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Memory Card Torture Tests
saikatguha266 writes "BBC is reporting that five types of memory cards were dipped into cola, put through a washing machine, dunked in coffee, trampled by a skateboard, run over by a child's toy car, given to a six-year-old boy to destroy, smashed by a sledgehammer and nailed to a tree. It was still possible to retrieve photos from the xD and Smartmedia cards while the others didn't survive just the last two tests. "
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right, coz it happens to me all the time, to nail a memory card on a tree by accident...
:)
Note that I did had a PS2 memory card go to the washing machine, and it worked like a charm afterwards. Thank God, I was not going to start FF7 all over again
Je n'ai pas d'avenir Je n'ai qu'un destin Celui de n'être qu'un souvenir C'est pour demain
"Most of them did fail to get through two additional tests - being smashed by a sledgehammer and being nailed to a tree."
The number of times i've accidently nailed my high-tech electronics to a tree... anything that survives that most common of IT mishaps will be a real lifesaver.
Besides the fact that "nailing to a tree" is something which is unlikely to happen to my memory cards, probably the outcome depends strongly is the nail goes trough the flash memory or only trough plastic. Furthermore "washing" should be carried out at temperatures from 30-90 degrees, and the results should be interpreted in terms of flipped bits. Hammering is a combination of mechanical stress and vibration, two things which can be separated (and are interestin separate- one tells you if you might put the memory card in your pocket, the other one if you should damp vibrations if you put it onto your bike). Running it over with a toy card after running it over wit h a skateboard (I suppose with sombody on it) will not do additional damage, i guess! And dipping into cola may oxidise the contacts......
So.... I think the test was not carried out correctly and scientifically......
To be honest, it sounds like the testers were just getting desperate with the whole nail-to-a-tree thing. They weren't expecting all the cards to survive all the tests, and it would make for a pretty dull magazine article if they just wrote "all the cards are indistructable".
CF cards usually stand a trip through the washer. Just let it dry (no, don't use the dryer.) If you use a liquid fabric softner, it might not work. The advice I got from a Canon rep was to wash it again, but don't add softner.
DB26
The dustbunnies are under your bed.....
... for something from these guys to handle these.
The Tunsten has something of a reptutation for destroying memory cards. Check out this list of problems encountered using different cards in different machines.
Note that in the Tungsten T3 only 1 out of 7 tested cards actually survived the ordeal! Of course, this particular test isn't scientific, but it is based on real user feedback really using them for real things, so it's probably worth a read.
To destroy your flash card:
Install a small httpd server on flash card and get it \.ed.
For an extra five (5) points, install Java (Sun) at the same time.
No matter what I used to give one of our CEO's, no matter how hard I'd tested it first, he found new and unusual ways to kill it.
That's the test I want to see: Can it survive a week at home with a mining company CEO?
The same kind of CEO who's password was always "password"....
Its good to know that if Hillbillies steal my memory card and nail it to a tree to worship as a god, I will still be able to get back my precious pictures of last years Christmas party!
-- "So they told me that using the download page to download something was not something they anticipated." - Bill Gates
shuffle your feet thru carpet with nylon footwear and pick up a memory card (in Minnesota in February).
Have my cat determine the memory card is alive and subsequently attack the memory card
Have a dog carry the memory card in it's mouth for a couple of hours; then bury the memory card in the back yard.
Every mans' island needs an ocean; choose your ocean carefully.
Much more real-world than even the dog chewing on your memory card.
:-(
Just insert the card the wrong way up into your card reader. Our Compact Flash card reader is not well keyed and allows this.
Instant card death on powerup