H2testw 1.4 – Gold Standard In Detecting USB Counterfeit Drives
Posted by KittyFireFlash on September 2, 2008
H2testw 1.4 has proven itself to be the best of breed for detecting counterfeit Flash drives. It is extremely easy to use and proves detailed information. Created by Harald Bögeholz, the interface is in German but has the option to run in English. It is free and standalone.
New! This article contains a poll you can vote on.
Nothing is installed into the operating system. Designed for Windows it can run under Linux if Wine is installed. It will not run under Macs as it is a Windows Software . If your computer can not run the software – ask a colleague or friend who has a windows based computer to help you test. However if you are a Linux or Mac user we have good news for you, keep reading. A software has been developed based on the idea of H2testw, just for you.
To learn more and for download information
Sections covered:
- Gold Standard rating for H2testw 1.4 Why do you give this software such a high rating?
- Results for a 64GB USB drive purchased on eBay, using H2testw 1.4
- Results from H2testw have been verified on drives detected as fakes
- Acknowledgements
- Download Links
- Note To Flash Drive Sellers
Gold Standard rating for H2testw 1.4? Why do you give this software such a high rating?
We give H2testw 1.4 the highest rating and recommend it for testing counterfeit USB Flash Drives for the following reasons:
- Easy to Use
- While in German an English Execution is possible
- Stand alone executable file – no installation required to run it
- You do not need administrator privileges on a computer to run it
- Tested to work on 1.1 and 2.0 USB drives
- Tested to work on 1.1 and 2.0 USB Ports
- Tested to work to analyze drives advertised as 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB and yes …64 GB capacity.
- Reports seen capacity – what the operating system sees size to be.
- Will write 1 GB files up to the reported size – requiring no work on your part except patience if it is a large drive and a slow computer
- Will read all the files it wrote and verify them
- Will produce a report. a) short if all is well b) detailed if there issues found.
- The program is offered free
The readme.txt file provides:
- Explanation of the program and what it does for general computer users
- Information on how to interpret the results
- Technical information for those who have a deeper understanding of data storage and file writing and for the skeptics out there. Output results can easily be copy pasted into notepad to be saved as a text file.
Test results for a 64GB USB drive purchased on eBay, using H2testw 1.4
Sample Output For A Fake 64 GB Drive
The media is likely to be defective.
3.8 GByte OK (8084847 sectors)
58.6 GByte DATA LOST (122921617 sectors)
Details:710.5 KByte overwritten (1421 sectors)
7.6 MByte slightly changed (< 8 bit/sector, 15630 sectors)
58.6 byte corrupted (122904566 sectors)
710.5 KByte aliased memory (1421 sectors)
First error at offset: 0x000000003cef8470
Expected: 0xeb7ac43a237c5170
Found: 0xeb7a843a237c5170
H2testw version 1.3
Writing speed: 9.24 MByte/s
Reading speed: 10.8 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4
This is 4GB USB flash drive not a 64GB USB flash drive. It is of poor quality. As 4GB drive it should be about 3.9 GB not 3.8 GB formatted. This indicates in low level formatting a lot of bad sectors had to be locked out. Usually flash chips like these are rejected for major brands and should be destroyed. Unfortunately instead of the furnace flames these chips are leaving the back door of factories to be resold. These chips are a favorite for counterfeiters to reprogramme. Low cost, big profit.
The results from H2testw have been verified on drives detected as fakes. How?
-
Drives were dissembled
-
Controller chips identified
-
Flash chip identified
Searches on the actual flash drives using their identification number revealed their true capacity. These matched the output from the H2testw Program.
In a few cases, when drives were disassembled, epoxy glue removed holding the flash drive to the bottom casing, quality control stickers were found with a size circled. The size? Exactly what H2testw reported as the capacity it could write to. All drives autopsied for investigation and validation of this program were purchased on eBay.
We do not see any other program that can match these features. Therefore, H2testw has been adopted as the Gold – Standard to detect and test fakes.
eBayers use this program to PROVE they have received a fake from a seller. It is confirmed with more eBayers reporting the same results for the same drive model. We have been able to prove this repeatedly, to the point we have only one conclusion. If a drive model fails capacity testing with H2testw then any for that listing on eBay is a fake. Having more eBayers test the same model only confirms what H2testw reported. The autopsies on counterfeit drives have also proven the value of this program. The report is a God send for eBayers who must file disputes. It gives them evidence to submit with their case.
