Probably, many of you, friends, have come across a situation where you urgently need to write something to a USB flash drive, but the recording goes on and on and never ends. How to understand whether our flash drive is really writing data slowly or does it just seem to us so? Maybe this is the norm for this type of device? We can measure the speed of reading and writing media data special programs. But what will it give without understanding how it should be normal? Maybe other people are even worse off? There are no official standards fixing the standards for real (namely, real, not potential) speeds of flash drives on each of the generations of the USB interface. Only practice can give such information, but where can one find its generalization? In this article, friends, we will measure the speeds of flash drives with other people and try to answer all the questions posed.
A long write of data to a flash drive is by no means a subjective phenomenon, exacerbated in moments of haste or when we are annoyed. This is a real fact, for the fight against which today we have grandiose prospects, but, alas, their poor implementation. USB 3.1 interface specification Gen 2 with maximum throughput 1250 Mb / s was adopted back in 2013. However, not all new computers are equipped with this interface today. Novelties on the flash drive market, if they provide for compatibility with USB 3.1, actually work at the level of real USB 3.0 performance. Those models that can actually offer modern speeds are usually sold in large volumes (starting from 64 GB) and are more expensive than USB 3.0 flash drives of the same capacity.
Conditional standards
There are conditional (of course, unspoken) standards for the speed of flash drives, which determine the minimum that the device should produce:
On the USB 3.0 interface: reading - 65 Mb / s, writing - 15 Mb / s;
On the USB 2.0 interface: reading - 20 Mb / s, writing - 5 Mb / s.
When specifying the speed, we mean the maximum developed during sequential reading and writing data. The higher the indicators from the indicated minimum, the better, respectively. And if the flash drive lags behind these standards, it is either bottom or faulty. And, perhaps, you should think about purchasing a new, better device, with good type flash memory.
Such conditional standards give a primitive understanding of whether our flash drive is bad or good. But how bad or good it is compared to other models, specialized benchmark services will be able to answer in detail. Such as, for example, Usbflashspeed.Com.
About usbflashspeed.com
Usbflashspeed.Com is an English-language benchmark project created to test and compare the performance of flash drives from users around the world. The database of the project is created by us, ordinary people. The service offers a special utility for download, which measures the performance of flash devices and publishes them on the service website.
On the home page Usbflashspeed.Com presents the results of testing various models of flash drives, SD cards and SSD drives:
In the top ten in terms of data reading speed;
In the top ten in terms of data recording speed;
In the last ten tested devices.
Well, friends, I propose to start by looking at the performance of top-end media, and then proceed to testing and analyzing our flash drive.
Best Devices
Because Usbflashspeed.Com published test results different types flash drives, respectively, with different connection interfaces, in order to see the standards of USB flash drives, we filter the site data by media, for example, with a volume of 8 GB. Of course, this is a very rough method of screening, but, alas, the service does not provide filters for the types of flash devices.
And now we are looking at the TOP 10 best drives in terms of data reading speed. From the fourth position it is supposed to go ordinary flash drives USB 3.0, and their data reading speed ranges from 74-100 Mb / s. A somewhat strange TOP-10, it is obvious that there are USB 3.0 flash drives that read faster than 100 Mb / s. But oh well, that's not the point.
And now let's see the TOP 10 devices in terms of data recording speed. Not the coolest, but one of the best flash drives, according to the benchmark service, can write data at a speed of 26-81 Mb / s.
Top Ten Devices Tested
The third ten of the service - "Last 10 benchmarked Flash Drives" - is a list of the latest tested devices. And this list reflects the objective reality better than others: in it we will see those high-speed capacities that are checked by users who, for the most part, are not owners of super-flash drives. In the list filtered by the criterion of 8 GB, of course, SD cards can be confused, but basically the list will consist of USB flash drives. So, at the time of taking the screenshot below, the last ten of them had speed:
Readings - 13-83 Mb / s;
Recordings - 5-19 Mb/s.
Although the boundary indicators are not bad, it still turned out to be a sluggish list. Let's, friends, diversify it with more remarkable figures. If the trend continues, with our Kingston DataTraveler 3.0 stick in the last ten tested devices, we will be in the lead until we are chronologically removed from view. Well, let's go.
