Guest DJW Posted August 27, 2007 Posted August 27, 2007 I have some questions about my Verbatim 1 GB Jump/Flash drive I am running windows 98SE When I fill the flash drive up and then trash stuff does it open up space on the drive? Are these type devices more picky about non contiguous space. And if so can I use the Windows 98 Disk Defragmenter to open up contiguous space? Can Scan Disk also be used to right problems? Lastly how do I format it. Do I just right click on it's drive letter in the My Computer Folder and choose format? I am asking all the above because I have been using my jump for a few months now and have deleted some stuff and now when I try to write a large amount of data to it I get a blue screen telling me a disk write error has occurred.
Guest Bob Harris Posted August 27, 2007 Posted August 27, 2007 Re: questions about a Flash drive and windows 98SE Flash drives are a convenient way to transfer files form one PC to another. But, in my experience, they are not as reliable as hard drives, so I would not advise moving files to a flash drive as the sole copy of the file. Of course, you should also not use a hard drive as the sole copy of any important file, since hard drives can crash, and even short of that, files can go bad, or you could get a virus. Instead, write to a CD-R or DVD+-R (not CD-RW not DVD+-RW) for longer term storage. But, for temporary access, a USB 2.0 flash drive can be almost as fast as a modern hard drive, and it is portable. However, if your PC only supports USB 1.1, then it might be painfully slow. As for using a flash drive with windows 98SE, first download and install the 98SE drivers from the flash-drive maker's web site. Then, plug in the drive and it should be recognized. Flash drives usually come pre-formatted as FAT32, which is compabible with 98, ME, XP, and even LINUX. If you wish to format manually, then a right-click on the drive letter and choose format. Normally a quick format is sufficient. But, perhaps the first time you should do a long format. In their normal usage, flash drives do not need to be defragmented. Note: If disk space is a problem, consider getting a larger disk. These are fairly cheap, especially in the sizes that are likely compatible with a win98-based PC. If the PC is a decktop, adding a second disk as a "slave" drive is usually very easy. If a laptop, then you would need to replace the hard drive and transfer files. Most retail hard drives come with a CD of tools. including one to "clone" the old drive to the new, larger one. Or, any PC shop could do this for you. Just be careful to avoid a disk too large for your motherboard. Staying under 32 Gig is probably reasonably safe. The near nearest common limits are at 8 Gig and 127 Gig, depending on whether the motherboard is really old or fairly modern. Note that most 40 Gig disks have an optional jumper to lower their effective size to 32 Gig. "DJW" <ddwr@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:1188246241.430401.254020@57g2000hsv.googlegroups.com... >I have some questions about my Verbatim 1 GB Jump/Flash drive I am > running windows 98SE > When I fill the flash drive up and then trash stuff does it open up > space on the drive? Are these type devices more picky about non > contiguous space. And if so can I use the Windows 98 Disk Defragmenter > to open up contiguous space? Can Scan Disk also be used to right > problems? > Lastly how do I format it. Do I just right click on it's drive letter > in the My Computer Folder and choose format? > I am asking all the above because I have been using my jump for a few > months now and have deleted some stuff and now when I try to write a > large amount of data to it I get a blue screen telling me a disk write > error has occurred. >
Guest Franc Zabkar Posted August 27, 2007 Posted August 27, 2007 Re: questions about a Flash drive and windows 98SE On Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:24:01 -0700, DJW <ddwr@hotmail.com> put finger to keyboard and composed: >I have some questions about my Verbatim 1 GB Jump/Flash drive I am >running windows 98SE >When I fill the flash drive up and then trash stuff does it open up >space on the drive? Are these type devices more picky about non >contiguous space. And if so can I use the Windows 98 Disk Defragmenter >to open up contiguous space? Can Scan Disk also be used to right >problems? >Lastly how do I format it. Do I just right click on it's drive letter >in the My Computer Folder and choose format? >I am asking all the above because I have been using my jump for a few >months now and have deleted some stuff and now when I try to write a >large amount of data to it I get a blue screen telling me a disk write >error has occurred. I suggest that you don't defrag flash drives. Although they can be erased and rewritten many thousands (?) of times, there is still some limit to the number of writes. AIUI, the controller within the drive continually relocates sectors (eg FATs) so that the same logical sector is not always at the same physical location. This guarantees that no sector is rewritten more often than any other, thus maximising the life of the drive. Therefore, it stands to reason that, if the drive's controller is continually relocating sectors, then trying to do essentially the same thing with defrag will be pointless. In any case a flash drive has no moving parts, so data accesses do not involve slow mechanical seeks. - Franc Zabkar -- Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.
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