Is my USB flash drive compressed?

  • Thread starter Thread starter zalek
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zalek

I bought on ebay 4gb mp3 player. On site http://www.nnim.org/ there is
a discussion about hacked mp3 players that one seller in China sells -
he sells 1gb mp3 players as 4 or 8 gb.
I got mine - after format it show 4gb, chkdsk shows 4gb - low level
format utility did not work.
My questions:

1, how it is possible to hack flash drive, that after format it shows
higher capacity?
2. how to find if my disk is compressed/hacked (someone was saying
that even after moving 3gb data, disk will show 3gb, but the data will
be corrupted).

Thanks,

Zalek
 
I bought on ebay 4gb mp3 player. On sitehttp://www.nnim.org/there is
a discussion about hacked mp3 players that one seller in China sells -
he sells 1gb mp3 players as 4 or 8 gb.
I got mine - after format it show 4gb, chkdsk shows 4gb - low level
format utility did not work.
My questions:

1, how it is possible to hack flash drive, that after format it shows
higher capacity?
2. how to find if my disk is compressed/hacked (someone was saying
that even after moving 3gb data, disk will show 3gb, but the data will
be corrupted).

Thanks,

Zalek
Click to expand...

Typically, compression will have no effect on MP3 players as MP3 files
are already compressed

FAT32 does not support compression in the same way NTFS does.

It is probably possible to modify the boot sector to make the
partition size value be larger than it is. I would expect problems
when the actual capacity is reached.

Michael
 
zalek said:
I bought on ebay 4gb mp3 player. On site http://www.nnim.org/ there is
a discussion about hacked mp3 players that one seller in China sells -
he sells 1gb mp3 players as 4 or 8 gb.
I got mine - after format it show 4gb, chkdsk shows 4gb - low level
format utility did not work.
My questions:

1, how it is possible to hack flash drive, that after format it shows
higher capacity?
2. how to find if my disk is compressed/hacked (someone was saying
that even after moving 3gb data, disk will show 3gb, but the data will
be corrupted).

Thanks,

Zalek
Click to expand...

Zalek,

I'd imagine the easiest way to check the capacity is reported correctly is
to copy 4GB of files onto and off of the device. If the files are corrupt
after copying back and forth you have a problem, if not the drive is
reporting capacity correctly.

If the device mounts as a removable storage device you could copy a single
large video file onto it.

Ed Metcalfe.
 
Zalek,

I'd imagine the easiest way to check the capacity is reported correctly is
to copy 4GB of files onto and off of the device. If the files are corrupt
after copying back and forth you have a problem, if not the drive is
reporting capacity correctly.

If the device mounts as a removable storage device you could copy a single
large video file onto it.

Ed Metcalfe.
Click to expand...

yes - this is what I did - I copied about 4gb to the disk and most of
file were corrupted.
Chkdsk showed that I have only about 1gb of uncorrupted files.
But my question - how come after Format still shows 4gb?
I use some shareware to do low-level format - but it did not help - it
still shows 4gb.
So home can I reformat it, so it will show correct value?

Thanks,

Zalek
 
zalek said:
yes - this is what I did - I copied about 4gb to the disk and most of
file were corrupted.
Chkdsk showed that I have only about 1gb of uncorrupted files.
But my question - how come after Format still shows 4gb?
Click to expand...

The device reports a drive size of 4GB (which disk manager uses),
but ignore/wraps any data written beyond 1GB.
I use some shareware to do low-level format - but it did not help - it
still shows 4gb.
So home can I reformat it, so it will show correct value?
Click to expand...
The device should have a format function. Otherwise create a 1GB part in diskman.
 
zalek said:
yes - this is what I did - I copied about 4gb to the disk and most of
file were corrupted.
Chkdsk showed that I have only about 1gb of uncorrupted files.
But my question - how come after Format still shows 4gb?
I use some shareware to do low-level format - but it did not help - it
still shows 4gb.
So home can I reformat it, so it will show correct value?
Click to expand...

Did you consider returning the item as faulty and getting your money
back??
Can you partition it? Create a 1gig partition and leave the fake 3gig
remainder unpartitioned.
Otherwise throw it in the bin and get a legit one.
 
Did you consider returning the item as faulty and getting your money
back??
Can you partition it? Create a 1gig partition and leave the fake 3gig
remainder unpartitioned.
Otherwise throw it in the bin and get a legit one.
Click to expand...

I bought it on eBay from someone from China that calls himself
hailitele - he sells tons of this stuff on eBay. It looks that if you
do not pass 1gb - you have no idea that this is a hacked product. The
price is great - about $40 for 4gb mp3 player :----------))
Now I want to reformat disk to get true capacity, otherwise I am not
getting any error copying files - just files are getting corrupted.

