Storage stick. Top USB Flash Drives of 2021: Ultimate Guide to Portable Storage Solutions

What are the best USB flash drives for storage and backup in 2021. How do USB-A and USB-C connectors differ. Which flash drives offer the fastest transfer speeds. How much storage capacity do top flash drives provide.

Understanding USB Flash Drive Technology

USB flash drives have revolutionized portable storage, offering convenience and reliability for data backup and transfer. These compact devices have evolved significantly since their inception, now featuring impressive storage capacities and transfer speeds.

USB Connection Standards Explained

USB flash drives typically utilize USB 3.2 Gen 1 connection speed, which provides a maximum transfer rate of 625 megabytes per second. This standard may also be labeled as USB 3.1 or USB 3.0, causing some confusion. Despite the different names, they all offer the same performance capabilities.

Are older USB standards still supported? Yes, USB 3.x flash drives are backward compatible with USB 2.0 ports, although this will limit transfer speeds to under 60MB/s. For this reason, it’s advisable to avoid USB 2.0 flash drives, as their transfer speeds are considerably slower.

USB Connector Types: A vs. C

When selecting a flash drive, it’s crucial to consider the physical USB connector type. The two main types are:

• USB Type-A: The traditional rectangular connector, compatible with most PCs and older devices.
• USB Type-C: A newer, smaller connector found on modern devices, including Apple MacBooks since 2015.

Some flash drives now offer dual connectivity, featuring both USB-A and USB-C plugs to maximize compatibility across devices.

SanDisk Extreme PRO: The Speed Champion

The SanDisk Extreme PRO USB 3.2 Solid State Flash Drive stands out as one of the fastest options available in 2021. What makes it so impressive?

• Read speeds of up to 420MB/s
• Write speeds of up to 380MB/s
• Available in capacities ranging from 128GB to 1TB
• Features a retractable USB-A connector

With its exceptional write speed of 380MB/s, the SanDisk Extreme PRO is a viable alternative to portable SSDs for working with high-resolution video files. However, it’s important to note that this drive only features a USB-A connector, which may require an adapter for use with newer MacBooks.

Samsung DUO Plus: Versatility Meets Performance

For users needing compatibility with both USB-A and USB-C ports, the Samsung DUO Plus USB Type-C Flash Drive offers an excellent solution. What are its key features?

• Integrated USB-C to USB-A adapter
• Read speeds up to 400MB/s (for 128GB and 256GB models)
• Available in capacities from 32GB to 256GB
• Compact design with adapter storage

The Samsung DUO Plus combines versatility with strong performance, making it an ideal choice for users who frequently work across different devices. However, it’s worth noting that the 32GB and 64GB variants offer slower transfer speeds compared to their higher-capacity counterparts.

Choosing the Right Capacity for Your Needs

USB flash drives now offer a wide range of storage capacities, from modest 32GB options to massive 1TB drives. How do you determine the right capacity for your needs?

Factors to Consider When Selecting Storage Capacity

• Types of files you’ll be storing (documents, photos, videos)
• Frequency of use and data transfer
• Budget constraints
• Compatibility with your devices

For general use and document storage, a 64GB or 128GB drive may suffice. However, if you work with large media files or need to transport extensive datasets, opting for a 256GB or larger capacity drive could be beneficial.

The Importance of Brand Reputation in Flash Drive Selection

While budget-friendly options from lesser-known brands may be tempting, investing in a flash drive from a reputable manufacturer can provide peace of mind and better long-term reliability. Why is brand reputation crucial when choosing a flash drive?

• Quality control and manufacturing standards
• Warranty and customer support
• Consistency in performance
• Compatibility with a wide range of devices

Established brands like SanDisk, Samsung, Kingston, and Corsair have proven track records in producing reliable storage solutions. While their products may come at a premium, the added cost often translates to better performance and durability.

Flash Drives vs. Cloud Storage: Pros and Cons

In an era of widespread internet connectivity, how do USB flash drives compare to cloud storage solutions? Let’s examine the advantages and disadvantages of each:

USB Flash Drives

Pros:

• Physical control over data
• No internet connection required for access
• One-time purchase with no recurring fees
• Faster transfer speeds for large files

Cons:

• Limited capacity compared to cloud storage
• Risk of physical damage or loss
• Manual backups required

Cloud Storage

Pros:

• Access from any device with internet connection
• Automatic backups and version history
• Easy file sharing and collaboration
• Scalable storage options

Cons:

• Requires internet connection for access
• Ongoing subscription costs
• Potential privacy and security concerns
• Transfer speeds limited by internet connection

For many users, a combination of both USB flash drives and cloud storage provides the best balance of convenience, security, and accessibility.

Maximizing the Lifespan of Your USB Flash Drive

To ensure your USB flash drive remains reliable and functional for years to come, consider implementing these best practices:

1. Safely eject the drive before physically removing it from your device
2. Store the drive in a cool, dry place when not in use
3. Use a protective case to prevent physical damage
4. Regularly back up important data stored on the drive
5. Avoid exposing the drive to extreme temperatures or magnetic fields
6. Use reputable antivirus software to scan the drive periodically

By following these guidelines, you can significantly extend the lifespan of your USB flash drive and protect your valuable data.

Future Trends in Portable Storage Technology

As technology continues to advance, what can we expect from the next generation of USB flash drives and portable storage solutions?

Emerging Technologies and Their Potential Impact

• Increased adoption of USB4 and Thunderbolt 4 standards
• Integration of biometric security features
• Development of eco-friendly and biodegradable flash drive materials
• Advancements in 3D NAND technology for higher capacities
• Implementation of hardware-based encryption for enhanced data protection

These innovations promise to deliver faster transfer speeds, improved security, and even greater storage capacities in increasingly compact form factors.

As we look to the future of portable storage, it’s clear that USB flash drives will continue to play a crucial role in our digital lives. Whether you’re a professional videographer needing to transport large files between locations or a student backing up important documents, there’s a flash drive solution tailored to your needs. By considering factors such as speed, capacity, connector type, and brand reputation, you can select a USB flash drive that will serve you reliably for years to come.

The best flash drives in 2021: portable USB memory sticks for storage & back-up

When it comes to keeping your images and videos portable, the best flash drives are hard to beat. They’re more compact than even the best portable SSDs, and don’t require a separate connection cable. And unlike cloud storage, you don’t need to worry about connecting to the internet when you want to access or back up your files.

USB flash drives have been around for decades, so there are plenty to choose from. There’s no shortage of super-cheap options out there if you just want some basic portable storage, but in this list we’ve rounded up faster USB-A and USB-C flash drives from well-regarded brands. After all, your data can be irreplaceable, so there’s no point risking it on a drive of dubious quality just to save a few cents. A fast USB flash drive will also save you precious seconds waiting for files to transfer, and that can really add up when you’re regularly dealing with large, high-res video files.

USB flash drives almost always use the USB 3.2 Gen 1 USB connection speed, which at 625 megabytes per second is fast enough to let even the fastest USB flash drives run at max speed. Some manufacturers may advertise their drives as USB 3.1, or USB 3.0, but it’s all the same speed. The original USB 3.0 standard has been re-numbered twice over the years, yet nothing technical changed. Yup, we’re just as confused by that as you. What is clear is that no matter what USB 3.x label your chosen flash drive has, it’ll be backward compatible with USB 2.0 ports on older computers, though speed will be limited to under 60MB/s (for this reason, don’t even consider cheaping-out on a USB 2.0 flash drive – it just isn’t worth it when transfer speeds will be so achingly slow).

The physical USB connector on the end of a flash drive is another thing to consider. Most flash drives still use the older, rectangular USB Type-A plug. This plug type has been around since the dawn of the original USB standard way back in 1996, so pretty much any PC you’ll likely to come across now will have at least one USB Type-A port you can plug a USB Type-A flash drive in to. However, things get a bit complicated with Apple MacBooks. Since 2015, MacBooks have only featured USB Type-C ports, so if you want a USB flash drive to use with a 2015 or newer MacBook, you’ll need a USB Type-C memory stick. Fortunately there’s a growing number of USB-C flash drives available, as well as dual USB-A and USB-C drives that have both plugs, usually one at each end of the drive, to maximize compatibility.

So without further ado, here are the best USB flash drives you can buy right now:

Best USB flash drives in 2021

(Image credit: WD)

1. SanDisk Extreme PRO USB 3.2 Solid State Flash Drive

Simply the best USB flash drive

Available capacities: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | Max read/write speed: 420 / 380MB/s | Interface, connector: USB 3.2 Gen 1, Type-A | Dimensions: 71mm x 21mm x 11mm

Seriously fast

Up to 1TB capacity

Retractable USB plug

USB Type-A only

Pricier than many rivals

SanDisk only applies its ‘Extreme Pro’ branding to its fastest storage products, so it should come as no surprise that this Extreme PRO USB 3. 2 Solid State Flash Drive is blazing fast. With read/write speeds of up to 420MB/s / 380MB/s, you’ll struggle to find a USB stick that can beat it on speed. That 380MB/s write rate is particularly impressive, and makes this USB drive a practical alternative to a bulkier portable SSD when working with memory-intensive Full HD or even 4K video.

Capacities range from 128GB to a whopping 1TB, though the latter costs big bucks, naturally.

Just bear in mind that this flash drive uses an old-school USB-A connector, which while good for compatibility with older computers, means you’ll need an adapter to use it with a modern MacBook.

(Image credit: Samsung)

2. Samsung DUO Plus USB Type-C Flash Drive

Best USB drive for USB-C & USB-A compatibility

Available capacities: 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB | Max read/write speed: 400MB/s read | Interface, connector: USB 3.2 Gen 1, Type-A & Type-C | Dimensions: 58 x 18. 3 x 7.3mm

USB Type-A and Type-C compatibility

Quick read speed

64GB and 32GB drives are slower

Not as quick as SanDisk Extreme Pro

If you need a USB stick that’s compatible with the older, rectangular USB Type-A connection as well as newer Type-C ports, this is the flash drive to go for. It’s primarily a USB-C drive, but an integrated Type-C to Type-A adapter is stored neatly at the back of the drive, ready to be fitted over the USB-C connector on the front should you need it.

Not only is this USB stick versatile, it’s also speedy, boasting read speeds up to 400MB/s over it’s USB 3.2 Gen 1 connection, while also being backward compatible with USB 2.0. However this speed only applies to the 256GB and 128GB versions. Go for the 64GB drive and read speeds top out at 300MB/s, while the base model 32GB option can only achieve 200MB/s. It’s also a pity that there are no versions of this flash drive above 256GB. Even so, the Samsung DUO Plus is still a great all-round option.