Acknowledgements
To Herald Bögeholz who wrote the Program H2testw, Thank You!
To c’t Magazin für Computertechnik, Thank You!
To www.heise.de for hosting the download of the programme, Thank You!
People around the world who have suffered the misfortune to receive a Counterfeit Flash drive are grateful for your contribution in the struggle against False Capacity USB Flash Drives and memory cards.
Mac Users:
Linux Users:
Download links For Windows Users:
Using Google translation into English
Article Manipulated data loss caused by USB sticks – Heise Online
Note: Using translation can slow down access speed of the web pages.
German
H2testw 1.4 Website – German – Direct Site Access
You may prefer to search with Google for the software. Type in H2testw 1.4 which is the current version at the time of listing on this page. To search all versions you can just type in H2testw.
Direct Download Of Software For version 1.4 of H2testw
Note To Flash Drive Sellers
Please test your merchandise using this software. Do not offer for sale unless the drives are able to pass testing. You do not want to face the consequences of angry buyers. If you have drives which fail, contact the source you acquired from. Submit the proof you have as evidence for receiving counterfeit merchandise.
If the drives you offer for sale are able to pass the testing of H2testw 1.4 – congratulations!
Please indicate this in your advertising or listings. Let prospective buyers know that you have tested. That your drives pass with the program and that you are able to guarantee the true advertised capacity (minus a small overhead for operating system file formatting.). This will increase your sales potential.
If you find the tool H2testw 1.4 useful to you, please return and leave a comment on your experiences with it.
SOSFakeFlash 
murray mac kinnon said
received an 8GB from besthappyservice tried to transfer my music only got 50 of 450 songs lost the rest. Did a test with H2testw this is what i got.
Warning: Only 7983 of 7984 MByte tested.
The media is likely to be defective.
988.1 MByte OK (2023808 sectors)
6.8 GByte DATA LOST (14325376 sectors)
Details:6.8 GByte overwritten (14325376 sectors)
0 KByte slightly changed (< 8 bit/sector, 0 sectors)
0 KByte corrupted (0 sectors)
2 KByte aliased memory (4 sectors)
First error at offset: 0x000000003dc30000
Expected: 0x000000003dc30000
Found: 0x000000003dc2f800
H2testw version 1.3
Writing speed: 9.63 MByte/s
Reading speed: 15.0 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4
have filed a claim with paypal
Nikunj said
Thanks to this tool, I am able to confirm the newly purchased 16GB Pen drive (ofcourse from China) turns out to be a cheap 1 GB drive. Filing a claim with Paypal. Following is my scan output … 😦
The media is likely to be defective.
975.0 MByte OK (1996928 sectors)
14.6 GByte DATA LOST (30738304 sectors)
Details:14.6 GByte overwritten (30738304 sectors)
0 KByte slightly changed (< 8 bit/sector, 0 sectors)
0 KByte corrupted (0 sectors)
2 KByte aliased memory (4 sectors)
First error at offset: 0x000000003cf10000
Expected: 0x000000003cf10000
Found: 0x000000003cf0f800
H2testw version 1.3
Reading speed: 13.4 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4
Valentinas said
my test bad too 😦 bought from ebay, will try to get refund
The media is likely to be defective.
985.0 MByte OK (2017408 sectors)
6.8 GByte DATA LOST (14362496 sectors)
Details:5.1 GByte overwritten (10771872 sectors)
0 KByte slightly changed (< 8 bit/sector, 0 sectors)
1.7 GByte corrupted (3590624 sectors)
1.5 KByte aliased memory (3 sectors)
First error at offset: 0x000000003d910000
Expected: 0x000000003d910000
Found: 0x00000000aa55aa55
H2testw version 1.3
Writing speed: 9.58 MByte/s
Reading speed: 19.0 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4
oxilent said
The media is likely to be defective.
