SanDisk Cruzer Micro 4 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive SDCZ6-4096-A11
by SanDisk
|
List Price: Our Price: $19.98 You Save: $18.01 (47%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $4.98 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of SanDisk Cruzer Micro 4 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive SDCZ6-4096-A11
Customer Review: Compatible? Maybe, maybe not...
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought this so I could stop using CD-RW disks everytime I wanted to transfer things from one computer to another. I've owned Sandisk products before and they've all worked just fine, but this is my first "thumb drive" or flash drive or whatever they are being called.
I got the Cruzer Micro 2 with U3 4GB because 1: It was on sale for $25, and 2: I trust Sandisk for quality and performance. Turns out I was wrong.
I gave it 2 stars because it works just fine on my Vista computer, but when I plugged it into my Windows XP desktop, it gave me nothing but head aches. Desipite being listed as compatible with Windows XP, the computer doesn't know what the heck is going on when I plug it in: It doesn't launch U3, and the Launchpad or autolaunch things don't work either. What seals the deal is that the computer thinks this is a CD drive, not a US mass storage device, and therefore, unaccessible and useless, just a pretty blinking LED light.
Basically, it won't do what I want it to so it's pretty much only 50% useful to me, which doesn't sound to me like reliable, compatible, or useful. To be fair, it did work really good on my Vista machine, but since it crapped out on my XP machine, it gets docked.
On the plus side, it's small (which is good), lightweight (also good), the price is right (most places are under $30 USD), and it's got a nice bright (but ugly amber; why not blue Sandisk?) LED indicator, and a reractable USB plug (no more lost caps).
The data-transfer rates are pretty good. Sandisk doesn't list read/write/transfer speeds, but I got between 6 and 8 MBPS transferring large files (100-280 MB). A 100 MB file transferred in about 45 seconds, which is good enough for me. Read speeds are acceptable, and storage is under 4GB, measuring a true 3.78GB.
The drive also has a metal key ring attached so you could hook it to a lanyard or key chain. Good if you are like me and loose things.
It seems sturdy enough. The case is Polystyrene plastic, and it's not designed to be tossed into a backpack or a hiking bag with stuff piled on top of it, but good enough for what it's meant for. If you are going to be really rough on it, Sandisk makes a titanium cased Mirco Cruzer 2 with U3 also for about $10 USD more.
Overall, if you are in the market for a USB flash drive, BUY AT YOUR OWN RISK. It might work, but it might not and be a hassle. If it does work, it works good, but I expected more from such a respectable company.
Customer Review: WARNING: Your data will be erased!!
Summary: 1 Stars
Warning: Don't install the "update" because it will erase all of your data! I have been using the Cruzer thumb drive for some time. I have never liked it because it installs software on my computer without my permission (is that legal?). I usually have other copies of the data on my thumb drive, but recently a hard drive failed at work so I used my SanDisk thumb drive to back up some important data. Then today when I plugged the thumb drive into my desktop at home, I was prompted to update the software (called LaunchPad I think). I clicked OK. I was looking for some kind of warning to back up data or close all programs or whatever (as is standard). I didn't see any warnings -- just a license agreement. I clicked OK on the license agreement. It immediately started the "update," but the status said "formatting drive." I tried to not freak out. Surely they would not be deleting all of my data with no warning? Surely they could not be reformatting the drive? There is software on there! But when the "update" was complete, I checked and sure enough, the drive was entirely wiped clean! All my files, folders, programs -- everything. GONE! WITH NO WARNING! I couldn't believe it! Is it legal to do this? If it is, it shouldn't be! This is outrageous! I didn't have any other copy of a lot of that data! I called SanDisk, they immediately knew what I was talking about (I'm sure this is happening to lots of other people). They refused to take financial or legal responsibility for their actions. They didn't care about my lost data. No apology. All they would do is refer me to a company, LC Technologies, for data recovery. And get this, they are "partnering" with LC Technologies to offer a "discount" on data recovery. They even have a big link with a special discount code on the Support page for this thumb drive (but no warning about having your data hosed if you install the update). I'll bet you that they are getting a kickback from LC Technologies for sending so much business their way. How evil is that!?!? Not only is SanDisk deliberately deleting data, and not taking responsibility, they are benefitting from it financially at well! This is truly wrong, truly outrageous. I'm going to try to find a class action lawsuit to join.
