Being small they go with us everywhere and constantly risk being lost, dropped, crushed, eaten by the dog, dropped in puddles or at least filled with that peculiar type of lint/fluff/dust/litter that inhabits the bottom of pockets and handbags.
Even without such trauma, they are subject to the same types and likelihood of failure that any modern electronic device faces.
Because As they are cheap to buy, we treat them as being of little value.
We assume (wrongly) that if they fail, the cost of recovering that (choose the appropriate option!) vital/irreplaceable/un backed-up file/photograph/database/email will be as inexpensive as the cost of replacing the item itself.
In reality the steps necessary to recover data from such devices are often as complex, time- consuming and expensive as for hard disk drives costing ten times as much.
The wise user will treat these devices according to the value of the data they contain and the cost of recovering it, rather than the cost of the device itself.
Would you treat your passport as being simply a few bits of paper with a cardboard cover? A few simple steps will avoid disaster: o When buying a USB memory device, consider robustness and quality, not simply the largest capacity for the smallest price.
Devices are available that can withstand immersion in water and being run over by a car and still function.
o It may well be worth buying more than one at the same time.
This ensures a readily available source of spare parts should they be needed to recover data from a failed device.
o Have sufficient devices for all the family, that way your device is less likely to be misappropriated to take your daughters' homework project to school on! o Keep them in a safe place, somewhere safe from damage and safe from being lost or forgotten.
o Think twice before storing valuable or sensitive personal or work data on them, what would be the consequences of losing the data or it falling into the wrong hands (members of the Civil Service, Ministry of Defence, and MP's take special note!).
o Consider the use of devices that automatically encrypt the data automatically so that it cannot be viewed or accessed by the wrong parties.
o When inserting and removing them from your PC or laptop, take care, .
this This is when they can often be damaged, and even minor damage can make the data inaccessible.
o If the data stored on your device is important, back it up! .
it It is not difficult to arrange that whenever you connect a device to your host PC or Laptoplaptop, the contents of the device are automatically 'mirrored' to a folder automatically so that you always have a copy.
o If certain files are of particular significance, make them read-only or password protected, that way they will not get deleted by mistake.
Recovery is possible with the vast majority of failed USB devices.
Such recoveries vary from those requiring electronic repairs to the device or replacement of components, to recovering the data directly from the internal memory chips themselves using specialist Flash Memory Reader equipment.
But following the few simple steps outlined above, would should remove the need for the expense and inconvenience of employing our data recovery services altogether.