(Image credit: WD)

3. SanDisk Ultra Fit USB 3.1 Flash Drive

You can leave this super-small flash drive plugged in all the time

Available capacities: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB | Max read/write speed: 130MB/s read | Interface, connector: USB 3.2 Gen 1, Type-A | Dimensions: 30 x 14.3 x 5mm

Incredibly small…

…yet can still offer big storage

Very well priced

Only fits a USB-A port

Not the fastest flash drive

Want to expand your laptop’s internal storage in the neatest and most convenient way possible? You could try one of the best cloud storage platforms, but for hardware-based storage, the tiny SanDisk Ultra Fit USB 3.1 Flash Drive is a great option. Barely bigger than a USB Type-A connector plug, it can slot into a spare Type-A port on your laptop and you’ll barely notice it’s there.

And yet despite its diminutive dimensions, you can still get up to a huge 512GB of storage space – enough to double the capacity of a typical laptop’s built-in SSD storage. Even the price for the 512GB variant is super-low, and the smaller capacities are downright cheap to buy.

This flash drive’s 130MB/s max read speed won’t quite keep up with the latest internal SSDs in modern laptops, but it’s fast enough that read/write speeds shouldn’t be annoyingly slow.

(Image credit: PNY)

4. PNY PRO Elite 3.0

A fast, spacious and well-priced USB stick

Available capacities: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | Max read/write speed: 400 / 250MB/s | Interface, connector: USB 3.2 Gen 1, Type-A | Dimensions: 58 x 18.3 x 7.3mm

Very fast

Big 512GB and 1TB capacity options

Retractable USB plug

USB Type-A only

The PRO Elite 3.0 may not look particularly inspiring, but it packs a punch. Up to 400MB/s read and 250MB/s write rates make this one of the faster USB sticks you can buy. Capacities top out at a generous 1TB, meaning this thumb drive has the speed and space to be well suited to working with high-res images and video. A nice touch is the retractable USB connector, so there’s no separate cap to worry about.

The only downside is that the USB connector is an older Type-A design, meaning you’ll need to use a Type-A to Type-C adapter to plug this flash drive into a recent MacBook.

(Image credit: Kingston)

5. Kingston DataTraveler 80 USB Flash Drive

The best USB-C flash drive

Available capacities: 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB | Max read/write speed: 200 / 60MB/s | Interface, connector: USB 3.2 Gen 1, Type-C | Dimensions: 42.2mm x 15mm x 6.7mm

Modern USB-C connector

More compact than most

Fairly quick

Could be faster

Won’t plug into older computers

USB-C is here to stay and is set to eventually replace the older (rectangular) Type-A USB port, so if you’ll only be using a USB stick with modern PCs or Macs, it makes sense to go with a USB-C stick. At 42.2mm x 15mm x 6.7mm, the DataTraveler 80 USB Flash Drive is nice and compact, and that native Type-C connector means you can use it with phones and tablets, as well as computers.

Read/write speeds aren’t the fastest, but up to 200MB/s read and 60MB/s write rates are by no means sluggish. Choose from 32GB up to 256GB capacities, each of which is well priced.

(Image credit: Corsair)

6. Corsair Flash Survivor Stealth

The best rugged USB flash drive

Available capacities: 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | Max read/write speed: | Interface, connector: USB 3.2 Gen 1, Type-A | Dimensions: 7.62 x 2.54 x 2.54cm

Supreme ruggedness

Available in loads of capacities

Reasonably priced for such toughness

Relatively big and bulk

Don’t expect super-fast performance

If you’re a bit accident-prone, or just like to live life on the edge, look no further than this ultra-tough flash drive. With its anodized, aircraft-grade aluminum housing that’s waterproof to 200 meters, vibration-resistant, and 40G shock-resistant, you can go virtually anywhere with this memory stick and not have to worry about your data.

Of course, with such ruggedness inevitably comes some bulk, and at 7.62cm long with a diameter of 2.54cm, this is one of the larger flash drives on the market, though it’s not unreasonably big. Storage space is also sizable, topping out at 1TB, though the 256GB variant currently offers the lowest price per gigabyte.

The Flash Survivor Stealth dates back to 2015, so don’t expect the latest ultra-fast transfer speeds, but if survivability is paramount, this is the drive to go for.

(Image credit: Patriot)

7. Patriot Supersonic Rage Elite

Fast, tough and spacious: a decent flash drive all-rounder

Available capacities: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | Max read/write speed: 400MB/s read | Interface, connector: USB 3.2 Gen 1, Type-A | Dimensions: 5.3 x 2.1 x 1cm

Fast read speed & large capacities

Rubberized, water-resistant casing

Retractable USB connector

Not USB Type-C

Could be even quicker

And the winner for the most hyperbolic USB flash drive name goes to. … the Patriot Supersonic Rage Elite! Give Patriot’s marketing team a raise…

But thankfully this isn’t all talk, no action, as the Supersonic Rage Elite is capable of up to a blazing-fast 400MB/s read speed. Its Type-A USB plug is retractable, so there’s no separate cover cap to lose, and the drive has a shock- and spill-resistant rubber coating. It’s just a pity there’s no USB Type-C connector or adapter to enable you to use this drive with a modern MacBook right out of the box.

The Supersonic Rage Elite comes in capacities from 128GB right up to a huge 1TB, making it perfectly suitable for transporting high-res video footage. What’s more, all this storage is packed into a very travel-friendly 5.3cm x 2.1cm x 1cm drive size.

Round up of today’s best deals

Best USB Flash Drive for Chromebooks

Using a USB Flash Drive on a Chromebook is one of the best ways to expand a Chromebook’s limited internal storage options. Most USB flash drives can be used with a Chromebook. A USB flash drive is also known as a USB drive, USB stick, thumb drive, pen drive, flash-disk, or USB memory stick. Since many Chromebooks have USB 3.0, plugging a USB flash drive into a Chromebook can operate at very fast speeds.

Buying a USB flash drive for Chromebook

The low price of the USB flash drives is what makes them very appealing to Chromebook users looking for a little more storage. USB flash drives are typically removable and rewritable. There small size allows them to be easily attached to a keychain and some have a slim profile which makes them barely noticeable when plugged in. For users looking for much more storage space, a Chromebook compatible external hard drive might be the best option. However, for those who do not need 500GB+ of storage, a nice Chromebook USB flash drive will do just a fine job (also check out the Best SD Cards for Chromebooks)!

Most USB thumb drives will work with Chromebooks right out of the box. The file format that Chromebook is pretty standard and even if a Chromebook cannot recognize the file format of the flash drive initially, it is very easy to format a USB memory stick for Chromebook use. Some USB Flash drives have been known have more issues than others, but overall it is very easy to format the USB drive for Chromebooks.  A formatting option is available directly from the File Manager; no extra apps, add-ons or actions needed. Open up the files app and right-click on the drive you wish to format and select the ‘Format Device‘ option from the menu. This is very easy to format a USB flash drive. More information on moving and using files on a Chromebook.

The following is a list of some of the best USB Flash Drives for Chromebook users. These are some of the best Chromebook USB flash drives available due to price, speed, and other features. Most of the USB flash drives are available in different storage sizes and colors. Look at them below and select the best USB flash drive for your Chromebook!

SanDisk Ultra Dual USB Drive 3.

0

This is one of the most versatile flash drives available. It will work on most computers and cell phones.  With a micro-USB connector on one end, and a USB 3.0 connector on the other, the drive lets you move content easily between all your devices—from your Android smartphone or tablet to your laptop, PC or Mac computer. The SanDisk Ultra Dual USB Drive 3.0 is compatible with Android smartphones and tablets featuring OTG (On-the-Go) USB support. High-speed USB 3.0 lets you transfer a full-length movie to the drive faster than with a standard USB 2.0 drive (2), up to 150MB/s (3) from drive to computer. The flash drive is available from 16GB to 128GB.

SanDisk Cruzer Fit CZ33 32GB USB 2.0 Low-Profile Flash Drive

This Chromebook compatible USB flash drive is a low-profile drive for notebooks, tablets, TV’s and car audio systems. The standard version has 32GB of Capacity in a tiny portable USB Drive. There is a built-in LED light to monitor drive’s activity. This drive is a little slow than other Chromebook flash drives because it uses USB 2.0 instead of USB 3.0

PNY Attache USB 2.0 Flash Drive

The PNY Attaché is sleek and durable; small enough to slip in your pocket, purse, briefcase & etc. From the classroom to the boardroom, it’s a durable and attractive electronic accessory. The sliding collar, capless design protects your important content when not in use. The included key loop easily attaches to key chains, so important files are never out of reach. The 32GB Attaché USB 2.0 Flash Drive can hold approximately 5,632 songs. Overall, this is a very good basic USB Flash drive from Chromebook users.

Samsung 64GB BAR (METAL) USB 3.0 Flash Drive

The Samsung 64GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive works on Chromebooks and offers fast file transfer speeds. The Samsung USB flash drives features sleek yet rugged design, giving you reliable portable storage. With data transfer speeds of up to 130 MB/s and 64GB of storage, this SuperSpeed USB 3. 0 flash drive lets you transfer large files in seconds and is backward compatible with USB 2.0 ports.Using USB 3.0 will make file transfers from a USB flash drive much quicker than using USB 2.0 on a Chromebook.

Lexar JumpDrive S45 32GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive

This is another USB 3.0 Flash drive for Chromebook. It stores and transfers content quickly with USB 3.0 performance (up to 150MB/s read and 45MB/s write). USB 3.0 is available on most Chromebooks and users should take advantage of faster USB memory sticks when available. For example, quickly transfer a 3GB HD video clip in less than 90 seconds, compared to more than 4 minutes using a standard USB 2.0 drive. This Chromebook USB flash drive is available in a range of colorful capacities—16GB in orange, 32GB in blue, 64GB in teal, and 128GB in black.

Other Chromebook USB Memory Sticks

What is USB flash drive?

A USB flash drive — also known as a USB stick, USB thumb drive or pen drive — is a plug-and-play portable storage device that uses flash memory and is lightweight enough to attach to a keychain. A USB flash drive can be used in place of a compact disc. When a user plugs the flash memory device into the USB port, the computer’s operating system (OS) recognizes the device as a removable drive and assigns it a drive letter.

A USB flash drive can store important files and data backups, carry favorite settings or applications, run diagnostics to troubleshoot computer problems or launch an OS from a bootable USB. The drives support Microsoft Windows, Linux, MacOS, different flavors of Linux and many BIOS boot ROMs.

