How good and reliable are usb flash sticks?

Because I've been contemplating getting one for the times I don't have any optical discs available to make a backup of my data.
Are they reliable? Do they have some kind of setting to make them read-only?

 

I personally prefer Cruzer Micro Titanium, since they are a bit more solid. But USB flash drives don't like to be bumped around.

Yes, you should be able to make them read-only, but I have never tried it. You can try out encryption. Some have a H/W switch to toggle between read-only and read-write.

 

external hardrives could work if you are just looking for a backup device

 

Thanks. I'll look for one with a H/W switch then.

Thanks but, just looking for something small and temporary.

 

They're a heck of a lot more durable than any type of optical media.

I have a Cruzer Micro Titanium, it's been through the washer and still works.

I also have an old 512mb Cruzer Micro (plastic) and it has been through the washer and dryer many times. It still works fine, but is a bit more shiny. I got the new one for the larger capacity and it being Titanium.

I have seen drives which have read-only switches like those on SD cards before.

Greg

 

All of mine have worked well for me until I loose them... The Cruzer Titanium is a very good drive indeed, I had a cruzer micro a few months back too, that is until I lost it. I now own a TDK flash drive.

 

i cant remeber what company it was, but the standard for flash memory is 10,000 writes/rewrites, they created a new kind of flash that could withstand 10,000,000 writes and re-writes. im not 100% sure of the reliability of flash memory though, that will be something that i will have to look into, corsair has a highly durable flash device under there survivor line. but then again, i havent done my homework on flash devices yet so my opinions arent strong enough to make solid suggestions.

 

Thanks everyone. I'll have to look around for one with a read-only switch.
Thanks for whomever moved it, I wasn't sure if it belonged in the Hardware or Accessories section.

 

I have the Patriot XT8gb. One of the best I've ever own. It is not bad looking either. The read/transfer rate is incredible.

 

^ LOLOLOLOL - new way of adding storage to a machine! hahahaha =P

 

wow lol.

 

Many USB flash drives have write protection switches on them. Not all of them though.

I trust flash more than optical or magnetic media when it comes to durability. Throw it out the window or run it through the washing machine (and dry it out afterwards) and it'll probably still work.

Should work just fine for backup media; provided of course that you don't have too much data to back up and you don't loose it.

 

agree with all the posts here. flash memory has been proven to be very reliable. I trust it much more than optical media.

 

I have a super talent flash drive that works even though it went through the washer. I caught it before it made its way through the dryer, but being washed and still working is crazy. It is pretty fast too.