PEN DRIVES

USB Flash Drive

USB Flash Drive• USB Flash Drives or commonly called as

Pen Drives are popular removable storage media having a storage capacity up to 256 GB.

• It is a kind of memory card that can be plugged into a computer’s USB port.

• They are preferred best storage device because they are faster, smaller and have a longer life span.

• These USB mass storage supported natively by modern operating systems such as Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows.

History• Flash memory was invented by Toshiba in

1984, but the first commercial flash drive was released by Intel in 1988.

• IBM was the first North American seller of a USB flash drive, and marketed an 8 MB version of the product in 2001 “DiskOnKey“ under brand name “ThumbDrive”.

• Lexar can also lay claim to a pioneering USB flash drive product named as “Compact Flash”.

• Lexar offered a companion card reader and USB cable that eliminated the need for a USB hub.

History (Cont.,)

• The first flash drives were made in sizes of 8 MB, 16 MB, 32 MB, and 64 MB.

• These were marketed as "a true floppy-killer", and this design was continued up to 256 MB.

• Netac Technology of China also holds a USB flash technology which it has licensed to various manufacturers including the USB direct factory.

History (Cont.,)

Compact Flash

DiskOnKey NETAC TECHNOLOGY

History (Cont.,)• By improvements in this technology now

means that we can offer a 64GB model to our customers. This is 8,000 times larger than the original IBM USB.

• In this time there have been 3 USB standards. USB 1.0 USB 2.0 USB 3.0

 

Evolution

Versions of USB• USB 0.7: Released in November 1994.• USB 0.8: Released in December 1994.• USB 0.9: Released in April 1995.• USB 0.99: Released in August 1995.• USB 1.0 Release Candidate: Released in

November 1995.• USB 1.0 released in January 1996 • USB 1.1 released in August 1998• USB 2.0 released in April 2000• USB 3.0 released in November 2008

Structure of USB Drive

Internal Structure• The important parts of the pen drive are USB

connector, crystal oscillator, memory chips and a controller to interact with the PC.

• IC SK6211 is a controller which facilitates the data communication between the PC/Laptop and the flash memory (EEPROM) of the pen drive.

• This controller IC can interface with all kind of NAND EEPROM.

• The operating system provides inbuilt libraries to be installed before using these devices.

Internal Structure(Cont.,)

• The chip is a NAND type flash memory chip which has fast read, write and erase cycles.

• The storage capacity of this memory is 2GB. There is another similar chip with storage capacity of 2GB on the other side.

• A pen drive consists of memory element, normally a flip-flop.

• A group of 4 flip-flops together stores 4-bit number.

• Similarly, a group of 8*10^9 flip-flops can store 1GB of data.

• A group of 8,000 Million flip-flops are embedded on a single Silicon Chip to form 1GB pen drive.

File Systems

• Flash drives ship preformatted with the FAT12, FAT16. FAT32, or ExFat file systems.

• Also, standard FAT maintenance utilities (e.g., ScanDisk) can be used to repair or retrieve corrupted data.

• The drive can be reformatted to any file system supported by the host operating system.

File Systems• Even Distribution: USB flash drives

have this 'wear leveling' feature built into the software controller to prolong device life, while others do not, so it is not necessarily helpful to install one of these file systems.

• Defragmenting: Flash drives can be defragmented and that defragmenting shortens the life of the drive by making many unnecessary writes.

Ready Boost

ReadyBoost• ReadyBoost was introduced in Windows

Vista, where it was a heavily promoted feature.

• Unfortunately, ReadyBoost isn’t a silver bullet

that will make your computer faster, although it may be useful in some limited circumstances only.

• Ready Boost works in conjunction with SuperFetch. When you launch an application, computer reads its files from memory, which is faster, instead from disk, which is slower.

ReadyBoost

ReadyBoost• SuperFetch works with a USB stick – that’s

ReadyBoost in action.