The first USB flash drive came on the market in 2000 with a storage capacity of 8 megabytes (MB). Drives now come in capacities ranging between 8 gigabytes (GB) and 1 terabyte (TB), depending on manufacturer, and future capacity levels are expected to reach 2 TB.

The memory within most USB flash drives is multi-level cell (MLC), which is good for 3,000 to 5,000 program-erase cycles. However, some drives are designed with single-level cell (SLC) memory that supports approximately 100,000 writes.

How a USB flash drive is used also affects its life expectancy. The more users delete and write new data on the device, the more likely it will degrade.

USB specifications

There are three main USB specifications that USB flash drives can connect through: 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0. Each specification publication allows for faster data transfer rates than the previous version. There have also been several prereleases and various updates in addition to these three versions.

USB 1.0 was released in January 1996. It was available in two versions:

• USB 1.0 low-speed: Provides a data transfer rate of 1.5 megabits per second (Mbps).
• USB 1.0 high-speed: Has a data transfer rate of 12 Mbps.

Version 1.1, an update that fixed various issues in 1.0, was released in September 1998 and was more widely adopted.

USB 2.0, also known as Hi-Speed USB, was released in April 2000. It was developed by the USB 2.0 Promoter Group, an organization led by Compaq, Hewlett-Packard (now Hewlett Packard Enterprise), Intel, Lucent Technologies, Microsoft, NEC Corp. and Philips. USB 2.0 features a maximum data transfer rate of 480 Mbps. This boosted performance by up to 40 times. It is backward-compatible so USB flash drives using original USB technology can easily transition.

USB 3.0, also known as SuperSpeed USB, was introduced in November 2008. The first 3.0-compatible USB storage began shipping in January 2010. SuperSpeed USB was developed by the USB Promoter Group to increase the data transfer rate and lower power consumption. With SuperSpeed USB, the data transfer rate increased 10 times from Hi-Speed USB to 5 Gigabits per second (Gbps). It features lower power requirements when active and idle, and is backward-compatible with USB 2.0. USB 3.1, known as SuperSpeed+ or SuperSpeed USB 10 Gbps, was released in July 2013. It bumped up the data transfer rate and improved data encoding for higher throughput.

Pros and cons of USB flash drives

USB flash drives are small and light, use little power and have no moving parts. The devices, whether they are encased in plastic or rubber, are strong enough to withstand mechanical shocks, scratches and dust, and generally are waterproof.

Data on USB flash drives can be retained for long periods when the device is unplugged from a computer, or when the computer is powered-down with the drive left in. This makes a USB flash drive convenient for transferring data between a desktop computer and a notebook computer, or for personal backup needs.

Unlike most removable drives, a USB flash drive does not require rebooting after it is attached, does not require batteries or an external power supply, and is not platform dependent. Several manufacturers offer additional features such as password protection and downloadable drivers that allow the device to be compatible with older systems that do not have USB ports.

Drawbacks to USB flash drives include the ability to handle a limited number of write and erase cycles before the drive fails, data leakage and exposure to malware. Data leakage is a problem because the devices are portable and hard to track. A security breach due to malware can occur when the device is plugged into an infected system. However, encryption and a routine scan of the USB flash drive are common approaches in protecting against a security breach.

Major vendors

Examples of USB flash drive manufacturers include Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Kingston Technology Corp., Lexar Media Inc., SanDisk, Seagate Technology, Sony Corp., Toshiba Corp. and Verbatim Americas LLC.

10 Ways To Re-Use An Old USB Flash Drive

USB flash drives, also known as thumb drives, have been around for about 20 years, and while they were initially expensive, storage quickly became cheaper and cheaper until they were even being given away as promotional freebies.

1. Use a Flash Drive to Unlock Your PC

If you care about your digital security, you probably have a PIN or password lock on your laptop or desktop PC. But there is another way to lock and unlock your computer: Using a USB flash drive.

Software such as Predator allows you to create a key on your old USB drive which, when plugged in to your computer, will automatically unlock it. When the “Key” is removed, the computer will lock again.

There are several different USB lock software options available, and almost all of the best ones cost money (although usually not very much. Predator is just $10 for the home version). If you want to try out a freeware USB locker, you can search for “USB System Lock” and “WinLockr USB Lock Key”.

With most, if not all, of these USB locks, you can continue to use the flash drive as a storage drive at the same time. And most only require a small amount of space, so even tiny capacity drives will work.

2. Use it as a Mini Network Drive

If you have an unused USB drive with a decent capacity (we suggest at least 32GB to be of any real use), you can use it as a network drive. Many modern routers have a USB port, which can have a storage drive attached to it, including a USB flash drive.

You will need to know how to log in to your router’s firmware dashboard, as this is where you set up the drive as a network drive. You can find many guides to setting up a network drive on the Internet

Once set up, anyone using the network can use the drive as storage, or you can use it for things like media streaming.

3. Create an Emergency Antivirus Tool

Most antivirus software will allow users to create a USB (or CD/DVD) recovery tool. This can be a life saver if you have a virus-infected computer that you cannot access.

Open your antivirus software and check for the recovery or scanning tool option. The exact process (and size of drive needed) will vary between different antivirus software, but it is usually a fairly simple step-by-step process to follow.

Once created, label the drive so you know what it is and not to format it, and keep it safe. In the event of a virus preventing access to your computer, insert the USB drive and boot the computer (it should automatically boot from the USB, but you may need to change the boot sequence in the BIOS).

4. Store Your Most Sensitive Data

If you have sensitive data that you need to keep safe, in an offline location, you can encrypt and use an old USB flash drive.

Again, the size old the old drive needed will depend on how much data you need to store. If it is just documents and a few images, then even a 8GB drive should give you plenty of space.

In order to encrypt your drive, you will need some software such as TrueCrypt, SecurStick or VeraCrypt. Download your chosen encryption software and carefully follow the instructions to create the encrypted drive. In all cases you will need to create an access password for the drive, so make sure you don’t forget it (write it down and store it separately to the USB drive) as it is the only way to recover the data on that drive!

5.

Boost PC Performance with ReadyBoost

Back in the days of Windows Vista, Microsoft introduced a tool called ReadyBoost. This was designed to increase performance by acting as a memory cache management system, and was mainly used to speed up data retrieval in systems that used a mechanical hard drive (as solid state memory is usually faster), working alongside SuperFetch which is part of the operating system.

There is some debate about whether ReadyBoost will make any difference to the performance of a modern, high performance PC, particularly if it has a SSD installed (unlikely that it will). But if you have a slightly older computer, which has a machanical hard drive, it might still provide a helping hand.

To give ReadyBoost a try, insert a USB flash drive and access the drive properties (right-click on the drive icon and select properties). You should see a ReadyBoost tab. Click this and then click Apply.

The drive will need to be at least 256MB in size, have an access time of 1ms or less and a throughput of 2. 5MB/sec.

6. Create a Portable Music Library

If you travel a lot, or even if you just want to take some music on your annual vacation, you can throw together a collection of your favourite songs/albums on even a fairly small USB drive to take with you.

Many hotel rooms will have a small stereo system that it can be plugged into, or failing that, you can usually find a spare USB port on the TV in the room and play your music through that.

It can also be useful if you have a car stereo with a USB port, as it means you don’t have to have your phone connected to the ICE system for music, and you can just leave it in place when you leave the car.

7. External Storage for a Smartphone or Tablet

Many, if not all, modern smartphones and tablets support USB OTG (On-The-Go), meaning you can use an old USB flash drive as external storage for your mobile files and photos.

You will need a mobile device that supports USB OTG (the alternative is to root your non-OTG device so you can install an app which allows you to mount external drives; probably more trouble than it’s worth). You will also ne ed a short USB OTG cable, unless your flash drive has a micro USB/USB C plug on it.

8. Create a Windows 10 Recovery Drive

The easiest way to be able to get your computer up and running after a major hardware failure is to create and regularly update a recovery drive. Windows 10 includes all of the tools you need to create a recovery drive, which does not protect personal files and applications, but will allow you to quickly reinstall Windows 10 in the state it was when the drive was created.

You will need a USB drive that doesn’t contain any other data (as everything will be erased during the creation process), and one that has a capacity of at least 16GB.

To create a recover drive, search in Windows 10 for “Create a recovery drive” and select the matching result that appears. Make sure that “Back up system files to the recovery drive” is selected, then connect the drive to your PC and click create.

9. Use it as a Portable Password Manager

As our world gets more and more digital, password manager software has become more and more popular as we rack up double-digit (or even triple-digit) password collections.

Many of the most popular password managers, including LastPass, allow you to download a portable version of the software, along with a web browser, so it can be used from a USB stick.

10. Automatically Sync Files to USB

There are lots of cloud storage solutions which allow automatic syncing, but it is also possible to automatically sync files locally, giving you a portable backup of your most important stuff that will be accessible even when cloud storage isn’t.

Tools like Microsoft’s SyncToy and others allow you to create a folder that is automatically synced with a external drive, including a USB flash drive. Every time you plug in the connected USB drive, files from that folder will be synced/copied onto the drive, and anything new on the drive will be copied into the local folder.

Find more guides like this in…

What is a Flash Drive?

Updated: 04/30/2020 by Computer Hope

Alternatively referred to as a USB flash drive, data stick, pen drive, memory unit, keychain drive, and thumb drive, a jump drive is a portable storage device. It is often the size of a human thumb (hence the name), and connects to a computer via a USB port. Flash drives are an easy way to store and transfer information between computers and range in sizes from 2 GB to 1 TB.

Unlike a standard hard drive, the flash drive has no movable parts; it contains only an integrated circuit memory chip that is used to store data. Flash drives usually have plastic or aluminum casings surrounding the memory chip. The picture shows a SanDisk Cruzer Micro 16 GB flash drive.

Note

The term flash drive may also be used to describe an SSD (solid-state drive).

How to use a flash drive

A flash drive can be utilized like any drive on your computer. To save a file to your thumb drive, follow the steps below.

1. Start by inserting the flash drive into a front or back USB port or a USB hub.

Note

Except for USB 3.0; all USB connectors can only connect in one direction. If you’re having trouble inserting the USB drive, try rotating the drive 180-degrees.

2. Once inserted, in Windows, open My Computer or File Explorer to see the drive labeled as “Removable Disk,” “Flash drive,” or as the manufacturer’s name.
3. Once the appropriate drive letter for your device is determined, you can copy any file you want, and then paste it onto the flash drive. You can also drag-and-drop files onto the flash drive.

Tip

If you’re having trouble locating the drive letter of your flash drive, take a look at the next section.

What drive letter is my flash drive?