PLEASE, do yourself a favor, DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!!!
Customer Review: Worth it for Avast alone
Summary: 5 Stars
Sandisk makes great memory sticks. From my PSP to usb drives Sandisk makes a quality product that's generally a little cheaper than the competition.
U3 has taken a lot of flack for its flash drive software and for good reason. I really didn't have a good or bad opinion of it and there is arguably better portable launchers for usb drives to be found out there that are a lot less hassle. But I kept the U3 software for one reason: Portable Avast.
You get real time up to date anti-virus protection. Unfortunately Avast does not make this for anyone other than U3 drives. There is an Avast anti virus cleaner available that works on any drive, but I prefer something real time that works on its own and since I do use multiple public PCs occasionally I find that essential. Avast is no slouch. I'd put it up against any competition out there. And I say that because I got to test it in one of the harshest places one could test it - in a cybercafe in the Philippines. I had a laptop but couldn't find a place close by with wifi. If you're at all familiar with traffic in Manila you know getting around isn't the easiest thing. So I opted for a cybercafe (much to my dismay, but I was desperate) since it was right outside my condo. As soon as I put the drive in the PC Avast's alarm sounded immediately. It quarantined a ridiculous amount of viruses and files which were easily sanitized and deleted later, and my drive and data were safe. I was impressed. So if there's one reason to keep the U3 software it's Avast.
There is also real time anti spyware available for U3 (Xoftspy) but it generates way too many false positives for my tastes. There are cleaners you can run which is better than nothing. But I wouldn't operate a flash drive without Avast's real time protection, unfortunately, available only with U3's software.
Customer Review: want to downgrade to 1-2 stars
Summary: 3 Stars
1 month later, update:
I would downgrade my the rating shown if I could figure out how to do it. Even without U3, this is still a poky drive. I save and retrieve Excel and Powerpoint files continuously from this drive, and there's a many-second delay. This delay occurs both within the applications (open/save, within xls and ppt) as well as Windows Explorer. Trying to access documents on the drive several times an hour or more often is frustrating.
I'm on Windows XP, using the Cruzer Micro 4GB.
I'm de-commissioning this thing, will replace it for now with a spare Cruzer Titanium, and will probably go to a professional grade item (something in class of a Sandisk Ducati), with 10x the read-write speeds. I do not recommend this item for real-time business use.
First review:
I uninstalled U3 and I think it's working now.
Wasted some time til i read the reviews and discovered the obvious notion that i should just un-install U3. I'm on windows Xp. My problems:
-I could not insert from or save to the drive from Outlook.
-I could not open excel files in multiple instances of excel from the drive (perhaps this is a general windows issue, I didn't test).
-It has a red light that sags off and on (fades in and out, not blinks)and gives the impression that something is wrong with it. A steady blue light would be better.
-I had problems ejecting it reliably. I would eject via U3 and later get the message it hadn't been ejected properly.
For a simple, inexpensive tool, it resulted in an inordinate amount of headache. Sandisk makes a great thumbdrive (I've used others with satisfaction), but they should skip putting software on them.
Customer Review: Simply EVIL!
Summary: 1 Stars
The appliance comes with evil, unwanted, non-uninstallable software. Here is what it does:
1. Installs itself on your system without asking your permission first. It puts an icon in your tray. It pops up a window suggesting more software you can get.
2. It claims you can unstall the adware, but the uninstaller does not work. If you delete all the files, they magically reappear every time you put the device in the port. (This is a SPYWARE technique, and it is EVIL.)
3. An uninstaller downloaded from the SanDisk web site similarly does not work. Perhaps it works on some systems, but it did not work on mine.
4. It accesses the internet. My firewall stopped it, but the question is, WHY would any flash drive try to access the web? I have confidential data. I do NOT want my flash drive giving ANY information to any other source. Again, this is a typical spyware activity.
5. No privacy statement. No license agreement. No documenation warning you that unwanted software will be installed. No information about the installation, such as what registry keys were added, or where hidden files reside. I could be carrying artifacts of this device on my system for years, and I wouldn't even know it.
Although I can not technically call this software spyware, I can call it frustrating, aggravating, and EVIL. It wasted my time not only researching this nasty behavior and how to clean up my system after this appliance touched it, but also the time it takes to return this evil device to the vendor.