1.9 GByte OK (4050880 sectors)
14.0 GByte DATA LOST (29485120 sectors)
Details:0 KByte overwritten (0 sectors)
0 KByte slightly changed (< 8 bit/sector, 0 sectors)
14.0 GByte corrupted (29485120 sectors)
0 KByte aliased memory (0 sectors)
First error at offset: 0x000000007b9f8000
Expected: 0x000000007b9f8000
Found: 0x0000000000000000
H2testw version 1.3
Writing speed: 16.9 MByte/s
Reading speed: 12.2 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4
Joe London said
Bought a 16Gb flash drive from ebay (Seller form china)
The media is likely to be defective.
984.1 MByte OK (2015488 sectors)
14.6 GByte DATA LOST (30643968 sectors)
Details:6.8 GByte overwritten (14287776 sectors)
0 KByte slightly changed (< 8 bit/sector, 0 sectors)
7.7 GByte corrupted (16356192 sectors)
1.5 KByte aliased memory (3 sectors)
First error at offset: 0x000000003d820000
Expected: 0x000000003d820000
Found: 0x00000000aa55aa55
H2testw version 1.3
Writing speed: 12.9 MByte/s
Reading speed: 16.3 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4
Free-p said
I too have been conned by a Chinese seller on eBay – I allegedly bought an 8GB memory stick from eBay seller – wm2008wm – and it has proved to be a bad one. I will be seeking a refund via PayPal and leaving him/her negative feedback.
The media is likely to be defective.
1.9 GByte OK (4095232 sectors)
5.9 GByte DATA LOST (12440320 sectors)
Details:4.4 GByte overwritten (9330240 sectors)
0 KByte slightly changed (< 8 bit/sector, 0 sectors)
1.4 GByte corrupted (3110080 sectors)
1.5 KByte aliased memory (3 sectors)
First error at offset: 0x000000007cfa0000
Expected: 0x000000007cfa0000
Found: 0x00000000aa55aa55
H2testw version 1.3
Writing speed: 6.61 MByte/s
Reading speed: 10.5 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4
Brian Gillard said
Bought from http://www.usb-memory-stick-direct.co.uk
The media is likely to be defective.
984.4 MByte OK (2016128 sectors)
31.0 GByte DATA LOST (65057920 sectors)
Details:31.0 GByte overwritten (65057920 sectors)
0 KByte slightly changed (< 8 bit/sector, 0 sectors)
0 KByte corrupted (0 sectors)
2 KByte aliased memory (4 sectors)
First error at offset: 0x000000003d870000
Expected: 0x000000003d870000
Found: 0x000000003d86f800
H2testw version 1.3
Writing speed: 22.6 MByte/s
Reading speed: 14.4 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4
Brian Gillard said
Bought this 16Gb USB flash drive from Play.com for £16.99 post free
It works perfectly, There are some genuine USB drives out there to be purchased.
http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/3431735/Play-com-16GB-USB-Flash-Drive/Product.html
Test finished without errors.
You can now delete the test files *.h2w or verify them again.
Writing speed: 14.4 MByte/s
Reading speed: 28.4 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4
HD said
Hi,
I purchased one from eBay China as 16 GB, and the tool found following. http://shop.ebay.fr/merchant/hongkongxpat852
I requested payback. Do NOT Buy from “hongkongxpat852”
I will comment back here if I will be sent a new one or money back.
Warning: Only 16133 of 16134 MByte tested.
The media is likely to be defective.
3.9 GByte OK (8247168 sectors)
11.8 GByte DATA LOST (24793216 sectors)
Details:8.8 GByte overwritten (18594912 sectors)
0 KByte slightly changed (< 8 bit/sector, 0 sectors)
2.9 GByte corrupted (6198304 sectors)
1.5 KByte aliased memory (3 sectors)
First error at offset: 0x00000000fbaf0000
Expected: 0x00000000fbaf0000
Found: 0x00000000aa55aa55
H2testw version 1.3
Writing speed: 9.91 MByte/s
Reading speed: 17.4 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4
MXT6208 VID = 2008 PID = 2018 VID = 2000 PID = 2008 Repair Fake Flash Drive Solution « FixFakeFlash Inspectortech said
[…] https://sosfakeflash.wordpress.com/2008/09/02/h2testw-14-gold-standard-in-detecting-usb-counterfeit-d… […]
Ora said
Concerning your list of sellers of hacked drives, if many are like me, they had no way of knowing the drives were short on memory. When I discovered this H2testw software, I was shocked to discover all my 8gb no-name drives from China had only 1GB of memory. Sixteen 8GB MP4s had only 1GB of memory. Ten of them were counterfeit. They displayed a well-known brand name, but they all had the same serial number. How can we keep these bad products from China out of the market. Finding out about this software H2testw was a good thing for me. I discovered everything I had bought from China for the last six months was defective. I now find that a large part of my inventory is worthless. All my drives that were name-brand passed the test.
