usb stick

2makeit

im looking to buy a usb stick to store photos, informaion, forms, etc
im just using it to gain access when i get a computer sorted out,
what is recommended? and do they have a shelf life?
what to look for in them?

mm707

They don't tend to have a shelf life. Just don't buy a usb 3 if you're pc will only accept a usb 2

They're cheap as chips at the moment, i usually impulse buy them when they come up on the hot uk deals website, no more than £5 for at least 64gb

cerebus

What usb ports do you have? 2/3/4? (Not the number of ports the type of ports)

What do you mean by gaining access when I get a computer sorted out?

Just get a usb that matches the usb port you have, the size you need and but it off a reputable website (not ebay too many fakes on there if you don't know what you're looking fir)

Different sticks have different transfer speeds even if they have the same usb port but unless you're transferring huge files or thousands of them you won't notice , generally the cheaper the stick the slower the transfer speed 

cerebus

https://www.mymemory.co.uk/integral-512gb-usb-memory-3-0-flash-drive.html

This is a huge usb for the price, however slow transfer speeds compared to more expensive sticks

I've bought their own brand sticks before and find them fine for everyday use 

Mr.Generous

I've always found Kingston to be reliable and last. Some cheap one's do lose data.

cerebus

Mr.Generous said:

I've always found Kingston to be reliable and last. Some cheap one's do lose data.

I've personally never experienced that are these branded or unbranded ones?

Neil_Jones

All USB pen drives only have a finite lifespan on them, they're cheap for a reason, and that reason isn't durability.

As flash technology has increased and moved on and become more reliable giving rise to the SSD, the humble pen drive is still cheap.  Good for carting files to and from work, temporary storage and if you lose it, not the end of the world.

By the way you can use USB 3 (and 4) devices in USB 2 ports.  Like most things in computing the current specs are backwards compatible.  It won't run as fast but it'll work.

400ixl

Ignore the advice about not getting one of a higher USB version than the device. They are all backwards compatible, so just buy the right one for you which will most likely be USB 3.0 or above these days.

Kingston are a decent brand. To be honest most will be fine for temporary use. I would suggest though looking at a portable hard drive rather than a USB drive, or if there is any value (sentimental) in what you will be storing on them, then get two and copy to both given how cheap they are these days. That way you can also store one offsite.

Other option of course is whether you have any cloud storage options to put them on.

cerebus

A decent usb stick should last 10 years , more if its not used that often

Unless you buy one of those unbranded  Chinese tat you see on the likes of ebay or amazon you won't go wrong with any branded one

RAS

Do buy two, and keep two copies of everything.

Nothing to stop you finding out if any of your local library has a scanner? Find the best one and you may be able to scan some photos for free now to share? Choose the higher resolution.

Newcad

Personally for anything over 64KB then I'd not use a stick, I get a SSD and put it in an external USB enclosure.
(Note that you do usually have to format a new SSD, but Windows will do that easily).

For example I currently have one of these in one of these for use as a backup drive:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Patriot-Memory-P210-256GB-P210S256G25/dp/B087K9L3R5/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/EasyULT-2-5-Inch-External-Enclosure-Tool-Free/dp/B08D7FPXH9/
(I like that particular enclosure and have a couple of them with different drives in).

For what you say you want to use it for then I'd suggest that would also be a good option for you, and currently only about £20.

For sticks below 64KB then I have Sandisk, Intenso, and Kingston, they are all good.
(Although I do have somewhere an 8GB Kingston that was painfully slow so now not used).

One thing to avoid like the plague is the many multi-TerraByte sticks that you will see on offer for ridiculously low prices.
They are fake of course, tricked up so that the computer will say they have the advertised capacity when they are nowhere near that, usually they are really 16GB or 32GB sticks.
If you do try to store more than their real capacity then they will stop working altogether.

You can get genuine multi-TerraByte sticks, but they are expensive not ridiculously cheap.