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USB FAQ

USB flash drives were first launched about 10 years ago and have been the go-to for transferring files between computers ever since.  This wonderful plug-and-play technology finally did away with the floppy drive and has almost completely replaced the cd-rw.  It is quickly becoming the best way to distribute catalogs, fliers, and general information and is already the top website driving tool.  We’ve decided to answer a few of the most common questions and concerns about flash drives and attempt to explore the vast number of hardware solutions currently available. Here's a list of questions; answers are found in the link below.

1. What is a flash drive?
2. What kinds of flash drives are available?
3. Why not use a portable hard drive instead of a flash drive?
4. How fast are flash drives?
5. Why should I be concerned with how fast my flash drive is?
6. What should I format my flash drive as?
7. What are the latest hot trends surrounding flash drives?
8. How can I keep the data on my flash drive secure?
9. Why shouldn't I pick up any flash drive I see lying in the parking lot?
10. Why can't I use my flash drive at work?
11. Help! I accidentally deleted a file I shouldn't have on my flash drive!
12. How can I run applications from my flash drive?
13. Can I boot my computer from a USB flash drive? 
14. What is ReadyBoost and why should I (not) care? 
15. How do I use a USB Memory Stick or Flash Drive?
16. What are the use of USB memory sticks or flash drives?
17. How much can a USB memory stick or flash drive hold?
18. What are the advantages of USB memory stick/flash drive to traditional floppy disks?
19. What the advantages of using USB memory stick/flash drive instead of a CD-R or DVD-R?
20. What are the advantages of using a USB Flash Drive instead of an External Hard Drive?
21. Will my USB Flash Drive work with any computer?
22. Who are USB Flash Drives for?
23. Does PINGLINE/PINGTEC manufactures it's own USB flash drives?
24. How much do USB Flash Drives cost?
25. I'm looking for a USB flash drive that will work on my Linux OS.
26. Are USB flash drives susceptible to corruption from airport security technology?
27. How can I protect my computer from possible virus corruption when using a USB flash drive?
28. Where can I find a driver to download so I can use a USB flash drive on my older computer?
29. Can I use a USB flash drive as a back-up for significant files?
30. What is the general architecture of a USB flash drive?
31. What is the difference between USB flash drives and USB Micro Drives?
32. Are there secure USB flash drives?
33. A USB flash drive with important data appears to have fried. What are your recommendations for recovering the data?
34. Is it possible to transfer data to and from computers running different operating systems?
35. Can I store and transfer music files with my USB flash drive
36. What does Tier 1 chip mean?

1. What is a flash drive? 
A flash drive is a small external storage device that reads and writes to flash memory, a solid-state storage medium that's both inexpensive and durable. Given that your typical flash drive is the size of an adult's thumb, it's not uncommon to hear of these ubiquitous devices as thumb drives. Due to their portable nature and near-universal compatibility, flash drives have largely supplanted the floppy diskette as everyone's favorite method for transferring files between multiple computers without the use of a network. 
Most if not all flash drives sold today are equipped with a male A-type USB plug for connecting to just about every computer sold since 1998, hence the industry term USB flash drive (UFD). That being said, at least two companies were crazy enough to have offered alternatives with FireWire and eSATA/USB combo interfaces, though have largely been phased out leaving USB the undisputed victor. 
It should be noted that while newer Solid State Drives (SSDs) share the flash memory medium with traditional USB flash drives and sometimes come equipped with a USB interface, many prefer to keep the two terms distinct from one another due to the large differences in physical size, speed, and price.