Flash drive speed test and its comparison with others
Download the portable FlashBench utility from Usbflashspeed.Com.
Unpack, run, specify the media disk in the utility window and start testing.
- Note: The FlashBench utility not only tests the speed of reading and writing data from a flash drive, it also displays its characteristics like this: serial number, volume, VID and PID. The last two characteristics may come in handy when looking for software for flashing the controller.
As a result of testing in the utility window, we will receive a link leading to the benchmark service website. Copy it and paste it into the browser window.
To begin with, my friends, I launched testing a USB 2.0 flash drive to evaluate its speed capabilities within the limits of computer devices. Quite average results were: reading - 31 Mb / s, writing - 13 Mb / s.
The Usbflashspeed.Com service removes our results from the dozens of the last tested devices over time, but stores everything in its database, combining data for each model. Thanks to this, we can compare our flash drives with the same models that are used by other users and differ in other test conditions (different USB interface on a computer, other file system). Well, and, perhaps, differing in other modifications of the model itself. When you click on the link of the device name, we get a chronologically built list of tests for this model.
You can view such information on your drive without participating in testing. To do this, you need to find it by name using the site search engine.
Eventually
Extremely, friends, the site Usbflashspeed.Com is useful. First of all, of course, those who want to buy a good, fast carrier and are faced with a choice. A leisurely review of the contents of this benchmark service, perhaps, will be added to the tips outlined in the article “How to choose a USB flash drive”.
Often, flash drives break the software part, which is easy to programmatically fix. Until your flash drive is broken, I recommend writing down its VID and PID, knowing these values in the future can save time. I have an old 1 GB flash drive, and after certain manipulations it got corrupted, when you connect the flash drive to the computer and try to access it, this is the error:
There is also an error like "The disk in the device is not formatted" - an attempt to format such a disk fails, etc. Sometimes flash drives may not be detected at all, or they may be seen in the device manager as unknown devices, as a rule, all these errors can be fixed using special utilities. The main difficulty is to find out which controller is installed in your flash drive, and find the appropriate utility. The easiest way to find out the VID and PID of the flash drive is to look in the device manager: 
In my case, this information was not here, let me remind you that VID and PID are 4 characters each, by which you can determine the device manufacturer and some of its parameters. If the device manager did not work out, then go here - utilities for determining the VID and PID of flash drives and try different utilities with your flash drive, if one could not determine the parameters, do not despair, download the next one. For example, I was lucky and Flash Drive Information Extractor latest version, was able to determine the VID and PID of my flash drive.
VID and PID found out, now go here and drive your values into the appropriate fields, and if you're lucky, you'll find out the controller model, and even a utility that can repair your flash drive. 
I was unlucky and the indicated utility did not fit, but the controller model is known, go here and drive in the model of your controller into the search bar, in my case it is UT161. The search will probably return several results, and you will have to try all the utilities. This one came up to me, download, unpack and run the file circled in red, click repair and after a few minutes, we get a live flash drive. 
In order for the flash drive to work, you need to disconnect it and reconnect it, and you can go in, create folders and copy files to it. As a rule, after such a repair, flash drives continue to work normally, but I would not recommend storing critical and important data on a flash drive after repair. 
P.S. It is recommended to treat flash drives under XP, most of the utilities are old, and in windows 7 or 8 they may not work correctly.
Almost every computer user has a USB flash drive. This is a very convenient storage medium, on which you can quickly write something down and throw it in your pocket. The era of disks is a thing of the past, and flash drives are confidently taking their place. For the most part, this is an “indestructible” device that is very difficult to damage. But, nevertheless, due to incorrect operation, media firmware failure or unsuccessful formatting, the flash drive may stop working. What is it expressed in? The computer writes "Unidentified USB device" instead of its name, the capacity is displayed as 0 bytes, and when trying to format the device, a permanent error occurs.
To restore the performance of the flash drive, you need to deal with the cause of the problem.
Some users immediately think that they need to run to the store for a new flash drive. But this is completely optional, since almost any mistake can be corrected. Well, unless the flash drive has physical damage, then nothing will help. We provide information on how to find out the VID and PID of a flash drive, and how this will help to restore.
What are VID and PID for?
