Rescuing Fake Memory Devices
by Tau_Zer0
Part 1 - Detection
There is a scourge upon eBay and elsewhere these days: fake SD cards, flash drives, and similar memory devices. Maybe you already have one. Here's how to tell.
Method 1 - Chew Your Own Paw Off
So you bought a memory device on eBay for a price that was too good to pass up. Perhaps 32 GB for $5. (Try to forget how silly this looks now if you're reading back issues. It was a great deal at the time.)
It says it's 32 GB. It reports that it has 32 GB. It formats successfully at 32 GB. But it has trashed some of your files.
So you test it. Write a file, read the file. O.K., no problem. But the file you wrote last week is corrupt and won't read back. What gives?
Congratulations, you have a fake device. The manufacturer has perpetrated a fraud on you. The eBay (or other) vendor may be in on the con, or may be an innocent victim like you. These devices are diabolical, and can function for weeks before their true nature is known.
Here's how the con works. The device contains usually something less than one quarter of the advertised memory, but is wired in such a way as to report the full amount you "purchased." The FAT is intact, and contains entries for all the files you've written to the device, but, when you write beyond the actual memory area, the address lines point back and re-use earlier sectors, trashing the data they contained.
Thus your latest files are still good. As long as you stay within the first one quarter (for example) of the memory space, you're good. It's only after you take all those pictures of your recent trip to Bermuda that your earlier photos of the orgy with Beth and David get lost.
The intent of the con is, by the time you figure out that your device is just plain batty, the bloke who sold it to you is long gone.
Method 2 - H2testw.exe
Get this Windblows executable anywhere on the Internet. It tests your memory device for its advertised memory and lets you know the scoop. No question. End of story.
Part 2 - Repair
Whoa there, don't get too exited. This procedure will not make your fake 32 GB device into a working 32 GB device. That would be magic - not happening.
What it can do is turn your useless, unreliable, can't-trust-it 32 GB garbage device into a working trustworthy 7.5 GB (for example) device.
1.) Get yourself a good partition tool. Any will do. If you use Windblows and don't already have one, Paragon Partition Manager offers free trial options. [Insert standard I-don't-get-paid-for-the-plug disclaimer here.]
2.) Offload and back up any files you have on the device. (Duh.)
3.) Blow away all files, and then run H2testw.exe. Make note of the size of the "Data OK" area in GB. Multiply by 1024 to get MB, then knock off a couple hundred to be on the safe side. You needn't bother deleting the test files.
4.) Blow away the partition.
5.) Create a new partition for the number of MB you calculated, and leave the rest of the "space" unallocated. After all, it's not really there.
6.) Format the partition, and then re-run H2testw.exe to verify that you have a smaller, albeit working memory device.
Part 3 - Exploitation
This section could be subtitled "Dealing With Your eBay Vendor." The first rule of eBay is, you do not enter feedback until the goods have been tested. In this case, with H2testw.
Vendors are terrified of negative feedback and will sometimes - against the rules - try to bargain with you to influence your report. Hold this Ace in your hand as long as possible. Tell them you still have it, in fact.
Where am I going with this? You might consider buying more of these devices.
Crazy as it sounds, these fake devices can actually be a good deal for the true amount of usable memory. First, they are very cheap, especially if a vendor knows they are bad and wane, to unload them quickly. Second, if you play your cards right, you stand a better than even chance of getting some or all of your money back.
For example, I spent about $20 for six 32 GB flash drives recently. They are really 7 GB drives. That's still not bad compared to what you would pay in a store for 8 GB drives.
I have them packed into a powered seven-port hub (cheap, eBay) where they form a six-drive RAID 5 array for my Raspberry Pi. My Pi does all my torrent processing (through a privacy VPN, of course) and I was tired of it burning out small USB hard drives from heavy use.
The six flash drives give me 35 GB of work space plus parity, and a cool light show whenever a torrent is active. And... I got my money back for the drives. A free RAID. (Performance is vastly better than a single flash drive, but I have yet to accumulate data on reliability.)
Tips When Dealing With a Vendor
Be quick. Always test memory devices with H2testw immediately upon receipt.
Be polite. If the drives arrived quickly, thank him (or her) for that first, even before you complain about the quality.
Never assume he knows the devices are fake. He may have been suckered just like you, in which case you are the messenger his first impulse is to shoot. After all, you are the bearer of the bad news that his entire inventory is bogus. Have a little patience if he doesn't immediately offer you his firstborn child as compensation.
Include in your correspondence the output from H2testw, for which there is a convenient "Copy to clipboard" button.
Describe the mechanics of the con. If the vendor is dirty, he'll know immediately that the jig is up, but I've had vendors suggest that I'm putting it in the wrong way or other such nonsense. Be specific.
Mention that the cost of postage to send the device back would be more than the original purchase value.
Ask what the vendor will do to correct the situation.
He (or she - I don't mean to be sexist) may offer a partial refund. It's up to you how far to push things. You may or may not stretch the truth that you bought these device(s) in good faith (you didn't), and/or that they are entirely useless (they are not, as per the above).
The more of us who shine a spotlight on this fraud in a timely fashion, the less attractive it will be to sell these fake devices.
Good luck.