2. What kinds of flash drives are available?
There are many types of flash drives available to suit all different kinds of use, but to keep things simple we'll break things down into five different categories - Generic, High Performance, Ultra Durable, Secure, and Novelty. Of course, these categories are not all mutually exclusive. For example, a Secure flash drive with hardware encryption may also be Durable enough to withstand the crushing forces of a Honda Accord. 
What we like to think of as Generic flash drives are the most common type sold, build for economy and raw capacity but not necessarily speed, and almost always encased in plastic. With the exception of a few manufacturers like Kingston, just about any flash drive with a product name that doesn't have a Mountain Dew-inspired suffix like Extreme, Lightning, GT, Turbo, or Ultra will typically fall into this category. Likewise, any product that has such a suffix or is labeled as a high-end model would fall into our High Performance category and will employ higher-binned flash memory chips and better memory controllers to increase transfer speeds. 
Ultra Durable flash drives can be either fast or slow, but are by far the most fun to review because we get to beat the crap out of them, all in the name of journalism! These can be encased either in rubber or a metal alloy to protect against impacts, and they may or may not have a watertight seal for the USB cap. Depending on the design, manufacturer's claims, and your definition of common sense, these babies can withstand drops/throws from the top of a building to a concrete surface below, are more likely to survive several rounds in the washer and dryer (if allowed ample time to dry before use), laugh at the notion of being baked in an oven, and love to be submerged at the bottom of a diving pool. Better still, some can deflect bullets up to a .50 caliber, or withstand the almighty crushing forces of Honda automobiles. 
Secure flash drives include any flash drive that provides hardware encryption for ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of the stored data. These drives employ an onboard co-processor to handle the encryption algorithms, thus allowing the drive to maintain moderate read and write speeds compared to generic drives used with software encryption utilities. A secure flash drive's authentication method of choice can vary from a simple username and password logon to more secure biometric fingerprint scanners and funky combination locks. 
Other secure flash drive features may include self-destruct sequences, tamper-evident designs, and centralized remote management. The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published a document outlining cryptographic security levels in FIPS 140-2 (warning: pdf), and many drive manufacturers that wish to do business with large corporations or government entities will certify their drives against these standards. At the time of this writing, the highest rating achieved by a flash drive is FIPS 140-2 level 3. 
Be sure to check the manufacturer's website for the method of encryption used; we recommend seeking drives with at least 128-bit AES encryption. Also be sure to register your flash drive with the manufacturer in case the drive's security is defeated and requires a recall or software update. In early 2010, Kingston, SanDisk, and Verbatim all had to recently face the music when their FIPS 140-2 Level 2 drives were cracked by a German security firm. 
Novelty flash drives, last but not least, include any drive that stands out from the rest of the crowd either through the design or the inclusion of bundled features. A few conservative examples would be insanely small and key-shaped drives, split-drive, funky drive covered with Swarovski, beer drives, coin drive, Darth Vader-lookalike flash drive, or a biometric flash drive built into a Swiss Army Knife with Bluetooth presentation controls. Some of the more offbeat examples include gang signs, chain-saw, Transformers, hacked cable, and last but not least, uzi.

3. Why not use a portable hard drive instead of a flash drive?
Whereas most 2.5 portable hard drives employ magnetic hard disks with moving parts that can easily break, flash drives are much more durable thanks to their solid state nature, having been known to survive drops of 6' or more on a routine basis and can even survive a load or three in the laundry. A flash drive is also much easier to pocket than a portable hard drive and can attached to a lanyard or keychain, plus they can be significantly less expensive if only a basic model is needed. 
Quite simply put, shoppers primarily concerned with storage capacity should stick to portable hard drives for the cheaper cost per GB, while anyone looking to simply move a few office documents, MP3s or handful of movies around from place to place is going to be better served by the portability and durability that is a USB flash drive.

4. How fast are flash drives?
This mostly depends on when the drive was released and what memory was being used from which manufacturer, but currently the fastest USB 2.0 flash drives on the market are able to reach read and write speeds of up to 34 and 28 Megabytes per second respectively. Typically the manufacturer-listed flash drive speeds only apply to transfers of large contiguous files, whereas smaller files less than 1MB in size can dramatically slow down transfer rates due to the overhead for each file. Actual speeds are also largely dependent on the USB controller of your motherboard and how many USB devices are simultaneously plugged in. 
Older high performance drives up to 16GB in size often use what's known as Single-Level Cell (SLC) memory instead of the more-common Multi-Level Cell (MLC) memory, thereby boosting write speeds for smaller files while simultaneously boosting a flash drive's endurance level. SLC memory is more expensive to implement however and offers less storage capacity for the die area, and over time has lost significant interest from semiconductor fabs like Samsung as consumer demand for larger flash drives increases. To make up for the loss of SLC memory, flash drive manufacturers have implemented a number of tricks including the use of quad- channel dual controllers and to a lesser extent custom drivers.

5. Why should I be concerned with how fast my flash drive is?
In a nutshell, faster flash drives mean less time waiting to transfer files. Less time spent waiting means more time to be productive and less unwarranted coffee breaks. For those who run applications or entire operating systems directly off a flash drive, it also means that your programs will act much more responsive for even the most basic of tasks.