When connecting a flash drive to a computer on Microsoft Windows, it becomes the first available drive letter after those already in use. For example, your hard drive is C: and your disc drive is D:, then your flash drive would likely be the E: drive. An exception to this rule would be if you have more than one hard drive. If you are still unsure, open File Explorer, and watch for a new drive to appear after you insert the thumb drive.

What is the difference between a jump drive and a flash drive?

A jump drive and a flash drive are the same, but with different names. The confusion seems to arise in the difference between a flash drive, being a device (detailed above), and flash memory, being non-volatile storage medium. Flash memory is used in many devices, including flash drives, solid-state drives, and memory cards.

How are USB flash drives used?

The USB flash drive is most often used to store and transfer files between computers. For example, you could write a report using a school computer, copy the file to your USB flash drive, and later connect it to your home computer to continue working. USB flash drives are also a great and easy way to back up your important files. For example, you could copy all your pictures, documents, music, or other files to a flash drive and store it somewhere safe in case something happened to your computer.

Tip

Like all past storage media, flash drives are now being replaced by cloud storage. If you are looking for faster methods of transferring data, you can use cloud storage as an alternative method.

What did people use before flash drives to store data?

Before the popularity of flash drives, most people used recordable CDs and DVDs to store and backup data.

How much data can a flash drive hold?

Currently, flash drives hold between 8 GB and 2 TB of information.

How big of flash drive should I get?

Today, even a 16 GB flash drive is not that much money, and we recommend buying as much as you can afford. However, if you are only planning on storing a few document files or not that many files on the drive, you can save yourself some money by buying a smaller drive.

History of the USB flash drive

The first USB flash drives were developed in April 1999 at M-Systems (now SanDisk), an Israeli company, by Amir Ban, Dov Moran, and Oron Ogdan. M-Systems announced the USB flash drives in September 2000 and were first sold to the public in December 2000 by IBM with a capacity of 8 MB.

Drive, External storage, Hard drive terms, Hardware terms, Memory terms, Non-volatile, Portable, Solid-state device, SSD, USB

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Victorinox has unveiled a Swiss Army knife with a USB flash drive that holds 1 terabyte of data. The company has had a USB knife in its line of products for a while, but the Victorinox SSD comes with several new features: it connects to eSATA II/III as well as USB 2.0/3.0 with a single connector, it has a monochrome graphic display showing what’s on the drive and it supports 256 AES encryption .

more This is USB 3.1 Gen 1 same as USB 3.0 in terms of speed the 128GB is a tad slower at 125MBps to the 130MBps quoted on this one and even though it is the smallest 256GB drive as i said it is 2 …

Jul 13, 2020 · Cruzer flash drive could not be detected by the computer 2. Transferring a 4GB or larger file to a USB flash drive 3. Formatting a drive or device through a PC using Disk Management 4. Data recovery for flash drives 5. Deleting files on a flash drive using Mac More flash drive FAQs >>

Descrição do produto em inglês após português Capacidades: 512gb, 1 TB de 1 TB Conectividade Hi-Velocidade USB 2.0 e 1.1 Compatibilidade para compatibilidades: Todos os telefones Android e computador Velocidade de Leitura 10-20 MB / segundo (Usb 2,0 USB 2,0) Velocidade de Gravação 3-8 MB / segundo (Usb 2,0 USB 2,0) Retenção de dados 10 anos ***** Capacities:512GB,1TB Connectivity Hi …

Photo Stick Reviews, Is The Photo Stick A Scam? Must Read Before Buying

Do you ever wish you could store more photos in one place, free up storage on your computer by saving your photos elsewhere or wish you could find photos on your computer more easily? Anyone who loves to capture life’s precious moments has probably felt this way at one point or another.  Luckily, there’s a solution for all of those issues, and it is the Photo Stick. The Photo Stick is designed to safely store your photos off your device, freeing up ample storage space, and transfer them to and from other devices. 

We have looked into the Photo Stick carefully and provided a review to help you determine if the Photo Stick is the right solution for you. In this detailed review you’ll find answers to every question you may have about the Photo stick. 

What Is the Photo Stick?

The Photo Stick is designed to store thousands of photos at once, securely and safely. You may think that would require a product that’s overly expensive, however, that’s not the case! This product has been popular for a while now due to its storage capabilities and its compact and portable design.

Many people compare the Photo Stick to a storage drive or a flash drive. While it is similar to those, it is not the same. The Photo Stick is what we call “smart storage”. The Photo Stick manages to store your files in an efficient and easily accessible way, easing the complication and workload for you.  It finds files for you, which means you don’t have to sort through loads of folders or waste time hunting down your pictures. All of that work is done for you, which is why there are so many positive reviews about it.  

So yes, it is kind of like a flash drive. It serves the same purpose by holding many files at once, but it is also so much more. The Photo Stick is designed to do what other flash drives and storage devices can’t – by finding files for you, it saves time and avoids the hassle of sorting and locating photos. Overall, this makes it infinitely easier to transfer your files quickly and simply.

How Does the Photo Stick Work?

The technology behind the Photo Stick is fascinating. It comes with software embedded on it that locates files fast, searching through your entire computer and then copying those files onto the Photo Stick device. You can operate the device on any computer.

It can also be used to transfer files from one computer to the next. The Photo Stick will act as a bridge between them, and you can place files from one computer onto the stick, take the stick with you and then insert it into the other computer. That can be very convenient if the two computers are not close together.

When using the Photo Stick, theres no need to worry about duplicate files saved onto the device, Photo Stick automatically removes the duplicates from the device. Other devices do not have this capability. It automatically filters duplicates to save you storage space and to reduce confusion.

It can also find files that you can’t find yourself. You may have misplaced files on the computer and have not been able to locate them… perhaps they’re in the wrong folder, under the wrong name or simply saved in a place that doesn’t make sense. Photo Stick can retrieve those files for you and add them to the device.  

Pros and Cons of The Photo Stick

Pros and cons of the Photo Stick will help you determine if it’s the right product for you.

Pros:

• Works on Most Computers- from Macs to Windows PCs to laptops, it is designed to be used on any device.
• Easy to Use- The instructions are straightforward with onscreen prompts directing you to successfully loading and storing your photos on the Photo Stick. No need to look at pages of instructions. 
• Powerful Software- The Photo Stick software locates appropriate video, photo and other document files so you don’t have to find them yourself. 
• Ample Storage- There are different storage sizes of the the Photo Stick. The smallest offers 8GB.
• Works Fast- You can benefit from speedy software at work as soon as you plug in the Photo Stick. You will see it work right away, and your computer will recognize it is there. It sorts and copies files for you quickly too. How long it takes depends on how many files you have to transfer over, but even a massive copying job should only take a few minutes
• Affordably Priced- Photo Stick starts at $35 for the smallest option.
• No Risk to You- This product comes with a money back guarantee – if you are not satisfied with the PhotoStick, you can easily request a refund.

Cons:

• Doesn’t Work on Mobile Devices- There are two kinds of Photo Stick storage devices. One of them (Photo Stick mobile) works for mobile devices, like iPhones, and other smart devices. The other one works for personal computers and laptops, like Macs and Windows systems. You want to make sure you get the right one, because they don’t work on the same devices. Pay close attention to what you are getting and make sure that it is compatible with the device or devices that you plan to use it with.
• Not All Devices Are Compatible – while the Photo Stick works on almost every computer, occasionally a device will not work on a computer likely due to an unknown virus or interfering software. This is incredibly rare, but we want you to be aware in case this occurs for you.

To Back Up All Your Photos & Videos from Your PC & Mac – CLICK HERE

To Back Up All Your Photos & Videos from Your Mobile Device – CLICK HERE

Photo Stick Customers Reviews

We looked through content about the Photo Stick to bring you this review scanning customer reviews all over the internet. We want to inform you of what real consumers think about the Photo Stick

Here are what people are saying about Photo Stick:

• Carol Glynn wrote on Amazon that she bought the Photo Stick to find files automatically, and it did just that. She said it worked as it was supposed to.
• Dave, a paralegal, wrote on Amazon that while customer support was kind of slow for the product, it was very easy to use. He says he knows his images are safely stored on the device, and he likes how much space is on the Photo Stick, estimating he will likely never run out of space on his.
• On eBay, a user by the name of Alligator Bait said that the photo stick was simply one of his best ever purchases. He says even though he is 75 years old, the device was easy to use.
• Also on eBay, user Basketball13 said the device eliminated his duplicates – every single one of them. He was also impressed by how much storage it offered and how it found files for him.

Click Here to Read Unbiased Photo Stick Reviews By Real Customers On Facebook

Should You Buy The Photo Stick?

Weighing the pros and cons and what customers are saying, you may still be wondering whether you should invest in the Photo Stick. 

The main decision lies in whether to buy a Photo Stick or a flash drive. The main reason consumers go with the Photo Stick over a flash drive is the Photo Stick’s ease of use and time saving capabilities. Not only that, but the Photo Stick is much more affordable than competing products.

The secure storage is a major benefit, being able to have the entirety of their personal photos stored in one, safe place is very important.

Of course, while the Photo Stick is a great product with great value, it is up to the individual consumer to decide if it’s right for them.

What Is the Photo Stick Mobile and How It Works?

There are two different kinds of Photo Stick devices, the Photo Stick for PCs and Photo Stick for iPhones.  

The Photo Stick for mobile offers the same benefits as the PC version. It locates files for you, works fast, keeps your photos secure and stores thousands of photos at once. 

The PhotoStick for mobile is convenient and a great way to clear space on your smartphone. It works with iPads and smartphones of all kinds (including Android devices). With all of our applications and conversations already stored on our mibile devices, why waste space with photos when you can safely store them elsewhere? 

Does The Photo Stick Work Quickly?

Some reviews state that the Photo Stick works “lightning fast”. Most who use it will say that it works very quickly, as your computer will recognize the device and create an immediate notification that it is plugged in, followed by asking what you want to do with it.

The process of finding and copying files is also very speedy, taking only a few seconds up to a few minutes, depending on how many files are on your computer. It can copy thousands of file in minutes – overshadowing competition by a long shot!

The Photo Stick is going to find every compatible file on your device and copy them over for you. Right now, there is no way to sort out which files you want to copy and store and which ones you want to leave alone. The Photo Stick is designed for simplicity. It works on its own, leaving you with minimal work. 

CLICK HERE To GET The Photo Stick For PC & Mac at 40% Off

CLICK HERE To GET PhotoStick Mobile FOR ANDROID & IOS

How Many Photos Can You Store With Photo Stick?