• When you connect a USB drive to your computer and enable ReadyBoost, Windows will store SuperFetch data on your USB drive, freeing up system memory so this can theoretically improve your system’s performance.

ReadyBoost

• ReadyBoost probably won’t improve your computer’s performance much. If you have a very small amount of RAM (512 MB or so) and a very fast USB drive, you may see some increase

in performance.

TYPES OF USB

Types of USB• Generally USB are classified based on its

connectors.• It can be differentiated as MALE and

FEMALE. USB A-Type USB B-Type Micro-USB A Micro-USB B Micro-USB AB

USB Mini-b (5-pin) USB Mini-b (4-pin) USB 3.0 A-Type USB 3.0 B-Type USB 3.0 Micro B

USB A-Type• A-style connector is a flat, rectangular

interface. • The A-socket connector provides a

"downstream" connection that is intended for use solely on host controllers and hubs.

• It was not intended for use as an "upstream" connector on a peripheral device.

• A-A cables are used to connect USB devices with an A-style Female port to a PC or another USB device, and for data transfer between two computer systems.

USB B-Type• The B-style connector is designed for use on

USB peripheral devices.• The B-style interface is squarish in shape, and

has slightly beveled corners on the top ends of the connector.

• The B-socket is an "upstream" connector that is only used on peripheral devices. Because of this, the majority of USB applications require an A-B cable.

Micro-USB A• This USB can be found on newer mobile devices

such as cellphones, GPS units, PDAs and digital cameras.

• Micro-USB A is physically smaller in size, while still supporting the high speed transfer rate of 480 Mbps and On-The-Go features.

• The connection can be easily identified by its white-colored receptacle and compact 5 pin design.

Micro-USB B• This USB can also be found on newer mobile

devices such as cellphones, GPS units, PDAs and digital cameras.

• Micro-USB B is smaller in size, while still supporting the high speed transfer rate of 480 Mbps and On-The-Go features.

• The connection can be easily identified by its black-colored receptacle and compact 5 pin design.

Micro-USB AB• This versatile USB can accept

either a Micro-USB A or Micro-USB B cable connection.

• This interface can be easily identified by its gray-colored receptacle and compact 5 pin design.

• This connector type only exists as a receptacle for On-The-Go devices and will not exist on a cable.

USB Mini-b(5-pin)• USB type-B, which its size is almost a half inch on

each side. This made it unsuitable for many devices such as PDAs, digital cameras, and cellphones.

• As a result, USB Mini-b has came. This 5-pin Mini-b is the most popular style. This USB is quite small, about two-thirds the width of an A-type USB.

• It is also specified for use in the newer standard called USB On-The-Go which allows peripheral devices to communicate with the presence of a host controller.

USB Mini-b(4-pin)• This unofficial USB is found on many digital

cameras, especially certain Kodak® models. • It resembles the shape of standard B-type

USB, with beveled corners; however it is much smaller in size.

USB Mini-b(Fuji):• This is another unofficial USB also widely used

on digital cameras especially certain models manufactured by Fuji®.

USB 3.0 A-Type• This A-Type USB is commonly found on host

controllers in computers and hubs.• The A-socket connector provides a

"downstream" connection that is intended for use solely on host controllers and hubs.

• It is similar in to the A-Type connector used in USB 2.0 & USB 1.1.

• The USB 3.0 A-type has additional pins. The USB 3.0 designed for SuperSpeed applications.

• These are often blue in color to help identify them from previous versions.

USB 3.0 B-Type• USB 3.0 B-Type is found on USB 3.0 devices.• This connector is designed to carry data

and power in USB SuperSpeed applications.• Cables with this USB are not compatible

with USB 2.0 or USB 1.1 devices.• But, USB 3.0 devices with this connection

type can accept previous USB 2.0 and 1.1 cabling.

USB 3.0 Micro-B• The USB 3.0 Micro B is found on USB 3.0

devices. • This connector is designed to carry data and

power in USB SuperSpeed applications. • Cables with this connector are not compatible

with USB 2.0 or USB 1.1 devices.

