I asked Grok (because sometimes I forget...) about a small app I've been using for umteen years. It tries to write predefined data to full capacity (which it reads from the stick/drive, and which shows what you bought), and then tries to read it all and checks it against what was written. That's a sure-fire way of making sure that the entire capacity, and not just i.e. 8GB is usable. The way it works when you use a fake drive with your computer is that it writes to "sector 2345678", but the fake drive always shortens requests by cutting off some leading digits, and then writes it to "sector 45678", likely overwriting anything that's been written at that sector before [it's not called sector; this is for explanation only].

 

In practice, whatever you wrote to your drive is pretty much unusable because of the above. Buy from an original manufacturer/distributor (e.g. Sandisk on Lazada, official site). Can be a bit more expensive, but you'll never have a problem, and in fact, if you do, they'll replace the thing!! I have always fully tested all thumb sticks and drives I bought - as far as the safety of your data is concerned, it's due dilligence!!

 

Quote:

 

The software you're referring to is likely **H2testw**, a free utility designed to verify the actual storage capacity of USB drives, SD cards, and other storage devices by detecting fake or defective drives that report incorrect capacities. It works by writing data to the drive and checking for errors, ensuring the advertised capacity matches the usable space.

- **Full Name**: H2testw
- **Download Source**: The most reliable place to download H2testw is from trusted software repositories or its original developer's associated sites. You can find it on:
  - **Heise.de**: The German tech site where H2testw was originally hosted. Search for "H2testw" on their download section (https://www.heise.de/download/). Note that the interface may be in German, but the software itself supports English.
  - **Softonic**: Available at https://h2testw.en.softonic.com/. This site offers a safe download with a clear English interface.[](https://hwmonitor.en.softonic.com/)
  - **MajorGeeks**: Another reputable source at https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/h2testw.html.[](https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/hwmonitor.html)
- **Important Note**: Always download from trusted sources to avoid malware. Verify the file integrity if possible (e.g., check MD5 or SHA checksums provided by the source).

 

On 7/19/2025 at 5:11 AM, VR333 said:

On 7/19/2025 at 5:01 AM, Nemises said:

Can’t believe people still use portable drives

 

People travel.

 

Not everyone has reliable internet.

 

 

On 7/19/2025 at 5:01 AM, Nemises said:

1TB cloud storage included in Microsoft  365 subscriptions. Thank me later!

 

I'll thank you if you pay for my annual subscription ... By the way, what do you pay?

So you pay MS an annual subscription rather than buy your own drives and pay once?

Interesting "financial model" 🙄

On 7/19/2025 at 5:26 AM, Nemises said:

Wrong. Any uploaded “personal information” is (can be) password protected. 

That, IMO is a somewhat naïve view.

You actually believe that Gov agencies and / or certain criminal types cannot crack passwords on your documents?

 

EDIT: Interesting that I got a thumbs down almost immediately to that.

I'm guessing that some people have faith that big corporations have their interests at heart.

Quite touching really.

In answer to several posts on here

 

I use Western Digital Passport drives - several I've had for going on 10 years and still working well.

I buy mine (usually) from Amazon  - If you buy genuine ones and register with WD, you get a 5 year warranty

The first ones I bought were only 256 GB - the latest are 4 TB - that's progress!

 

It really is worth paying a little extra for good brands, AND, I always full format them before use, not trusting the factory format

 

Yes they CAN fail, so never have just one copy of anything that's valuable to you.

 

I also use PEN drives (Sandisk) for small items where I need portability and / or emergency boot drives.

And Sandisk XD cards in my phone and tablet

 

 

Another thought occurs. What we  call "The Cloud" is really just someone else's computer. Think about it. 🙄

 

On 7/19/2025 at 11:01 AM, Nemises said:

Can’t believe people still use portable drives if <1TB is enough storage 🤦🤦‍♀️ 

1TB cloud storage included in Microsoft  365 subscriptions. Thank me later!

When I scrap a computer I keep the hard drive, reformat it and put it in an enclosure, got more portable hard drives than I know what to do with.

Not a lot of cost involved and works for me.

2 hours ago, VBF said:

So you pay MS an annual subscription rather than buy your own drives and pay once?

Interesting "financial model" 🙄

I pay MS to use M365 on all of my devices: 2x laptops, tablet and phone, 
They give 1TB cloud storage for free for buying 365. 🙄
 

 

 

41 minutes ago, sandyf said:

When I scrap a computer I keep the hard drive, reformat it and put it in an enclosure, got more portable hard drives than I know what to do with.

 

Same here!

Just now, Nemises said:

I pay MS to use M365 on all of my devices: 2x laptops, tablet and phone, 
They give 1TB cloud storage for free for buying 365. 🙄
 

 

 

Fair enough.

I do the exact opposite in that I do not have my PCs logged into MS in any way.

I use standalone installations of Office (I only need Word, Excel and Outlook)

Local storage with instant local backup via a 3rd party utility.

