Re: [gentoo-user] Re: problem formatting new 256 GB USB stick : f3

[Philip Webb <purslow@ca.inter.net>]

250217 Michael wrote:
> It is worth mentioning the sys-block/f3 package (Fight Flash Fraud),
> which is in Portage and can test a USB flash disk to discover if it is fake.
> Besides the slower f3write and f3read, the f3probe command
> will only take a few minutes and confirm the available space.

Thanks ! -- 'f3write' + 'f3read' refused, as they expect a directory ;
'f3probe' need it to be compiled with 'USE="extra"', but does work :

root:705 ~> f3probe /dev/sdb
F3 probe 8.0
Copyright (C) 2010 Digirati Internet LTDA.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions.

WARNING: Probing normally takes from a few seconds to 15 minutes, but
         it can take longer. Please be patient.

Probe finished, recovering blocks... Done

Good news: The device `/dev/sdb' is the real thing

Device geometry:
                 *Usable* size: 231.05 GB (484540416 blocks)
                Announced size: 231.05 GB (484540416 blocks)
                        Module: 256.00 GB (2^38 Bytes)
        Approximate cache size: 0.00 Byte (0 blocks), need-reset=no
           Physical block size: 512.00 Byte (2^9 Bytes)

Probe time: 5'29"
root:706 ~> f3probe /dev/sdb
F3 probe 8.0
Copyright (C) 2010 Digirati Internet LTDA.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions.

WARNING: Probing normally takes from a few seconds to 15 minutes, but
         it can take longer. Please be patient.

Probe finished, recovering blocks... Done

Good news: The device `/dev/sdb' is the real thing

Device geometry:
                 *Usable* size: 231.05 GB (484540416 blocks)
                Announced size: 231.05 GB (484540416 blocks)
                        Module: 256.00 GB (2^38 Bytes)
        Approximate cache size: 0.00 Byte (0 blocks), need-reset=no
           Physical block size: 512.00 Byte (2^9 Bytes)

Probe time: 18'47"

-- end of output --

That's both sticks : NB the 2nd took  3 times  as long.

So both sticks are genuine, as I would expect from that store.

I plan to try 'gparted' next, instead of 'fdisk'
& will send the results when I get them.

BTW yes, we do have consumer protection laws in Ontario.
I once was able to exchange a defective dictionary at a bookstore :
one of the signatures (bindings) was missing & another was repeated,
so it was clearly unfit for its purpose & someone somewhere shd have checked.

Also, the sticks didn't feel warm after their exercises ;
'glance' is in Gentoo & might help show the details :
I'll have a look at it.

Thanks for all the interest : there's more yet (smile) !

-- 
========================,,============================================
SUPPORT     ___________//___,   Philip Webb
ELECTRIC   /] [] [] [] [] []|   Cities Centre, University of Toronto
TRANSIT    `-O----------O---'   purslowatcadotinterdotnet