USB Vs PS/2USB PS/2

• (USB) is a computer connector that was developed in 1996.

• It existed alongside competing ports such as serial and PS/2.

• Advantages of USB, such as a smaller physical footprint and faster speed,

• In May 2011, it is the dominant connection port installed on laptops, computers etc.,

• PS/2 is a connector port used on computer peripherals such as keyboards and mice.

• The technology was developed in 1987 by IBM as an alternative to serial ports.

• The dedicated connection for a keyboard and mouse freed serial ports for use with other devices.

AdvantagesAdvantages:

• Durable solid state for transporting data from one location to another.

• The near ubiquity of USB support on modern PCs means that such a drive will work in most places.

• The cheapest of Flash Drives will store dozens of floppy disks worth of data; some hold more data than a CD; top Flash Drives can hold data more than a DVD.

• Most modern OS can read & write to flash drivers without any additional device drivers. 

Disadvantages Disadvantages:• They can sustain only a limited number of

write & erase cycles before failure.• Write operations will gradually slow as the

device ages.• They can be damaged or have data

corrupted if an impact loosens circuit connection.

ERRORS IN USB

Errors in USB drive• Pen Drive not detected• Pen Drive disabled at office or college • Problem in removing pen drive• Virus affect in pen drive• Problem in formatting pen drive• Delayed Write failed error• Disable data writing on pen drive

Errors in USB drive

• The problem occur due to wrong registry entries. (i.e.) you need to delete UpperFilters and the LowerFilters registry values. Open Start >> Run, and type “regedit”.

“USB device not Recognized”

• Locate UpperFilters registry value.– HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\

CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E980-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

– Click on Edit menu, and select Delete and click OK.• Locate LowerFilters registry value.

– HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E967-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

– Click on Edit menu, and select Delete and click OK.

Errors in USB drive

Errors in USB drive

• Windows will now show a New Hardware Wizard to install the drivers but it is disabled.

• This is because:– 1. By Disabling USB

Ports from Device Manager.

– 2. By Un-installing the USB Mass Storage Drivers.

“Pen Drive disabled”

Errors in USB drive“Generic volume cannot be stopped

right now”• When you try to eject a USB pen-drive by using “Safely Remove Hardware > Safely remove USB Mass Storage device”  option, windows should stop all the read-write operations on the drive so that the drive can be removed.

• But sometimes it shows a error message.• This is because, some file on your pen drive is in

use by some other program on that computer.• So close all such files or applications and try

removing the drive.

Errors in USB drive“Virus affect in Pen Drive”

• Virus always creates a autorun.inf file which is a system, hidden and a read only file on your pen drive.

• When user double clicks on the pen drive files pointed by the autorun.inf got executed which copies the virus files on your system.

• E.g. New Folder.exe

Errors in USB drive • In order to protect your

pen drive from viruses you need to create a blank file named autorun.inf through notepad and place it in the root directory. 

  

Errors in USB drive“Problem in formatting Pen Drive”

• When they try to format the pen drive, It shows error “Windows was unable to complete the format".

• It is due to :– Virus or Trojan infection.– Corrupted flash chips on the pen drive– Fake pen drives

Errors in USB drive “Delayed Write failed error”

• “Windows delayed write failed -  Windows was unable to save all the data for the file M:\$Mft. The data has been lost. This error may be caused by a failure of your computer hardware or network connection. Please try to save this data elsewhere.”

• Open My Computer, right click on the USB drive, click on properties.– Go to Tools > Error-checking– This will show a window like the one below. Check

the check-boxes to Automatically fix the file system and Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors. Click Start.

Errors in USB drive

Errors in USB drive“Write Protected”

• Registry Editor by typing regedit in Run dialog.

• Navigate to the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ 

• Right click on “Control” key -> New -> Key. Name it “StorageDevicePolicies” without quotes.

