DataTraveler 1GB Flash Drive
After having the 1GB Kingston DataTraveler USB Flash Drive I thought I would write up a little review.
It has come in handy for so much stuff, and after a little work had no issues in Linux or Windows. Really the only three bad things I have to say about it are all to do with the cap. First off the cap can be stuck onto the back like a pen top to a pen, this is good so you dont lose the cap when using it.. But if you keep it on a keychain you cant do this anymore. The second would be that the cap comes off pretty easy and has a habbit of getting lost even when you are not using it. The last would be that the cap has some flaw where all 5 of the ones I have seen get cracks down the center of the cap (which makes it even more lose). Really the cap just keeps lint from getting in the usb connector and I dont think it really matters to much if it has it or not, but with all the problems of the cap I think they should have used some rubber end that had a connector to the base like a sport water bottle top.
As for getting it to work in Linux and maybe MacOS that even kingston says it will not work in.
Insert it into the usb port of the computer as any other usb flash drive.
Next use fdisk to see the partions on the flash stick.
delete all the partions
create a new fat partion on the device
take it to a windows box and format it as fat (I tried to do with in linux and windows did not like it, but formating it in windows made both linux and windows like it).
mount it and you are golden.
NOTE: This will remove the hidden windows partion Kingston puts on it with the drivers for windows. I have found most versions of windows dont need this in order to see it and use it, but in some cases it will mean you have to download the driver from kingston for it. I have only had to do this with Windows 98 which I think even with the orig setup would have needed the extra driver.
January 25th, 2006 at 11:17 pm
Nice review, dude! As you know, I have an older DataTraveller. My cap does stay on quite nicely, but it doesn’t have that neat feature where you can put it on the back end like a pen. That would be really cool if the keychain didn’t get in the way.
Good tip about the formatting! I know mine has worked “right out of the box” on Win2000 and up, as well as MaxOS X.something, but I haven’t yet tried it on a Linux machine.
Have you seen the new ones that Kingston has brought out? They have a 4GB one in their “Elite” line… Crazy expensive, though! I don’t think I’d want to risk losing 4GB of data AND $300+ USD when I forget to to grab my flash drive!
January 26th, 2006 at 12:11 am
that is what i like about the keychain. My car keys are something I hope I would never forget.
January 27th, 2006 at 1:22 am
So do you leave yours on your keychain all the time? Like, when you’re using it, are your keys hanging out of the front of your computer’s case?
January 27th, 2006 at 9:07 am
Yep
January 28th, 2006 at 11:19 pm
Neat. :)
May 19th, 2006 at 11:30 pm
A follow up.. The USB stick died but with its life time warranty from the maker it was replaced in about 2 days. No data recovery option, but if you save something on usb and have no back up you are a dumb ass. :)