[RndTbl] USB flash memory stick wipeout

[Trevor Cordes]

On 2015-02-18 Hartmut W Sager wrote:
> Hello all,
> 
> Duracell 32 GB USB flash memory sticks.  Not only is the data lost,

Oh, my brain didn't register you said "usb sticks", so ignore my bit
about card readers as obviously that doesn't apply.

But the rest should hold.  Try a different setup (every single part of
the chain), even if it seems innocuous.  Even a new system.  Especially
the reformatting part.

Is there a chance the sticks were exposed in the kitchen to too-high a
heat/humidity, or dirt/food, etc?  Perhaps its a contact issue.  Or
perhaps you have a bad (shorted) usb port you plugged them all into?
Does a mouse work in the port you used (warning, may kill the mouse
too)?

Lastly, I've had sticks act weird, like mega-slow (we're talking
1200 baud slow) but otherwise ok, then magically one day a year later
when I'm about to chuck it out it works full speed (perhaps they are
self-aware and know they are about to be chucked?).

Moral of the story is (cheap, but sometimes expensive) flash memory
stinks (except in a supersmart bad-thing-compensating ssd) and should be
trusted as little as possible.