Because the flash drive is electronic device, as in any equipment, it has a digital identifier. The VID is the manufacturer ID, and the PID is the device. In addition to them, other information may be useful, such as a serial number. Each chip has its own meaning. It is very important to know these parameters exactly, otherwise, if you restore the USB flash drive with the wrong utility, you will completely kill it. Therefore, knowing the VID and PID, you will be able to restore the media with a high probability.
How to find VID and PID
Via Device Manager
Go to "Start" - "Control Panel" - "Device Manager" - "USB Controllers" - "USB Mass Storage Device". In the "Details" tab, select "Hardware ID". AT bottom line you will see the IDs of your flash drive.
CheckUDisk Utility
With its help, you can find out technical information about connected USB devices. Displays all the necessary information about the controller in order to perform a recovery in the future.
Flash Drive Information Extractor
The utility helps to determine the controller model, the memory type of many external drives. Reads information directly, works even with partially damaged boot sectors.
With the application, you can find out the following information:
- Consumed current.
- VID and PID.
- Flash ID.
- physical volume.
- Installed memory chips.
- Device model and manufacturer.
USBDeview Utility
An application for displaying data about USB drives connected to a computer. There is a history of connected equipment. It will help to find out the device developer.
ChipGenius Utility
Product from Chinese developers. Detects data from flash drive controllers, card readers and MP3 players. Will be able to determine such indicators as VID, PID, serial number, controller model, manufacturer. Has excellent compatibility with huge amount drives. There are three versions of the program, one of them will definitely start.
Open the flash drive
As a last resort, if none of the utilities can cope with the task, try to carefully open the case of the flash drive and read the information directly on the electronic chip itself. But, we hope that this will not have to be done, since there is a certain risk of physical damage.
What to do next
After you have found out all the necessary information, use this page to find the necessary utility. At the top, enter the VID and PID data in the appropriate fields and click "Search". You will see a list of results. The leftmost column shows the manufacturer, the second column shows the flash drive model, and the rightmost column shows the recommended utility that will help you perform the recovery. If you're lucky, you'll be able to find the program you need. After completing its work, your flash drive will be like new.
Conclusion
We hope that after reading these recommendations, you will be able to restore your storage media without buying a new one. We will be grateful for your comments, in which we ask you to tell us which utility is the most convenient for you.
The flash drive has ceased to fulfill its direct duties of storing and transferring information, issuing, when connected, messages about zero volume, connecting an unknown device, and also refuses to be formatted. Among the main reasons why the flash drive has ceased to be detected is improper operation, for example, the flash drive was removed from the device without using safe extraction, low-quality components, power failure and so on ...
If the flash drive is somehow defined in operating system, then there is a chance for recovery. To restore the performance of the flash drive, you need to reflash the controller chip in which the failure occurred. We will reprogram the controller using special firmware. We will search for this program based on which controller model is installed inside the flash drive.
Let's say right away that it will be most correct to look for a controller model installed in a flash drive using special programs. Let's talk about all below possible methods identifying and searching for a controller model and why the software method is the most correct.
Define Separation of the controller model by means of disassembling a flash drive
The controller model is applied to the microcircuit case, in order to see it you will need to disassemble the USB flash drive. Disassemble the flash drive should be very careful. If you don’t want to open your USB flash drive or it’s not possible due to the design of the flash drive (many flash drive models are sealed in plastic and it’s difficult to disassemble them), then you can go the other way. Scan the flash drive with special programs that will tell you which controller is installed in your flash drive, more on that at the end of the article ..
Flash Drive VID and PID Parameter Definitions
VID - identifier of the controller manufacturer.
PID - Device ID.
VID and PID identifiers - exist for everyone USB devices and USB flash drives are no exception. If the VID and PID identifiers were empty or could not be read, it may have taken place, mechanical damage microchips, then programs are powerless here.
After determining the VID and PID identifiers, you can determine the manufacturer and type of controller installed in the flash drive, and knowing the type of controller, you can start searching for the manufacturer's website and necessary program to work with a flash drive. But at present this way lost its relevance.