kittyfireflash said
To Ora
We’ve been fighting the battle to rid eBay and other internet shopping sites from fake and counterfeit flash technology items for a while. The FrankenFlash Project has entered it’s 9th month.
For eBay we are now seeing, at long last, positive action. Please see:
The MP Player area still needs a lot of work to clean up. The usb flash drive area is showing remarkable signs – few listings now and the majority appear to be for genuine articles.
We have been trying to get eBay’s attention for months. It appears we finally have it. That is good. For eBay members, eBay, and honest eBay sellers.
One of our major objectives was to clean up the buying of flash based technology there and make it safe to buy these items there. Not an easy task for all parties involved. It has not only been eBay buyers but eBay sellers trying to help (they don’t like seeing fraudsters ruining the reputation of ebay or genuine sellers).
If you bought your items from eBay, we advise you go through you Paypal transactions and start demanding restitution – your money back. There is a 180 day window usually for Paypal to issue an investigation. Because the issue has been exposed and made clear, you should have less problems with PayPal – if they wish to demonstate honesty and integrity and repair the damage that has been done to buyers.
In fact this is a perfect opportunity for PayPal – to avoid further actions against them. By demonstrating they will refund people who can provide evidence they have purchased fake, false capacity items and counterfeits in flash based technology and who submit proof (from this program) – they show “good faith”. This is and would be postive. Saddly it is unrealistic to assume that every victim will be found and every one compensated. However, should they refund in full those who do claim and provide the information – it is the correct behavior and victims will less inclined to escalate.
It is important that both eBay and PayPal address the current issue and put safe guards in place to prevent it from reoccuring.
If this is done, then it will be possible to buy these items safely on eBay.
What unfortuantely happened these many years becomes a lesson for all.
We will continue to monitor their progress and behavior. They do deserve the opportunity to address the problem. It is not an easy one to address as we have highlighted in the many posts and articles.
The FrankenFlash Project is not vindictive nor interested in revenge of any kind. There is an issue – a problem – we want it dealt with.
Buyers who report and claim with proof are to be refunded. Actions taken to prevent fraudsters from selling these dangerous items and exploiting the eBay and PayPal environment.
Buy shutting down sellers from listing these items in the Orient, to investigate the issue and source is postive. China’s reputation has been damaged, not good.
It is likely these items will still wiggle their way into the market place – but if eBay makes sure it is NOT in their listing world that would be one of the most positive contributions they could make in wrestling with this terrible problem!
Please submit claims and proof to PayPal Ora if you purchased your inventory on eBay. Let us know how you are coming along and if eBay and PayPal are demonstrating a willingness to finally address the problem.
gloria eng said
The media is likely to be defective.
1.9 GByte OK (4084976 sectors)
13.8 GByte DATA LOST (29059856 sectors)
Details:0 KByte overwritten (0 sectors)
0 KByte slightly changed (< 8 bit/sector, 0 sectors)
13.8 GByte corrupted (29059856 sectors)
0 KByte aliased memory (0 sectors)
First error at offset: 0x000000007ca9e000
Expected: 0x000000007ca9e000
Found: 0x0000000000000000
H2testw version 1.3
Writing speed: 6.68 MByte/s
Reading speed: 10.5 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4
Sold as a 16G … not even close!!!
gloria eng said
Bought an 8 gb stick… windows asks to format… will not complete function…
totally defective…
Fake Memory sticks/Flash drives - said
[…] so have a read. Scroll down the page for the download link in English. (The programme is German) H2testw 1.4 – Gold Standard In Detecting USB Counterfeit Drives SOSFakeFlash […]
dessie123 said
Warning: Only 16183 of 16184 MByte tested.
