USB vs CF as primary storage for Iliad?

TomJones · 05-26-2008, 10:48 AM

Hi,
I would like to know if anybody routinely uses a USB drive as their primary storage for the iliad instead of a CF card.

Looking at online stores I was a little surprised at how expensive CF cards were and how cheap some of the tiny usb drives are.

Some of these drives are considerably less than half the length of a typical USB drive and wouldn't seem overly cumbersome sticking out of the iliad.

Does anybody use this method? Are there significant power consumption, speed, or reliability differences between these two options.

Thanks for any help.

(I just bought a used Iliad v1 with a broken screen and would like to buy a card/drive before it gets back from repairs.)

Cheers,
Tom

daudi · 05-26-2008, 11:15 AM

I routinely use a not-so-tiny USB key with my iliad. I find it convenient to switch between the iliad and PC. I have bought a CF card and copied everything from the USB to the CF card but found that I am a bit stuck in my ways with the USB, and have not adjusted to the CF properly.

I'd be interested in seeing what sort of tiny USB stick you are referring to. I have the impression, however, that I am probably in the minority here. I see more references to CF and MMC/SD cards (I don't really know what the latter are good for). I sometimes feel like USB is almost "old school" now, the punch cards of memory sticks. I'd also be interested to hear what others think.

Max · 05-26-2008, 12:08 PM

I use a USB key too, a sony microvaud which is very tiny, similar to an SD card. Also I have an CF card that I use for install programs and utilities.

TomJones · 05-26-2008, 02:18 PM

Thanks to daudi and Max for your input. I was looking at the Sony Micro Vault Tiny in the store and thats when I thought it would be easier to just use a USB drive and forget about the CF.

Daudi, if you type in "usb drive tiny" in www.amazon.com you will be able to see a few of these drives with pictures that show how tiny they are in relation to other usb drives. I will probably go with one of the no-name brands, but the sony one looks cool too.

Do you need the CF card to do the firmware installations-backups for "un-bricking" the iliad or could you do that from the usb as well?

A special hola to Max. I am back home in the US on vacation right now, but normally I am studying in Barcelona.

Cheers,
Tom

daudi · 05-26-2008, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomJones

Do you need the CF card to do the firmware installations-backups for "un-bricking" the iliad or could you do that from the usb as well?

No, you need a CF card. This was my primary reason for getting one.
Thanks for the info on the tiny USB cards, I'm going to look into these.

golagha · 05-27-2008, 02:23 AM

I have a simple question regarding USB-Flash and CF cards.
Is it possible to restore or reflash an iLiad with a USB-Flash memory?Assume that we have all required data for reflash operation written on USB-Flash memory.

I read that a reflash (or restore) operation needs a CF card with previous data prepared for reflashing. now is it possible to use a USB-Flash instead of CF card for reflashing the iLiad?

The answer can be one of the most important differences between CF card and USB Flash memory.

Regards.

daudi · 05-27-2008, 04:39 AM

See post #5 above.

golagha · 05-27-2008, 05:09 AM

thanks,
please excuse me for writing before reading!

Any way, do you know why we need a CF card for reflash?

I think it is because the deriver of CF card is injected to bootloader and USB or MMC drivers are not injected. Am I right?

daudi · 05-27-2008, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by golagha

thanks,
please excuse me for writing before reading!

No worries!

Quote:

Originally Posted by golagha

Any way, do you know why we need a CF card for reflash?

I think it is because the deriver of CF card is injected to bootloader and USB or MMC drivers are not injected. Am I right?

This I don't know.

Shaggy · 05-27-2008, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by golagha

thanks,
please excuse me for writing before reading!

Any way, do you know why we need a CF card for reflash?

I think it is because the deriver of CF card is injected to bootloader and USB or MMC drivers are not injected. Am I right?

I assume it's something like that. Either the driver or else the mount point of the CF card is checked by the bootloader, but not the other card types. In either case, I would guess it's more about the way that the reflash software was written than any physical limitation. I don't know if that's something you can modify though.

Dabon · 05-30-2008, 03:11 PM

Hi Daudi,

I have read that you have copied your USB content to a CF card, and I am interested in knowing more about that. I am a big CF fan (Unbrickable iliad and bigger size availability), and I would like to upgrade from my current SanDisk 4 GB Ultra II CF card to a bigger and faster either A-Data 32 GB CF card or 120X PQI 8 GB CF card, my question is: can i I just copy the content of my previous CF card to the new one using a "regular" PC (sorry no Mac yet...) and still have all my previously installed linux based 3rd party softwares that you and many others have genuinely made available through this forum? or will I have to go through the hustle of reinstalling all those neat softwares!?!
Thank you for your help and sorry for my ignorance...

dabon.

daudi · 05-31-2008, 01:50 AM

As you've seen Gogolo has answered your question in the other thread, but just to follow up here: I happen to only currently use things that are not dependent on the install path, so moving to CF was not a problem. If I had been using something that was dependent on the install path (/mnt/usb versus /mnt/cf) it might have been a problem. As you are going from one CF card to another, you won't have a path problem.

Dabon · 06-01-2008, 02:08 AM

Thank you very mch for the info Daudi! Very helpful!
Do you think that using Ubuntu/Wubi with a PC could handle the PC issue with long file names??
Thanks a million for your help.

daudi · 06-01-2008, 05:13 AM

I've never tried it, but yes I think it should work.

Dabon · 06-01-2008, 02:39 PM

Thank you!
I'll try and let the forum know in case other using PC would want to use a linux based system for whatever they want to do.

Thanks.