There are a few different storage size options that you can choose from. The basic Photo Stick is 8GB, which is probably going to offer enough storage for most people. The 8GB holds up to 3,500 averaged sized photos and videos.

The next size 64GB which can hold up to 30,000 photos and videos. This is primarily used by professional photographers or those with careers in social media.

Finally, you have the 128GB which can securely hold up to 60,000 photos and videos.

It’s important to note that these storage numbers are based on typical file sizes, so you may be able to fit slightly more or slightly fewer files than mentioned.

CLICK HERE To GET PhotoStick Mobile FOR ANDROID & IOS

What Types of Files Can the Photo Stick Find?

A very common question, the software on the Photo Stick finds and retrieves jpegs and gif files from your device. This being said, it can store a wider variety of files such as .mov, mpeg 4, avi, bmp, and tiff. The Photo Stick cannot retrieve those from you device, you must manually add these types of files. 

There are no issues with compatibility when transferring them to and from another device.

How to Run The Photo Stick?

The Photo Stick is very easy to run. It is designed to do just about everything on its own. Once you plug it into your computer’s USB port, it will start up on its own. Your computer will then notify you that the device is plugged in and ready to use. It will then prompt you to answer what you’d like to do with it.

It’s important to note that each computer is different, so the process may vary from device to device, regardless, the Photo Stick is overall very self-explanatory.

Does The Photo Stick Need to Install Anything on Your Device?

When hearing that the Photo Stick has software on it, you may be concerned about an unwanted program or app being installed on your device. This does not happen with the Photo Stick. Everything it needs to operate is within the device itself. There are no files or apps needed to use and operate the device.

The Photo stick works with standard exiting programs on most computers, using your hard drive for most of its operations. It doesn’t connect to the internet and doesn’t require cloud storage or a password. There is simply nothing outside of your computer and the device needed to make this work – no files to download, no service to sign up for and no subscription fees or other hidden costs.

You also do not need to worry about spyware or malware being downloaded onto your device as the PhotoStick only copies files that have been added from your own device. 

It’s a completely safe and harmless product that will not put your computer at risk, will not take up unnecessary storage and will not introduce foreign programs to your computer. 

Does The Photo Stick Work with Your Device?

The Photo Stick is designed for use with most versions of computers. It works with PCs, Macs, most laptops and other devices that have USB ports. Keep in mind, though, that it will not work with mobile devices like smartphones, iPads, iPhones, and Android devices. Those require the PhotoStick mobile in order to copy and safely store photos.

Your computer needs to have either a Windows or Mac operating system and a USB drive. No internet connections is required for operation. The device works with Mac 0S X version 10.7 as well as Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10, XP and Vista. If you aren’t sure what you have, check your device first before buying the Photo Stick.

If you buy Photo Stick and run into some compatibility issues or some other kind of problem where it won’t work with your specific device, then you should contact customer support. The manufacturer provides customer support service to answer questions that you may have and to help resolve any issues that could arise. They can help you troubleshoot problems with compatibility and help you figure out if you have the right kind of computer to use Photo Stick with.

The Photo Stick Backup All Your Photos And Videos With Just 1 Click – Claim Your 40% Discount Right Here

What Is the Price of Photo Stick?

The smallest Photo Stick, 4GB, costs $34.99. However, discounts are readily available for use, sometimes offering a savings of up to 40%.

The next size up, the 8GB, costs $49.99. Similar to the 4GB, you can often find discounts to use. 

The largest size, the 128GB, is just $79.99. Compared to other options, this is extremely affordable for the amount of storage it offers. And of course, be on the lookout for discounts! 

The Photo Stick makes for a great gift for family and friends, so take advantage of the offers currently available. 

Lastly, a great thing about the Photo Stick is that there are no extra or hidden costs. 

To Back Up All Your Photos & Videos from Your PC & Mac – CLICK HERE

To Back Up All Your Photos & Videos from Your Mobile Device – CLICK HERE

Final Verdict

The Photo Stick is a solid product that should meet the storage needs of nearly anyone. Consumers like it for its security, convenience and efficiency. 

The Photo Stick is definitely worth a try for anyone interested in storing their files outside of their devices. 

Between the positive Photo Stick reviews and the long list of exceptional features and benefits, this is a great choice for anyone looking for a storage solution. And, since it comes with a money back guarantee, it’s risk free!

90,000 What is an SSD drive?

Back to results

Want to know how a solid state drive works? Solid State Drives (SSD) is a type of storage that functions similar to a hard drive, but is based on a different technology. SSD drives use digital flash storage just like USB drives. A hard disk drive (HDD) uses a rotating platter and arm. The working surface of these plates moves relative to the reading head.SSDs provide near-instant system and application boot times because they don’t have to mechanically search for data on a spinning disk.

What is a solid state drive responsible for?

In a computer, storage (SSD or HDD) works in conjunction with the system memory and processor and is responsible for accessing and using data. SSD drives provide faster access to data and improve the performance of your computer.This is because SSDs employ slightly different technologies than traditional hard drives. Operating system data, games, pictures and music from the SSD will load faster.

For example, when you need to access a spreadsheet and perform simple editing operations, the following happens on the computer:

1. Programs and files are in the vault. In this case, it is the spreadsheet being accessed.

2.When a request is made to open a spreadsheet, the processor transfers program data from storage to RAM for quick access and use. SSDs have nearly instant response times, so they speed up the transfer process, which is the time it takes to load programs and files.

3. Further, the processor receives data from memory, which is the bank of your computer’s free working space.The memory is then used to execute programs. Learn more about the differences between memory and storage.

SSDs are not only faster but also more reliable because they have no moving parts to wear out or break (especially if dropped or bumped). They also use less power and save battery power.

Your operating system, programs, and all files are stored and retrieved from storage.Installing an SSD drive is one of the fastest ways to forget about slow boot times and transform almost every aspect of your system’s performance. Learn more about the benefits of solid state drives.

90,000 Based on ancient technologies, a drive with an outrageous capacity was created – the “killer” of SSD and HDD

12/17/2020, Thu, 09:51, Moscow time
, Text: Elyas Kasmi

Fujifilm and IBM have managed to increase tape capacity to 580 TB.This is a new world record, and no modern hard drive can match them – the largest of them can store less than 30 TB. SSDs are also not competitors, since their maximum capacity does not exceed 100 TB yet.

New world record

IBM and Fujifilm have developed a tape drive capable of holding 580 TB (terabytes of information). According to the Blocks & Files portal, this is an absolute world record – before the appearance of this development, there was not a single tape drive in the world capable of storing such a volume of data.

IBM and Fujifilm achieved a recording density of 317 Gbps per square inch. To do this, the engineers of the companies, when developing the tape itself, used particles of strontium ferrite, which covered its surface. This technology was created and patented by Fujifilm. Today’s commercially available tape drives use a different material to cover the magnetic tape — barium ferrite particles.

Having switched to strontium ferrite, specialists simultaneously reduced the recording tracks to 56.2 nm.They also needed to design a new head for reading and writing, capable of working with reduced tracks and having an increased movement accuracy of 3.2 nm. The total length of the magnetic tape, capable of holding half a petabyte of information, was 1.255 kilometers.

Palm-sized storage can store half a petabyte of data

As of December 2020, the recording density of 317 GB per square inch, writes the SlashGear portal, was 27 times higher than that of modern tape drives available for purchase.IBM compared the total capacity of its joint development with Fujifilm with a “small” stack of CDs, consisting of almost 787 thousand CDs with a total height of 944 meters.

Also, the new development can be compared to one of the data warehouses built by IBM. In August 2011, CNews wrote about the construction by the company of the largest (at that time) in the world data center with a capacity of 120 PB (petabytes), consisting of 200 thousand hard drives. If it were collected on new tape drives, without taking into account the difference in data access speed, then it would take only about 210 to achieve this volume.

Previous records

IBM and Fujifilm have been working together for many years to increase the capacity of tape drives. In April 2015, they were able to achieve a recording density of 123 Gbps per square inch and a total capacity of 220 TB for uncompressed data. In this case, strontium ferrite particles have not yet been used – the companies used barium ferrite tape.

Modern magnetic tape consists of at least four layers

But IBM is not only working with Fujifilm – there is another Japanese company, Sony, on the list of its partners.Together, in December 2017, they created a tape drive with a write density of 201 GB per square inch and a capacity of 330 TB.

Technologies are developing

While IBM and Fujifilm are betting on strontium ferrite particles, Japanese scientists have developed a completely new material for making magnetic tapes. It was created by specialists from the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Tokyo – they called it “epsilon iron oxide” (ε-Fe2O3), and, according to their statements, magnetic tapes based on it will not only be able to accommodate huge amounts of information, but also provide more reliable information. storage versus commercially available tapes.

How the pandemic changed workspaces

Integration

For the first time, the existence of episilon iron oxide became known at the beginning of November 2020. At what stage of development the new material is, its inventors do not specify. They also do not tell you what recording density can be achieved using it.

SSD and hard drives lagged far behind

Tape drives are a fairly old type of storage medium.Magnetic tape was developed back in the 30s of the XX century and was originally used for storing sound recordings. The first case of its use for recording and storing computer data was recorded in 1951.

Meanwhile, despite its almost 100-year age, magnetic tape is not only not inferior, but also significantly ahead of all modern storage devices in terms of the amount of stored information. For comparison, the world’s largest solid state drive (SSD) at the time of publication has a capacity of 100 TB, which is more than five times less against the background of the new creation of IBM and Fujitsu.

This capacity, writes the TechRadar portal, has an SSD Exadrive from Nimbus. Its premiere took place in July 2020, it is made in a 3.5-inch form factor, more typical for hard drives, and costs $ 40 thousand. There is also its 50-terabyte version for $ 12.5 thousand.

Nimbus 100 TB Exadrive

Hard drives are lagging behind even further – the volume of modern drives of this class currently does not exceed 30 TB, although their manufacturers have plans to increase their capacity.As CNews reported, back in November 2019, Seagate announced its intention to release the world’s first 50 terabyte hard drive no later than 2026. In December 2019, its main competitor, Western Digital, revealed similar plans.

disk – what is it and how to choose it [OVERVIEW]

In this article I will try to explain what an SSD disk is, how it differs from a conventional hard disk, I will tell you about its advantages and disadvantages, and also learn what parameters ( criteria) should be selected when purchasing an SSD.

This article on SSDs today was not born by accident. It turned out that many readers do not know at all what it is.

So, after my description of the SSD life program, the vast majority of users rushed to check their ordinary hard drives with this utility, which led to confusion in the comments. There I promised to write in more detail about SSD disks – I’m doing it.

