Flash drives are getting cheaper and flashdrives are getting bigger. You get to a point and ask yourself, should I archive my valuable information on a large flashdrive or a USB hard drive? For example, lets say you have 10GBs of photos from your phone or camera and you are looking to archive those pictures. Should you do this to a flash drive or a hard drive?
The easiest and most convenient decision would be saving your files to the flash drive. Most everyone has a 16GB USB flashdrive these days, it fits in your hand and you can carry it around with out trouble. But will it last? Is a USB flashdrive where I should put my photos if my computer crashes and I need to restore my photos? Lets forget about the possibility you simply misplace the USB flashdrive. Is the device archive worthy?
The other option is the USB hard drive. Most people don’t have one so you’ll need to buy one. Although they are cheap, a USB hard drive is not as cheap as a 16GB or 32GB flash drive…and to be honest the 16-32GB sticks probably have enough space that it could hold your photos. So is it worth the extra time and money to archive to a USB hard drive? I guess this is the question more and more people are asking themselves. Well I have the definitive answer:
USB hard drive.
Flashdrives are great products for quickly moving files from one computer to another. However, they are not the best choice for archive purposes, and here are some reasons why:
The devices are small and will most likely get damaged. Unless of course you put the USB stick into the back of your desk drawer, a USB flashdrive gets banged around a lot and this abuse lends itself to failed cells in the memory. Meaning, over time the files will get corrupted because the NAND memory gets damaged.
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If you are looking to read the CID number of an SD card, or extract the CID off an SD card then you’ve find this article very helpful. Some also call this “reading the PSN off the SD card” or reading the product serial number off the SD card.
UPDATE (Feb 16, 2023):
We learned the company which manufactures this product now offers the ability to write the CID value as well as write protect the Secure Digital media.
Most phones and much of the software on phones will lock in to the CID number of a SD card. The CID number is a unique card identifier number that is unique to the card itself. The CID number is valuable because software developers and hardware developers can lock software to the unique number of the device thus eliminating the ability to pass along licensed software.
Reading the CID number from an SD card is not an easy task. It requires specific access codes to the index table of the memory card, and unless you know how to use the SD chipset of your card reader, chances are you wont get the number…or least the correct and accurate number.
What is the CID number of an SD card?
The CID register is 16 bytes long and contains a unique card identification number. It is programmed during card manufacturing and cannot be changed by SD Card hosts. The CID number is a compilation of information about the card, such as manufacturer, date manufactured, checksum total, GB size and more. Below is a table outlining all the items which make up the SD CID number.
So with all this said, how do you read the CID number from an SD card? As we’ve mentioned it isn’t easy and it’s [more or less] hardware based. If you do enough searching on the internet you’ll find some home-brew code to read the CID numbers, but that’s only if you have the SD card or microSD card connected via an IDE bus to your host computer. This isn’t easy for everyone. There is clear evidence that using a USB to SD card reader will not get you the information you require, or at least accurate and correct information. Meaning most times the CID number generated is actually the serial number of the card reader itself, not the CID number of a specific SD card.
In addition, what if you are required to read the CID number off SD media in bulk? A single, one-at-a-time solution is not practical.
In my search to read the CID number from SD media, I cam across Nexcopy – a manufacturer of USB duplicator equipment and other flash memory equipment. Several models they carry are SD duplicators and microSD duplicators. With the secure digital duplicators part of their feature set includes reading CID numbers from SD media. The equipment can ready 20 cards at a time, 40 cards at a time, or 60 cards at a time, depending on the model. The duplicators will read the CID number and exported to a .csv file for import into other business functions. This configuration makes it quick and easy to obtain the CID number. Granted, the equipment is not designed for single use operation, but rather reading the CID of SD media in bulk quantity. Here is a screenshot of Nexcopy’s software reading 20 CID numbers:
I didn’t contact Nexcopy Incorporated for pricing of the equipment, but doing a quick search for the equipment shows me a price of about $1k for the smallest 20 target system and $3k for the largest, 60 target system.
With all this said, there is still no clear-cut method to read CID numbers off SD cards for the home-user, but maybe this article will at least explain why you haven’t found a good solution as of yet.
The CID (Card Identification) number is a unique identifier that is assigned to each Secure Digital (SD) card. The CID number is a 16-byte value that is used by the SD card host device to identify the SD card and to determine its capabilities.
USB 3.0 has been slowly making it’s way into the retail space. When you have a new entry from Sony for such a technology I believe it’s safe to say the title wave is about to start.
