Actually that’s not as absurd as it seems. NAND memory starts corrupting data if it doesn’t get any current for few years. I’m not sure if just power on USB triggers it or does controller on device need to be specifically activated by OS detection. I guess controller goes on the moment it gets power.
In theory, just getting current does nothing. It has to be rewritten. It uses hot electron tunneling.
However, I recently found an mp3-player I hadn’t used since longer than 2017 on the bottom of a drawer. It was stored without battery. I put an AAA battery in and it played the stored music just fine.
Older devices also stored fewer bits per well. It’s much easier for the data to get corrupted when the difference in voltage between two values is smaller.
Actually that’s not as absurd as it seems. NAND memory starts corrupting data if it doesn’t get any current for few years. I’m not sure if just power on USB triggers it or does controller on device need to be specifically activated by OS detection. I guess controller goes on the moment it gets power.
NANDalf!
“No!” cried nandalf, springing to his feet. “With that charger I should have power too great and terrible.
You shall not pass data!
In theory, just getting current does nothing. It has to be rewritten. It uses hot electron tunneling.
However, I recently found an mp3-player I hadn’t used since longer than 2017 on the bottom of a drawer. It was stored without battery. I put an AAA battery in and it played the stored music just fine.
Older lithography holds charge longer; the pursuit of more storage at cheaper prices results in engineering sacrifices to make it happen.
Older devices also stored fewer bits per well. It’s much easier for the data to get corrupted when the difference in voltage between two values is smaller.