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On Saturday 25 July 2009 16:56:57 walt wrote: |
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> On 07/24/2009 07:43 PM, Alan E. Davis wrote: |
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> > ...I am using a flash drive as a cache, so to speak... |
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> |
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> I recently learned that flash drives wear out after about |
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> 10,000 write operations, which came as an unpleasant surprise. |
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That's a gross over-simplification of reality. |
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Individual elements of a flash drive will eventually wear out - they are not |
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infinitely over-writable. |
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The ultra-super-duper-cheapie crap ones average out at about 10,000 writes per |
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cell, meaning that's the point where the manufacturer won't guarantee much. |
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You may well get more on such a device in practice. |
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Decent drives go up to 100,000 writes before cell failures become |
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statistically significant |
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> Just be aware that you are drastically shortening the life of |
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> a flash drive by writing to it frequently. (or so I've read) |
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Which is why you should use wear-levelling |
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-- |
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alan dot mckinnon at gmail dot com |