Here what I am getting: in DOS:
F:\>chkdsk
The type of the file system is RAW.
CHKDSK is not available for RAW drives.

But under Windows:
Type: Removable Disk
File system: FAT32

Under Volumes:
Disk: Disk 1
Type: Removable
Partition style: MBR
Capacity: 962 MB

Volumes:
Capacity 4084 MB

Any idea how to fix it?

Thanks,

Zalek
 
Did you consider returning the item as faulty and getting your money
back??
Can you partition it? Create a 1gig partition and leave the fake 3gig
remainder unpartitioned.
Otherwise throw it in the bin and get a legit one.
Click to expand...

I bought it on eBay from someone from China that calls himself
hailitele - he sells tons of this stuff on eBay. It looks that if you
do not pass 1gb - you have no idea that this is a hacked product. The
price is great - about $40 for 4gb mp3 player :----------))
Now I want to reformat disk to get true capacity, otherwise I am not
getting any error copying files - just files are getting corrupted.

Here what I am getting: in DOS:
F:\>chkdsk
The type of the file system is RAW.
CHKDSK is not available for RAW drives.

But under Windows:
Type: Removable Disk
File system: FAT32

Under Volumes:
Disk: Disk 1
Type: Removable
Partition style: MBR
Capacity: 962 MB

Volumes:
Capacity 4084 MB

Any idea how to fix it?

Thanks,

Zalek
 
zalek said:
I bought it on eBay from someone from China that calls himself
hailitele - he sells tons of this stuff on eBay. It looks that if you
do not pass 1gb - you have no idea that this is a hacked product. The
price is great - about $40 for 4gb mp3 player :----------))
Now I want to reformat disk to get true capacity, otherwise I am not
getting any error copying files - just files are getting corrupted.

Here what I am getting: in DOS:
F:\>chkdsk
The type of the file system is RAW.
CHKDSK is not available for RAW drives.

But under Windows:
Type: Removable Disk
File system: FAT32

Under Volumes:
Disk: Disk 1
Type: Removable
Partition style: MBR
Capacity: 962 MB

Volumes:
Capacity 4084 MB

Any idea how to fix it?

Thanks,

Zalek
Click to expand...

Chalk it up under "why not to buy unbelievably cheap stuff from kinda
weird foreign people in ebay"...
I'd say, for 40$ it was a cheap lesson...
 
zalek schrieb:











Chalk it up under "why not to buy unbelievably cheap stuff from kinda
weird foreign people in ebay"...
I'd say, for 40$ it was a cheap lesson...
Click to expand...

Well - I didn't write to this group asking to wipe my tears - I have
technical question - how to restore this drive to its true capacity.
If you don't know - lets cry together about this cruel world...

Zalek
 
zalek said:
Well - I didn't write to this group asking to wipe my tears - I have
technical question - how to restore this drive to its true capacity.
If you don't know - lets cry together about this cruel world...

Zalek
Click to expand...
I wasn't offering to wipe your tears and apologize if my post read that
way.
There have been a few suggestions what might work already and I was just
wondering whether getting yourself into more trouble over this is still
worth the money lost...
The easiest "solution" (the one I'd use) is to limit your upload to the
drive to 1GB. Make yourself a mirror folder on your PC to check for size
before transferring.

Another (totally different) thought: Maybe your stick needs a special
driver to show up properly in explorer?
 
I bought it on eBay from someone from China that calls himself
hailitele - he sells tons of this stuff on eBay. It looks that if you
do not pass 1gb - you have no idea that this is a hacked product. The
price is great - about $40 for 4gb mp3 player :----------))
Now I want to reformat disk to get true capacity, otherwise I am not
getting any error copying files - just files are getting corrupted.

Here what I am getting: in DOS:
F:\>chkdsk
The type of the file system is RAW.
CHKDSK is not available for RAW drives.

But under Windows:
Type: Removable Disk
File system: FAT32

Under Volumes:
Disk: Disk 1
Type: Removable
Partition style: MBR
Capacity: 962 MB

Volumes:
Capacity 4084 MB

Any idea how to fix it?

Thanks,

Zalek
Click to expand...

(1) Use a utility such as MBRtool to write zeroes to the MBR and
partition table (absolute sector 0). Then format the drive as a "super
floppy".

.... or ...

(2) Use Fdisk (or whatever is applicable for XP) to delete all
existing partitions and then create a new one. Hopefully Fdisk will
detect the actual size of the drive (as reported by the IDE Identify
Drive command).

- Franc Zabkar
 
Once upon a time, a 1GB flash drive showed up and after realizing what
it was, I began to use it -- heavily. It's a whole lot more
convienient than using ethernet cables or similar means to move files
from one machine to another (my biggest use.)


And I love it. $20 for 1GB.

