USB stick stopped working

AlabasterLyn · 24-01-2014, 11:00

I bought a 32Gb PNY USB stick from Curry's in November to record TV from our Smart TV. It's worked absolutely fine until today. I tried to view a programme I had recorded onto it but just kept getting a message on the TV screen saying to insert a recordable device.

At first I thought maybe the USB port wasn't working so I plugged in a portable hard drive that I have and that works fine. I then put the USB stick into 2 computers and neither of them recognised it.

So I am guessing that the USB stick is broken. I've had other USB sticks in the past and they have lasted for years so I'm not sure if it's because I've left it connected to the TV all this time that it's caused a problem.

I intend going back to Curry's this evening, hate that place, so not looking forward to going there. I don't even have the receipt as I really didn't expect it to break, although I do have my bank statement to prove I bought it. I think I'm more annoyed that I have lost all the stuff that I had recorded onto it

Does anyone know if this is a common thing with Smart TV's and USB sticks

Lyn

24-01-2014, 11:51

I have always said USB sticks break. Often countered with "mine has lasted for years" but I have found them to be an untrustworthy storage medium

dilli-theclaw · 24-01-2014, 12:00

Come to think of it I did have one fail that I used in my tv as a recording drive.

AlabasterLyn · 24-01-2014, 13:55

Not just me that's had a problem then

I will see if Curry's will replace it and if they do I will just use it for time shifting rather than recording and use the portable hard drive for recording. Seems a bit pointless having USB ports if a USB stick isn't stable in them

Lyn

**Chris** · 24-01-2014, 14:03

Your USB port is not just for USB sticks and isn't pointless.

Solid-state, non-volatile storage (which a USB 'stick' flash drive is) does have its limitations. Each part of the memory can only be written to a limited number of times. Software is supposed to ensure all the available storage is re-used in an orderly fashion to maximise the life of the memory but USB sticks are so cheap now, you have to wonder whether corners are being cut somewhere. How well is the memory management working, for example, and how many times will the media tolerate being re-written?

Zing uses a lot of PC hardware, if his experience is that USB sticks have poor reliability, then that's probably a good reflection of real-world performance.

Taf · 24-01-2014, 14:03

I tried several pen drives in my son's TV and they all failed to be fast enough even for SD recordings. A USB-powered HD finally allowed SD recordings, but it seemed to going flat-out at all times, probably not good for it due to heat produced.

Xtinguish · 24-01-2014, 21:26

I have had 3 usb sticks fail in my Samsung tv after very short service but portable hard drives seem fine (my portable hard drives I am using are Samsung and WD).

AlabasterLyn · 30-01-2014, 10:41

I took my USB stick back to Curry's and they seemed very surprised that it wasn't working and gave me a new one plus £2.99 back on my card as the new one was cheaper. I'd have rather had my money back as I am worried the same thing will happen again.

I do have a portable hard drive that works with the TV but it's annoying as it keeps making a strange noise every now and then so if I want to keep using that it means I'll have to keep unplugging it every night as the TV is in the bedroom. I also prefer the fact that the USB stick is invisible once it's plugged into the side of the TV.

This time I have kept the receipt and if it goes wrong again I will see if I can just buy something else for the same value rather than keep going through endless USB sticks

Lyn