How to log USB transactions?

English: A Sandisk-brand USB thumb drive, SanDisk Cruzer Micro, 4GB. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

16-Nov-2014


I am looking at the possibility of logging USB thumb drive transactions, like copy to and fro, delete, format, etc. This, unfortunately, I cannot find anything on the world wide web.

Can anybody help me?

I don't even find it in CodeProject.com repository. Or maybe I am just not looking hard enough?

At any rate, I am curious how this works, if ever.

I need help. Anybody, if you know, or if you can direct me to some other articles that has the answer, please feel free to let me know.

Thank you!

Related articles

• Is This USB Thumb Drive To Car Key Idea Useful At All?
• General discussion - Re: Can I use a 500 GB exFAT drive?
• Create a Bootable Yosemite USB Install Drive with DiskMaker X
• Pioneer unveils CD-less turntable, the USB-powered XDJ-1000
• Sony's USB flash drives and microSD cards selling with up to 83% discount
• Have a bad WiFi connection and still want to Chromecast? Nexus Player supports Ethernet via USB-OTG
• Tools for creating malicious USB thumb drives released by security researchers
• Cannot open KEYLOK encrypted pdf file
• Wiiflow not showing games but usb gx loader is
• That Unpatchable USB Malware Now Has a Patch ... Sort Of

Readyboost: sysmain.com

English: Screenshot of Microsoft's chkdsk.exe (NT version) in action. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

06-August-2014


I had to upgrade my old laptop from Windows Vista to Windows 7, as I find that Vista doesn't cut it. It was nice, if you are coming from Windows XP, but after a couple of Vista years, and having experienced Windows 7 at work, I decided to do an upgrade.

So I did.

It was a move I wouldn't regret, as Windows 7 is definitely better. And even more so, that it has Readyboost feature. I know, it is not a replacement for RAM, but as I understand, it is additional cache memory, one that prevents frequent reading from solid-state disc drives, so it helps!

Then came the problem.

As I have bought a new laptop, and one that is running Windows 8.1 OS, I have almost forgotten to do the occasional check and clean-up routines. And my girls aren't saying anything about the old laptop. They just turn it on, use it, and shut down. No word.

When I remembered to do the usual check, I found that Readyboost isn't working. I saw that the thumb drive size of 4.GB is free. I thought maybe Readyboost was just turned off. When I tried to activate it back, I got the error, saying something about 'sysmain.com' problem.

I searched for this on the web, and I found some that suggested running Super Prefetch, or something like that, and when I tried to follow on the instruction, I got lost. And there really was no clear direction, because it tells of doing some other things -- maybe that is how it got fixed -- for them.

A few days of searching and trying, and finally, I gave up on it. I just did the usual chkdsk /f /r thing on all the drives, and yes, I remember running sfc /scannow, which, unfortunately, found some problems, but also reported that it cannot fix the problem. It was supposed to, but the fixer itself ran into some problem that it failed to fix the problems it found. Wow! The doctor is sick...

And as I said, the last thing I did was run chkdsk /f /r on all the disks, which required the checking for some drives to be on restart.

The laptop was restarted, and chkdsk did its thing, and guess what happened? It fixed the Readyboost problem! I just went back to right-clicking the thumb drive and turning on Readyboost, and it did turn back on! How's that? I still don't understand how or why, but one thing I am sure of, Readyboost in my old laptop is back, so it got some speed gain.

If all else fails, why not try chkdsk /f /r? It might just work for you... also.

Till then!

Related articles

• Does Readyboost Really Improve Windows Performance?
• windows "create recovery disk" fails.
• Boost Netbook Speed with an SD Card & ReadyBoost
• How to get your computer to start up faster
• can't run check disk / chkdsk on windows 7
• Windows Vista and 7 Readyboost
• Readyboost more than 4GB?
• 5 Ways To Clear Memory & Increase RAM On Your Windows Computer
• Boost the Speed of your PC
• CHKDSK warnings? Better back up older computer's hard drive

File System: NTFS or FAT (or FAT32)?