What is an SSD drive

In a dry language, the definition of an SSD drive is as follows: solid-state drive (SSD , solid-state drive) is a computer non-mechanical storage device based on memory chips.

It is unlikely that they were imbued with this stingy definition. Now I will try to explain what an SSD drive is in a different language, as they say – on my fingers.

I’ll come from far away … First, you need to remember (or learn for the first time) what an ordinary computer hard disk is (it is also called a hard drive).

A hard disk (HDD) is a device in a computer that stores all data (programs, movies, images, music … the Windows operating system itself) and looks like this …

Information on the hard disk is written (and read) by magnetization reversal of cells on magnetic plates that rotate at a wild speed.Above the plates (and between them), a special carriage with a reading head is worn like a frightened one.

The whole thing is buzzing and moving constantly. In addition, this is a very “thin” device and is afraid of even simple wobbling during its operation, not to mention falling to the floor, for example (the reading heads will encounter rotating disks and hello to the information stored on the disk).

Read also on the website:

…

…

And now a solid-state drive (SSD-disk) is entering the scene.This is also a device for storing information, but not based on rotating magnetic disks, but on memory chips, as mentioned above. Such a big flash drive.

Nothing spinning, moving or buzzing! Plus – just crazy speed of writing / reading data!

Left – hard drive, right – SSD.

Advantages of SSD drives

It’s time to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of SSD drives …

1. Speed ​​

This is the fattest plus of these devices! Changing your old hard drive to a flash drive will not recognize your computer!

Before the advent of SSDs, the slowest device in a computer was the hard drive.

He, with his ancient technology from the last century, incredibly slowed down the enthusiasm of a fast processor and fast RAM.

2. Noise level = 0 dB

It is logical – there are no moving parts. In addition, these drives stay cool during operation, so cooling coolers turn on less often and work less intensely (making noise).

3. Shock and vibration resistance

I watched the video on the network – the connected and working SSD-disk was shaken, dropped on the floor, knocked on it … and it continued to work quietly! No comments.

4. Light weight

Not a huge plus, of course, but still – hard drives are heavier than their modern competitors.

5. Low power consumption

I can do without numbers – the battery life of my old laptop has increased by more than one hour.

Disadvantages of SSD drives

1. High cost

This is at the same time the most deterrent disadvantage for users, but also very temporary – prices for such drives are constantly and rapidly falling.

2. Limited number of write cycles

A typical, medium-sized flash-based SSD with MLC technology is capable of approximately 10,000 read / write cycles. But the more expensive type of SLC memory can already live 10 times longer (100,000 rewriting cycles).

As for me, in both cases the flash drive can easily work for at least 3 years! This is just the average life cycle of a home computer, after which there is a configuration update, replacement of components with more modern, faster and cheaper ones.

Progress does not stand still and tadpoles from manufacturing companies have already come up with new technologies that significantly increase the lifespan of SSD drives.

For example, RAM SSD or FRAM technology, where the resource, although limited, is practically unattainable in real life (up to 40 years in continuous read / write mode).

3. Impossibility of recovering deleted information

No special utility will be able to recover deleted information from an SSD-drive.There are simply no such programs.

If only the controller burns out in 80% of cases with a large voltage surge in a regular hard disk, then in SSD disks this controller is located on the board itself, along with memory chips, and the entire drive burns out – hello to family photo album.

This hazard has been virtually eliminated in notebook computers and when using an uninterruptible power supply.

Tips for choosing an SSD drive

Bus bandwidth

Remember the advice on how to choose a USB flash drive? So, when choosing a flash drive, the speed of reading / writing data is also of paramount importance.

The higher this speed, the better. But you should also remember about the bandwidth of the computer bus, or rather, the motherboard.

If your laptop or desktop computer is too old, there is no point in buying an expensive and fast SSD drive. He simply will not be able to work even at half his capacity.

To make it clearer, I will sound the bandwidth of various buses (data transfer interface):

• IDE (PATA) – 1000 Mbit / s. This is a very ancient interface for connecting devices to a motherboard.To connect an SSD to such a bus, you need a special adapter. There is absolutely no sense in using the discs described in this case.

• SATA – 1,500 Mbit / s. Already more fun, but not too much.

• SATA2 – 3000 Mbit / s. The most widespread bus at the moment. With such a bus, for example, my drive works at half its capacity. He needs …

• SATA3 – 6,000 Mbit / s. This is a completely different matter! This is where the SSD will show itself in all its glory.

So before buying, find out which bus is on the motherboard, as well as which one is supported by the drive itself, and make a decision on the expediency of purchasing.

Here, for example, how I chose (and was guided by) my HyperX 3K 120 GB. The read speed is 555 MB / s, and the data write speed is 510 MB / s. This drive works in my laptop now at exactly half of its capabilities (SATA2), but exactly twice as fast as a standard hard drive.

Over time, it will move to the children’s gaming computer, where there is SATA3 and it will demonstrate there all its power and all the speed of work without constraining factors (outdated, slow data transfer interfaces).

We conclude: if the computer has a SATA2 bus and you do not plan to use the disk in another (more powerful and modern) computer, buy a disk with a bandwidth of no more than 300 MB / s, which will be significantly cheaper and at the same time twice as fast as the current one hard drive.

Form factor

Also pay attention when choosing and buying a flash drive on the form factor (size and dimensions). It can be 3.5 ″ (inches) – larger and slightly cheaper, but it won’t fit in a laptop or 2.5 ″ – smaller and fits into any laptop (usually equipped with special adapters for stationary computers).

Thus, it is more practical to buy a disk in the 2.5 ″ form factor – and you can install it anywhere and sell (if anything) easier. And it takes up less space in the system unit, which improves the cooling of the entire computer.

IOPS indicator

An important factor of IOPS (the number of input / output operations per second), the higher this indicator, the faster the drive will work, with a large amount of files.

Memory Chip

Memory chips are divided into two main types MLC and SLC. The cost of SLC chips is much higher and the service life is on average 10 times longer than that of MLC memory chips, but with proper operation, the service life of drives on MLC memory chips is at least 3 years.

Controller

This is the most important part of an SSD. The controller manages the operation of the entire drive, distributes data, monitors the wear of memory cells and evenly distributes the load.

I recommend giving preference to the time-tested and well-proven controllers SandForce, Intel, Indilinx, Marvell.

The amount of memory SSD

It is most practical to use the SSD only for the placement of the operating system, and all data (movies, music, etc.) is best stored on the second, hard disk.

With this option, it is enough to buy a ~ 60 GB disk. Thus, you can save a lot and get the same acceleration of the computer (in addition, the lifespan of the drive will increase).

Again, I will give an example of my solution – on the network are sold (very inexpensively) special containers for hard drives, which in 2 minutes are inserted into a laptop instead of an optical CD drive (which I have used a couple of times in four years).

Here’s a great solution – an old disk in place of a floppy drive, and a brand new SSD in place of a regular hard disk. It couldn’t have been better.

And finally, a couple of interesting facts:

Why is a hard disk often called a hard drive? Back in the early 1960s, IBM released one of the first hard drives and the number of this development was 30 – 30, which coincided with the designation of the popular rifled weapon Winchester (Winchester), so this slang name stuck to all hard drives.

Why a hard drive? The main elements of these devices are several circular aluminum or non-crystalline glassy plates. Unlike floppy disks (floppy disks), they cannot be bent, that’s why they called it – a hard disk.

That’s all for today – if you have mastered this article and read it to the end, now you know exactly what an SSD is.

Until new interesting and useful programs!

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Intel® SSD D3-S4510 Series

Date of issue

The date the product was released.

Terms of Use

Terms of use are the environmental and operating conditions arising from the context of use of the system.
Please refer to the PRQ for the terms of use for a specific SKU.
See Intel UC (CNDA website) * for current terms of use.

Sequential read (up to)

The rate at which the device can retrieve data that forms one unfragmented, ordered block of data. Measured in MB / s (megabytes per second)

Sequential write (up to)

The rate at which the device can write data to one unfragmented, ordered block of data.Measured in MB / s (megabytes per second)

Random Read (100% Span)

The rate at which an SSD can retrieve data from arbitrary memory locations throughout the entire disk area. Changes in IOPS (input / output operations per second)

Random Write (100% Span)

The speed at which an SSD can write data to arbitrary memory locations throughout the entire disk area.Changes in IOPS (input / output operations per second)

Delay – Read

Read Latency refers to the time taken to complete the data retrieval task. Measured in microseconds.

Delay – Write

Write Latency refers to the time taken to complete the write task to disk.Measured in microseconds.

Power – Active

Active Power Consumption indicates the normal power consumption of the device when it is operational.

Power – Idle

Low Power Mode indicates the normal power consumption of the device when it is idle.

Vibration – Operating

Vibration in operation indicates the proven ability of the SSD to withstand vibration in operation and remain operational. Measured in G-force RMS (root mean square value)

Vibration – Non-Operating

Storage vibration indicates the proven ability of an SSD to withstand vibration when inoperative and remain operational.Measured in G-force RMS (root mean square value)

Shock (Operating and Non-Operating)

Shock Indicates the proven ability of an SSD to withstand a recorded shock, both in operation and non-operational, while remaining operational. Measured under dynamic load (max.)

Endurance rating (lifetime write operations)

The endurance rating indicates the number of storage cycles expected during the life of a device.

MTBF

MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) indicates the elapsed expected operating time between failures. Measured in hours.

Uncorrectable Bit Error Rate (UBER)

Uncorrectable Bit Error Rate (UBER) indicates the number of uncorrectable bit errors divided by the total number of bits transmitted during the test interval.

Form Factor

Form Factor indicates the size and shape of the device in accordance with industry standards.

Interface

Interface indicates the method of interacting with the industry standard bus used by the device.

Extended Power Off Data Loss Protection

Advanced Power Off Data Loss Prevention prepares the SSD for unexpected system shutdowns by minimizing relocatable data in temporary buffers, and uses an onboard capacitor to provide the SSD firmware with sufficient power to move data out of the transfer buffer and other temporary buffers to NAND memory, thereby protecting system and user data.

Find products with Advanced Power Outage Protection

Hardware encryption

Hardware encryption is data encryption performed at the disk sector level. It is used to protect the data stored on the disk from unwanted intrusion.

Hardened Technology (HET)

High Endurance Technology (HET) is a high endurance solid state drive technology that combines the advanced silicon architecture of Intel® Flash NAND modules and solid state drive system management technologies to improve the endurance of a solid state drive.Endurance is determined by the amount of data that can be written to an SSD over its useful life.