The media is likely to be defective.
1.9 GByte OK (4085744 sectors)
13.8 GByte DATA LOST (29057040 sectors)
Details:0 KByte overwritten (0 sectors)
0 KByte slightly changed (< 8 bit/sector, 0 sectors)
13.8 GByte corrupted (29057040 sectors)
0 KByte aliased memory (0 sectors)
First error at offset: 0x000000007cafe000
Expected: 0x000000007cafe000
Found: 0x0000000000000000
H2testw version 1.3
Writing speed: 9.86 MByte/s
Reading speed: 9.67 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4
heres my results drive from dsubs in hong kong ebay need to get a grip with all this pendrive stuff from asia
Ken Mc said
Find this software difficult to use. Any hints?
kittyfireflash said
To Ken MC
All you need to do is download, unzip click on the exe and chose for english. Of course you need to make sure your item is in the usb drive. The hard part Ken is patience. Depending on the speed of your computer, whether you have a 1.1 or 2.0 usb port and the “advertised size” it can take a long time to run. The bigger the advertised size, the longer it will take. Key is making sure you selected the read and verify option along with the writing of the files. If you have an old machine, let it run over night.
Dennis said
Another 16GB fake drive:
Warning: Only 16371 of 16372 MByte tested.
The media is likely to be defective.
3.9 GByte OK (8262528 sectors)
12.0 GByte DATA LOST (25265280 sectors)
Details:9.0 GByte overwritten (18948960 sectors)
0 KByte slightly changed (< 8 bit/sector, 0 sectors)
3.0 GByte corrupted (6316320 sectors)
1.5 KByte aliased memory (3 sectors)
First error at offset: 0x00000000fc270000
Expected: 0x00000000fc270000
Found: 0x00000000aa55aa55
H2testw version 1.3
Writing speed: 9.57 MByte/s
Reading speed: 19.8 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4
Poupy.973 said
This sofware was very helpfull i got my sister a fake 8 Gb
Warning: Only 8171 of 8172 MByte tested.
The media is likely to be defective.
987.1 MByte OK (2021760 sectors)
7.0 GByte DATA LOST (14712448 sectors)
Details:5.2 GByte overwritten (11034336 sectors)
0 KByte slightly changed (< 8 bit/sector, 0 sectors)
1.7 GByte corrupted (3678112 sectors)
1.5 KByte aliased memory (3 sectors)
First error at offset: 0x000000003db30000
Expected: 0x000000003db30000
Found: 0x00000000aa55aa55
H2testw version 1.3
Reading speed: 18.3 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4
Roger Smith said
On a visit to Shanghai I bought a fake IPOD 16GB (actual 1gb) if I load less than 1 gb of music it works perfectly as a cheap MP3 player. I have been unable to find a low level formatter that works on it so I make sure I never load more than 1 gb of data on it. It still looks just like an IPOD and plays music so it meets my needs.
I bought a couple of flash drives (Sony 240gb – actual 256k) (Kingston 32gb actual 1 gb)
Using flashgenius and H2testW I have found the correct size and then found a low level format program to reformat them at the correct size. UdTools1.0.4.0B_20080714.zip; PortFree_PDx8_v333_2k.rar
I also bought a Sony Pro Duo 8gb which is actually 1gb. This works ok in my Sony camera again as long as I dont use more than 1gb of space. I have just started looking for a program to refort it.
I paid very little for these items and have had a lot of fun finding out how to fix them. I just us the flash drives for moving data around not for keeping anything important and my MP3 player and Camera card work corrcetly they are all much smaller than I expected when I bought them.
This site has good instructions
Stephen said
I bought two ‘Kingston’ 64GB cards from a seller (UK) with this result: –
The media is likely to be defective.
