Cheap lower power USB flash storage

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dbptwg

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Jul 2, 2012
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I have a very specific computer, part of an arcade machine (In the Groove 2) that supports USB features, that seems to be exceptionally picky about flash drives. The drive needs to be 2GB or smaller, 1.1 compatible, and seemingly very low power, at least compared to the current standard. I'm attempting to find a repeatable, secure way to obtain flash drives that are compatible with this machine. My current idea is that I need to either find a cheap microSD to USB that works, or just someone selling a lot of really old flash drives that use lower power chips. Even 1gb drives made with current chips are too high power, and on the flip side I have an old 16gb that works just fine when parted down to 2gb. I have found 1 adapter that works, and I have a handful of drives that also work, but I can't find places to buy duplicates for them as they're very old/foreign, but I don't really know how to pull the correct information from them, or how to find that information when purchasing cards. You can get 2gb via usb for a dollar or two, and I'd like to find a method of doing that reliably with a compatible card or reader.

One of the cards I have that works is a Sandisk Cruizer 2gb. That is the only one I have that I'm able to find online, but they're usually way more expensive than they should be, and not very plentiful.

The computer is using a GA-8IPE1000 Pro2 motherboard, with an usb 1.1 hub that is not powered. The hub is the only realistic access point, which introduces the power and 1.1 restrictions, I assume.

If anyone has any insight, I would love to hear it. I will try to obtain any information that will help, just let me know where to look.
 
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capt_taco

capt_taco

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Aug 5, 2009
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Any USB drive ought to backward-compatible with 1.1, so it sounds like the issue is strictly power. There are a few flash drives out there that run on <100mA, which I believe is the maximum provided by an unpowered USB 1.1 port.

You might consider getting a powered USB hub with its own AC wall adapter, like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-10-Port-Speed-Adapter-Flip-Up/dp/B00483WRZ6

If that solves the power issue, then theoretically you could use any flash drive. My only concern is if there is some device driver that turns out not to be compatible with your old machine. But worth a shot if there's a chance of solving this odd problem IMO.



edit: Further reading shows that this device in particular does not require any of its own drivers:

"Requires no driver installation (although individual devices may require drivers). Compatible with all USB hosts that support USB hubs including devices such as the Wii, PlayStation, XBOX, Tivo, etc."

so there's a real chance that could do it for you.
 
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dbptwg

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Jul 2, 2012
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10,510


I've tried using a couple powered hubs and the machine still kicks a power error on card insert. The cabinet would also need to be structurally altered to accommodate a different hub, so that is not the road I'd like to go down, if I can prevent it. I don't know enough about Linux (it runs a modified version of Debian) and power distribution to say exactly why the error is occurring, but I do know old small cards work great, and would like to exhaust that avenue first - that would allow the cards to work on all similar machines as well, not just the modified one.
 
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capt_taco

capt_taco

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Aug 5, 2009
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Then I would say look for any sticks with under 100mA power usage. Sometimes you can find those specs from the manufacturer, sometimes not.

Did the powered USB hubs you tried before have a separate wall plug, or were they the kind of "powered" hubs that draw their power from the PC?
 
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