6. What should I format my flash drive as?
This largely depends on your intended use for the drive. Most thumb drives come pre- formatted as FAT32 for cross-platform compatibility with Windows, Mac, and Linux compatibility. Unfortunately this formatting scheme limits the size of any given file to 4GB, so you'll find that some high definition videos, databases, or secure file vaults won't fit with this formatting type unless they're first placed into a multi-volume archive with a utility such as WinRAR or 7-zip. 
If you want to avoid this 4GB limit, we recommend reformatting the flash drive to NTFS, which allows for larger file sizes and also offers much improved reliability. NTFS is natively supported by all versions of Windows since NT / 2000, and is also available on Mac and Linux thanks to the NTFS-3G project. Most Linux distributions made within the last year already have NTFS-3G installed and ready to go; Mac users already have Read-Only support built into the operating system but will need to install either the free Catacombae driver or the commercial Tuxera NTFS for Mac driver if write support is needed. Unfortunately, NTFS is not yet supported by many embedded devices such as televisions or media players due to the fact that NTFS is a proprietary system owned by Microsoft and requires licensing. 
Another recent development is the exFAT file system, a format that's optimized for flash drives and currently available on all Windows operating systems since Vista SP1. Windows XP / 2003 users can add experimental support for exFAT by installing KB955704. exFAT improves on the limitations of FAT32 and removes the dreaded 4GB file size limit without the added overhead of NTFS, however we are hesitant to recommend it because at this time it cannot be used with Mac or Linux, and again is incompatible with most embedded devices.

7. What are the latest hot trends surrounding flash drives?
The biggest trend that everyone's looking forward to is USB 3.0, of course! Super Talent has already released three SuperSpeed USB flash drives that take advantage of the new interface with reported speeds that are five to eight times faster than the fastest USB 2.0 flash drives. Expect more USB 3.0 drives from other manufacturers to follow shortly. 
Another big development with flash drives is how hardware encryption is becoming more of a commodity than a luxury or enterprise feature, being built into flash drives from a range of manufactuers for as little as $20 USD. Drives certified against the FIPS 140-2 standard are almost as cheap, now available at the $60 USD price point from online retailers.

8. How can I keep the data on my flash drive secure?
While the best security (and speed) often comes from hardware-secured flash drives with their built-in cryptologic co-processors, anyone can secure their regular flash drive through the use of a free open source program called TrueCrypt. TrueCrypt offers a large array of encryption algorithms to choose from including 256-bit AES, Serpent and TwoFish, or any combination of all three, and is available for Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems. 
If TrueCrypt is installed on the host machines you plan on using the flash drive with, it's possible to put a single large file on the flash drive that houses all your encrypted data. This file has built-in plausible deniability - you can't tell it's a TrueCrypt file until its mounted, and if required to divulge the password, you can provide a second password that unlocks a different portion of the encrypted volume that's filled with safe data like a fake journal, and there's no way for anyone to tell that this isn't what you're really protecting. 
TrueCrypt can also be ran in portable mode with the binaries for encryption and decryption kept on the flash drive itself, although this would give away the fact that you're housing a TrueCrypt volume on the flash drive. The caveat to this is that you'll need administrator privileges for any computer you plan on using to access the TrueCrypt volume. 
An alternative to TrueCrypt is Microsoft's BitLocker To Go, a full-disk flash drive encryption technology that's limited to Windows 7 Enterprise and Ultimate editions and Windows Server 2008 R2. Unlike TrueCrypt, BitLocker To Go doesn't require administrative rights to install or use, and if your workplace likes to stay on the bleeding edge of tech, it may already be widely accessible to you. BitLocker uses AES 128/256-bit encryption. 
Unlike TrueCrypt, BitLocker does not have plausible deniability, and Microsoft actively aids law enforcement with recovery in certain scenarios. In a nutshell, don't leave your computer running because the encryption keys are stored in RAM and can be accessed using forensic software. This is a vulnerability shared by many drive encryption programs and should not be viewed as actually cracking BitLocker. In an enterprise environment, if the volume recovery keys are stored in Active Directory and the system administrator has loose lips or gets handed a subpoena by the authorities, you're boned. Cryptome hosts a copy of Microsoft's BitLocker lawful spying guide on their website if you're interested; search for win7-bit-spy. 
Remember, there's no way to keep your data 100% secure if the computer you're using has been compromised, so be cautious of accessing your private data at public computers like those in a PC cafe. Also, Randall Munroe over at xkcd raises a very valid point in that the weakest link in security is always the human factor.

