Directory Corrupted, Unreadable (flash drive)

[RVB]

I have (had) a fairly large capacity Sandisk USB flash drive that sits in one of the spare USB slots on the rear of my main computer.
It holds backup copies of my most important computer files, which the computer automatically backs up every few hours.

Recently it began to throw up errors which is surprising since it's only several months old, then stopped working. I swapped it out for another large flash drive.

I plugged the 'corrupted' Sandisk into one of the front USB ports and when I try to open it, I get the 'Directory corrupted' message.

As it was only a backup copy I thought I 'd see what happened if I formatted it. Formatting went fine and the flash drive now seems to work fine.

Also, the drive I replaced it with - Integral 128GB because that's all I had handy at the time - has also just begun occasionally throwing up error/warning messages ('file was not backed up due to an error, windows will attempt to back up the file at a later time').


First question:
Can I trust this Sandisk flash drive in the future or is it on its way out?

Second question:
Is the Integral also on its way out - like the Sandisk, it hasn't seen heavy usage - or might I have some other problem brewing with my computer?

Thanks,
R

[xeny]

My suspicion would be the computer at this point. You're certain the Sandisk is genuine, not a fake?

Is the machine Intel or AMD ?

[RVB]

xeny said:

My suspicion would be the computer at this point. You're certain the Sandisk is genuine, not a fake?

Is the machine Intel or AMD ?

I'm fairly sure the disk is genuine; it certainly has the full stated capacity. It probably came from Amazon (not 'sold by xxxx fulfilled by Amazon').

The computer is a ~2010 Dell with Intel quad Q8300, upgraded to Windows 10 a couple of years ago.

[RVB]

dibbers006 said:

When it's plugged in, have you emptied the trash. Sometimes they hang onto the hidden files and confuse themselves.

Have you got multiple Users on the same machine? Sometimes external drives knob the permissions up.

Beyond that, you could try assigning it a static drive letter.

Final thing would be to confirm you're using the right format for the files you are backing up.

But ultimately, are you going to trust them going forward...

Thanks.

I hadn't looked into emptying trash.

There are multiple users but it's rare for them to actually log on and use the computer. Last time someone else logged on would probably have been late 2020 but the backup problems have been the last couple of months.

The backup drive permanently lives in what the computer likes to call 'G', which is one of the rear USB sockets. The flash drive doesn't usually get removed. It's just intended to be a non-cloud-based backup of important files on the offchance that my computer has a problem.

When you say 'use the right format' - I just let the computer get on with automatic backups every few hours.

Regarding am I going to trust the drives, I don't know.
If I buy another flash drive it might suffer the same problem if it's my computer corrupting them rather than wear-and-tear/defects etc.

[xeny]

RVB said:

If I buy another flash drive it might suffer the same problem if it's my computer corrupting them rather than wear-and-tear/defects etc.

It may be any USB storage, flash drive, HD, phone are the obvious examples.

I asked Intel or AMD as I've seen recent reports of issues with AMD machines and odd USB problems.

It's probably worth checking the BIOS is up to date, in case that resolves any lurking issues, and for that age of hardware have a quick look at the motherboard for signs of failing (bulging or leaking) electrolytic capacitors, which might cause USB problems.

[RVB]

xeny said:

It may be any USB storage, flash drive, HD, phone are the obvious examples.

I asked Intel or AMD as I've seen recent reports of issues with AMD machines and odd USB problems.

It's probably worth checking the BIOS is up to date, in case that resolves any lurking issues, and for that age of hardware have a quick look at the motherboard for signs of failing (bulging or leaking) electrolytic capacitors, which might cause USB problems.

Thanks.

A major reason I run the old Dell is that this particular model seems to sit in a sweet spot that allows it to function just fine as a modern everyday computer, plus it's able to run old computer games despite being Windows 10.

I'm not an expert but having tried old games on various computers over the years, my suspicion is that it works due to this particular combination of processor, chipset, on-board graphics and associated drivers.

It's a Dell Optiplex 780 running Windows 10, Intel Quad Q8300, Q45 chipset (integrated graphics), 8GB RAM, 500GB HDD. I have a second, similar one but in the smaller casing with slightly better Q9400 processor and smaller 250GB HDD.

[fuzzymonkey]

RVB said:

I have (had) a fairly large capacity Sandisk USB flash drive that sits in one of the spare USB slots on the rear of my main computer.
It holds backup copies of my most important computer files, which the computer automatically backs up every few hours.

R

This is 100% NOT the way to do backups. What if there is a fire or the computer is stolen or you get a virus? In fact its more or less not a backup at all...

[RVB]

fuzzymonkey said:

This is 100% NOT the way to do backups. What if there is a fire or the computer is stolen or you get a virus? In fact its more or less not a backup at all...

I back up in other ways, too.
I have several backups of each computer, kept in different places (including a fire-resistant box) although those not attached to the computer are less up to date than the one plugged into the computer which is mainly to avoid loss of files created or modified within the last few hours.

My backups include cloud, flash drive, other computers and an external hard drive.

[Insert Coin]

I wouldn’t trust the usb drives, I backup to OneDrive, all done without any intervention and I can access the files on desktop, laptop, iPad and iPhone all in just a few button presses.

The only thing I have backed up on my usb drive is an o/s system backup, but these days it’s almost as easy to use the media creation tool and download the latest version of Win10 and add your applications afterwards.

[xeny]

Insert Coin said:

I wouldn’t trust the usb drives, I backup to OneDrive, all done without any intervention and I can access the files on desktop, laptop, iPad and iPhone all in just a few button presses.
.

That feels as if there's scope for "I can trash the files on any one of these devices and they're automatically trashed everywhere"

[RVB]

Insert Coin said:

I wouldn’t trust the usb drives,

I don't trust any single form of backup; that's why I use multiple different backup methods as mentioned above (external hard drive, other computers, flash drives, cloud).

The fire that destroyed the cloud data centre in Germany last week, taking some people and companies' data with it, was a wake up call for those who didn't have other forms of backup in place.

I also have some reservations about privacy risks if storing my data on cloud equipment (large companies frequently get targeted by hackers/terrorists so why wouldn't they target clouds) so there are some things I won't store that way, therefore increasing the importance of other storage methods.

[Insert Coin]

xeny said:

That feels as if there's scope for "I can trash the files on any one of these devices and they're automatically trashed everywhere"

You can easily restore files/folders in that case.