Find products with Advanced Reliability Technology (HET)

Temperature monitoring and logging

Temperature Monitoring and Logging uses a built-in temperature sensor to monitor and record the airflow and temperature inside the unit.The result log can be viewed using the SMART command.

Search products with Temperature monitoring and logging

Intel® Remote Secure Erase

The

Intel® Remote Secure Erase provides IT administrators with a secure method to remotely erase Intel SSDs from a familiar management console if the system is removed or repurposed.This allows immediate reuse while saving administrative time and costs.

90,000 Solid State Drives. The internals and principles of their construction

Our customers are often interested in the internals of solid state drives. What determines the reliability of drives? Why can’t you store important data on flash drives, and are there reliable flash drives? Why are multi-core processors installed in SSD controllers? Why do large flash drives write quickly and small flash drives write slowly? Many questions require a long immersion in the topic, and some disappear by themselves after a small educational program on the internal structure of solid-state drives, which will be discussed.
At first glance, a USB flash drive, microSD / SD memory card, and an SSD drive are different devices, although in fact they are “close relatives”. All three types of devices are NAND flash solid state drives. Fun fact, referred to in everyday life as “SSD-disks” are not disks in the literal sense. The name “disk” is historically inherited from hard disk drives (HDD).

Despite the difference in application, the architecture of all solid state drives in general looks the same.

Solid-state drives include:

• Controller is the main element of a solid-state drive that performs the functions of reading, writing, data integrity control and correcting bit errors that occur in the structure of NAND flash memory. On the one hand, the controller connects to the host via an external SATA / USB / SD / PCIe interface, on the other, to NAND flash memory chips via the ONFI / Toggle

connection interface

• NAND Flash – An array of chips that form the storage capacity of the drive

To understand the tasks performed by the controller, it is necessary to have a basic understanding of the organization of NAND flash memory.NAND flash memory chips are quite specific in use, from the connection interface to the reliability of information storage.

NAND Flash

NAND flash memory chip – storage for user information (photos, movies, documents, operating system files, etc.).

Let’s dwell on the issues of the data access interface and the problems of information safety in NAND flash memory, which are relevant for solid-state drives.

A NAND flash memory chip can be compared to an archive of paper documents.Similar to how papers are stored in an archive, electronic documents are also stored in the memory of microcircuits.

The most important functions of any data storage and archive system are:

• Data storage – the archive must have conditions that ensure the safety of papers
• Access to information – the librarian must be able to work with the required document, otherwise the archive is useless

Storage conditions that ensure the safety of papers (temperature, humidity, protection from rodents) determine the integrity of the data, and the presence of an entrance door, spans between shelves provides access to papers.By analogy, we can say that every bit of data in flash memory is stored as a charge in the floating gate of a transistor (cell). To write a bit of information into the cell, a certain charge level is programmed.

However, the data storage system in flash memory has the following features:

1. The charge from the shutter can “leak” over time, which sooner or later will lead to data changes. For example, how the ink on archival papers fades or spreads over time, turning into illegible spots.The longer the data is stored, the less likely it is to be read later.
2. After the same circuits write the same logical level of charge to different cells, due to the technological spread of transistor parameters, it will be possible to read from there different charge values. (Paper may have different absorption and flow properties. Fine text written with a felt-tip pen may not be readable on every paper.)
3. The circuits for writing and reading the charge are also not ideal and have a technological spread in programming voltage levels and read thresholds of logic levels.(Similar to how different librarians can interpret text written by different authors in different ways on paper, because everyone’s handwriting is different.)

The goal of technology for developing memory chips is to create flash memory with the maximum quality / price ratio. For storing data in drives
NAND flash memory is a very decent solution for this ratio, as evidenced by the growth of the storage market. But the quality / price ratio is not the same as the quality.The cost of the microcircuit directly depends on the area of ​​the chip of the microcircuit. Therefore, flash memory manufacturers are constantly striving to increase the storage density in memory chips. An increase in the density of memory cells is achieved by reducing the size of the cells themselves, and by combining the circuits for writing and reading the charges of the cells. Moreover, the second, in turn, creates some difficulties in accessing the stored data.

Concepts of access interface and rules for access to NAND flash memory:

• Block. The entire volume of the microcircuit is divided into blocks. The block size is on the order of megabytes. (For example, in the archive, this is a book or notebook in a bound with stitched sheets)
• Erase a block. The block can be erased, with each bit of information in it set to “1”. Only part of a block cannot be erased. (For example, a book can be thrown away, but a sheet of paper cannot be ripped out of the book without breaking the integrity of the book)
• Page. The block is divided into pages in the order of tens of kilobytes.(For example, books and notebooks also have pages)
• Programming a page. The data of the entire page can be written (programmed) to the NAND flash memory simultaneously, the bits are set during programming to the values ​​”0″ or “1”. (For example, blank pages of a book or notebook can be filled with information only once)
• Order of programming pages. Pages within a block must be programmed strictly in ascending order of their numbers.(For example, sequential recording of information in a book or notebook)
• Overwrite order. Each page can only be programmed once. To reprogram a page, the entire block must be erased. (For example, if a page needs to be replaced in an already finished edition of a book, then the entire book will have to be reprinted and bound again)

The above features of NAND flash memory look pretty harmless at first glance, but many questions arise at the very first attempt to overwrite part of the data (for example, one sector).The tasks of writing and reading directly to the NAND flash memory are solved by the controller.

Controller

The controller provides connection to the host, and, in fact, appears to be a drive. In general, the architecture of any controller of any drive looks typical: there are hardware interface blocks for exchanging data with the host (EXT_IF) and NAND-memory (FLASH_IF). There is always a buffer memory (MEM_BUF) between the interface blocks, designed for online data caching and smoothing the data write / read stream.In USB drive controllers, the buffer memory is tens of kilobytes and is located directly in the controller itself. High-performance systems such as SSDs use external memory chips. Data between interface blocks and buffer memory is transferred without direct involvement of the processor via direct memory access (DMA) channels. The participation of the processor in data transfer is to set up DMA channels and synchronize the work of blocks.
Any of the connected drives is a “block device”. A block device is a device that stores data as a sequential chain of logical blocks that can be accessed at Logical Block Address (LBA) . Most devices support a 512-byte block size called a “sector”. A sector is the minimum discrete information that can be overwritten on a block device. That is, to replace one byte, the host must transfer the entire sector to the storage device.

For programmers working with drives at the physical level (read / write at physical addresses), it is quite obvious that writing and reading one sector should not affect the data of other sectors in any way. This is also obvious to the user of the block device, but NAND flash, as mentioned earlier, does not provide this capability. In order to replace one sector in the NAND memory array, the entire NAND flash block, which is megabytes in size, must be overwritten.This method of solving the problem is extremely ineffective, since it leads to an unacceptable decrease in the write speed to NAND flash memory relative to its potential. In addition, since the operating system often writes to the same device addresses (for example, FAT records), NAND flash memory blocks will quickly become unusable due to a limited erasure resource. To increase the speed of writing / reading data and prolong the life of NAND flash memory, more sophisticated addressing methods are used, which translate logical addresses (LBA) of the drive into physical addresses of NAND flash memory.The translation algorithm for NAND flash memory addresses in foreign literature is called Flash Translation Layer (FTL) . If you look at the description of SSD controllers (for example, by Marvell), you can see that the controller includes up to 4 processor cores. Such a high-performance system in an SSD is primarily required for calculating translation addresses.

FTL, logical and physical addressing

There is no single universal FTL algorithm that satisfies all user requests, which include:

• speed of writing / reading data at serial addresses
• speed of writing / reading data at random addresses
• Drive Life
• data storage reliability
• amount and type of used memory

FTL algorithms may differ for different types of drives (SD / USB / SSD), and for one type.For example, there is a division of SSDs by purpose: for servers, for caching in a personal computer (PC), for laptops, for desktops. At the same time, each application has its own priorities in the requirements and its own options for implementing FTL. Each FTL option represents a compromise of parameters, taking into account the priorities of a particular drive application.

The essence of FTL is the conversion of logical device addresses to physical addresses of NAND flash memory.

Each logical LBA is assigned a memory area in NAND.This is called the Logical Unit Number Table (LUN table). To overwrite a logical block, the data of a free physical block is erased, after which it is replaced in the LUN table, which gives the user the appearance of being overwritten. The size of the LUN table depends on what size the logical blocks are selected (not all devices make sense to have large amounts of memory). There are two fundamentally different approaches to FTL implementation: block addressing and page addressing.

Block addressing

In block addressing, the logical block size is the same as the physical block size.In turn, in the array LUN table with an index equal to the address of the logical block, the value corresponding to the address of the physical block is indicated. To change a part of a block, it is necessary to rewrite the whole block.

The advantage of block addressing is the small size of the LUN table, which is important for devices with a small amount of RAM, such as a USB flash drive or microSD memory card. The disadvantage is that the block size is quite large (on the order of megabytes), and to rewrite small amounts of data (for example, 512 bytes), you have to rewrite the entire block.

Page Addressing

In paging, addresses of physical pages are stored in the LUN table. The size of a logical block is in the order of tens of kilobytes.

The advantage of page addressing is the high speed of data rewriting, both sequentially and randomly. The disadvantage is the large size of the LUN table. Therefore, most SSDs include a RAM chip with a volume of more than 100 MB.

In practice, hybrid algorithms are mainly used that combine both addressing options.For example, in compact storage devices (USB flash drive, SD memory card), the bulk of the volume is addressed in the block method, while the part of the volume, which is often accessed, is addressed page by page.

This is the structure and principles of operation of NAND flash drives. A large number of scientific articles have been written about FTL addressing methods and many solutions are patented. Controller manufacturers are continually working to improve the software even after the product goes to market.In general, the software is an integral part of the controller, and its description deserves a separate article.

How to choose a fiscal accumulator (FN) for 13, 15, 36 months

General information.

Fiscal storage device (FN) is a device that, in accordance with 54-FZ, records, stores and transmits information about each operation performed by the cashier to the fiscal data operator.

Only FNs entered in the official register of the Federal Tax Service should be used in online cash registers.

Each FN has a limited validity period. Now on the market there are models for 15 and 36 months, but you can still find models for 13 months. In any case, after the expiration of the validity period, the FN must be replaced.

How to find out the date of replacement of the PV

Option 1
Open the registration card of your cash register. The date of its formation is indicated at the bottom of the card – add to it as many months as your FN is calculated for: 13, 15 or 36.For example: FN for 15 months was registered on 07/15/2018 – it must be replaced no later than 10/15/2019. If the card is not at hand, it can be downloaded from the personal account of the Federal Tax Service at www.nalog.ru.

