The short answer is…nothing at all! Since the USB flash drive came into use about a decade ago, it has became incredibly popular, replacing inferior technologies like floppy disks and Zip drives almost overnight. There’s no denying that everyone loves flash drives. The problem is, we’ve just never been able to agree on a name for these marvelous little contraptions. Though USB flash drive is the most widely adopted nomenclature here in the States, most of Europe has decided to call it a pen drive. Many other titles also persist: Zip drive (actually a misnomer since this refers to those big, square-shaped Iomega branded disks from the late 90s). Thumb drive is also a popular name. Jump drive and usb drive are common as well. Some call it a USB key or key drive. Other names include memory stick, finger stick, data stick, and disk-on-key.

That's 12 names, and I'm probably forgetting a few.

Part of the reason for so many names stems from producers like Kingston, SanDisk, Lexar, Corsair, PNY, Crucial and other flash memory companies seeking to differentiate their USB flash drives from others by coming up with a unique name.

In the end, no matter what we decide to call them, we sure do love these gadgets. That is, until they stop working, become corrupted, break, or get accidentally erased causing us to lose all our important files. Yes, as good and as useful as they are, there is still plenty that can go wrong. Fortunately, FlashDrivePros.com’s flash drive data recovery service exists to rescue your important files should your flash drive break or stop working. We’re also here to help ensure you never lose your files again (or, better yet, prevent it from happening in the first place) with our easy-to-use automatic flash drive backup application.

Questions?

Email us or give us a call!

888.806.6567

support@flashdrivepros.com

Sincerely,

The Flash Drive Pros (Ryan, Cesar, Paul and Kim)

P.S. Tell us what other names have your heard for flash drives and get 25% off FDP Sync!

We at FlashDrivePros.com get asked all the time if our listed prices are truly "flat rate," or if we are going to raise the price once we have the flash drive in our possession. The answer is that we never, even raise the price for our data recovery services once we receive a flash drive. We believe that having a simple, transparent, flat-rate pricing system gives our customers the peace of mind of knowing exactly how much they will spend before ever sending us their flash drive. The only time we would ever require any additional money would be if we had to order parts, which is rare. So if other companies’ price structures seem confusing, we’re happy to offer one that makes sense, and more importantly, won’t leave you paying several hundred percent more than you expected.

Here are some tips to consider no matter what company you choose to recovery your data:

• Get a full explanation of the cost before you ship - Make sure the rate is clear. If you send your flash drive and get a different rate after it arrives, your only options are to either pay the higher rate or have them return the drive, which can takes weeks from some providers.
  
• Make sure they are reputable - verify testimonials, just because they have worked with big entities or have published "quotes" on their website, does not mean they are the best choice.
• Confusing rate explanation - if the provider makes it confusing by adding tons of explanation on how to quote you, just run! Watch out for the "*" asterisks and read the fine print, if you can find it.
• Don't choose just by price alone - often times we choose the cheapest provider, and end up costing us more down the road. Choose by reputation, reliability and guarantee.
• Yes, Guarantee - is worth repeating. If they can't fix it, you shouldn't have to pay.

A FlashDrivePros.com client recently asked us "how often should I replace my flash drive?" Her question brings up a really good point that I've been meaning to address on the blog for some time...two points, really. First, if you're still using a 512Mb (or smaller) flash drive you got back in the day, it might be on its last leg. Flash (NAND) memory can only withstand so many write/erase cycles (typically 100K-300K) before the flash drive goes kaput. And the older ones are even worse since they were created before NAND wear leveling was all the rage. Of course chances are, (thanks to Murphy) your flash drive will die the day before your next big assignment is due, and you don't have the files backed up. Which brings me to my second point: Flash drives really aren't meant for long-term file storage. This is what hard drives and online back-up utilities like iDrive.com are for. Flash drives are great for transporting files from one place to another, keeping a back-up copy of your files, or a few other cool things that I won't get into today. (Like installing Windows XP on a flash drive...maybe I'll go over this in my next blog post.)

So, how often should you replace your flash drive? My answer is, when it dies. This won't be a problem for you since you files are all backed up. But if you insist on using a flash drive for storage, at least buy one of our 3-year data insured flash drives. If it breaks or stops working for any reason, just send it to us and we'll recovery your files for free. How often should a 3-year data insured flash drive be replaced, you ask? Think about that for a while, I'm sure you'll figure it out.

ryan@flashdrivepros.com

FlashDrivePros.com

888-806-6567