Speed of USB key deteriorated...

[1LUV1T]

Hi all,

My 16gb USB flash key is suddenly super-slow every time I plug it into my Windows machine. The cursor turns into the hour glass upon opening My Computer and then from there for me to load up TrueCrypt (half the key is encrypted) takes an awfully long time. I know defragging a flash key is useless, but I am convinced my key became very slow after months of filling it with gigs of data. Is there any thing I can do to 'optimize' it?

 

[cdogg]

How often are you writing and deleting data off the drive? Several times per day or per week? USB keys have a limit on the number of rewrites that can be done in each position on the flash memory.

Also, be sure to try it on another computer. Verify that the problem is indeed the flash key itself. If it is, try removing all personal data from the key, then on another computer run some tests with small files. If it still acts up then you may need to replace it.

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Einstein
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[wahnula]

I would move the data to DVD or HDD and format the USB drive. See if it's any better. Running CHKDSK against it can't hurt either.

Tony

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