(old)Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

I'm using an old Inspiron 600m laptop and SanDisc 4 & 8GB flashdrives as bootable replacements for hard drives, and puppy 5.3.3-4g

No flashdrive has lasted longer than a week! They all become undetectable/unbootable within a few cycles. It's becoming too expensive and I'm losing data. I think I've had 5 so far.

I didn't want an old hdd in this machine, as I figured they'd be unreliable-but I looks like I'll HAVE to upgrade and get an SSD too. $$$$$$$ This experience suggests that may be a waste too.

One week suggests something amiss. Flash drives do have a finite number of reads/writes, but that figure is usually in the millions, which equates to more than a week.

I'd suggest there is something wrong with the USB port on your machine that is causing the problem. Generally Sandisk is a good brand, so that's probably not the problem, unless you're getting them cheap, which could mean dodgy copies.

What file system are you using with the flash drives? Leaving them as FAT32, which they should be from the factory is best, along with EXT2. Changing the file system to NTFS, EXT3 or EXT4 will definitely shorten the life span of a drive, but still not to a week.

Are the failed drives able to be reformatted or seen in Gparted, or are they completely gone?

ext2 ext2, swap, fat32. boot is ext2. aren't these cmos, so a voltage variation should be less damaging? Bought at supermarket, $9 EA. not damaged by unpackaging? Do not know if reformatting destroys self repair capacity. Have 2 USB ports, mob ph plugged into other port-some load variation with charging it (very sensitive) and frequent disconnect from internet when ph fully charged/call made or recieved-cure is mechanical disconnect to activate mode switching. these actions may cause problems with voltages in the ports? need a mode switch icon to save wear on the ph? ph is ZTE-T7 (NOS).

p310don wrote:Are the failed drives able to be reformatted or seen in Gparted, or are they completely gone?

I'm interested in learning the answer to this question.

Monsie

For what it's worth, I've been using the same 32 GB 'Flash Voyager' drive for years, as external storage which I leave plugged into my computer's USB port and mount when I need it.

I've had this "can't write" problem before with an mmc card used with an adapter. It seems as if the fitting is not secure enough. It also happens when the card is still mounted and you reboot or turn off the computer (happens a lot when using a windows machine). The card is not unusable but needs to be re-formatted. Formatting it again normally fixes the problem but most of the time you will need to do the formatting on another machine. I 've found that when I encounter this problem when using windows, I have to re-format on a linux machine or the other way around. I've also always been able to re-format the card when I put it into my cellphone and using it to re-format the card. There is also some software available to enable to re-formate the card if you have the can't read/write problem.

I used to think SanDisk was good but I had 2 or 3 USB Drives fail on me within a few months of each other, ALL SANDISK! I have over 20 USB Drives with many different manufacturers but I'm no longer buying the Sandisk. I was also stuck with the Dane-Elec (Wal Mart or Target Special - I should have known better). I have not had problems with PNY, Gigaware (Radio Shack brand) or Lexar to this point.

Hope this helps!

Slavvo67

yes, I'm unsure of woolworths/officeworks quality. The devices cannot be detected at all-mounting is not possible. Formatting will cost the system only if I can persuade XP do re-do it. My permanent storage is on Part 4, which is fat32. All else can/will be lost. I'll try an XP format, but I have my doubts. Well, howboutthat!!! I just unplugged it and pushed it back in, and it's detected!!!!! I'll do a reboot and see what happens. Back soon.

Well bugger-me! it booted! the device is stiff in the port, so why does it happen? It must be a mechanical problem to be so tempermental. perhaps the port is worn and has poor connectivity? How would I prove that? Or maybe it's dirty? I'll have a look, even though I won't see much. I'll google for dirty usb ports.

PS:
dirt appears to be the problem, shut off, clean with metho and cotton buds, let dry. Get dust covers for open ports from fleebay? It is an old machine, it's to be expected. corrosion might be more difficult. Hope they're gold ports, but it's Dell, so I doubt it.

Thx all for the help.

Dicky contacts can kill flash drives, or at least the data on them. If they're being written to when the contact breaks, then you can almost guarantee data loss / corruption.

Metho is ok, you can also get contact cleaner / CO2 in a can which works well, and isn't flammable.

For quick, cheap dust prevention, a bit of masking tape helps over USB ports.

ta, contact cleaner might be better for corrosion too.

Did you see this post?

Well, Flash!!! That's so simple and yet someone is making millions on it!! Wish I thought of it!

Partic oils and dirt make great abrasive compounds, not inclined to use WD40. Also, residues might end up conductive, with conscequnces if not properly cleaned.

I'm not certain if the following information will be of any help with your USB "poor connectivity" issue, but:

The Dell 600M and D600 laptops have their USB ports on a two inch long "daughter" printed circuit board. (The 600M's USB ports are not actually soldered directly to the laptop's motherboard.) The laptop's motherboard is pressed down to connect to this "daughter" board's special white socket.

If your 600M has had some rough handling in its life, perhaps this USB board's special socket is not making a good connection.

Google: "DELL 600M USB S VIDEO OUT BOARD" to at least see what this white socket looks like. (some EBAY entries have pictures.)

To take the 600M laptop apart, to reseat this socket, requires dealing with many little screws (the Dell web site has 600M disassembly diagrams).

Maybe this will help.

There were some Acer laptops that were poorly designed and had premature failure of the USB ports on the back of the laptop.
They would start by partially working and end up not working at all.
But as far as I can remember, no recall for that problem was ever done.

So sometimes it is not just a matter of dirty connectors.
It is instead a matter of USB ports that were not supported well having the connections to the motherboard fracture and either stop working or working intermittently.

Thank you both last responders, I'll check my board. It has had some rough handling, as the top left back of the screen case is chipped away. I've already read the dismantling instructions, but thx.