05-26-2008, 10:48 AM	#1
TomJones Member Posts: 17 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Barcelona Device: Iliad v1	USB vs CF as primary storage for Iliad? Hi, I would like to know if anybody routinely uses a USB drive as their primary storage for the iliad instead of a CF card. Looking at online stores I was a little surprised at how expensive CF cards were and how cheap some of the tiny usb drives are. Some of these drives are considerably less than half the length of a typical USB drive and wouldn't seem overly cumbersome sticking out of the iliad. Does anybody use this method? Are there significant power consumption, speed, or reliability differences between these two options. Thanks for any help. (I just bought a used Iliad v1 with a broken screen and would like to buy a card/drive before it gets back from repairs.) Cheers, Tom

05-26-2008, 02:18 PM	#4
TomJones Member Posts: 17 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Barcelona Device: Iliad v1	USB Drive for Firmware Installations/Back-ups Thanks to daudi and Max for your input. I was looking at the Sony Micro Vault Tiny in the store and thats when I thought it would be easier to just use a USB drive and forget about the CF. Daudi, if you type in "usb drive tiny" in www.amazon.com you will be able to see a few of these drives with pictures that show how tiny they are in relation to other usb drives. I will probably go with one of the no-name brands, but the sony one looks cool too. Do you need the CF card to do the firmware installations-backups for "un-bricking" the iliad or could you do that from the usb as well? A special hola to Max. I am back home in the US on vacation right now, but normally I am studying in Barcelona. Cheers, Tom

05-30-2008, 03:11 PM	#11
Dabon Connoisseur Posts: 80 Karma: 111 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: iliad V2; ipad 2-64GB,3G	A Question primarily for Daudi Hi Daudi, I have read that you have copied your USB content to a CF card, and I am interested in knowing more about that. I am a big CF fan (Unbrickable iliad and bigger size availability), and I would like to upgrade from my current SanDisk 4 GB Ultra II CF card to a bigger and faster either A-Data 32 GB CF card or 120X PQI 8 GB CF card, my question is: can i I just copy the content of my previous CF card to the new one using a "regular" PC (sorry no Mac yet...) and still have all my previously installed linux based 3rd party softwares that you and many others have genuinely made available through this forum? or will I have to go through the hustle of reinstalling all those neat softwares!?! Thank you for your help and sorry for my ignorance... dabon.

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05-26-2008, 11:15 AM	#2
daudi Addict Posts: 281 Karma: 904 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Kent, UK Device: iRex iLiad, Psion 5MX, nokia n800	I routinely use a not-so-tiny USB key with my iliad. I find it convenient to switch between the iliad and PC. I have bought a CF card and copied everything from the USB to the CF card but found that I am a bit stuck in my ways with the USB, and have not adjusted to the CF properly. I'd be interested in seeing what sort of tiny USB stick you are referring to. I have the impression, however, that I am probably in the minority here. I see more references to CF and MMC/SD cards (I don't really know what the latter are good for). I sometimes feel like USB is almost "old school" now, the punch cards of memory sticks. I'd also be interested to hear what others think.

05-26-2008, 12:08 PM	#3
Max Connoisseur Posts: 79 Karma: 380 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Girona, Spain Device: iLiad, DR1000s	I use a USB key too, a sony microvaud which is very tiny, similar to an SD card. Also I have an CF card that I use for install programs and utilities.

05-27-2008, 02:23 AM	#6
golagha Enthusiast Posts: 28 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2008 Device: iRex iLiad Black	I have a simple question regarding USB-Flash and CF cards. Is it possible to restore or reflash an iLiad with a USB-Flash memory?Assume that we have all required data for reflash operation written on USB-Flash memory. I read that a reflash (or restore) operation needs a CF card with previous data prepared for reflashing. now is it possible to use a USB-Flash instead of CF card for reflashing the iLiad? The answer can be one of the most important differences between CF card and USB Flash memory. Regards.

05-27-2008, 04:39 AM	#7
daudi Addict Posts: 281 Karma: 904 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Kent, UK Device: iRex iLiad, Psion 5MX, nokia n800	See post #5 above.

05-27-2008, 05:09 AM	#8
golagha Enthusiast Posts: 28 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2008 Device: iRex iLiad Black	thanks, please excuse me for writing before reading! Any way, do you know why we need a CF card for reflash? I think it is because the deriver of CF card is injected to bootloader and USB or MMC drivers are not injected. Am I right?

05-31-2008, 01:50 AM	#12
daudi Addict Posts: 281 Karma: 904 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Kent, UK Device: iRex iLiad, Psion 5MX, nokia n800	As you've seen Gogolo has answered your question in the other thread, but just to follow up here: I happen to only currently use things that are not dependent on the install path, so moving to CF was not a problem. If I had been using something that was dependent on the install path (/mnt/usb versus /mnt/cf) it might have been a problem. As you are going from one CF card to another, you won't have a path problem.

06-01-2008, 02:08 AM	#13
Dabon Connoisseur Posts: 80 Karma: 111 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: iliad V2; ipad 2-64GB,3G	Thank you very mch for the info Daudi! Very helpful! Do you think that using Ubuntu/Wubi with a PC could handle the PC issue with long file names?? Thanks a million for your help.

06-01-2008, 05:13 AM	#14
daudi Addict Posts: 281 Karma: 904 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Kent, UK Device: iRex iLiad, Psion 5MX, nokia n800	I've never tried it, but yes I think it should work.

06-01-2008, 02:39 PM	#15
Dabon Connoisseur Posts: 80 Karma: 111 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: iliad V2; ipad 2-64GB,3G	Thank you! I'll try and let the forum know in case other using PC would want to use a linux based system for whatever they want to do. Thanks.

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