USB/Flash Drive Debugging

Linuxen100

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Hello there,

I purchased these 2TB USB drives off of Amazon. It was actually labeled on Amazon 1TB but when the USB's came in they said 2TB. I plugged them in and they both had said on the drive when I put them in they were named "Vendor Product Co" both USB said they had 1.90TB of storage space. 1 of these USB were half full with nothing in it. I checked with hidden view to see hidden files but there was nothing on the USB so I did a quick format exFAT they both say 1.90TB storage.

After doing this I was concerned because I had already ordered 2 more after receiving these before checking them. So I read the reviews & I saw reviews saying it's a scam. I attached the reviews that made me concerned. After reading these I decided to look up ways to test the usb device.

I came across some tools online I am currently using to test one USB fakeflashtest 1.1.4 from rmprepusb.com.
This test seems to put 200MB.tmp files on the storage till its full to test it. I didn't think this was the kind of test I was looking for so I am trying on the second USB I got from them a program called flash drive/card tester 1.14 from vconsole.com

This test seems to device map the USB & perform a read/write comparison test. At the bottom of it it's mapped in square blocks with a color code. So far on this test the first 3 blocks of the USB have a recoverable write error. I am seeing in the log as the error mostly.

! Write recoverable (1/3) error at LBN = ######### -- The Semaphore Timeout Period Has Expired. (121.)
Of course I have no clue what this error means but it keeps coming up with different numbers in the ###. I began these test yesterday and they are still running 12 hours later. I tried looking at other tools as well but I wasn't entirely sure about them.

1. RMPrepUSB - I tried using the quick size test and the test would hang at the first step & never perform.

2.Check Flash - I read this is an old tool which was made in the early 2000s and comments saying this gives false errors on any USB that's higher then 64GB. So I did not try this.

3. h2testw - I heard this tool is considered the best to check even though its an old tool from the early 2000s. It puts 1GB chunks on the drive you select & verifies it by reading the data back that it put on the drive I have this but haven't tried it yet.

4. USB Memory Stick Tester - an old tool from 2005 that just writes data & reads it back. I have this but haven't tried this yet either.

These are all applications on windows & I was wondering if there's any Linux utility tools that I could do to test these USB to see what the storage actually is? If there is a tool which is better then what I listed here please let me know.

I still have those test running from the 2 apps I mentioned I am using as of this moment it looks like they are going to take over 24 hours to perform the test fully.

What do you all recommend I do in this situation?
 

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They're very likely a scam. They'll read 2 GB but that's just what the firmware says. In reality, they have very little storage.

Amazon, the corporate entity, is well aware of these sort of scams and so you should have no trouble getting a refund. Just explain that the item isn't as described and ask for a refund.

If they don't give you a refund, go to your payment provider - namely your bank/credit card issuing company. Tell them the item wasn't described and Amazon refused to issue a refund. The word you're looking for in this situation is 'chargeback'.

If memory is priced amazingly low, it's too good to be true. Short of testing everything, Amazon has no way to know about this. However, if they've got a bunch of negative reviews then they probably should pull the product off the site.
 
Moved to off-topic. This has nothing to do with forum assistance, and nothing to do with Linux really.
 
Moved to off-topic. This has nothing to do with forum assistance, and nothing to do with Linux really.
Im looking to know of any tools that Linux may have so I can use them to check instead of the applications I listed above or if something else out there is better.

After these test are done I will post the results. Hopefully I can get some insight but if you recommend any Linux applications that might do a better job please let me know?
 
Hmm.... I can move it again if you want - but it's definitely not 'forum assistance'. Folks will see it here just fine, if that matters. I think most of us would just return it. Amazon isn't going to fight you too hard. They know this happens and that it's entirely too common.
 
Hmm.... I can move it again if you want - but it's definitely not 'forum assistance'. Folks will see it here just fine, if that matters. I think most of us would just return it. Amazon isn't going to fight you too hard. They know this happens and that it's entirely too common.
I'm not concerned about you moving it that's fine. I was wondering if you knew any alternative to those applications to test the storage or if there was a command in terminal I could use to do a test.
 
I really don't. You could try writing data to it in the terminal to see what happens over time. Some combination of dd and /dev/null would do that. I took my sleep meds and then drank a glass of wine, so I'm not too helpful. Even though this is now in off-topic, every regular person will see it. Someone will come along with something, perhaps. Give it a bit and someone will pop in.
 
When you buy a Flash Drive say 16GB...you never get 16GB because formatting takes up space...might get 15.6GB. The same applies to HDDs and SSDs...I don't know about your Flash Drives as they may be fakes...it always pays to buy well know brand name products.
t2001.gif
 
When you buy a Flash Drive say 16GB...you never get 16GB because formatting takes up space...might get 15.6GB. The same applies to HDDs and SSDs...I don't know about your Flash Drives as they may be fakes...it always pays to buy well know brand name products.
t2001.gif
Right this isn't the case. I ended up finishing the test with the result end up being that the USB were actually somewhere between 48-64GB USB. I contacted Amazon and am getting a refund.

The test showed that there were duplicate sectors and bad memory blocks I guess they do something to trick the computer into thinking this 64GB USB is a 2TB USB. When you go over the storage amount you just end up corrupting your backed up files on there.

I learned you can ask a seller to perform a read & write test as legal documentation that the storage is authentic before buying it. Whether they comply or not is another thing but it goes to show if you ask & they won't most likely it isn't legitimate.
 
Right this isn't the case. I ended up finishing the test with the result end up being that the USB were actually somewhere between 48-64GB USB. I contacted Amazon and am getting a refund.
Great to hear...a lot of scammers out there...that's why I buy brand name products that come with a warranty.
t2007.gif
 

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