Programing PLC Thumb Drive

Need recommendations and experiences with a really small thumb drive, and a larger sized one.

Small one only needs to hold one program and associatted data, perhaps 1-5 gig if they are even made that small.

Larger one 256-512 gig, or larger.

What's good, what's bad?

thanks.....casey

If you are refering to USB compact drives then you can easily find them from 8 meg to 2 gig. I am not sure about anything larger.

Thumbdrive is a trademark of:
http://www.thumbdrive.com/pro.htm

The biggest issue that I have with USB sticks is that some of them don't fit into my machine(s) without a lot of horsing around. Look for one that is slim enough to allow other USB devices to be plugged in right next to it, and short enough to fit into the front ports of your DELL desktop. I have a Memorex stick that seems to fit any computer configuration.

You could also invest in a USB extender cable, but then you'll forget it when you really need it.

AK

Whats the matter Casey? Still waiting on your USB pen from AB???

I like and use the SanDisk Cruzer Micro.
I think 2 gig is the largest. I currently use a 256 meg one and have never needed anything larger for general everyday use.

Smartdisk FireFly

I have a 256Meg Sandisk but I was always running out of room. I went to Bestbuy and bought this device called a Firefly ($150). Its a
20 gig USB drive and about the size of a deck of playing cards and it works just like a thumbdrive.

http://www.smartdisk.com/Products/Storage Products/Hard Drives/FireFly.asp

GIG or MEG?

Small one only needs to hold one program and associatted data, perhaps 1-5 gig if they are even made that small.

Click to expand...

Did you mean 1-5 MEG?

Larger one 256-512 gig, or larger.

Click to expand...

Did you mean 256-512 MEG?

If you answer yes to either of the above questions, then you are in luck. I have a 128 MEG Thumb Drive from Kingston that I got from Circuit City. The larger units like the 256 and the 512 MEG are selling for around $50 depending on how hard you look. Getting one smaller than 128MEG is going to harder all the time. I have seen some 64 MEG ones at CompUSA but none any smaller than that!
Good luck!

Got to TigerDirect.com They have all kinds and sizes and free extender cables come with some purchases.

George

Ooooops, Olt-Timers has set in.....

Sorry about the mega-request, err, giga-request.

I can make the giga distinction in RF, but that post was too early in the day for me to convert giga-bites (as in lunch bitrs).

Small drive will need to hold 6-12 discs, so 10-15 meg should suffice, don't need a couple hundred meg.. Looking for something cheap, only becuase it will be for backup on one system

Bigger one is a general backup, file transfer between computers, etc. So the bigger the better. Ideally, I would try to put Autocad LT, a couple of plc software programs, and maybe MS Word, plus abunch of plc programs. Kinda like a laptop, without the laptop. Portable, but very light. A lot of places want me to perform miricles, but have to use THEIR poor equipment.

At a LARGE tire subsidery of a LARGE tire manufacturer, I had to smuggle my personal laptop in and out of the plant to get work done. Their 386 wouldn't run for more then a few minutes between crahes, and did not have current plc software. Eventually, they bought me a NEW laptop, which actually meant that I got to see it once, and would get it third hand, if it and I lasted there long enough.

regards.....casey

Whats the matter Casey? Still waiting on your USB pen from AB???

Click to expand...

Mike, that's cold, very cold! Even colder then the wind chill I fought the last couple of days, but then, it's headed your way.

regards.....casey

This site has USB 1.1 (slower) drives for as little as $15.00:
http://www.usb007.com/index.html#usb1
1.1 is still many times faster than a floppy, and at 15.00 ea. you could buy one for every project.


They also have USB 2.0: http://www.usb007.com/usb2.htm



AND you can get a pen here: http://www.usb007.com/usbpen.htm
you can tell everyone it came from AB, but they forgot to add the logo.

Casey, I have a thumb drive at every PLC installed. They are Lexar 16MB and I put them on the key chain thingy. I think I picked them up for around $9 each. As for the big one, I just got a Lacie 80 GB USB external HD that I back up my entire computer on. My new Dell laptop seems to do well with it. The large tire manufacturer I work for is no where as stingy as the one you work(ed) for I get 2 new laptops every 2-3 years (1 for me and the other for the technicians). I usually take that one home since it is much better than the one I have at home and I can log into the plant remotely (if I really had to). Back to the drives, the USB thumb drives work very well for everything I have to do. They should be ok for what you want also.

BGC

Speaking of USB Drives

I found this out recently. If your computer's BIOS supports it, you can boot to a usb drive!!! I have an old DOS program that wouldn't run completely right in XP.

HP's web site has a utility for creating a boot sector on a usb drive. You have to have your own copy of the system files.

Now I can get that comfortable C:\> prompt on my Pentium 4 laptop....

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0001CFSW2/ref%3Dnosim/7240425-20/104-3267126-8250308

I use this one. It's small and fits into every USB port I've tried. Don't get the JumpDrive secure, it's bigger and I've had one machine it wouldn't fit into. Plus the rubber keychain guard is nice, just stick it on your keys and it fits comfortably in your pocket.

smallest i've seen is GE / PQI Intelligent Stick