{"id":440574,"date":"2023-10-08T19:23:20","date_gmt":"2023-10-08T13:53:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thewindowsclub.com\/?p=440574"},"modified":"2023-10-08T22:02:20","modified_gmt":"2023-10-08T16:32:20","slug":"check-storage-space-usb-drive-with-validrive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thewindowsclub.com\/check-storage-space-usb-drive-with-validrive","title":{"rendered":"Validate the Storage Capacity of USB flash drive with ValiDrive"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>ValiDrive<\/strong> is a free tool that <strong>validates the true storage space and Read Write errors of USB flash drives<\/strong>. In this post, we will see how to download and use the tool on a Windows 11\/10 PC.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-440628 size-full\" title=\"Validate the Storage Capacity of USB flash drive with ValiDrive\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thewindowsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Check-Storage-space-of-USB-drive-with-ValiDrive.png\" alt=\"Validate the Storage Capacity of USB flash drive\" width=\"700\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thewindowsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Check-Storage-space-of-USB-drive-with-ValiDrive.png 700w, https:\/\/www.thewindowsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Check-Storage-space-of-USB-drive-with-ValiDrive-500x250.png 500w, https:\/\/www.thewindowsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Check-Storage-space-of-USB-drive-with-ValiDrive-300x150.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Mass storage devices often offer alluring deals, but what&#8217;s the guarantee they are not fraudulent? You may spot a 2 Terabyte drive online for a price as low as $20, which may turn out to be only a 64GB flash drive! When you start using the drive, it stores the file system&#8217;s directory listing, but once these 64 GBs are filled, it will not store the contents of any additional file. You wouldn&#8217;t even notice this until you attempt to read back a stored file.<\/p>\n<p>So, while everything appears to be fine, the file contents will be empty as they were stored at the location where &#8216;no storage&#8217; existed. Unfortunately, the market is flooded with such deliberately fraudulent drives that never report any errors but simply discard any data write operation where no storage is available.<\/p>\n<h2>Validate the Storage Capacity of USB flash drive with ValiDrive<\/h2>\n<p>In the following section, we will take you through the step-by-step process of <strong>checking the true storage capacity, readability, and writability of any drive<\/strong> connected to a Windows 11\/10 PC&#8217;s USB port using the ValiDrive tool.<\/p>\n<p>ValiDrive runs a short, random-sequence spot-check throughout the whole declared storage capacity of the drive. It checks that random (unspoofable) test data is successfully stored and retrieved at every site.<\/p>\n<h4>Download and launch the tool<\/h4>\n<p>ValiDrive doesn&#8217;t require any installation and can be launched simply by <strong>double-clicking the downloaded file<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Once you double-click on the file, a <strong>User Account Control<\/strong> prompt will appear. Click on the <strong>Yes<\/strong> button in the prompt to run the tool.<\/p>\n<h4>Connect the USB drive<\/h4>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-440629 size-full\" title=\"Launch ValiDrive and connect USB drive\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thewindowsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Launch-ValiDrive.png\" alt=\"Launch ValiDrive and connect USB drive\" width=\"700\" height=\"312\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thewindowsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Launch-ValiDrive.png 700w, https:\/\/www.thewindowsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Launch-ValiDrive-500x223.png 500w, https:\/\/www.thewindowsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Launch-ValiDrive-300x134.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Next, connect the flash drive in question to the USB port of your PC. ValiDrive can check USB flash drives of any size.<\/p>\n<p>If the drive was inserted before the app was launched, you need to physically remove the drive from your system and allow ValiDrive to recognize the removal of the drive. Then, reinsert the drive and wait until <strong>ValiDrive recognizes the drive<\/strong> (it takes just a few seconds).<\/p>\n<h4>Validate the drive<\/h4>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-440631 size-full\" title=\"ValiDrive Results\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thewindowsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/ValiDrive-Results.png\" alt=\"ValiDrive Results\" width=\"700\" height=\"270\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thewindowsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/ValiDrive-Results.png 700w, https:\/\/www.thewindowsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/ValiDrive-Results-500x193.png 500w, https:\/\/www.thewindowsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/ValiDrive-Results-300x116.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>ValiDrive will show the declared size of the drive. Click on the <strong>Validate THIS drive<\/strong> button to begin the drive verification process.<\/p>\n<p>ValiDrive will perform a <strong>576-region spot check<\/strong> to validate the drive&#8217;s storage. It will first read the original content of the drive. Then fill the region with random test data and read back the region&#8217;s content to verify if the data was stored. Then place the original content back to the drive. It will also check the drive for <strong>read\/write errors<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Once the validation finishes, <strong>ValiDrive will show a map<\/strong>. Each cell of the map represents one of the four results:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Validated:<\/strong> If the presence of storage on the tested location was fully verified, the cell will appear <strong>Green<\/strong> in color.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Read Error:<\/strong> If ValiDrive cannot perform the read operation successfully, the cell will appear in <strong>Blue<\/strong> color.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Write Error:\u00a0<\/strong>If ValiDrive cannot perform the write operation successfully, the cell will appear in <strong>Yellow<\/strong> color.<\/li>\n<li><strong>No Storage:<\/strong> If the tested location does not store data, the cell will appear in <strong>Red<\/strong> color.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You may also switch to the <strong>Monochrome Map<\/strong> view using the checkbox available in the bottom-left corner. To exit the map, click on the <strong>Close<\/strong> button.<\/p>\n<h4>View detailed report<\/h4>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-440630 size-full\" title=\"ValiDrive Report\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thewindowsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/ValiDrive-Report.png\" alt=\"ValiDrive Report\" width=\"700\" height=\"272\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thewindowsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/ValiDrive-Report.png 700w, https:\/\/www.thewindowsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/ValiDrive-Report-500x194.png 500w, https:\/\/www.thewindowsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/ValiDrive-Report-300x117.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The next screen on the ValiDrive tool shows a detailed report that summarizes the drive&#8217;s access-time statistics. It also provides additional information about ValiDrive&#8217;s interaction with the drive.<\/p>\n<p>ValiDrive is available as a <strong>freeware<\/strong> that can be downloaded from the official website of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.grc.com\/validrive.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">GRC.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thewindowsclub.com\/detect-fake-storage-devices\">Detect Fake USB Storage Devices using these free tools<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>How do I check the true capacity of my USB drive?<\/h3>\n<p>Open File Explorer and click on This PC in the left panel. Your PC&#8217;s devices and drives will appear in the right panel. Right-click on the USB drive and select Properties from the menu that appears. The &#8216;Capacity&#8217; option under the General tab shows the stated capacity of your drive in bytes\/GB.<\/p>\n<h3>What is the typical storage capacity of a USB flash drive?<\/h3>\n<p>USB flash drives come with varying capacities ranging from 8 gigabytes (GB) to 1 terabyte (TB). However, 8 to 256 gigabytes USBs are more popular as compared to their 512 GB and 1 terabyte counterparts. Future capacity levels are expected to reach 2 TB.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read Next:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thewindowsclub.com\/smadav-antivirus-review\">SmadAV is a free system cleaner and antivirus for your USB<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ValiDrive is a free tool that validates the true storage space and Read Write errors of USB flash drives. In this post, we will see how to download and use the tool on a Windows 11\/10 PC. Mass storage devices often offer alluring deals, but what&#8217;s the guarantee they are not fraudulent? You may spot [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":440628,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[14],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.5 (Yoast SEO v21.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Validate the Storage Capacity of USB flash drive with ValiDrive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"ValiDrive is a free tool that checks the true or real storage space and Read Write errors of USB flash drives connected to Windows PCs.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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