Option 2
Log in to your personal account at the OFD. Find your FN in the section with cash registers, the date of its registration will be indicated there. If you cannot find this information on your own, contact the technical support of your FDO.

Option 3
In the OFD personal account, start the search by setting the filter in such a way that it searches for document # 1.Fiscal document type – Registration report. Check the date of generation of this check – it will be the date of activation of your FN.

Please note: online cash register may be registered with the Tax Service of the Federal Tax Service later than fiscalized, so the dates may not coincide.

Which FN to choose for business?

Terms of work FN

According to the law on the application of CCP, the cash register must be equipped with a FN, the validity of which can be 13, 15 or 36 months.

In accordance with 54-FZ, FN with a validity period of at least 36 months must be equipped with organizations and individual entrepreneurs providing services, as well as applying special tax regimes (STS, UTII, PSN, ESHN).

You can use PV with a service life of at least 15 (13) months if you meet at least one of the following conditions:

• excisable goods;

90,021 seasonal nature of work;

90,021 use of KKT in offline mode;

• combination with OSNO;
• you are a paying agent or subagent.

Important: organizations and entrepreneurs in the general tax regime have the right to use any fiscal accumulator – for 13, 15 or 36 months.

Pay attention: according to the law, after you have finished using the FN in your cash register (for this you need to remove the report on closing the fiscal accumulator, de-energize the online cashier and extract the FN), it will need to be stored for another 5 years. This is necessary in case it is necessary to check the data for the past period.

Fiscal data format and compatibility

Different FN models support different fiscal data formats. Now in the Russian Federation there are two formats of fiscal data (FFD): 1.05 and 1.1. The FFD 1.0 format does not work since January 1, 2019, and if your online checkout has not yet switched to it, you need to update it. In the future, it is planned to switch to a unified fiscal data format – FFD 1.1.

Pay attention: FN 1 fiscal accumulators work only with format 1.05 and with the no longer used FFD 1.0 format, while the FN 1.1 fiscal drives work with all existing data formats. Compatibility is indicated by numbers in the name of the FN model, for example: FN 1 and FN 1.1. More detailed information can be found in the Register of Fiscal Stores: https://www.nalog.ru/rn77/related_activities/registries/reestr_fiscal/.

How to replace FN?

Attention! Replacing the fiscal accumulator (FN) can be done independently, but this is a complex and multi-stage process, strictly regulated by law.A mistake or failure at any stage can lead to the fact that you have to buy a new FN and / or communicate with the tax authorities for a long time.

If you are not confident in your abilities, it is better to turn to specialists.

Today, FN replacement can be done online without visiting your local Tax Office.

It is better to replace the FN in a planned manner, while the online cash register is working and the FN is not blocked. Usually, a notification about a full FN comes when about 1% of free space remains on it or shortly before the expiration of its service life.

Before proceeding with the replacement of the FN, make sure is in that order that you have:

1. There is a valid electronic digital signature (CEP).
2. A taxpayer’s personal account is registered on the website www.nalog.ru.
3. All diagnostic receipts of your CCP have been printed and all settings of your CCP have been saved (name of the legal entity, TIN, cash register serial and registration numbers, security codes, etc.)etc.) – this may be needed for subsequent recovery.
4. Online checkout supports FFD 1.05. This is mandatory from January 1, 2019 *.
5. Your online cash register has a stable Internet connection.
6. The shift is closed and all fiscal documents accumulated on the cash register have been transferred to the OFD.

If everything is in order, you can proceed directly to the replacement.

1. Clear the report on closing the fiscal accumulator.
2. De-energize your online cash register and remove the FN.
3. Install a new PV. Turn on the online checkout.
4. Generate a report on the change in registration (or fiscalization) parameters at the cash register, following the instructions of the cash register manufacturer.
5. Re-register the cash register in connection with the replacement of the fiscal accumulator in the taxpayer’s personal account on the website www.nalog.ru.
6. Download the new CCP registration card from the Personal Account of the Federal Tax Service.
7. Activate the cash register in the personal account of the OFD by filling in the cash register data from the new registration card.

* If you have FFD 1.0 at your checkout, then when replacing the FN after closing the fiscal accumulator, but before inserting a new one, update the checkout to FFD 1.05.

90,000 Why do you need an SSD disk in a computer: advantages and disadvantages

Until recently, data storage media were based on the magnetic recording principle.In the 70s and 80s of the past century, they were floppy disks, which then gave way to more reliable and capacious hard drives. This state of affairs was observed until the end of the last decade, until SSDs appeared on the market – solid-state electronic media devoid of moving mechanical parts and characterized by high speed.

At first they differed in their small capacity and high price. The service life of these devices also left much to be desired. Therefore, there was no definite answer to the question of why an SSD drive is needed.With a volume of 32 or 64 GB and a price of several hundred dollars, these media seemed to most of the expensive toys. And a slight advantage in read / write speed (up to 1.5-2 times) made SSDs interesting only for geeks seeking to squeeze the maximum performance out of their PC.

But progress does not stand still, and soon more capacious and affordable solid-state drives went on sale, which attracted the attention of a wide audience. The question of why you need an SSD hard drive has become more relevant than ever.

Design Features, Advantages of SSDs

To understand why to install an SSD drive, you need to understand the main advantages of such drives. It does not hurt to know the main disadvantages of these gadgets.

Design of HDD and SSD drives

The main difference between SSDs and traditional hard drives is a different principle of design and operation. Unlike HDDs, there are no mechanical components in the construction of solid-state media. For data recording, arrays of high-speed flash memory are used, access to which is provided by an internal controller.This design gives the SSD a number of advantages not available with traditional HDDs.

• Quiet . Due to the absence of moving elements, the SSD does not make sounds during operation.
• Shock resistance . Unlike HDDs, where in the process of moving the device or falling, the magnetic head can scratch the surface of the disk (thereby damaging it and the stored data), the SSD is less vulnerable. Of course, due to a blow to the case, contact between the components may be disrupted, but a drive hidden inside a computer or laptop is sufficiently protected from this.
• Low power consumption . The main consumer of energy in a railway is the motor that drives the disks. It rotates at a speed of 5, 7 or 10 thousand revolutions per minute and consumes up to 95% of all the electricity supplied to the drive. Thus, SSD is up to 10 times more economical, which is especially important for thin laptops.
• High speed read / write . The magnetic method of recording data has reached the limit of perfection. More than 100-200 MB / s in sequential write mode, without reducing the service life, increasing dimensions, increasing power consumption and rising prices, cannot be obtained from a hard disk.SSD flash memory does not have this disadvantage and is up to 10 times faster.
• Stable working speed . If information on a traditional hard disk drive is recorded on physically different disks (their designs are HDD 2 or more) or their sections, there is a delay caused by the need to move the read head. Because of this, the speed of work is significantly reduced. The similar latency when reading cells in an SSD flash array is in the millionths of a second and does not significantly affect overall performance.

Comparison of SSD and HDD speed, overall performance and latency

Disadvantages of SSD

With all the advantages, it’s too early to talk about the perfection of SSD technology. The disadvantages of such drives are insufficiently low cost (3-10 times more expensive than HDD in terms of 1 GB of memory) and limited service life (from 10 thousand to 1 million rewriting cycles per cell). This indicator for HDD is theoretically unlimited, but in practice it reaches tens of millions of cycles.

Another disadvantage of solid-state drives is electrical vulnerability: when a high voltage is applied, caused by a power supply malfunction, both the controller and the flash drive burn out.

SSD drives – why you need them

Knowing the main advantages of solid-state drives, answer the question “Why do you need an SSD drive in a computer?” much easier. The purchase of this gadget will allow, first of all, to increase the comfort of using the gadget and extend its battery life (if it is a portable PC).High operating speed will have a positive effect on OS boot time, opening documents and performance in games.

Why an SSD is needed in a laptop

When it comes to a laptop, then the question “why do we need an SSD” can be omitted at all. In any case, buying a solid-state drive won’t make it any worse. Energy-efficient technology will allow you to achieve longer runtime on a single charge, the absence of high voltage in the supply circuits minimizes the risk of irreparable failure of the drive in the event of a power supply failure, and the amount of memory in a laptop does not play as important a role as in a desktop PC.

As for the shorter service life, the experience of service centers shows: a laptop’s hard drive fails and undergoes premature wear several times more often and faster than in a stationary computer. This is due, first of all, to a significantly larger amount of dynamic loads to which the device is subjected during transportation and operation. Accidentally dropping a laptop from your knees at the moment when data is being written to the HDD, there is a high risk of damaging the drive, even if the computer is not visually damaged.Therefore, it is highly likely that an SSD will last even longer than a hard disk drive.

Why SSD drive in a gaming PC

Gamers are the main, at the moment, part of the SSD buyers. Using a solid state drive allows them to get better performance in 3D games by reducing their startup time. Loading levels, inventory, surrounding objects and other elements of the game world from files stored on disk is also significantly (up to 10 times) faster.

There is a noticeable difference in seamless games like Skyrim, Grand Theft Auto or Fallout. The inner world in them is located on one huge map, and to reduce the load on hardware, only a part of it is stored in RAM. This can be the environment, for example, within a radius of 200 meters around the character. As you move through the terrain, objects moving away from the RAM are removed, and in their place objects are written in the direction of which the player approaches. Thus, reading from the hard disk occurs constantly and it is easy to guess that the SSD will allow the processor to supply data much faster and more efficiently than the hard disk drive.

For gamers, the high cost of a gigabyte in an SSD is not critical, since games take up relatively little space. If a collection of 100 films in FullHD quality weighs about 1 TB, the same Fallout 4 requires less than 50 GB of free space.

PCI-E SSD in Gaming PC

Why do you need an SSD hard drive in a multimedia computer

In a home PC used for surfing the web and solving multimedia tasks (watching movies, listening to music), the SSD is the least needed.The need for such a disc can only be experienced by connoisseurs of content in the quality of Blue-Ray. It takes a long time (about 10 minutes) to wait for a 40 GB movie to be written to the PC memory. But to store a selection of your favorite movies in FullHD, QHD or 4K UHD, you need a spacious SSD of 500, 1000 or 2000 GB. The cost of such drives exceeds a thousand dollars, and not everyone can afford such an acquisition.

For undemanding PC users, a large SSD in an unnecessary multimedia computer.The capabilities of classic (magnetic) hard drives are enough to meet the needs of 99% of users. However, a small (64 – 128 GB) solid state drive used as system media (for installing Windows) will not be superfluous. It will significantly increase the overall performance of the PC, reduce the noise level of the system unit and more economically consume electricity.

Combining SSD and HDD in a home PC will not hurt

.