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I'm using Ubuntu 20.04 and it was my first main foray into Linux (I had 18.04 for one week prior to upgrading).

I connect two SanDisk USB stick drives to my Dell laptop but they are used infrequently, however they are always hot to touch when the laptop is on. Is that normal? If that is normal, will that level of heat degrade them in anyway?

Also, where there is heat there is power, so it will obviously be reducing battery life too. Is there anyway of 'turning' them off until I need them (without removing them, smart ars*s)?

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  • No, a USB flash drives should not be hot, there are no moving parts in there. do they smell at all? I think that they might be shorting out!!
    – Nate
    Sep 30, 2020 at 19:35
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    I have noticed this problem too, and it is getting more common with newer USB sticks, probably because they are faster than before. -- I think the expected life-time is reduced at high temperature, and they are also wasting energy.
    – sudodus
    Sep 30, 2020 at 19:36
  • They do not smell at all and this has been the case for a couple of months now and both drives still work fine.
    – norfolk_uk
    Sep 30, 2020 at 19:39
  • ok, I don't use USB drives that much.
    – Nate
    Sep 30, 2020 at 19:42
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    @Nath heat from electronic components like a flash drive or SSD isn't caused by moving parts, it's caused by electricity passing thru the parts. If the drive has been writing constantly for a long time, it can warm up. Generally PCB and silicon can often get up to 100C before any damage is done. I'm assuming the flash drive is way way below that.
    – Nmath
    Sep 30, 2020 at 20:09

1 Answer 1

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When you plug in any USB device, the first thing that happens ("first" is enforced by plug design), is that the computer supplies power (+5V GND) to the USB device.

The USB device runs a tiny computer to communicate with the computer.

The first message sent is "I am a disk/mouse/keyboard/NIC/...", and here's how we'll communicate.

Then, the tiny computer devotes its attention to behaving like a "disk/mouse/keyboard/NIC/..." and communicating with the host computer via the appropriate USB protocol.

In your case, it's pretending to be a disk, ready to accept "disk" commands via USB.

Running the tiny cpu takes power, and dissipates heat (see "Laws of Thermodynamics").

Is it excessive power usage? Will the USB device frogboil itself?

Probably not, but YMMV.

Power dissipation is a concept known to Electrical Engineers and Product Designers.

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