1.9 GByte OK (4073016 sectors)
60.0 GByte DATA LOST (125944264 sectors)
Details:31.2 GByte overwritten (65449952 sectors)
0 KByte slightly changed (< 8 bit/sector, 0 sectors)
28.8 GByte corrupted (60494312 sectors)
72.5 KByte aliased memory (145 sectors)
First error at offset: 0x0000000000000000
Expected: 0x0000000000000000
Found: 0xcf77fffffffffb77
H2testw version 1.3
Writing speed: 480 KByte/s
Reading speed: 12.1 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4
At 50GBP a card, they weren’t super cheap. Assuming he did not know and am asking for a refund. I’ll add a comment here if lucky!
If i don’t get anywhere with the refund claim, does anyone know how best to use these cards as 2GB without rosking corrupting files?
InspectorTech said
To Stephen
It’s not clear if you are referring to a memory card or usb flash drives. Suspect usb flash drives, give the “advertised” size to the operating system. You should start by trying to identify what you have. See the article: https://sosfakeflash.wordpress.com/2008/12/14/about-vid-pid-repairing-counterfeit-flash-drives-steps-to-succeed/
let us know what you found.
fightflashfraud said
Hi Stephen, I don’t think you should try to do anything to the drive until you have done everything you can to get a refund, otherwise you may be destroying your physical evidence of fraud!
kittyfireflash said
About Stephen
Yes it is best he does not try to repair right now. But it would be very interesting if he finds out what the chip set etc the drive using the info from inspector tech. Wonder if it matches what the other people report for their kingston fakes.
Stephen said
Thanks for the advice; I’ll let you know the outcome.
mike said
Bought a 16 GB ON ebay turned out to be a 4 GB. RESULTS Below
Warning: Only 15983 of 15984 MByte tested.
The media is likely to be defective.
3.9 GByte OK (8237952 sectors)
11.6 GByte DATA LOST (24495232 sectors)
Details:55.1 MByte overwritten (112992 sectors)
0 KByte slightly changed (< 8 bit/sector, 0 sectors)
11.6 GByte corrupted (24382240 sectors)
1.5 KByte aliased memory (3 sectors)
First error at offset: 0x00000000fb670000
Expected: 0x00000000fb670000
Found: 0x00000000aa55aa55
H2testw version 1.3
Writing speed: 9.35 MByte/s
Reading speed: 8.23 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4
Repairing Counterfeit Fake MP Players « FixFakeFlash Inspectortech said
[…] you can use H2testw 1.4, which we normally recommend to people. See: H2testw 1.4 – Gold Standard In Detecting USB Counterfeit Drives You will find information and download links in that […]
Sava said
Hello, i recently purchased several 32gb & 64gb flash drives from ebay, i have subsequently recieved an email from a fellow ebayer warning me that a particular seller is selling fakes, and i seem to have purchased from them, i was advised to come to your site and get the flash drives checked, i was asked to look for “write & verify” i was unable to find it, on your site, if you could give me some guidance as to where to look this would be much appreciated.
thanking you in advance for your help.
Sava.
kittyfireflash said
To Sava
We’ve sent you a more detailed email to help you understand more. The links to the software you need are at the bottom of the article.
You need to download it, to perform the testing. 32GB and 64GB are large sizes.
To Everyone
A 32GB or 64GB flash drive is big. Depending on your computers speed (old or new machine) and the usb port (1.1 or 2.0) it could take a long time to test – best to run overnight if you have older equipment.
The programme has to write either 32 or 64 GB’s of files to the drive, then it needs to read them and verify them. Obviously if it is a fake the files over the true capacity would not be on the drive…so that is what the programme will find out for you.
If you have a good drive, the report will be very small, if it is not you will get a detailed report that you can put in a document or notepad to save.
Don’t forget to report in if you bought a fake on eBay. It’s how we get evidence and proof on sellers. You can see that on the fake flash sellers list. Also it helps to detect sellers who may not yet be on the list.
By testing you will find out if you don’t have the advertised capacity. If you do have one, don’t forget to try and warn some other buyers from your seller to warn them too!
Sava, is a lucky one, he got a message to test! Pass the warning along. It is the first step to catching and having an eBay seller found out and removed.
fightflashfraud said
Hi Sava – the write and verify relates to the free test program which you can download here. Enter h2testw in the search box to find the program. You need to download this and extract the zip folder. You need to launch the program, select English, click on the select target button and find the drive letter for your flash drive and then you click on write & verify to start the test. Hope this helps. If your flash drive fails the test don’t forget to submit your information using the “report a fake” tab on this site.
