How safe is flash memory?

[SaskGuy]

I just had a major scare... I went to plug in the thumb drive where I keep all my porn, and I got a message saying that it can't be opened, and to format the drive.
I didn't format it, and thankfully, when I restarted my computer, all the files were accessable.

This got me to thinking though. Is flash memory actually safe for storage, and should I buy multiple thumb drives, and have multiple copies of all my stuff? Should I burn a data disk?

I guess I could try an external hard drive, but I don't trust those either. I lost so many files over the years, due to crashed hard drives.

 

[GamerBear]

How big is it? If you feel that it might be unsafe, just burn it onto a DVD for data disk.

 

[csb999]

Technical history . You can be sure everything you have exists somewhere else on the internet , that having a local copy is just reflecting the practical temporary situation that downloading for most still takes a while , you can't stream everything .

 

[Corny]

Most of the time the flash memory is fine - but the controllers usually fail quickly. The problem is that there is no standard and that most of the time, you can't even change the controller.

 

[Telstra]

How big is it? If you feel that it might be unsafe, just burn it onto a DVD for data disk.

dvd is on its way out now.
Harddrive/flash drive are cheap and very safe.

 

[GamerBear]

I have yet to even see them ditch CD-r much older than DVD.

 

[SaskGuy]

When I try to plug it in, it tells me to format it... so I turned the computer off, plugged it in, and turned it back on... I can access my files, but... EVERYTHING IS CORRUPTED!!!!!!!!

I can't believe it... I just can't believe it. this is a nightmare!!!

 

[borg69unimatrix]

Have you tried it in another PC? Maybe the drive is ok, and the glitch is in the way your pc reads it.

 

[epod85]

http://download.cnet.com/MiniTool-Power-Data-Recovery-Free-Edition/3000-2094_4-10561431.html?
That was what I used when my external HD got corrupted

And by corrupted I of course mean turned into a cat toy for a day...

 

[grasser92]

I have had one or two flash drives be fussy about what pc I use them in. I now just stick to the mainstream brands and hope for the best. as has been said ,its not usualy a problem with the drive itself (although they do have a finite number of read and writes , but this is many many) its often a compatibility mishap between the flash drive and the motherboard.

 

[Kulindahr]

When I try to plug it in, it tells me to format it... so I turned the computer off, plugged it in, and turned it back on... I can access my files, but... EVERYTHING IS CORRUPTED!!!!!!!!

I can't believe it... I just can't believe it. this is a nightmare!!!

When I've had similar problems, my first move when I can read it is to make a good copy before proceeding.


As already recommended, try it in a different computer.

If it works, copy it all to a new flash drive.