 

Basically a home network isolated from the (so-called) cloud.

2 hours ago, VBF said:

You actually believe that Gov agencies and / or certain criminal types cannot crack passwords on your documents?

No

13 minutes ago, Nemises said:

3 hours ago, VBF said:

You actually believe that Gov agencies and / or certain criminal types cannot crack passwords on your documents?

No

Yet you're still happy with  using  "cloud" storage?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not some conspiracy theorist who thinks they're all out to get me - I know that's rubbish - I'm far too insignificant for that to be a worry.

 

BUT... I don't see why I should put my personal, health, financial details on offer. It's not just the Gov agencies - it's all the bad actors out there who CAN hack in to systems, and MIGHT one day.

 

It's kind of like leaving your house unlocked and hoping nobody will go in  and steal.

Also if MS is constantly on your system there is more opportunity for them to push so-called updates that I don't want behind my back.

 

Even the regular Updates don't get through - I've set my policies so that they have to ask my permission to download.

 

When it comes to computers, I'm a control freak - they do what I want, when I want - end of!

19 minutes ago, Nemises said:

1 hour ago, sandyf said:

When I scrap a computer I keep the hard drive, reformat it and put it in an enclosure, got more portable hard drives than I know what to do with.

 

Same here!

I do that too.......Or, keep the computer, put a variation of Unix on it and keep it another 10 years! 

One can always use another computer system 😂

3 minutes ago, VBF said:

Yet you're still happy with  using  "cloud" storage?

Until such time as there’s an incident of someone’s OneDrive (or similar) files being compromised, yep 👍 

 

1 minute ago, Nemises said:

Until such time as there’s an incident of someone’s OneDrive (or similar) files being compromised, yep 👍 

 

I promise i shan't say "I warned you" if / when it does.

I admire your confidence, misplaced as I regard it. 🥴

3 hours ago, VBF said:

So you pay MS an annual subscription rather than buy your own drives and pay once?

Interesting "financial model" 🙄

And a non perfect security model whilst sitting in a Chinese (insert country of choice) airport on their "secure" WIFI trying to access "your" cloud!

I'll just plug in MY encrypted secure drive as and when required thank you!

Just now, VBF said:

I promise i shan't say "I warned you" if / when it does.

I admire your confidence, misplaced as I regard it. 🥴

Your use of the word IF is noted! 

 

In any event, no “warning” is needed for me as nothing is up there that would harm me. But for others, agree, they should be aware. 

6 minutes ago, Nemises said:

Your use of the word IF is noted! 

 

In any event, no “warning” is needed for me as nothing is up there that would harm me. But for others, agree, they should be aware. 

"IF"!

The future is all "if's" if we have one!

15 hours ago, Nemises said:

I pay MS to use M365 on all of my devices: 2x laptops, tablet and phone, 
They give 1TB cloud storage for free for buying 365. 🙄

Why buy something you don't need just to get storage.

What suits you may not apply to others, there is an old saying about cats.

1 hour ago, sandyf said:

Why buy something you don't need just to get storage.

What suits you may not apply to others, there is an old saying about cats.

You are wrong. I did NOT buy anything I don’t need!!!
 

As already mentioned above: I bought Office365. 
 

Stumbled upon their 1TB complimentary cloud storage sitting in my account some time later. 

5 hours ago, Nemises said:

You are wrong. I did NOT buy anything I don’t need!!!
 

As already mentioned above: I bought Office365. 
 

Stumbled upon their 1TB complimentary cloud storage sitting in my account some time later. 

All about you, isn't it.

The fact that others may not want Office 365 is not getting through to you.

Why on earth would you think anyone would thank you for suggesting they buy something they don't need.

1 hour ago, sandyf said:

 

The fact that others may not want Office 365 is not getting through to you.

Why on earth would you think anyone would thank you for suggesting they buy something they don't need.

You are wrong, AGAIN! You have no idea who on here uses MS Office and who doesn’t. 
 

For those who do, my original suggestion of using the free 1TB storage may work for them to avoid the problems mentioned in the OP. 
 

The “thank me later!” included an exclamation mark to clearly imply humour and being light-hearted. This was obviously lost on you 🤣
 

 

 

 

On 7/19/2025 at 10:45 AM, VR333 said:

This usually means they were fake. If you want to know for sure, check the brand name and how much you paid compared to somewhere like JIB or Amazon. If it was less than half the price of well-known retailers, you likely have your answer. While you could try using them, I'd bin them as they will never be reliable.

What is the difference between an SSD drive storage device, and an exterior hard drive. Toshiba, I just bought a new Toshiba exterior hard drive and it has already starting to give me problems.

On 7/19/2025 at 8:33 PM, cjinchiangrai said:

ExFAT format seems to work better on thumb drives but I have run into similar issues, particularly with MP3 files. SD cards work much better.

What exactly is an SD card?

14 minutes ago, NoshowJones said:

What exactly is an SD card?

A thin format memory card, popular in cameras and cell phones.