Editing USB flash drive (section)

====Even distribution====
Some file systems are designed to distribute usage over an entire memory device without concentrating usage on any part (e.g., for a directory) to prolong the life of simple flash memory devices. Some USB flash drives have this '[[wear leveling]]' feature built into the software controller to prolong device life, while others do not, so it is not necessarily helpful to install one of these file systems.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.micron.com/-/media/client/global/documents/products/technical-note/nand-flash/tn2942_nand_wear_leveling.pdf|title=TN-29-42: Wear-Leveling Techniques in NAND Flash Devices|access-date=24 January 2024|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231118153313/http://www.micron.com/-/media/client/global/documents/products/technical-note/nand-flash/tn2942_nand_wear_leveling.pdf|archive-date=18 November 2023}}</ref>

<!-- Note: Please don't add JFFS or YAFFS references to this article. While these two file systems, designed to minimize the inherent weaknesses of flash memory (e.g., memory wear), can be used on a flash drive, they provide no significant benefit. These filesystems are intended to assist with directly addressed flash memory (e.g. SmartMedia through a raw reader). A flash drive's memory layout is abstracted from the host system in the USB mass storage class, and the flash drive's controller chip performs tasks similar to those JFFS and YAFFS are intended for. -->