is there a software to monitor usb stick activity?

Discussion in 'other software & services' started by mantra, Apr 21, 2013.

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  1. mantra

    mantra Registered Member

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    Hi

    is there a software to monitor usb stick activity ?

    maybe free or even better a free and portable software

    i have a brand new usb stick dt 101 g2 16gb and it's weird because it has not a led ,it's black
    i have several Dt 101 g2 8gb red and all have a led

    the point is when i copy/paste or send files (for example a file of 400MB) to an usb stick under windows 7 or xp and according w7 or xp the copy process should be finished (watching the progress bar) , the usb stick(in this case the 8gb red) continues to blink the led flash for 6 or 8 seconds

    i leave it plugged till it stops to blink and i remove via software and i unplug it

    but with usb sticks without a led ,how can i do how remove safety?

    i thought the 16gb black was defective but i tested others and they have no flash led

    another question about "optimize for the quick removal " and "optimize for performance" i translated it in english

    well i set up my usb sticks for optimize for the quick removal but according a nice utiliy nirsoft USBDeview under safe to unplug there is a NO

    it 's about the cost of the usbsicks but about the data i transfter to them

    thanks
    greetings
     
  2. HAN

    HAN Registered Member

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    If you have only been using the LED as the means to know if the drive is still being used (or actively connected to some software), you have been running some risk of drive corruption. Hopefully not much but the risk was still there.

    You don't say what version of Windows you are running but from Windows ME on, whenever you have a USB drive plugged in, there is a tiny USB icon that shows up down in the System Tray (down by the clock). If you single left click on that icon, it will give you give the ability to "Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media". All you need to do is choose the correct drive and click on that drive's Eject entry. After a few seconds, if the drive is safe to remove, a message will pop up and say so.

    There will be times that the PC will tell you it's NOT safe to remove the drive. In these cases, the software that has been connected to the drive didn't release it (after you have finished your task with it). So, you may have to make double sure the software is no longer running (using Task Manager.) In extreme cases, you might even have to shut down the computer. But these cases are rare.

    It's too bad the use of LEDs in flash drives is declining. Just as with write protect switches, they are something that is highly useful and should always be on every drive ever made...
     
  3. mantra

    mantra Registered Member

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    hi Han
    yes i did , i have always waited the LED off and i have always used Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media
    because i think it's the best way
    what can happen if i use Safely Remove Hardware while the flash led is still blinking?
    we are talk about windows Pc/laptop , but for example many car audio cd/usb , or many televisions have a usb port to plug a usb stick but they have not option to Safely Remove the stick


    i wrote , windows 7 and xp and i have always used Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media
    did you notice that windows 7/windows XP transfer transfer bar (the screenshot so to speak) is not precise?




    did you try the mentioned 16gb usb stick? does it have a Led?

    thanks
     

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    Last edited: Apr 21, 2013
  4. HAN

    HAN Registered Member

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    Sorry! I somehow overlooked that you had listed Win 7 and XP... :eek:

    If you use the Safely Remove while the drive is still in use, the pop up message will just alert you that it is not safe to remove.

    When disconnecting a USB flash drive from something other than a computer, it's always been my policy to make certain that it's not in use in any way. For example, my DVD player can play mp3's. If I wish to remove he drive when I am finished using it, I switch the player to either disc mode or turn it off before removing it.

    IMO, disconnecting a flash drive from a computer is different than a different type of device. Just because the LED doesn't indicate activity, doesn't mean the computer has released use of the drive. When I have downloaded a file to a flash drive using Google Chrome, I cannot Safely Remove the drive until Chrome is closed. But IE or Firefox does not hold onto the drive after a download. So whether or not a drive is in use cannot be solely determined by the LED.

    I have not used the drive you mention. But over the years, I have used many, many different brands and models.

    As for the file transfer box, yes, it has issues from time to time. But I suppose it's not a simple matter to always accurately calculate remaining transfer time. Especially when you have several files of varying sizes.
     
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