They say some of the cells on flash drives lose their charge after a
while. So, If you plug the drive in before any cells start to discharge
does it get a new lease on life at that point.

Can I avoid the problem of dying cells by plugging it in periodically?

TIA. Bill S

bilsch01 <usenet@writer.com> wrote:
> They say some of the cells on flash drives lose their charge after a
> while. So, If you plug the drive in before any cells start to discharge
> does it get a new lease on life at that point.

In theory the flash controller _could_ rewrite old data to refresh
it. I don't think any such consumer device manufacturers publicly
document the behaviour of their controller chips such that you
could tell whether they do this or not.

This page by an industrial SD card manufacturer describes under
"Data Integrity" how their controllers run a custom "Dynamic Data
Refresh" routine to avoid data loss over time. Their implication
is that regular flash controllers for consumer devices don't do
this, but of course it's in their interest to imply that.

https://www.atpinc.com/blog/industrial-sd-cards-factors-requirements-to-consider

Typically higher-density flash has more issues with reliability, so
one might speculate that controllers for newer flash like 3D NAND
might also have smarter ways of preventing associated issues. The
manufactuers of consumer flash memory cards and sticks
unfortunately seem determined to reveal as little as possible about
the technical details of how they work and wear out.

> Can I avoid the problem of dying cells by plugging it in periodically?

So generally speaking, after writing all that, I don't know the
answer.

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#_ < |\| |< _#

On 4/26/2024 6:32 PM, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:
> bilsch01 <usenet@writer.com> wrote:
>> They say some of the cells on flash drives lose their charge after a
>> while. So, If you plug the drive in before any cells start to discharge
>> does it get a new lease on life at that point.
>
> In theory the flash controller _could_ rewrite old data to refresh
> it. I don't think any such consumer device manufacturers publicly
> document the behaviour of their controller chips such that you
> could tell whether they do this or not.
>
> This page by an industrial SD card manufacturer describes under
> "Data Integrity" how their controllers run a custom "Dynamic Data
> Refresh" routine to avoid data loss over time. Their implication
> is that regular flash controllers for consumer devices don't do
> this, but of course it's in their interest to imply that.
>
> https://www.atpinc.com/blog/industrial-sd-cards-factors-requirements-to-consider
>
> Typically higher-density flash has more issues with reliability, so
> one might speculate that controllers for newer flash like 3D NAND
> might also have smarter ways of preventing associated issues. The
> manufactuers of consumer flash memory cards and sticks
> unfortunately seem determined to reveal as little as possible about
> the technical details of how they work and wear out.
>
>> Can I avoid the problem of dying cells by plugging it in periodically?
>
> So generally speaking, after writing all that, I don't know the
> answer.
>
Even so, Thanks for your input.
Bill S.

bilsch01 <usenet@writer.com> wrote:
> They say some of the cells on flash drives lose their charge after a
> while. So, If you plug the drive in before any cells start to discharge
> does it get a new lease on life at that point.
>
> Can I avoid the problem of dying cells by plugging it in periodically?

I think you'd have to do more than just plug it in. Reading off the data
and re-writing it back to the device sounds like what you want. But:

Flash devices degrade at each write, so I'd not expect the device to
decide on its own to automatically re-write data unless it's some
special archival gadget or a high-quality SSD. It's a balancing act
between charge leakage rate and write decay rate.

What you're looking for isn't impossible, but I don't think you'll
find it on a consumer-grade flash device.

If you discover I'm wrong please post!

bob prohaska

On 4/25/2024 8:12 AM, bilsch01 wrote:
> They say some of the cells on flash drives lose their charge after a while. So,
> If you plug the drive in before any cells start to discharge does it get a new
> lease on life at that point.
>
> Can I avoid the problem of dying cells by plugging it in periodically?
>
> TIA.    Bill S

Bill:

Not sure if this is relevent but I have a Sandisk Clip MP3 played and if I
connect it to my desktop and add or delete a song I get a message on the
display; do not turn off - refreshing your memory. Perhaps it is doing what you
suggest! FWIIW.

And so it goes...

John

--
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------------------o000----(o)(o)----000o----------------
----------------------------()--------------------------
'' Madness takes its toll - Please have exact change. ''

On 4/29/2024 4:42 PM, John Dulak wrote:
> On 4/25/2024 8:12 AM, bilsch01 wrote:
>> They say some of the cells on flash drives lose their charge after a
>> while. So, If you plug the drive in before any cells start to
>> discharge does it get a new lease on life at that point.
>>
>> Can I avoid the problem of dying cells by plugging it in periodically?
>>
>> TIA.    Bill S
>
> Bill:
>
> Not sure if this is relevent but I have a Sandisk Clip MP3 played and if
> I connect it to my desktop and add or delete a song I get a message on
> the display; do not turn off - refreshing your memory. Perhaps it is
> doing what you suggest! FWIIW.
>
> And so it goes...
>
> John
>
>
That's interesting to know.
Thanks