[Coco] Drivewire on an older computer via USB

[Aaron Wolfe]

Different kinds of flash memory have wildly different lifetimes.  Some is
expected to work for a few thousand writes, other for millions of writes.

While working on a USB key based Linux distribution,  I supported a wide
range of brands and models.  Some would last only a few days as the root
storage for a Linux box, others lasted for the entire time I supported the
project, 3 years or so.

I've found similar results with SD cards in Raspberry Pis.  Some cards fail
after a few weeks, others are fine after years.

Compact flash is the one type of storage that has never let me down.
Perhaps it uses a different technology since it's older than SD cards and
often used in cameras where writes are very common.

The big brand names don't always deliver the better quality SD and USB
devices, but often it does seem that the cheap no name stuff is very low
quality.
 On Feb 1, 2015 12:31 PM, "Chad H" <chadbh74 at hotmail.com> wrote:

> What about a CompactFlash or SD Card?  They make adapters to use one of
> these in place of a SATA or IDE hard drive inside the case.  Do they have
> as limited of a write life cycle as the USB flash drives?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Coco [mailto:coco-bounces at maltedmedia.com] On Behalf Of K. Pruitt
> Sent: Saturday, January 31, 2015 6:49 PM
> To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts
> Subject: Re: [Coco] Drivewire on an older computer via USB
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Gene Heskett" <gheskett at wdtv.com>
> To: <coco at maltedmedia.com>
> Sent: Saturday, January 31, 2015 11:17 AM
> Subject: Re: [Coco] Drivewire on an older computer via USB
>
>
> > On Saturday 31 January 2015 09:50:26 Francis Swygert did opine
> > And Gene did reply:
> >> Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2015 22:51:44 -0800
> >> From: "K. Pruitt" <pruittk at roadrunner.com>
> >>
> <SNIP
> >>
> >> ===================================
> >>
> >> Sounds like you may have a hard drive or controller issue. Could just
> >> be the drive controller driver or the way Java accesses the HD, I
> >> suppose. If it's the driver or controller this may only work on
> >> certain models of computers. Still, this is a good tip that may help
> >> someone with an older computer. Hmm... maybe it's the way Java
> >> accesses the thumbdrive....
> >>
> >>
> >> Frank Swygert
> >> Fix-It-Frank Handyman Service
> >> 803-604-6548
> >
> > I would want to point out that the "thumbdrive" is flashrom, and in that
> > service may have a short life in any instance where there is filesystem
> > read-write cycles in the background.  There is no failure warning built
> > into them, so I would want to keep a backup, done daily at least,
> > someplace on the HD so that when the failure does hit, its just a matter
> > of plugging in a new drive and dsaving your backup to it to resume.  You
> > would potentially lose a days work, depending on your own creative
> > schedule.
> >
> > Cheers, Gene Heskett
> > --
> > "There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
> > soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
> > -Ed Howdershelt (Author)
> > Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene>
> > US V Castleman, SCOTUS, Mar 2014 is grounds for Impeaching SCOTUS
> >
>
>
> Okay, well Frank, Gene, and Aaron have basically said that a USB is not the
> way to go so I would take that as gospel.
>
> I have Linux installed on a second partition, so I can see if I have drive
> issues under Linux.  I might just need to reinstall XP.
>
> So, in conclusion, you can run drivewire/nitros9 via a USB, but you really
> shouldn't.  :)
>
>
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