9. Why shouldn't I pick up any flash drive I see lying in the parking lot?
Flash drives left unattended in a parking lot may be a part of a sophisticated social engineering attack. These drives may be seeded with a trojan horse set to automatically run as soon as the drive is inserted and quietly steal your personal or company information in the background. Proof of concepts exist with the USB Switchblade and USB Hacksaw projects, and similar methods have also been used in penetration tests against a credit union and in an actual attack against the U.S. Pentagon! 
If you do happen to encounter a stray flash drive and have the unrelenting itch to use it, first, make sure you've disabled autorun on your computer. Next, access the drive from within a sandboxed environment such as VMware or the freeware VirtualBox, and make sure that if it's a U3 drive, the virtual CD ROM partition isn't compromised. If it is, you're better off simply destroying the drive. Next, check the data partition for viruses. If you suspect there might be any, you'll want to format the drive. Congratulations on your newly found (and unpaid for) flash drive! 
Keep in mind that not all misplaced flash drives are out to get you. Some might actually be lost and sought after by their owners. Others could be part of an elaborate marketing promotion as was the case with Nine Inch Nails' Year Zero alternate reality game, ultimately leading to free private concerts. Always use your best judgment and caution.

10. Why can't I use my flash drive at work?
Corporate environments may employ special software or policies to prevent the use of USB Mass Storage devices on their machines. This could be to prevent the accidental introduction of viruses as examined above, or to prevent users from stealing company data. In either case, if you like your job, we suggest you don't try to get around the policies without written approval.

11. Help! I accidentally deleted a file I shouldn't have on my flash drive!
Stop whatever it is you're doing, don't write anything to the flash drive, and  Recuva that file for free!! From the makers of CCleaner, Piriform's Recuva is a donationware utility that's able to rescue data on hard drives and flash drives formatted as FAT, exFAT, and NTFS.
Having personally tested this app on an 8GB flash drive formatted as NTFS, we were happy to see it successfully recover not only files that were recently deleted in Windows Explorer, but also files that were lost after a complete reformat through the deep scan functionality. Unfortunately, the files lost to reformatting were without their original file names, though the actual data was 100% intact. Be warned however that the program is not likely to restore data that's fragmented and doesn't reside in the drive's MFT, or data that's been overwritten over by new data. 
Though typically installed on a fixed hard disk in case of future disaster, Piriform also offers the program in a U3 or generic portable version that can be installed to and ran from a flash drive.