Enter the USB 3.0 Sony Micro Vault flashdrive. The Micro Vault can transfer speeds at 120MB/s for reading and 90MB/s for writing. Now that is fast! Connecting this same device to USB 2.0 and you can expect around 40MB/s read speeds.
The USB 3.0 Sony Micro Vault is made of brushed aluminum case, pop-tail for expanding and contracting the USB connector along with LED to show status light during activity.
You can expect this product to hit the retail market by February 1, 2012.
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Transcend and Taiwan’s ITRI are doing a joint venture design on an ultra slim 2TB USB flashdrive. The “Thin Card” was shown at the Display Taiwan convention. Not sure why the release was at a flat screen convention, but I guess a moot point.
Nothing official from either company in regards to specs or a simple introduction, nor does the high-capacity USB 3.0 stick appear on Display Taiwan’s trade show website. So adding this all up, it could be nothing more then a USB case and a trade show hottie giving out false information.
If you watch the video [here] you can hear the girl say things like “this could be a 2TB drive” well no sh!t I could pull out any sized drive and claim it “could be 2TB” and follow up with a release date of March 2015.
However, lets keep a positive attitude about this and hope a 2TB drive isn’t too far off.
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Several years ago the concept of a 2GB luggage tag would be out of the questions. A 2GB drive was about $15 and for that reason, most everyone would consider it too expensive.
Today however, with a 2GB flash drive less than $5.00 it makes plenty of sense to use a flash drive to store your contact information via USB. Sure, you still write your name, address and phone number on the label above, but you can now include additional information. Travel itinerary, medical information and 2nd contact information.
Now, if you want the luggage tag looking USB with label area, it will cost you the full price of $30, but I’d rather take an old USB or a new $5.00 and create my own. Wouldn’t be that hard with some creative material like duct tape.
Not everyone keeps their flash drive on a key-chain or in their pocket. For many, using a ultra slim USB flashdrive and sticking it into your wallet is your form of portability. For those who do this, read on for a good DIY to insure the stick doesn’t get lost.
First off, if you are using something like the Kingmax Super Stick, the drive is so small you’re more likely to lose it pulling keys out of your pocket then forgetting in the computer USB port. For this reason, the USB wallet is a DIY project to stitch the drive into your wallet.
You’ll need:
wallet
tiny USB flash drive
piece of Velcro
thread, needle and a thimble
In addition, this method of storing your drive will provide extra protection from the slim stick getting damaged.
In short, you’re going to use the lanyard loop of the stick and some thread to stitch it a piece of Velcro which is then put into the wallet. This design allows the drive to be some-what permanent, yet you can pull it out completely when needed.
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If you have a geeky love one, the following NES USB storage cartridges might stike that cord to make a perfect Valentine gift. Etsy dealer 8BitMemory is doing a fantastic job of mod jobs for NES hard drives like the Zelda cartridge below:
Some live, eat and sleep SuperMario, or at least did when they where younger will enjoy this small USB flash drive cartridge:
Or for the hard cord geek who needs a boat load of extra storage you can pull out all the stops for this 1TB hard drive,
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It’s clear USB 3.0 is coming. It’s an unstoppable train which is building momentum with each new day and each new product launch. Millions of PC and peripherals will ship this year with the USB 3.0 SuperSpeed bus interface. With that said, it’s no wonder the timing of the Nexcopy SuperSpeed USB duplicator couldn’t be at a better moment. Now it’s possible for users to manage these new peripherals without using legacy 2.0 products.
The SSUSB160PC is a 16 target USB duplicator which works off the USB 3.0 technology. What you need to remember is that a USB 2.0 stick won’t jump to the 3.0 speed just because it’s a new interface. Fortunately, the 3.0 system will easily handle 3.0 hard drives, which seem to be the most prevalent in the market, as well as 3.0 flash drives which are just starting to show as mainstream.
The SSUSB160PC is a slick looking product with a light weight aluminum body making it ideal for on-site duplication and data loading. The USB duplicator has a built in 120 watt power supply and will copy at your devices maximum transfer rate. For some ideas, it’s reported by Nexcopy that 32GBs of data can copy in about 6 minutes.
We’ve reported on other products from Nexcopy Corporation – maybe it time I request an evaluation unit…some glamor shots after the jump…
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Bradley Manning was able to download over a quarter million documents from the US government via USB slurping…where by, he downloaded the sensitive data directly to his flash drive, then sent the docs to Wikileaks.
Not a cool move Private Manning.
