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    Avoid USPS Radiation Scanning?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by StealthReventon, Jan 31, 2012.

  1. StealthReventon

    StealthReventon Notebook Evangelist

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    Kingston recommends ( here) avoiding USPS as it may damage Flash Drives?

    Is this true? Has anyone ever heard of a problem from this?

    I bought a flash drive shipped USPS and hope this won't cause problems down the line.
     
    StealthReventon, Jan 31, 2012
    #1
  2. makaveli72

    makaveli72 Eat.My.Shorts

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    Wow, this sucks. Amazon shipped my Patriot Xporter 64GB drive via USPS today.

    And even before seeing this thread I said to myself WTH did they ship USPS, why not UPS. Deep sigh...
     
    makaveli72, Jan 31, 2012
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  3. govtdog

    govtdog Notebook Consultant

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    Does that include regular memory too? I have a laptop on the way to me via USPS priority mail... :(
     
    govtdog, Jan 31, 2012
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  4. Jarhead

    Jarhead 恋の♡アカサタナ

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    And I have to return an Intel 310 SSD via USPS as well. o_O

    Amazon gave the return label though, so whatever happens is their fault :)
     
    Jarhead, Jan 31, 2012
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  5. wild05kid05

    wild05kid05 Cook Free or Die

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    I can't see what's wrong with a shipping company handling a USB drive packed and everything. How would their service & process harm your drive ? How is the flash drive packed before shipping ?
     
    wild05kid05, Jan 31, 2012
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  6. JOSEA

    JOSEA NONE

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    JOSEA, Jan 31, 2012
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  7. MidnightSun

    MidnightSun Emodicon

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    Fairly sure this is paranoia, as I've received countless memory components shipped through USPS (including two SSDs), with no adverse effects.

    Two points:
    1). Irradiation of mail is an expensive process, and according to several sources, there's only one USPS-contracted facility that irradiates mail in the US. Currently, only mail destined for higher-level government offices is irradiated. See Wikipedia as well:
    2). There's probably not quite enough energy to damage flash memory. Flash memory devices have been used in space, collecting many times greater doses of radiation, and have still functioned. Radiation is a problem for critical electronics in space that need to function for many years, though, which is one reason for research in the area. See here (PDF).
     
    MidnightSun, Jan 31, 2012
    #7