12. How can I run applications from my flash drive?
By definition, a portable application is a program run from a removable storage device that leaves no personally identifiable information behind in the host operating system. In other words, someone crawling through a system that you recently used a portable app on, should not be able to find any traces of data in the file system or registry any more damning than the simple fact that someone ran an application. That's it. No cookies, cache files, preferences or saved data should ever touch the machine's hard drive, and if they do, they must be securely overwritten prior to the ejection of the removable media. There are three main platforms for running a portable application from a flash drive - U3, PortableApps.com, and Ceedo. 
U3, first brought to market in 2005 by San-Disk, is the oldest and best known of the three, appearing in almost all of Sandisk's flash drives since it was launched. U3 works by mounting a virtual CD- ROM drive in addition to the main storage partition. The virtual CD-ROM would then trigger Windows' Autorun and execute a LaunchPad in the System Tray to provide quick access to applications and data housed on the flash drive. Optionally, the storage partition could also be made completely inaccessible to the host computer unless first unlocked by the LaunchPad utility, though this only works on Windows machines. 
While U3 initially showed promise and a strong showing of support from major software developers such as McAfee, Skype, Trillian and others, the platform eventually decayed due to a lack of public support and a large amount of neglect. Users quickly became frustrated with the system for the long load times and perceived intrusive nature of the LaunchPad, along with the use of two drive letters. Two drive letters meant that on some systems the data partition wouldn't show unless you fiddled with the Disk Management utility, and it also meant that many embedded systems such as photo kiosks would not recognize the drive. 
Today, the U3 Software Central portal is flooded by a sea of trialware and crapware, with many of the U3 app vendors offering portable counterparts that will run on generic non-U3 drives. Moreover, several of the top downloaded applications on the U3 portal like those from Mozilla are hosted on RapidShare accounts and point to outdated, insecure versions that were released over a year ago and contain many bugs. Automatically updating these to a newer version would sacrifice the portable app's nature such as personal files no longer being kept secure. In 2008 it was revealed that San-Disk and Microsoft were working on a successor to U3 called StartKey, though no new news has been released on that front. 
PortableApps.com is the primary competitor to U3 and our personal favorite here at Everything USB, offering a platform similar in appearance to U3 that can be run from any flash drive. The strongest bit of appeal for PortableApps.com is the myriad of free and open source software that's available for the platform. Everything from the latest versions of Firefox and Thunderbird to popular games, IM clients, office applications, media players, server software, and antivirus clients can be had here for free. Best of all, the platform is frequently updated with patches and new applications are being added all the time. 
The brains behind this magnificent operation is John Haller, the creative genius who's also behind the almost-parody site MAFIAA.org, exposing the film and music industries as the organized crime syndicates we know they are. Many of the behind-the-scenes tweaks to make applications portable such as file locations, limited writes to increase flash durability, plugin compatibility, etc., are carried out by John, who not coincidentally was also responsible for the developing the U3 version of Mozilla Firefox before it was taken over and neglected by U3 LLC. 
Ceedo is the most unique of the bunch, available for all flash drives and utilizing its own portable application directories and registry hives to essentially envelope and host applications that weren't originally designed to be portable, e.g. Adobe Photoshop. Like the competing U3 and PortableApps.com suites, Ceedo too sports a launcher for quickly accessing files and portable applications, appropriately themed after the Windows XP Start Menu to accommodate the large amount of software that can be installed with it. Ceedo is currently at version 3.1 and has expanded their Argo technology to support .exe, .msi, and .msp installers, a significant upgrade from Ceedo v2.0 which was reviewed by us in 2006. 
While Ceedo has the clear advantage when it comes to application compatibility, it does have a few drawbacks that must taken into consideration. First off, it understandably does not work well with applications that require their own services, and certain apps may require the use of admin privileges on the host computer. Second, as of this writing, Ceedo is currently incompatible with all 64-bit versions of Windows, leaving behind a large number of Windows 7 users or anyone with 4GB of RAM installed. Ceedo mentions on their website that a 64-bit version is currently in the works as a closed-beta. Finally, Ceedo costs money and requires activation. While we personally believe that the $39 asking price is more than reasonable, it's easy to see why the adoption rate might not be as high as PortableApps's free offerings and Sandisk's free U3 platform. In any case, we suggest you take Ceedo's free 30-day trial for a spin before you write it off.

13. Can I boot my computer from a USB flash drive?
Yes! A bootable flash drive can be the ultimate tool for recovering a downed computer, or perhaps your easiest means of upgrading a netbook's operating system without a CD-ROM drive. Because there's so many potential uses and ways to make a flash drive bootable, unfortunately we won't be able to go in depth for the purposes of this FAQ. To get you started in the right direction, however, here's a handful of scenarios and their associated walkthroughs that we feel are well-written and easy to follow. 
Boot the Ultimate Boot CD (UBCD) repair tools from a flash drive 
Boot Clonezilla (Norton Ghost alternative) from a flash drive 
Boot / Install Ubuntu 9.10 Linux from a flash drive 
Boot Windows XP from a flash drive 
Boot Windows 7 from a flash drive 
Install Windows 7 from a flash drive

14. What is ReadyBoost and why should I (not) care?
ReadyBoost is an advanced disk caching technique tied into Windows Superfetch for Windows Vista and Windows 7. It can dramatically speed up the performance of computers with little RAM, especially those with 1GB or less. Because flash memory is able to handle random non-sequential reads faster than a conventional hard drive would, it's better suited for caching small bits of data while larger chunks are still left to the hard drive's faster throughput. 
ReadyBoost can be activated on any flash drive greater than 256MB in size, provided that the USB flash drive can manage at least 2.5MB/s for random 4kB reads and at least 1.75MB/s for random 512kB writes. Nearly all high performance flash drives meet this requirement, and some are even labeled to show they're enhanced for ReadyBoost. On Vista, up to 4GB can be used for ReadyBoost caching, whereas on Windows 7 there is no limit. Any cached files written to the flash drive are both compressed and encrypted with 128-bit AES. 
An alternative to ReadyBoost that's similar in concept is the third-party eBoostr utility, whose main draw is that it works with Windows XP and Windows 2000 whereas ReadyBoost doesn't. Vista is also supported by eBoostr, and Windows 7 is in the works with an open beta available. 
The reason we don't particularly care for ReadyBoost and company is because flash drives have a limited number of write cycles and wear down over time; these utilities only make the process go that much quicker. Also, ReadyBoost's performance pales in comparison to the simple alternative of buying more RAM. And why not? RAM is incredibly cheap nowadays and super easy to install. Seriously... if there's one component that's always been user upgradeable in any locked down Dell, HP or Gateway system, it's been the memory. If you're still too scared to open the case, have your cat do it. 