So as a result, the US Military is banning all USB flash drives with systems connected to, or have access to, the SIPRNET network. The Secret Internet Protocol Router Network, in simple terms, the internet used bye the DOD. Of course it’s much more sophisticated then your office network with internet access.
The US Government has taken this breach of information so seriously that any military who do not comply with the data transfer ban “may be punished under Article 92 of the Uniformed Code of Military Justice.†The article covers failure to obey orders and dereliction of duty and makes clear that any persons in violation of such rules “shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.â€
In a day when typing “cougar” into Google yields more pornography then the animal you would expect, it’s almost a shock to hear about Playboy content being available on USB hard drive. Wouldn’t you think it had already been done?
It hasn’t, and that is why I’m here to tell you about the 250GB USB hard drive full of all Playboy magazine content. All of it – back from 1953 when the first issue was published.
The USB Hard drive from Playboy holds 650 magazines and over 100,000 pages of fascinating articles, photographs and interviews.
The hard drive works on any computer, just like you’d expect a USB hard drive to work, but you do need to install
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If the benchmark claim rings true, LaCie has a new USB 3.0 flash drive which is living up to the USB 3.0 SuperSpeed promise. Things might be coming to fruition with the most recent product from LaCie, the FastKey.
The FastKey has print on the box claiming a whopping 260MB/s transfer speed. If it true, this puts a single flash drive at a faster transfer rate than your best hard drive. As EveryThingUSB points out:
“To put that in its proper perspective a typical 3.5″ hard drive has a peak read speed of about HALF of that and has an average speed about one THIRD of this little bad boy’s performance numbers”
So dumping your buddies MP3 collection of a 1,000s songs will be much easier with this USB 3.0 flash drive, then your portable USB hard drive. But don’t think this convenience, and some would say luxury, come without a price. The LaCie FastKey comes in a variety of sizes, starting at
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The easiest and most convenient decision would be saving your files to the flash drive. Most everyone has a 16GB USB flashdrive these days, it fits in your hand and you can carry it around with out trouble. But will it last? Is a USB flashdrive where I should put my photos if my computer crashes and I need to restore my photos? Lets forget about the possibility you simply misplace the USB flashdrive. Is the device archive worthy?
The other option is the USB hard drive. Most people don’t have one so you’ll need to buy one. Although they are cheap, a USB hard drive is not as cheap as a 16GB or 32GB flash drive…and to be honest the 16-32GB sticks probably have enough space that it could hold your photos. So is it worth the extra time and money to archive to a USB hard drive? I guess this is the question more and more people are asking themselves. Well I have the definitive answer:
USB hard drive.
Flashdrives are great products for quickly moving files from one computer to another. However, they are not the best choice for archive purposes, and here are some reasons why:
The devices are small and will most likely get damaged. Unless of course you put the USB stick into the back of your desk drawer, a USB flashdrive gets banged around a lot and this abuse lends itself to failed cells in the memory. Meaning, over time the files will get corrupted because the NAND memory gets damaged.
Continue Reading
Enter the USB 3.0 Sony Micro Vault 
Nothing official from either company in regards to specs or a simple introduction, nor does the high-capacity USB 3.0 stick appear on Display Taiwan’s trade show website. So adding this all up, it could be nothing more then a USB case and a trade show hottie giving out false information.
If you watch the video [
First off, if you are using something like the 
In short, you’re going to use the lanyard loop of the stick and some thread to stitch it a piece of Velcro which is then put into the wallet. This design allows the drive to be some-what permanent, yet you can pull it out completely when needed.
Some live, eat and sleep SuperMario, or at least did when they where younger will enjoy this small USB flash drive cartridge:
Or for the hard cord geek who needs a boat load of extra storage you can pull out all the stops for this 1TB hard drive,
It’s clear USB 3.0 is coming. It’s an unstoppable train which is building momentum with each new day and each new product launch. Millions of PC and peripherals will ship this year with the USB 3.0 SuperSpeed bus interface. With that said, it’s no wonder the timing of the 
In a day when typing “cougar” into Google yields more pornography then the animal you would expect, it’s almost a shock to hear about Playboy content being available on USB hard drive. Wouldn’t you think it had already been done?
It hasn’t, and that is why I’m here to tell you about the 250GB USB hard drive full of all Playboy magazine content. All of it – back from 1953 when the first issue was published.
The USB Hard drive from Playboy holds 650 magazines and over 100,000 pages of fascinating articles, photographs and interviews.
The hard drive works on any computer, just like you’d expect a 