Once you exceed the true capacity, you will start to see error messages as the controller starts to address non-existing memory cells to save data to. When we write to the USB key, the controller fills the memory cells sequentially from the very first sector, so the problem will not become visible until we reach the maximum capacity of the memory chips. Instead, the real memory capacity is just a fraction of what the controller chip knows of. The problem is that the memory chips in the USB key do not have the capacity the controller chip wants to address. Accordingly, the controller chip will report this fake capacity to the operating system which will see no problem at first: it will be able to perform write, read and even quick format operations with any file system. Shady manufacturers usually use the same trick: they overwrite the true capacity with higher capacity in the controller chip software. In AIDA64 v2.60 and later, there is a dedicated feature, which we can rely on in case we suspect to have bought a fake drive. After a quick check of the drive, it will tell us with 100% accuracy if we were deceived with a device having only a fraction of the advertized capacity or we were indeed lucky to get a cheap and functional drive. What is also alarming is that you cannot trust the logos of big brands either as among the fake flash drives we have found there were many labeled Samsung, Kingston, Toshiba etc.īut you can always use AIDA64 as, since version 2.60, it is capable of detecting fake storage devices. You cannot judge a USB key by appearance, during our inquiry we have found fake units of various designs and capacities. No matter how experienced a techie you are, it is almost impossible to recognize a fake storage device.

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