Image via Wikipedia31-October-2011

I have not always been so keen on the difference between NTFS and FAT file system. I mean, we apply and implement them in our work PCs and servers, but at home, who cares?

I should. At least now I know why.

Last Friday, I was downloading some worship video songs, and when done, I converted them to .avi format, so I can copy them to a USB drive and play them on the Philips integrated Hi-Fi system equipped with USB drive.

What I did was simply un-use one of my currently plugged USB drives from being a ReadyBoost device. Then I copied over the converted files, unplugged them from my laptop, and plugged them to the Hi-Fi system.

Sure enough, USB is detected, but there isn't any file shown!

I turned off my Hi-Fi system, turned on again, and selected USB input, and it is the same: no files!

I turned to one of the other USB drives still plugged in to my laptop, un-use it from being a ReadyBoost device, copied over the files, unplugged it, then plugged it to the Hi-Fi, and the result is the same!

I verified by copying over the files to other USB drives that are currently used for watching movies, and there they are, the files are showing immediately once USB input is selected.

Then another one was used to verify, an SD card, and the same result was got: the files are being shown and are able to play; these on the SC card and the USB card.

Then I was wondering, "What's the difference?"

Then I remembered, the USB drives that 'don't work' were used as ReadyBoost devices, which were formatted with NTFS file system, while the other USB drive and the SD card, well, they are formatted using FAT/FAT32 file system.

So naturally, I took one of the USB drives that 'don't work', formatted it using FAT32 file system, copied over the same video files, plugged it to the Hi-Fi system, and sure enough, it works!

In case you encounter the same problem, the solution may be the same: FAT or FAT32 file system for your Hi-Fi System, an NTFS for your ReadyBoost. Hey, that is what makes it go past beyond the 4GB limitation.

Till then!

Related articles

• Tutorial: How to boost your hard drive speed (techradar.com)
• Using LiLi to create a Bootable, Portable and Virtualized USB Drive (ghacks.net)
• How To Reformat Your FAT32 Drive To NTFS - And The Advantages Of Doing It (makeuseof.com)
• How-to: Create a bootable Windows 8 USB flash drive (zdnet.com)
• Choosing a file system for your USB flashdrive (sjackm.wordpress.com)
• Disk Drill Data Recovery Software For Mac Giveaway (mt-soft.com.ar)
• 4 Best Free File Recovery Softwares for Windows (tipsblogger.com)
• How to Break Into a Windows PC (or Recover Your Forgotten Password) And Prevent It from Happening to You (teechy.com)
• Mac 101: Format choices for USB flash drives (tuaw.com)
• Stream and Share Your Files Anywhere with LaPlug (pcworld.com)

Readyboost more than 4GB?

Image via Wikipedia
24-Oct-2011, 8.30am:

Today I discovered that Readyboost size can be extended to more than 4GB!

I was actually not expecting this, as much of the articles found on the web sets the limit of Readyboost cache memory size to 4GB, no more than that. But as I have tried today on my laptop (Probook 4430s) and 2 others desktop PCs (GX280 and GX520 models), the size is no longer limited to 4GB.

I plugged in one 8GB thumb drive on the GX280 machine, and dedicated the whole drive to Readyboost, and it was accepted. The amount recognized is about 7584MB (7.47GB).

On the GX520 machine, I put in two: a 4GB drive, and one that is 8GB. The 4GB drive came up with about 3804GB (3.76GB), while the 8GB drive reserved about 7562MB (7.45GB) space.

On my laptop, I employed an 8GB thumb drive, and a 16GB Sd card. Both being dedicated to Readyboost, the 8GB drive gave a 7562MB (7.45GB) available size, while the 16GB SD card came up with about 15196MB (14.9GB) available space.

If what I'm thinking is correct, this is indicating that we no longer need a very huge RAM size. Just the baseline 4GB fitting will do. And if you need to jack that up, then buy one 16GB SD card, plug it in, set it to dedicated Readyboost usage, and you have a very huge cache memory to play with!

