Friday, June 24, 2011

Pen Drive


Introduction
Pen Drive also referred as USB flash drive is a portable device which allows user to transfer data (text, images, videos etc) to and from computer quickly. Users can easily read and write the data on the Pen Drive by plugging it into the USB port on the computer. Pen Drives are quite compact and can fit easily into the pocket; they run without battery and draw power from the USB connection itself. Both Floppy disks and CDs are now being gradually replaced by Pen Drive as a preferred means of data storage. Its because latter offers mass data transfer and storage capability and at a much faster rate.

Storage capacity of the Pen Drive can vary from few megabytes to over 100 GB. Nowadays even external hard drives are available in the market with huge storage capacity, which like Pen Drive can be connected to a USB port on the computer.

Architecture
Pen drive consist of an electronic circuit board and a USB connector connects the drive to the computer. Pen Drive also known as a Flash memory is an example of NAND style storage device. It is a memory chip which holds the data. Data output is controlled by Crystal oscillator which produces 12 MHz clock signal in the device.

Most Pen Drives are covered with plastic, metal or rubber casing for insulation.

Advantages
Pen Drives are robust and scratch free thus ensuring maximum security for your data as compared to other traditional means of data storage. Many available PC software suites permit the launch of an operating system from the bootable pen drive. Moreover companies selling Pen Drives nowadays also couple it with other devices like MP3 music player, LED’s or Swiss Knife etc.

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