Solved flash drive longevity

[wizardof]

I bought a 16GB SanDisk Cruzer and intend to use it for years.
So I was wondering, in order to further its longevity, whether to

a. delete files directly from the flash drive (OR)
b. cut the files from the flash drive and paste them somewhere else
?

 

[1Bowtie]

Either way works.

 

[Bill2]

Unless the flash drive is used for readyboost or pagefile space, it should last. Typical MTBF (mean time between failures) for flash drives is one million cycles- that's a lot if you are the one doing the reading/writing/deleting but not if its being used for disk buffering and pagefile.

 

[whs]

The lifetime is hard to predict. I had one stick that failed after 6 months and it was only used for backup. Another stick that runs my picture slide show on the desktop since 3 years is still going strong.

In case your stick does not make a piep any more, put it into the fridge for a couple of hours and try again. I have temporarily revived sticks a couple of times like that. At least I could get the files off that way.