The thing is that at the dawn of the development of flash drives, controller manufacturers could be counted on the fingers, and the lineup was not great. One utility could approach all controllers of one company. Now the situation has changed dramatically, with the development of the flash drive industry, the number of companies producing controllers has increased significantly.
Companies often assign their VID and PID to flash drives they produce. As a result, it is not necessary to count on the objectivity of determining the controller model, according to the VID and PID parameters.
most correct and in a simple way controller definitions, there will be a flash drive scan, special programs. Which determine the model of the controller used and, in addition, allow you to find out a bunch of other information about the flash drive.
Controller model definitions with Flash programs Drive Information Extractor
Utility from Russian company ANTSpec Software allows you to interrogate the flash drive controller and get information about the device. The difference of the utility lies in the fact that these data about the flash drive are determined directly, and not by indirect signs such as VID and PID, the incorrectness of which was indicated above.
The program does not require installation, download, run and click the "Get information about the flash drive" button. After the survey is completed, the program will display the information. Below is the result of scanning a usb flash drive, the controller model is indicated in the first line: Phison 2251-32 (2232).
This is how the controller of this flash drive itself looks on the Phison website. There is also a specification on the website. this controller who are interested can read.
Now knowing the controller model, you can start searching for the firmware. This is done simply, we drive the name of the controller into the search engine, and we get a bunch of sites offering to download the utility for the desired controller model. It's so simple, the Internet will help you, successful recovery!
USB flash drives are reliable devices, but there is always a risk of breakage. The reason for this may be incorrect operation, firmware failure, unsuccessful formatting, and so on. In any case, if this is not physical damage, you can try to repair it with software tools.
The problem is that not every tool is suitable for repairing a particular flash drive, and using the wrong utility can permanently disable it. But knowing the VID and PID of the drive, you can determine the type of its controller and select the appropriate program.
VID is used to identify the manufacturer, PID is the identifier of the device itself. Accordingly, each controller removable storage labeled with these values. True, some unscrupulous manufacturers may neglect paid registration ID-numbers and assign them just at random. But mostly it concerns cheap Chinese products.
First, make sure that the flash drive is somehow detected by the computer: a characteristic sound is heard when connected, it is visible in the list of connected devices, displayed in "Task Manager"(perhaps as unknown device) And so on. Otherwise, there is little chance not only to determine the VID and PID, but also to restore the media.
ID-numbers can be quickly determined using specialized programs. Alternatively, you can use "Device Manager" or just disassemble the USB flash drive and find information on its “insides”.
Please note that MMC, SD, MicroSD cards do not have VID and PID values. Applying one of the methods to them, you will get only the IDs of the card reader.
Method 1: ChipGenius
Perfectly reads basic technical information not only from flash drives, but also from many other devices. Interestingly, ChipGenius has its own database of VIDs and PIDs to give you guessed device information when it fails to poll the controller for some reason.
To use this program, do the following:
- Run her. Select the flash drive at the top of the window.
- Bottom opposite value "USB Device ID" You will see VID and PID.
Please note: older versions of the program may not work correctly - download the latest ones (you can find just such one at the link above). Also, in some cases, she refuses to work with USB ports 3.0.
Method 2: Flash Drive Information Extractor
This program provides more detailed information about the drive, of course, including VID and PID.
After you have downloaded the program, do the following:
Method 3: USBDeview
The main function of this program is to display a list of all devices ever connected to this PC. Additionally, you can get detailed information about them.
Instructions for use are as follows:
Method 4: ChipEasy
An intuitive utility that allows you to get comprehensive information about the flash drive.
After downloading, do the following:
- Run the program.
- Select the desired drive in the top field.
- Below you will see all its technical data. VID and PID are in the second line. You can select and copy them "CTRL+C").
Method 5: CheckUDisk
A simple utility that displays basic information about the drive.
Further instruction:
- Run the program.
- At the top, select the flash drive.
- Check out the data below. VID and PID are located on the second line.
Method 6: Studying the Board
When none of the methods helps, then you can take drastic measures and open the case of the flash drive, if possible. VID and PID You may not find it there, but the marking on the controller has the same value. The controller is the most important part of the USB drive, it is black and square in shape. 
What to do with these values?
Now you can start using the information received and find an effective utility for working with your flash drive. To do this, use where users themselves form a database of such programs.
