Hi,
I read that it is possible to install Win XP on a USB Stick but the stick will be destroyed after a several boots because it only allows 100000 or 1000000 writing / reading sessions (?)
So here is my question: Does it make sense to install portable apps and use it as an portable office without destroying the stick and consequently loosing the files on it ?
ty and take care
eke
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Hello and welcome. To answer your question. Go ahead and install PortableApps untill your heart is content. That number you have is WAY below reality. In reality you are far more likely to lose/break/wash/lose/run over/or lose your flash drive and buy a new one then you will ever burn one out. I have ran applications off my flashdrive for close to 3 years and nothing bad has came out of it. Just do a backup once a week or so (what I do) so if you lose/destroy it your data will be safe.
Release Team Member
Hey Cool! TY so much for the fast reply
Happy New Year!
eke
see too:
https://portableapps.com/node/16983#comment-105621
the connector of the stick breaks probably down before you reach even small fraction of the write cycles.
The flash can be destroyed this way only when employed in some kind of server system where permanently small files are permanently written and deleted to it.
I managed this way to destroy some flash after abt 2 years of continuous heavy activity.
Otto Sykora
Basel, Switzerland
1 : The number of max write-operations differs for SLC and MLC flash-ram
(single-level cells are better)
2 : The number is pr cell, not pr device, and is only relevant for write-operations.
3 : Flash-drives use wear-levelling and bad-block management .
Furthermore, a reserved number of blocks are available "as replacement"
when a block gets marked as "bad" and/or reaches it's max number of write-operations.
4 : Installing a persistent OS to a flash-drive will lead to increased
write-activity. This is why it's recommended to use microsofts EWF-driver
to reduce the running OS's disks-writes .
>4 : Installing a persistent OS to a flash-drive will lead to increased
write-activity. This is why it's recommended to use microsofts EWF-driver
to reduce the running OS's disks-writes .
Otto Sykora
Basel, Switzerland
surely there must be a way to achieve the same as EWF does under Linux,
the live-CD's are already doing it .. either way, if you plan on running
a OS from your flash-drive you should use a drive with SLC-flash, it lasts
longer and is also faster ..
works then in ram
my systems are simple embeded x486 , so as you say I try to get my suppliers to use single layer chips in the flash.
Otto Sykora
Basel, Switzerland
I have a small question to you:
by trying to edit some partition data on some sticks, I still did not manage to cheat the removable-not removable identification properly.
Can you tell me how exactly, or from which byte will the windows retrieve this information?
I managed somehow to cheat it on portable hard drive, observing changes when partitioned via usb and inside PC as normal.
Could not properly identify same however on a stick.
Otto Sykora
Basel, Switzerland
http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbstick_e.html
"But actually NTFS isn't suitable for flash medias because as journalling file system it has some overhead that wears out flash memory. But Windows XP optimizes and bundles write accesses to pen drives only when they are NTFS formatted, so I see NTFS as the right choice."
http://ask-leo.com/can_a_usb_thumbdrive_wear_out.html
"Let me put it this way: I strongly recommend that you backup the contents of that drive - also sooner rather than later." Once a week would be fine with portable apps backup.
http://ask-leo.com/should_i_defragment_my_usb_flash_drive.html
"..Flash devices (or any "solid state" devices) don't gain a performance benefit from being defragmented.
But in reality things get worse. Much, much worse.
You should never defragment a flash drive.
Writing to flash memory causes it to degrade ever so slightly. (Reading does not.) The more you write to a flash device the shorter its lifespan will be."
Do not defragment never!!!!
http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_fix_bad_sectors_on_a_flash_drive.html
"Unfortunately tools like chkdsk, scandisk and the like are unreliable when it comes to scanning flash drives for what on a hard disk would be called a "surface error". Flash drives aren't hard drives, and don't live, or die, by the same rules."
Wearing out makes bad sectors. Hence: buy a new one. Use programms with less writing.