Thread: The Guide To Fake Memory Sticks

Think you have a fake memstick? Or want to buy one in the future and want some knowledge on which one is real, and which one is fake?

read on...

1.
A REAL memory stick has the proper part numbers which are stated below...

* PRO series: 1gb (MSX-1GS), 2gb (MSX-2GS).
* PRO Duo Hi-Speed series: 1gb (MSX-M1GN), 2gb (MSX-M2GN), 4gb (MSX-M4GN).
* PRO Duo series (previous): 1gb (MSX-M1GST), 2gb (MSX-M2GS), 4gb (MSX-M4GS), 8gb (MSX-M8GS).
* PRO Duo series (current): 2gb (MSX-M2GS/X), 4gb (MSX-M4GS/X), 8gb (MSX-M8GS/X).

But fake memory sticks have an extra character (an extra T

If you have a psp, you can check if it is MagicGate supported. What you have to do is just locate over the memory stick icon and press triangle, then information, if it says MagicGate supported it is real. If otherwise, then you have a fake memory stick.

2. The packaging
REAL packaging has heat seals around the edges. Fakes have round glue seals and can be opened too easily.


The real memory sticks also come with a golden 3D holographic sticker. Some new fakes have this aswell so be careful
3. The front

The font on the fake usually is bolder, sometimes messy, out of focus and can rubs off easily. Newer fakes may not have this flaw.
Fakes are also usually thicker.


4. Capacity and speed

A genuine 4gb displays the default capacity as 3839mb and a genuine 2gb displays the default capacity as 1909mb (some devices will show 1910mb). Some older fake 2gb sticks shows 1948mb and 1959mb of memory space when being tested. Newer fake 2gb sticks may now show any of these figures including the 1910mb of a genuine. However some 2GB fakes only have a true capacity of only 512mb/1gb. Try transferring as much data as possible to your card and also read data from the card to see if it will actually hold the stated capacity with no sign of data corruption.

The genuine hi-speed card (with the red-stripe) has a transfer speed of about 80mbps. Fakes have a slower transfer speed with a 1948mb fake only doing about 65mbps to 70mbps and a 1959mb fake only doing at the most, 60mbps.
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Fake sticks don't usually last that long and files stored can become corrupt after reading them 1 or 2 times.

If you're buying a stick online, beware. Sellers can also mislead you by posting genuine photos and not ones of the actual product they are selling. Remember to check the packaging and maybe sometimes things can be "to good to be true".

Very useful information, Thanks