[Coco] off-topic: USB drives scam?

[Frank Swygert]

>From what I read it's not a computer issue, but a DVD or USB stick issue. Computer to computer doesn't seem to be a problem, but some other devices are writing to the drives and permanently locking them. Since this happens with some sticks but not others, it's likely the software (or firm ware) in the stick at fault. It responds to a generic (or common) lock command, but not a generic unlock. Just mark those sticks for computer use only -- once (if?) you get them unlocked. 

The first popular memory cards was the thin flat Smart Media card (SMC). These had the same problem -- write to them with the computer, and cameras would no longer recognize the card and it couldn't be formatted. It could be used on the computer, however -- the camera just wouldn't recognize it. To use it in a camera all you could do is read from a computer. ANY write operation, even a delete, would make the SMC useless in the camera. The first SMCs came with a utility to format them on the computer, but for some reason the utilities disappeared. There are a couple on the 'net, but they don't work well. I had to send two cards I had off to a fellow who advertised fixing the cards for a small fee -- apparently he had the early utility or the know-how to unlock the cards. Seems like this reported USB stick problem is similar. 


Roger Taylor wrote:
>The problem is that a *LOT* of USB Flash drives are randomly becoming Write
> Protected, and there seems to be no way to recover that I'm aware of. ?I've
> looked and looked.
>
> Here's just one blurbs page showing the common problem:
> http://www.fixya.com/search/p454525-sandisk_1gb_cruzer_titanium_usb_flash/write_protected
>
> I've got about 4 brands here (some were $40 or more) and all of them became
> write protected or locked out when I inserted them in my home DVD player
> that has a USB port on the front. ?Now the player can't access the sticks,
> nor any Windows system I have. ?They all report only 8MB of space and can't
> format using any tool.
>

-- 
Frank Swygert
Publisher, "American Motors Cars" 
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