How to clean sweep (re-format) a stubborn USB Flash drive? It is made by Imation , name Atom. Suddenly began to give message that it is "write protected" and must be "unprotected" but I don't know how to "write un-protect" it. Standard ways to do clean reformat in Windows XP doesn't work I need some better utility program that is capable to do clean reformat this Flash drive and eliminate this "write protected" message. Tried some demo software but it is just a marketing tool and doesn't do anything. Imatiom website - useless. Perhaps there is some powerful utility shareware which can help ? I'm grateful for any plain English, step-by-step practical advise ! Thank you!
doktornotor say these devices have limited number or writes god help everyone who backs up their data to usb thumbdrives the drive has probably become corrupted don't get me wrong as doktornotor said they maybey limited to so many number of writes but i don't believe that this is the problem have you used it say ten thousand times do you think the government would store information on these devises and next day oops iv'e used it to much. may sound silly but is there a small switch on the thumdrive than enables writing or not you may have switched it on and not noticed.
What is life span/durability of USB flash drives? With the proliferation of USB flash drives and with increasing tendency to fit flash memory the computers instead of traditional hard drive, is there any reliable data about the life span of these devises and how it is measured? For example, is it measured by number of save/erase cycles or by number of on/off cycles? Or by number of hours the devise is used? Are they reliable and sufficiently durable? For example some computer users keep them permanently plugged in and use them as an extra external drive, which is very convenient. Any truly objective information about these questions? Thanks to all pros who wishes to help! M.
Thanks for the interesting tip , 911medic! I'm not very good in computer intricacies and would like to ask for some more info: You said 'Just burn the iso' Does it mean that the DBAM in order to be used must be burn onto CD first and in ISO format. If so, any how-to-step-by -step advise for me? I have a CD/DVD burner in my laptop but have not ventured beyond simple burning of photos... Another thing is,they say 'DBAN will automatically and completely delete the contents of any hard disk' This 'automatically' doesn't look very good to me-is there any option to set the program manually and delete only disk(flash drive) I chose? Thanks in advance 911medic! M.
It doesnt search and wipe all harddrives it encounters..you have to set it to the drive you want wiped..You have many different options from simple 00 to DOD level wipes.. Use ultraISO, magicISO, Nero, etc to burn the iso. If you have ultraiso, open the iso and burn it..simple as that. DO NOT just put the iso file on the disk..this is fruitless. Most CD burning utilities allow you to burn image..this is the iso.. Google burning an iso image..it is far from difficult. The write protected thing is generally a windows problem. You will boot from the cd into dos..this is not a windows program, so to speak. If you cannot burn an ISO, I would respectfully suggest you research the steps necessary to accomplish the task. Burning an ISO is generally not considered an "intricacy". Wiping the disk is basically a point and click operation, but there are some dangers... Good luck..
ISO file is just another name for Image file? let me get it right - you said "Most CD burning utilities allow you to burn image..this is the iso.." So, I understand that ISO file is just another name for Image file Correct? Thanks again!!!
An ISO is an uncompressed image for CD or DVD..It is just a format used to archive material uncompressed. Where a folder is uncompressed, an ISO is an uncompressed collection of files or folders..Just an image... Its the same as .DAA, BIN/CUE, etc...
I have a usb drive, and i must of written 100's of thousands of files to it by now, and it is still going strong. I am not sure where the number 10 thousand came from, maybe the manufacturers are just being coy.