It is important that the evidence against these fraudsters is collected and put in the sosfakeflash database. It is the existence of this database that is forcing PayPal to refund buyers for the fakes they bought. Without the database sellers would simply get away with this fraud.
fightflashfraud said
Hi Kitty,
I think there is probably no need to test the whole drive to establish that a 32GB or 64GB is fake, given that we know most fakes are a quarter of what is claimed or less. I think testing about half the capacity would probably be enough.
T.J.N. said
Great site.. excelent product.. Pity I need to use it though.Everybody here is here because they got ripped.
I bought a 64Gig Sony Pen drive off E-Bay. Seller had feedback and in the UK so not worried.It arrived I checked the capacity need to keep all my data in the one place small transportable ideal solution..So BACKED ALL MY DATA UP on it.(or so I thought) formated the hard drive and loaded Vista thinking my data was safe..Then I find I cant recover it I have a comprehensive list of folders -with nothing in them. Tear hair out Shout at people run round like headless chicken.Clients drawings and detail models thousands of pounds worth. Search everywhere for solution.. Eventualy came to this site. Discover my drive is made of cheese..
Question..When did E-BAY know of this problem, Why did they not flag it or explain to prospective buyers.. these are not knockoff teeshirts or handbags people put their lifes on these things all their data.
If I had known about this problem I would have taken more care and looked for a better solution.. Burn to disk or similar. Would Like to meet seller on dark night or be locked in room with them for 15 minutes..but Ebay will not give address so.
fightflashfraud said
The whole situation is appalling TJN. Ebay have known for a long time about fake flash drives – we are constantly reporting fakes to them. I thought that you could request seller contact details from ebay if you bought something (though actually they sometimes don’t have them on file) – I didn’t think they could simply refuse. Someone will be in touch with you by email about your issue.
Roger Smith said
TJN there are programs that will recover your data even though you have reformatted and loaded vista, You can usually run them in trial mode to see if they find your files and if they do then buy the software.
fightflashfraud said
Roger, thanks for your comment. It might be useful to users of this site if you leave a follow-up comment naming the programs you would recommend for data recovery and saying where folks could get them.
InspectorTech said
To T.J.N.
HALT! REPEAT. HALT!
At the moment you should do absolutely nothing!
Under no circumstances experiment with recovery tools. Your machine does not sound like a personal user use machine.
You have mentioned that the data value lost is thousands of pounds. Leave the machine as is. Get professional opinions first – on how and if it is possible to recover the information and with what. Given the financial value and importance of the information, it may be best to investigate what it might cost for a reputable firm to recover the information on your behalf.
With data recovery tools you get one chance as a rule to fix things, wrong use or wrong tool, data is gone for good. It is best to step back for the moment.
You don’t mention if your hard drive was partitioned or not. Was all the data on the C: drive along with the previous operating system? Or was it on a seperate partition ie a D: drive?
Depending on whether you had different partitions or how you organized the folders, that would determine what a forensic specialist would attempt to recover.
I am not sure how they would go about it, but logically it would be to copy your disk sector by sector to some other storage and then attempt roll back or repair what they can. The idea being not to touch your existing hard disk – but to “lift” information off it.
Your situation T.J.N. – is exactly the reason we all work so hard on in the Project. Money spent on these fakes hurts, but losing data does more than hurt!
Many people do try to buy locally – thinking it is safe and to avoid these sellers in the orient, but you are not safe anywhere. While the drives may be reprogrammed over there they soon find their way all over the world. It is why we call it a plague!
eBay has known about the problem for years. There are arguements as to when it was first noticed by ebay members. Some say 2003 others say 2005.
We started to work the issue in spring of 2008 and started to set up internet sites at the end of the summer in 2008 – the problem was just so bad.
If cash resources are an issue, T.J.N., and you know some IT people you could look at another option.
1) Get a second hard disk, same model is best, same size.
2) Have the IT person use a software such as Ghost before 2005 version (or something that would do the same thing) and make an exact duplicate, sector by sector copy. Raw.