• Now right click on this newly created key and then click New -> DWORD value and name it as “WriteProtect”.

Errors in USB drive

“Light Peak”• Thunderbolt is an optical cable interface for

connecting peripheral devices to a computer via an expansion.

• Originally codenamed Light Peak and developed by Intel, with technical collaboration of Apple in 2009.

• Light Peak can be at least twice as fast as USB 3.0, also known as Super-speed USB.

• It can deliver bandwidth starting at 10 Gigabits per second, with the potential to extend to 100 Gb/s.

“Light Peak”• At its lowest speed, it means you could

transfer a full-length Blu-Ray movie in less than 30 seconds.

• “This year, major PC and accessories makers are introducing products that use USB 3.0, whose data transfer rates of 4 Gb/s is up to ten times faster than USB 2.0.But optical technology that drives Light Peak can do better.”

-Intel.

Introduction• Thunderbolt™ technology is a

transformational high-speed, dual protocol I/O innovation, provides flexibility and supports data (PCI Express) and HD display (DisplayPort) connections over a single cable.

• It can chain up to six thin profile systems and devices like Laptops and Ultrabooks.

• 10 Gbps of full duplex bandwidth per channel.

Daisy-Chain

Data storage

HD Display

Laptop

• Devices in Daisy chain connection supported.

• Hotplug Ready

Protocol Architecture• Thunderbolt technology is based on a new

architecture with full-duplex links.• Thunderbolt port is capable of providing the

full bandwidth of the link in both directions.• No sharing of bandwidth between ports or

between upstream and downstream directions.

Protocol Architecture (cont.,)

• The Thunderbolt protocol physical layer is responsible for link maintenance including hot-plug detection, and data encoding to provide highly efficient data transfer.

• The heart of the Thunderbolt protocol architecture is the transport layer.

Protocol Architecture (cont.,)

• DisplayPort and PCI Express protocols are mapped onto the transport layer.

• Mapped protocol packets between a source device and a destination device may be routed over a path that may cross multiple Thunderbolt controllers.

Performance

• February 24, 2011 – MacBook Pro update• Mini display port• USB 2.0 + Thunderbolt

• MacBook Pro side panel• Thunderbolt port• Thunderbolt cable

Succession

USB 1.0 USB 2.0 USB 3.0 Light Peak

USB v1.0• Released in January 1996• USB 1 specified data rates of 1.5 Mbit/s

(Low-Bandwidth) and 12 Mbit/s (Full-Bandwidth).

• Few USB devices made it to market until USB 1.1, released in August 1998, which fixed problems identified in 1.0, mostly relating to hubs.

USB v2.0• Released in April 2000. • Added higher maximum signaling rate

of 480 Mbit/s (effective throughput up to 35 MB/s or 280 Mbit/s) (now called “’Hi-Speed”).

• Became popular due to cost/benefit advantage

• E.g. IEEE 1394 – high bandwidth, low cost.

USB v3.0• Also referred to as SuperSpeed USB.• Speeds 10x faster than 2.0

• Transfer of 25 GB file in approx. 70 seconds.

• Optimized power efficiency• Backward compatible with USB 2.0

• USB 2.0 device will work with USB 3.0 host

• USB 3.0 device will work with USB 2.0 host

Speed Comparison

Wireless USB • WUSB is a form of USB technology that

uses radio-frequency (RF). • WUSB technology is based on the

WiMedia Ultra-Wideband common radio platform.

• WUSB can provide transfer rates up to 480 Mbps (at 3 m) or 110 Mbps (at 10 m).

• WUSB also allows for no more then 127 devices connected to a single host controller.

USB 3.0 Vs Others

USB 3.0 (5Gbps) is theoretically 10 times faster than USB 2.0. A 5400-rpm portable drive reaching 100MB/s.It has High bandwidth.

Developed by Intel, the 10Gb/s bi-directional interface is technically PCI Express on a cable. It can support both hubs as well as a daisy chain of up to 7 devices.

