flash drives allow you to share files. If you can
turn on a computer and open a document, you can operate a USB flash drive!

Q. Do I need a USB Flash Drive?

A. If you often find yourself in need of a way to share information between computers, or want to secure your most
precious computer data, USB flash drives are for you. With USB flash drives you can transport a PowerPoint file to
your client's office for presentation, work on documents from home and then bring them back with you to work in
the morning, bring thousands of digital photos across the country to share with your relatives, and much more.

Q. Are there many manufactures of these kinds of products? If so, who are they?

A. USB flash drives are manufactured and sold by a number of different companies, including Lexar Media Inc.,
Kingston Technologies, SimpleTech Inc., PNY Technologies, and Viking InterWorks.

Q: How much do USB Flash Drives cost?

A. Prices vary greatly, based on the manufacturer and the size of the drive.
Q. Are USB flash drives susceptible to corruption from airport security technology?

A. In general, USB flash drives should be airport security safe. However, it depends on the non-volatile memory
used within the device. Please check with your manufacturer for detailed specifications.

Q. How can I protect my computer from possible virus corruption when using a USB flash drive?

A. In general, the best way to protect your computer against virus attacks is through various security methods.
These may include an Internet fire wall, a virus scanner and other tools screening incoming files for viruses. In the
case of USB flash drives, you might want to consider running a virus scan on the contents of the drive before
accessing any files.

Q. Where can I find a driver to download so I can use a USB flash drive on my older computer?

A. Most USB flash drives use mass storage class drivers. These are included in Windows ME, Windows 2000 and
Windows XP. In order to operate under Windows 98 SE, a USB flash drive typically requires a driver that you can
usually obtain from the manufacturer of the USB flash drive, through their customer service support number or web
site.

Q. Can I use a USB flash drive as a back-up for significant files?

A. USB flash drives have many usage models. One of them is to function as a backup of your important files.

Q. What is the general architecture of a USB flash drive?

A. A USB flash drive typically consists of a controller with a USB interface and a non-volatile memory interface that
is connected to one or multiple non-volatile memories (lower level or higher level of integration are possible), Hi-
Speed UFDs typically use a crystal for external clock generation, a LED is typically used as optical activity indicator,
possibly a write protect switch is controlling the write access and some other components are used for the
remaining circuitry. Beyond this configuration, other components might be integrated depending on the
functionality of the drive, such as an MP3 player, fingerprint sensor, etc.

Q. What makes a USB flash drive bootable?

A. There are three elements to make a USB flash drive bootable on a system:

• The host system must support booting from a USB flash drive. (Please check with your system
manufacturer.)
• The USB flash drive must support booting in general. (Please check with your USB flash drive vendor.)
• The USB flash drive must contain boot/system files. Typically, vendors of USB flash drives that support
bootability will provide you with a tool that will make the drive bootable.

Note: The USB-IF is in the process of finalizing a USB bootability specification. Please refer to www.usb.org for
further details.

Q. Where can I find technical specifications on USB flash drives?

A. In general, USB flash drives work like USB hard disks, using mass storage class drivers. The technical
specification for mass storage class devices can be obtained from www.usb.org. Typically, manufacturers provide
specifications for their specific products. Please check with your USB flash drive manufacturer for further
information.

Q. What is the difference between USB flash drives and USB Micro Drives?

A. The term "USB flash drive" is a generic phrase used to describe of these products without specifying a particular
manufacturer. USB flash drives are sold by many different companies under a variety of different proprietary
product names. The term "USB flash drive" is used in the same manner that the term "DVD" and "CD-RW" are
used; to describe the technology in generic terms.

It is likely that other names you have heard used to describe these products are actually proprietary product names
intended to describe a specific USB flash drive model made by a specific company.
Q. Are there secure USB flash drives?

A. Secure USB flash drives are offered by multiple vendors with multiple features and functions. Typically, they
allow the user to have a public and private partition or drive. The public part is always accessible, while the private
part is secured though password and/or encryption technology.

Q. A USB flash drive with important data appears to have "fried." What are your recommendations for
recovering the data?

A. Whenever you experience data loss due to accidental erase or corruption immediately STOP using the USB flash
drive. Try to retrieve the data is through recovery software, such as Image Rescue 2 or Image Recall 2, which are
available at computer retails stores.

Q. Are USB flash drives intended to be hot-swappable (i.e. you can plug one in, or remove it, with the
computer already on)?

A. The USB interface standard was created with the hot-swappable feature in mind. Any USB device can be inserted
or extracted while the computer is on. This applies to USB flash drives as well. See also www.usb.org.

Q: Is it possible to transfer data to and from computers running different operating systems?

A: Yes it is possible. As the majority of drives supported are mass storage class drivers, specifically computers
using Windows Millenium 2000 or Windows XP, you can easily share files and data to and from your computers.

However, if you are using Windows 98, you will need a driver specific to your USB flash drive vendor.

In remaining cases, USB flash drives that necessitate installation of software will need to be installed on each
computer accessing the information, or will need to run off the UFD.

Q: Can I store and transfer music files with my USB flash drive?

A: In general, USB flash drives use mass storage class drivers, therefore any system that supports mass storage
class drivers should be able to access the content from the USB flash drive – including music files!

Copyright 2003 USB Flash Drive