3) Take out your original disk and keep in a safe place
4) Put the cloned disk into your machine and begin experimenting with recovery tools and software.
You also have everyone curious? What eBay seller did you buy the 64GB flash drive from? A lot of eBay sellers in the UK were contacted to test their flash drives – especially for Sony.
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Alex said
Error writing file ‘I:\5.h2w’, offset 0x23a00000.
It is still possible to verify the test data written up to this point.
(Erro nos dados (verificação cíclica de redundância). Code 23)
Writing speed: 1.53 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4
This suppose to be a 32GB pen drive but just 4666 MByte ….
Don’t trust on Chinese seller on eBAY!!!
Howie said
Hi,
I thought you might like to know that this seller, helenrose0121 is selling the h2testw programme on ebay UK, she has will send the winning bidder a disc containing the programme, I don’t know if the programme’s creator would be happy about this? Maybe he should be informed, can you contact him?
Howie.
Howie said
Hi,
Thanks for the reply, Helen has already e mailed me explaining what she is doing, it seems worthwhile if it attracts attention to a growing problem.
Howie.
InspectorTech said
We can confirm that the id is working on behalf of the FrankenFlash Project. The issue of fake flash is so bad on eBay that people need to be alerted – any and every way possible. It is important for people to realize that people who put up such warning do so at a loss – the issue is the fees charged. It is done by victims of fake flash purchases on ebay. These people suffer the hardship financially to list them, the effort to create them and all the contact counselling that results from email message inquiries on the subject from ebay members. No one on the project is funded or receives any financial assistence. It is desperately needed but the prinicipals come first.
Many different id’s have participated during the last 9 months to warn ebayers.
The SOSFakeFlash site reviewed the software and provides links it. It is NOT stored on the site. That would not be proper internet behavior. Instead the links to download directly from the official distribution site in the native language or via translation to english is provided. Credit goes where credit is due. Furthermore software versions can change, one should always point to the site that distributes to ensure that people have access to the latest version.
On a historical note, how these listings are listed and what they say is directly related to the countless attempts of eBay to STOP the message from getting out. Many have had to rewrite and reword and rewrite, over and over again until ebay finds the listings “acceptable”. These listings have had a direct impact on reducing the number of victims. There was a time when you could find over 37,000 listings for flash based items on ebay – daily. Go see the number now. So many have contacted this listers to say “Thank You!” for the warning and others have expressed how they wished they would have seen them sooner – before they bid and got a fake flash item.
Awareness it KEY to stopping the problem on ebay. Progress is being made, but not enough. More people are need to patrol eBay and alert us. More people are needed to contact buyers from known fake flash sellers to warn them to test. ebay limits a person to only 5 messages a day, so you can see just how difficult it is to rescue people and educate on the subject…
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Marco said
The media is likely to be defective.
45.2 MByte OK (92672 sectors)
31.1 GByte DATA LOST (65412608 sectors)
Details:31.1 GByte overwritten (65412608 sectors)
0 KByte slightly changed (< 8 bit/sector, 0 sectors)
0 KByte corrupted (0 sectors)
128 KByte aliased memory (256 sectors)
First error at offset: 0x0000000002d20000
Expected: 0x0000000002d20000
Found: 0x00000007cf0e0000
H2testw version 1.3
Writing speed: 2.52 MByte/s
Reading speed: 9.91 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4
Strange, my pen only has 42MB, not even 1GB, and was bougth has being a 32GB
has this hapened to someone else? It was a Kingston Data Traveler 150
kittyfireflash said
To Marco
Those recent DataTraveler 150’s in 32GB are the worse quality fakes ever seen. Attention was given to making them look like real Kingston usb flash drives – presentation. The drives are still very dangerous and people have lost a lot of data. The quality of the chips used may have been the worse rejects. It could also be those doing the reprogamming did not really understand the tools they were using. One person reported that the flash chip drive actually had 4 partitions. Hmm, practice classes at fake flash reprogramming school? Recycled afterwards?
Opening these drives to find the chip serial seems to be a problem as the side with the chip for the flash drive is glued to the under case. How to decode the chips without breaking the shell?
Usually a size under 64MB is a sign of a bad tool being used.