Of course, this is all that I am seeing right now, but before 64-bit, or even Windows 7 or Vista, RAM size was limited to 2/3GB, and the 'extra' that you may have physically isn't used! That is no longer the case these days. And while 32-bit memory addressing is causing the limitation of using up to 4GB RAM only, with 64-bit, that is not the case.

And we are no longer talking about RAM being expensive, but between adding RAM and using SD card or thumb drive, I would be avoiding RAM-adding when I already have 4GB, which could mean dismantling the laptop casing or opening the desktop chassis, when I could just simply plug in an alternative thumb drive or SD card. We actually should be talking about which is cheaper and faster to employ, with less hassle and less opportunity for error and mishandling, etc., etc., etc.

So how's that? Where will this Readyboost technology lead us?

 

Related articles

• When is ReadyBoost Worth Using? (helpdeskgeek.com)
• Does Windows ReadyBoost Work? (lockergnome.com)
• Apple's new MacBook Pro lineup revealed with faster processors and more storage (9to5mac.com)
• Defrag: Tweaking for HTPC, SSD as a ReadyBoost, WiFi Antenna tuning (channel9.msdn.com)
• Q&A: Boosting the Speed of a Windows 7 PC (gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com)
• Domino 6.5 ain't runnin' in Windows 7 (Laptop) (mycompuquest.blogspot.com)
• Canon EOS Rebel T2i 18MP DSLR Camera, 8GB SD for $599 + free shipping (9to5toys.com)
• HP Envy 14.5″ HD Laptop w/ 2.53GHz Intel Core i5 Processor, 640GB Hard Drive, 4GB DDR3, Beats Audio & More ONLY $599.99 (kathleensblogspot.com)
• Defrag: Disable Show Desktop, Hide User Accounts, Accurate Energy Usage (channel9.msdn.com)

Ejecting a thumb drive

Image via Wikipedia

This may be a very common item, but then again, i am prompted to post this short article on how to eject a thumb drive. Well, there's no robotic arm to physically eject and disconnect your thumb drive from your USB socket, but this is to electrically disconnect your thumb drive from your computer, so it is "safe" for removal.

Many do a right click on the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon in the system tray. This results to opening up the hardware dialog, and you have to select which USB device to disconnect.

Nothing wrong with this, but try to make a mistake and see what happens.

Instead of doing a right click on the said icon, do a left click, and you are ready to select, if there are many USB devices connected, which particular item to remove.

In most cases, it is only one, and that is your USB thumb drive.

Left click, then click on your thumb drive, and voila! You can pull out your thumb drive!

Isn't that easy?!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Related articles by Zemanta

• 256GB thumb drive lets you carry a boatload of data around (dvice.com)
• How To Create Your Own Portable App For A Flash Drive (best-tutorial.net)
• Ridiculous USB drive lock keeps friends at bay, not much else (dvice.com)
• Portable Apps and GIMP (mexiledphotos.blogspot.com)

An ultra easy way to store and restore

Image via Wikipedia

Aside from thumb drives, flash drives now have a new application: back-up flash drives.

Will it be trustworthy? Or, just like the thinning of chips resulting to thinning of gadgets and devices, will it ever be the ever-emerging trend to have smaller size but larger capacity gadgets?

Ultra Backup USB Flash Drive; read it here.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Bomb USB Flash Drive (ubergizmo.com)
• Super Talent unveils tough Pico series USB flash drives (ubergizmo.com)
• I See Myself Loving the Four Eyes USB Flash Drive (geeksugar.com)
• USB Wristbands For Geeks (ubergizmo.com)
• Kingston Unveils 256GB USB Flash Drive (shoppingblog.com)
• Split Stick Offers 4GB Of Storage Space (ubergizmo.com)
• CODi Introduces Encrypted USB Flash Memory Drives (prweb.com)
• Super Talent's Pico USB drive: still world's smallest, now 32GB (engadget.com)