Is A USB Stick Safe To Sync Data To?

usb_stick USB sticks are great. They’re cheap, plentiful, available everywhere and can store a few DVD’s worth of data while still easily fitting in your pocket.

But are they safe to synchronize data to?

It is true that Flash memory can fail without warning, but unless you’re USB stick is a few years old and/or gone through some heavy use, the likelihood of that happening is slim.

However, there are still way too many people out there who do not unmount USB storage devices properly, and that above all else will cause data to corrupt.

As to the answer of whether USB is safe to sync data to, the answer is yes as long as you always do the following:

1. Know how to unmount on the software end

"On the software end" means "in the operating system" regardless of which OS you use. As far as I’m aware, in Windows 7, Mac OS X and UNIX/Linux graphical environment, all in requires is a right-click then "Eject" or "Unmount". After that you can safely remove the device.

2. Do not keep a constant file lock (if possible)

If you have the option, have data synchronized to the USB stick on a periodic and not consistent basis. What this means is that the stick should be accessed on an as-needed basis and not all-the-time file lock.

Depending on how you synchronize data to a USB stick, sometimes a non-consistent use option isn’t available, but it doesn’t hurt to check.

3. Remount daily

USB sticks, while great, don’t necessarily have the file stability a traditional platter-based hard drive does. If your USB stick has been plugged in and in use for more than three days, purposely unmount and remount it to ensure it continues to work properly.

If this isn’t an option for whatever reason, the super-easy way is to simply reboot your computer once every few days, as this will also properly disconnect and reconnect any USB devices.

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