"Firewire“ standard by Apple developers, has repeatedly sent mixed messages with the ditching of Firewire first from iPods.

eSATA successfully address the issue of the interface bottleneck, and allowed fast hard drives.eSATA supports a data rate of 3.2Gbps.

ExpressCard standard for the increased speed requirements of today's mobile technologies. Closely tied to both the PCI Express and USB 3.0 specifications

USES OF PENDRIVES

USB CELL• USB rechargeable batteries are from Moixa.• USB rechargeable batteries that you will be able

to use over and over again without them ever running out.

• Just bust out your laptop and start charging the batteries, and you will be up and running again in a jiffy.

Bluetooth USB• Conversion Bluetooth PC into Bluetooth

enabled.• Wireless connect to Bluetooth devices such

as mobile phones, PDA or PC, for data transfer, networking, and dial-up, fax.

• Enabling wireless connection to Bluetooth headset.

• Supporting Bluetooth voice data.• Supporting multi languages.• Bluetooth 2. 0 USB Adapter.

Cloud Storage vs Pen drives

• The pen drives gave us the opportunity to load our files wherever we are, with their minimum size and its speed accelerated in file sharing, this little device, soon became very popular among students, workers and many others who need to carry digital files, but these devices will be soon outdated.

Cloud Storage vs Pen drives

• Now is the time for cloud storage. It means that, you store your files online, and need not carry any encumbrance or running any risk of losing it, not to mention the virtual file does not spoil, it sits there, on the server space, directly on the internet, unlike the pen drives.

Disadvantages Of Cloud Storage:• The disadvantages are, you need a

device with an internet connection to access your files and invasion of their files by hackers.

Pen Drive as RAMHow to use USB Drive as RAM ? Step 1: Plug your USB Drive into your

PC / Laptop. It will be recognized automatically.

Step 2: Right click on My Computer > Properties.

Step 3: Go to Advanced tab

Pen Drive as RAM

• Step 4: In Performance section, Click on Settings > Advanced tab.

Pen Drive as RAM• Step 5: Under Virtual memory, Click on

Change

• Step 6: Select your USB Drive

Pen Drive as RAM

• Step 7: Click on Custom Size and enter the size (in MB) you want the USB RAM to be (example: 2000 MB = 2 GB).

Pen Drive as RAM• Step 8: Click on Set > Ok and Restart

your computer.

• After Restarting your computer you'll see noticeable improvement in speed.

Windows in Pen Drive• Step 1 : select the Windows 8 ISO

when asked to pick an ISO image from the computer.

• Using “windows USB bootable download tool”

Windows in Pen Drive• Step 2 :Next, select to copy the

contents to an USB drive. The program will copy all files to the drive and make that drive bootable at the same time.

• Step 3: Once this is done, restart your PC, get into the BIOS by pressing F8/F12 as per your manufacturer and goto the Boot Configuration section and enable the USB Booting as well as make USB Booting primary in the booting preference.

• Save the settings and exit the BIOS.

Windows in Pen Drive• Step 4:On restart, the computer should

now automatically boot through the pen drive and begin the installation.

Pen Drive as Camcorder• This ball-point pen is a high-definition

video recorder . With simple operation, elegant design, small size, it is easy to carry.

Pen Drive as Data Cards• 3G modem is small USB device like pen

drive which can be used for accessing internet in your laptop or desktop by inserting with your mobile phone GSM sim card

Other Uses

FACTS ON PENDRIVES

World’s Best Pen drive ever

Pen drive way to iPhone

Amoeba Modular USB Flash Drive

World’s Smallest Pen drive

Top 5 Pen Drives

Pen drives in future

Pen drives in future

References• ‘Intel Light Peak: Overview’, Intel Corporation,

February 25, 2010.• http://www.apple.com/thunderbolt/• www.usb.org/home • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Serial_Bus • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB Flash Drive