But I asked around (I know nothing about such hardware,) and learned
that these systems are not quite ready for casual use; Only
infrequent writes, reading is fine. (I got it and tried to do exactly
the wrong thing with it -- to write and re-write with it. Sigh...)

Also, from what you say -- I think you have purchased a drive that had
a lower capacity and was simply relabeled. I don't think you actually
have a 4GB drive.
 
But I asked around (I know nothing about such hardware,) and learned
that these systems are not quite ready for casual use; Only
infrequent writes, reading is fine. (I got it and tried to do exactly
the wrong thing with it -- to write and re-write with it. Sigh...)
Click to expand...

Well, I don't think you asked anyone who knew what they were talking
about.

The minimal writes you can expect is 10,000 writes to any one sector.
Even if you dismiss load-leveling and the fact that most flash drives
today are rated at 100,000 to 1,000,000 writes per sector, just how
long will it take before you have rewritten 10,000 times to any
sector? For most people that is years if not decades.
 
zalek said:
I bought on ebay 4gb mp3 player. On site http://www.nnim.org/ there is
a discussion about hacked mp3 players that one seller in China sells -
he sells 1gb mp3 players as 4 or 8 gb.
I got mine - after format it show 4gb, chkdsk shows 4gb - low level
format utility did not work.
My questions:

1, how it is possible to hack flash drive, that after format it shows
higher capacity?
Click to expand...

probably by partitioning:
it is possible to partition a drive with a partition larger than the drive
itself, and, often, the OS will believe it (it asks? how big is this
partition?... well, the table says it is 4GB).

trying to format the drive will not fix this, as it will not recreate the
partition.

it is necessary to delete and recreate the partition, for example, using
fdisk (linux), or the 'disk management' tool in administrative tools, in
2000/XP/Vista.

I am just assuming they did not do anything with the HW, but even then, it
is probably necessary to just partition it with a smaller size.

2. how to find if my disk is compressed/hacked (someone was saying
that even after moving 3gb data, disk will show 3gb, but the data will
be corrupted).
Click to expand...

as described elsewhere, it probably is...
 
zalek said:
I bought it on eBay from someone from China that calls himself
hailitele - he sells tons of this stuff on eBay. It looks that if you
do not pass 1gb - you have no idea that this is a hacked product. The
price is great - about $40 for 4gb mp3 player :----------))
Now I want to reformat disk to get true capacity, otherwise I am not
getting any error copying files - just files are getting corrupted.

Here what I am getting: in DOS:
F:\>chkdsk
The type of the file system is RAW.
CHKDSK is not available for RAW drives.

But under Windows:
Type: Removable Disk
File system: FAT32

Under Volumes:
Disk: Disk 1
Type: Removable
Partition style: MBR
Capacity: 962 MB

Volumes:
Capacity 4084 MB

Any idea how to fix it?
Click to expand...

still, good old fdisk...
 
Well, I don't think you asked anyone who knew what they were talking
about.

The minimal writes you can expect is 10,000 writes to any one sector.
Even if you dismiss load-leveling and the fact that most flash drives
today are rated at 100,000 to 1,000,000 writes per sector, just how
long will it take before you have rewritten 10,000 times to any
sector? For most people that is years if not decades.
Click to expand...

Just for the record, most commercially available FLASH memory chips are
guaranteed for 100,000 erase/write cycles *for the block 0 cell only* - that
is the cell that holds all the housekeeping information, such as which
blocks are holding what and where. The remaining blocks (the ones that
actually hold your data), rarely have any guarantee as to how many
erase/write cycles they will withstand. Part of the function of the block 0
is to ensure that the remaining blocks get erased/written evenly so that the
first few blocks don't get worn out with the last blocks never being used.
Some memories even have spare blocks that can be used if others fail.
Obviously, the block 0 cell is the one that gets erased/written every time
any write takes place to the memory and is the life limiting factor.

The practical upshot is that you are never likely to wear a FLASH memory out
and I am unaware of any that have been (but that may be mainly because they
are abandoned in favour of larger capacity memory early in their life).
 
Just for the record, most commercially available FLASH memory chips are
guaranteed for 100,000 erase/write cycles *for the block 0 cell only* - that
is the cell that holds all the housekeeping information, such as which
blocks are holding what and where.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, I always considered it must be a pain to have
some sort of floating tokens/flags in each sector to get load leveling
working. Using only one cell that is made robust for extra writing
makes lots of sense once you mentioned it.
 
Well - I didn't write to this group asking to wipe my tears - I have
technical question - how to restore this drive to its true capacity.
If you don't know - lets cry together about this cruel world...

Zalek
Click to expand...

Format it as FAT16
At Linux: mkfs.vfat -F 16 /dev/? <-- drive's block device path
 
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