Customer Reviews

SanDisk SDCZ2-4096-A10 4 GB Cruzer Mini USB 2.0 Drive (Retail Package)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I personally have quite the USB Flash memory collection. I own two 32MB, one 256MB, 2 512MB and now the 4GB Sandisk drives. In this lies the conundrum. Every time I (and I am sure you) buy one of these things a bigger version comes out and is priced well. I know the 8GB is out and eventually will be cheap enough to purchase for the everyday memory hog.
The Pros:
1) Easy to transport
2) Easy to use, plug and play
3) Seldomly fail, in fact I have yet to read a review about these things not working out of the box or dying in 3 days (like larger disc based drives)
4) Not very expensive
The Cons:
1) Easy to lose, run over or forget
2) Seem to come out with newer, better versions about as fast as new iPods come out (which I swear is every other week)
3) The really cool one that just came out is probably going for $1200 (but don't worry it will be @$75 in 6 months).
4) Doesn't plug into the back of your neck yet like in the "Matrix" movies.

Conclusion:
Buy it for $75 (this one will be about that price before you know it, it started out at @ $1200 and as of this write up is $150). It's like that overkill laptop you bought for way too much money because it was the newest and best, you had buyers remorse didn't you? And now the thing pales in comparison to the latest and greatest.
Or you can just spend the money and get it over with because you know it will needle your inner child if you don't feed it instant gratification, LIKE ME!

I would like to see your Nano survive a washer/dryer and being run over like my Cruzer has...don't ask.
Point is, these little things are tough.

Flash drives are the best form of data transportation. The problem is mainly the price for the higher capacities.
A flash drive of similar capacity would have cost you $2000 less then 3 years ago.
Yes, the Nano is 4GB flash as well. But one of the main reasons people buy flash drives over HD drives is the size.
The Nano is slightly bigger then this drive, but don't forget you need to carry an additional cable with the Nano as well. And that makes all the difference.

The SanDisk 4 GB Cruzer Mini is a sturdy reliable USB flash drive from a very reputable company. I've been using a 1 GB and a 4 GB for over a year to back up and transfer data between various systems, and have had no problems.

The drive requires no special drivers unless you are using Windows 98. There is a green LED at the base of the drive that lights when it's being accessed. The package includes 2 extra endcaps and a neck strap, and the drive ships with 3 software applications installed. If you don't want to use the applications you can just delete them to recover the small amount of space they use. The CruzerLock 2 data security software is for encryption, and is a free version. I found its interface to be a bit cumbersome, but it does the job. Time-limited trial versions of PocketCache (backup software) and CruzerSync (Outlook and My Documents folder synchronization) software are also installed on the drive. PocketCache has some nice features, including tracking multiple history versions of a file, and CruzerSync makes backup of email, favorites, etc. easier; however the version that shipped with my drive only works with Outlook, not Outlook Express. You can find more information on the software by going to the SanDisk website and viewing the Cruzer Applications page.

If you read more reviews on the net you'll find some complaints that the drive is slow. There are faster ones out there (they cost more) including the SanDisk Titanium, but it's never been an issue for me. This drive is compatible with older USB 1.1 machines, and still gives acceptable performance even at that speed. Some people complain about it being easy to lose the endcaps (3 caps are included). If you snap the cap on to the base while you're using the drive, it's a lot harder to lose. The drives are very sturdy - I accidentally stepped on one without any damage. I've read two stories of users accidently running the drive through the washer by leaving it in a pocket. Once it dried out, it worked fine with no loss of data. The only negative point I've experienced is that if you want to use the neck strap, it can be difficult to thread through the eyelet on the drive. But with a bit of patience, it is doable, and it only needs to be done once.

Be aware that there are a lot of counterfeit copies of this product on the market. Most of the negative reviews about losing data, or the drive malfunctioning can be traced to a counterfeit. Be sure to buy from a reputable company like Amazon or NewEgg, and if you have any doubts check the serial number with SanDisk after you buy. I definitely recommend this drive, and will buy SanDisk products again.

I've loaded my Cruzer to capacity several times and its all loaded, saved, and transfered without a glitch. The 2.0 USB interface is smooth and quick, and large batches don't seem to bog the Cruzer down. What else can I say? The thing works, and at the current price, its a great value for the dollar. I'd recommend this Cruzer to anyone.

My friend bought me this USB drive for my birthday, and he got himself one as well. Both of ours broke just few months later. Files added to the drive all become corrupted when transfering between computers. And the worst part is I didn't even use it very often.

I like the Cruzer Mini drives because they are very slim. You don't even know they're in your pocket. I ordered this one to replace my 1GB Lexar Jump Drive Traveler. The Cruzer is the same size and width as the Lexar, but is about 30% slimmer and it comes with 3 colored caps. Unfortunately, this drive is very slow. It seemed to take forever to copy even the smallest files to it. I benchmarked it using Sisoft Sandra and found that the Lexar is nearly twice as fast at copying small files (under 256k). The two were about the same speed when working with larger files. After using this for 2 days, I finally returned it and ordered a 2GB Lexar Lightning instead. I just couldn't deal with the speed...or lack thereof.

Im still using after more than 2 years, but check options because of the cost

I used this ONCE in Vista and it seemed to work fine. Then plugged it in the second time and it stated that multiple drive letters were being used and that it detected multiple devices. So, I downloaded the update files from Sandisk and it WIPED the entire drive and turned it into a 1MB flash drive.

I am a computer genius (I'm not flaunting that) and I tried everything from U3 hacks, separate ISO's etc. etc. (read up on that if you wish) and nothing worked.

It's going back.

Not compatible with Vista? sheesh...catch up Sandisk

As someone already commented, this isn't the fastest drive out there (the Titanium model is faster), but you pay a lot more for that. I'm okay with this one as is.

I have a pretty extensive flash drive collection from various makers at this point, including an old 64 meg flash ROM that still works; 128M, 256M, and 512M Flash ROMS; a 2 gig SD ROM; and several 1 gig and 2 gig Mini Cruzers.

The great thing is that all of them are still working after having been plugged into a number of different computer, using both the old USB multi-readers and the newer computers with their "media centers" that accommodate all the most popular external memory chips. And some of the older RAM drives are four or five years old at this point.

Overall, I find these one of the best computer innovations of the last decade. I can store approximately 20 years of personal files, miscellaneous papers, research papers, my technical articles, correspondence, or whatever on one 512M chip, so the 2 and 4 gig are ridiculously big for me.

I did a lot of travelling in the last year for the first time in many years, and have about 2000 digital photos using medium to medium-high resolution and granularity on the camera, they all fit on two 4-gig gig Mini Cruzers.

I also like the way the USB connector slides out. It eliminates the need for the cap, which often gets lost.

Overall, these are a great labor saving storage device for all but the biggest collections of miscellaneous files, and very convenient to store and use. I also recommend to pick up a few of the little storage wallets, which are only about 10 bucks each to store your ever-growing collection of them.