15. How do I use a USB Memory Stick or Flash Drive?
EASY. 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.

16. What are the use of USB memory sticks or flash drives?
USB flash drives are great and powerful promotional tool as well as a useful personal storage device. 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. 

17. How much can a USB memory stick or flash drive hold ?
USB memory sticks or flash drives are currently available with from as low as 16MB, 32MB, 64MB, 128MB, 256MB, 512MB to 1 GB storage capacity. They are available in a variety of storage sizes for different needs. For reference, a 64MB memory stick/flash drive more or less equal the storage capacity by about 44 traditional floppy disks, and 1 GB USB memory stick/flash drive can hold about 120 songs in MP3 format.

Capacity MP3s/Hours of Music+ Digital Photos+ Equals to data hold able by these number of Floppies
16MB 4-5 / 0.25 hrs 32 11
32MB 9 / 0.5 hours 64 22
64MB 18 / 1 hours 256 44
128MB 36 / 2 hours 512 88
256MB 72 / 5 hours 1,024 177
512MB 144 / 9 hours 2,048 354
+ 1.1min/MB - 128-Kbps MP3 audio; 4 photos/MB - highly compressed 3-megapixel JPG photos; 11MB/min DVD MPEG-2 (720x480)

18. What are the advantages of USB memory stick/flash drive to traditional floppy disks?
A standard floppy disc can hold 1.44 MB, which is many times less storage space than a USB flash drive. A 64MB flash drive is equal in data storage of about 44 floppy disks. Apart from this clear advantage, a flash memory based memory stick is magnetization proof, unlike traditional floppies, last longer (its memory, at least the erasable portion, can be reused for about 1,000,000 times and the data stored can lat up to 10 years. Floppy disks and floppy disk drives are almost obsolete nowadays as computer manufacturers have discontinued putting floppy drives as their standard hardware component. 

19. What the advantages of using USB memory stick/flash drive instead of a CD-R or DVD-R?
USB ports are much more common than CD and especially DVD burners, so your USB memory stick or 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 memory sticks or flash drives act like portable hard drives to which you can add and delete files as many times as you like (our self-manufactured USB memory stick/flash drives allow files addition and deletion for uo to 1,000,000 times). 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. 

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

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

22. Who are USB Flash Drives for?
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! 

23. Does PINGLINE/PINGTEC manufactures it's own USB flash drives?
Yes, we do. We own and operate our own 120,000 square feet factory in Shenzhen China. We can therefore offer one the most competitive pricing in the industry. We manage the quality of the products we make or assemble. 

24. How much do USB Flash Drives cost?
Prices vary, based on the the latest flash memory chip prices, manufacturer, the file storage size of the drive, their aesthetic design, functional design and promotional/marketing power. Please call us or your distributor for latest lowest prices. 

25. I'm looking for a USB flash drive that will work on my Linux OS.
Most USB flash drives use mass storage class drivers that are supported in newer versions of the Linux operating system. Please check your system configuration for support of mass storage class drivers. 

26. Are USB flash drives susceptible to corruption from airport security technology?
PINGLINE's test shows that our USB flash drives should be airport security safe. 

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

28. Where can I find a driver to download so I can use a USB flash drive on my older computer?
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, please go to support to download the appropriate driver based on the model you have. 

29.Can I use a USB flash drive as a back-up for significant files?
USB flash drives have many usage models. One of them is to function as a backup of your important files. 

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

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

32.Are there secure USB flash drives?
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. 

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

34. Is it possible to transfer data to and from computers running different operating systems?
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. 

35. Can I store and transfer music files with my USB flash drive?
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! 


36. What does Tier 1 chip mean?
Pingline only uses Tier 1 USB memory chips.  Tier 1 chips mean they are made by a major, reputable manufacturer.  Currently, these are only Samsung and Hynix.  Tier 1 chips are not refurbished or used and only of the highest quality.  Lower Tier chips have a much lower success rate and are much more likely to fail


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