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Compact Flash Memory

USB Memory and other compact flash memory cards are commonly used to supplement data storage on Cheap Laptop Computers or for portable devices such as digital cameras, digital music players, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and test equipment. Crucial Compact Flash Memory cards are available in 50-pin Compact Flash Type I. When buying Compact Flash, be sure it is the type of memory card your device takes.

Compact Flash Type I cards can be used in a Type II or Type III PCMCIA slot with an optional adapter or with card readers that connect to USB ports and serial ports. Refer to your device manufacturer if you want to be sure.

Compact Flash Type I cards weigh just a half-ounce and are about the size of a matchbook (1.6" long, 1.4" high, and .13" thick). They are thinner and consume less power than Type II and Type III cards. They have two parallel rows of 25 pins on one edge of the card.

The image to the right is actual size.

FAQs About Compact Flash Memory

A Compact Flash Memory card is a solid state disk card with a 50-pin connector. The pins provide a connection between the memory and the Compact Flash drive in your electronic device. Compact Flash Memory cards are used more like a hard drive than RAM. They are designed with flash technology, a non-volatile storage solution that does not lose its information once power is removed from the card. The cards contain no moving parts and are extremely rugged, providing much greater protection of data than conventional magnetic disk drives.

Fast, small, removable storage -- Compact Flash Memory cards are an increasingly popular way to quickly transfer large amounts of data among different applications.

Compact Flash is what's called "solid state" memory, which means there are no moving parts. It retains information even when the power is turned off.

Extremely versatile -- You can easily slide a Compact Flash card in and out of different devices. Compact Flash is noiseless, considerably lighter, consumes less battery power, and much more rugged than a rotating disk drive.

Digital cameras, digital music players, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and handhelds are just some of the devices that use Compact Flash.

You can use the cards as "digital film" in your camera, to store information such as phone numbers and addresses, large work files, or to backup data on your PDA.

Important -- By default, Windows XP will format any Compact Flash card of 64MB or more with FAT32 format. Digital cameras and other devices use the FAT (FAT16) format and can not operate with a FAT32 formatted card. Either format your Compact Flash card in your camera or select FAT file system to format your Compact Flash card in a Windows XP PC.

Keep in mind, not all devices that use flash memory take Compact Flash cards. To use Compact Flash, you must have a device with a Compact Flash slot or a device with a Type II or Type III PC Card slot and an adapter.

You can also use it with memory card readers that connect to USB ports and serial ports on Cheap Laptop Computers, printers, digital cameras, and other devices.