GetIT in a Flash - How to detect a Fake Flash Drive

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How to detect a Fake Flash Drive

Index
Quick Test. (5 minutes - inaccurate) Thorough Test. (over an hour - very accurate) "Restoring" or "Repairing". (NOT Recommended) Ways to avoid purchasing fakes.
Note : All drives sold by us are New and Verified Actual Size. We do not repair and resell as quality is poor on repaired drives.

Quick Test - Takes about 5 minutes (inaccurate)

Using Hd Tach.

Steps :

Get Hd Tach
Install and run Hd Tach
Quick Bench the Suspected Drive
The Results

Step 1 - Get Hd Tach

Click HERE to go to the Hd Tach download page.

Step 2 - Install and run Hd Tach

Follow the installation steps as prompted.

Step 3 - Quick Bench the Suspected Drive

Run a simple quick benchmark on the drive you suspect.

Step 4 - The Results

Below is an image with the results from both a Fake 16Gb Flash drive (shown here in Blue), and one of our Verified Actual Size 16Gb Flash Drives (shown here in Red).

As you can see the Real Drive the speed is very constant. Whereas with the fake drive there is a sudden change in the speed after the Actual Size is finished (In this case 1Gb).

Thorough Test - Can take over an hour (very accurate)

Using H2testw.

Steps :

Get H2testw
Extract H2testw
Run H2testw on the Suspect Drive
The Results

Step 1 - Get H2testw

Click HERE to download H2testw.

Step 2 - Extract H2testw

Extract to an easy to access location such as "c:\flashtest\" We suggest using 7-zip (Open Source) for this.

Step 3 - Test the Suspected Drive

"Write + Verify" the drive you suspect.

Step 4 - The Results

On the left is the results from a Fake 16Gb Flash drive, and on the right is the results from one of our Verified Actual Size 16Gb Flash Drives.

Fake 16Gb Flash drive

Verified Actual Size 16Gb Flash Drives

The media is likely to be defective.
868.1 MByte OK (1778048 sectors)
15.1 GByte DATA LOST (31741568 sectors)
Details:11.3 GByte overwritten (23806176 sectors)
0 KByte slightly changed (< 8 bit/sector, 0 sectors)
3.7 GByte corrupted (7935392 sectors)
1.5 KByte aliased memory (3 sectors)
First error at offset: 0x0000000036430000
Expected: 0x0000000036430000
Found: 0x00000000aa55aa55
H2testw version 1.3
Writing speed: 13.8 MByte/s
Reading speed: 18.5 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4

Test finished without errors.
You can now delete the test files *.h2w or verify them again.
Writing speed: 9.00 MByte/s
Reading speed: 29.7 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4

As you can see the Real Drive results state that the drive is in good condition. Whereas the fake drive show the actual size is only 868.1MB while all other data is lost.

"Restoring" or "Repairing"

Summary

While it is possible to "repair" or "restore" a drive, i.e. return it to its real value, this is not normally recommended. The memory used in Fake Flash drives is usually of a quality so low that it quite often fails after only a few writes. The time taken to "repair" a fake flash drive is also quite considerable if you include the hours of searching it may take you to find the correct program to "repair" the drive.
However if you have the time (and a lot of patience) you can get a fake flash drive to show the correct size.

*** EVEN AFTER "REPAIR" DO NOT USE THE DRIVE FOR IMPORTANT OR CRITICAL DATA ***

Process

The process is usually a long and arduous one. And you'll require a lot of patience to achieve this.
FixFakeFlash from SOSFakeFlash has published a very good article on repairing counterfeit (Fake) Flash drives. And I would recommend reading it if you decide that repairing your drive is your only option (or if you are just curious).
About VID PID Repairing Counterfeit Flash Drives – Steps To Succeed

Useful Sites and References

SOSFakeFlash (a great page for victims of Flash Fraud)
FixFakeFlash (useful resource for repairing Fraudulent Flash Drives)

Ways to avoid buying a fake

First and foremost. BEWARE BARGAINS ONLINE.
If it seems too good to be true, its probably too bad to imagine.
The most you can usually hope for is a fair price.
While bargain hunting is effective in the real world as you can inspect the goods before purchase, online merchants and stores are intangible. You dont know where they are, or if what they are selling is what they say it is. All you have is their word. In the real world you are protected by your countries Commercial Law, while online you dont know where the merchant is, or what laws are protecting you.

Online	Ebay
Check SOSFakeFlashs' "Genuine Internet Sellers" List Pay with a method that can be reversed (PayPal, Credit Card or for large orders Escrow) In Australia check the ABN is valid, and matchs the company you are buying from. (You can check a companies ABN at the Australian Business Registry HERE) If in doubt. DON'T BUY	Check SOSFakeFlashs' "Genuine eBay Sellers" List Pay with a method that can be reversed (PayPal, Credit Card or for large orders Escrow) Check feedback and make sure it is public and 100% (if lower than 100% read negative feedback and see if it relates to sale of flash drives) If in doubt. DON'T BUY
Buying from us is safe and secure. All purchases made from us are protected by Australian Consumer Protection laws which are extremely good. If you prefer to buy using Ebay, check for our listings by searching for "Verified 8GB Flash Drive"

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