USB flash drive will not open

[manontheedge]

I've got several flash drives, but I'm having issues with one of them. I'm using Windows XP. I connect it, then get that message that "new hardware is found", but when I go to the drive, I get a message telling me to "connect a device"...yet, I can still "safely remove" it.

Basically, it's seeings the stick but not letting me open it.

I've never had this problem and no one I've talked to seems to know why this is happening. If someone can help me out I'd appreciate it.

[bartonc]

I've got several flash drives, but I'm having issues with one of them. I'm using Windows XP. I connect it, then get that message that "new hardware is found", but when I go to the drive, I get a message telling me to "connect a device"...yet, I can still "safely remove" it.

Basically, it's seeings the stick but not letting me open it.

I've never had this problem and no one I've talked to seems to know why this is happening. If someone can help me out I'd appreciate it.

Of course, it will help us if tell us the brand of the stick that you are having trouble with. If your system is working (other sticks work) then either that particular stick is broken or the mfgr did something a little wonky.

[Motoma]

I've got several flash drives, but I'm having issues with one of them. I'm using Windows XP. I connect it, then get that message that "new hardware is found", but when I go to the drive, I get a message telling me to "connect a device"...yet, I can still "safely remove" it.

Basically, it's seeings the stick but not letting me open it.

I've never had this problem and no one I've talked to seems to know why this is happening. If someone can help me out I'd appreciate it.

Likely it is not formatted.

[manontheedge]

I have a few flash drives of various brands, but the one not working is a "Verbatim"...though I have two others from this brand that work fine.

...formatting, how would I format it?

[Motoma]

I have a few flash drives of various brands, but the one not working is a "Verbatim"...though I have two others from this brand that work fine.

...formatting, how would I format it?

Plug it in.
Open My Computer.
Right click on the drive.
Select Format...

[manontheedge]

that leads back to the original problem. I can't format it because it says there's nothing there.

though, I can still "safely remove the hardware", and it shows up that something is in the drive, but when I try to do ANYTHING, it says there's nothing there, it's really weird...i'm about to just trash the thing.

[Motoma]

that leads back to the original problem. I can't format it because it says there's nothing there.

though, I can still "safely remove the hardware", and it shows up that something is in the drive, but when I try to do ANYTHING, it says there's nothing there, it's really weird...i'm about to just trash the thing.

It's probably junk then.

[leiger]

that leads back to the original problem. I can't format it because it says there's nothing there.

though, I can still "safely remove the hardware", and it shows up that something is in the drive, but when I try to do ANYTHING, it says there's nothing there, it's really weird...i'm about to just trash the thing.

I have had this exact same problem with an existing USB drive I had. I think it results from pulling it out from the port before something has finished saving, or the 'safely remove' feature not working correctly.

I took it to numerous places and tried many data recovery techniques on it -- but I ended up losing my data which I was foolish enough to have only one copy of (on the drive).

The fact is that the data on the drive is irrecoverable and the drive cannot be used again. It's just a useless piece of plastic and metal now. The only option is to throw it away and get a new one (if you still need one, sounds like you have plenty of spares anyway).

Hope I helped.

[batman]

NO! NO!

THERE IS NOTING WITH YOUR JUMP DRIVE. IF YOU PUT IT IN ANOTHER COMPTER IT SHOULD WORK. NOT ONLT THAT TO MAKE IT WORK ON YOU COMPUTER AGAIN YOU WILL HAVE TO RESTORE IT TO AN EARLYER TIME. DUE TO SOME HARD WARE OR SOFE WARE CHANGE CAUSE THIS. DONT THROE IT A WAY.


fROM BATMAN IT PRO

[Motoma]

NO! NO!

THERE IS NOTING WITH YOUR JUMP DRIVE. IF YOU PUT IT IN ANOTHER COMPTER IT SHOULD WORK. NOT ONLT THAT TO MAKE IT WORK ON YOU COMPUTER AGAIN YOU WILL HAVE TO RESTORE IT TO AN EARLYER TIME. DUE TO SOME HARD WARE OR SOFE WARE CHANGE CAUSE THIS. DONT THROE IT A WAY.


fROM BATMAN IT PRO

Quite an emphatic response. I guess you know what you need to do.

Thanks for the input batman.

[epots9]

go to www.verbatim.com get see if there any driver updates.

1) go into your device manager (with the stick is plugged in) and see if it hows up there, if it does right-click and click uninstall. then it should be ok to take it out.

2)restart computer

3a)if u found a new driver from the website, install that and wait for it to tell u to plug the stick back in.

3b)if there are no drivers, just plug it back in and see what happens

[botanick]

I've got several flash drives, but I'm having issues with one of them. I'm using Windows XP. I connect it, then get that message that "new hardware is found", but when I go to the drive, I get a message telling me to "connect a device"...yet, I can still "safely remove" it.

Basically, it's seeings the stick but not letting me open it.

I've never had this problem and no one I've talked to seems to know why this is happening. If someone can help me out I'd appreciate it.

I have the exact same problem. It appeared after I removed it from a Mac without unmounting. No matter what compouter I plug it in now or what OS i am using (tried XP, OSX, ubuntu, knoppix) my files do not show up at all. Otherwise the device is working properly, i am even able display how much free space I have left on it. I tried to use some shareware flash drive data recovery and they were able to find the files BUT save is not allowed unless I pay $45 or so.

I keep looking for a solution and get back here if I find any.

BTW, does anyone know a flashdrive file recovery utility which is free?

thanks

[botanick]

go to www.verbatim.com get see if there any driver updates.

1) go into your device manager (with the stick is plugged in) and see if it hows up there, if it does right-click and click uninstall. then it should be ok to take it out.

2)restart computer

3a)if u found a new driver from the website, install that and wait for it to tell u to plug the stick back in.

3b)if there are no drivers, just plug it back in and see what happens

I tried, it did not work for me. Hopefully will work for others...

[sirvy]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to the forum. I have experenced a similar problem and have sought a "real" solution for many months. Any USB device plugged into my USB ports (ASUS A8N-SLI) will be "seen" by Explorer as a working device in XP, but the data can't be accessed. Some have suggested a BIOS upgrade, which for me, hasn't worked. The only workaround that allows me to use my known-good devices on my computer (they work on other computers) is to physically remove power from the power supply (mine has a power switch, but you could remove the power cord as well). I do this for a 10-count, reconnect power and reboot. My flash drives and portable USB hard drive work fine until I power off and reboot. After a reboot, I usually see the same original problem and need to repeat the wall-power disconnect procedure to make these devices work again. Obviously, this is a pain, but until I can find and fix the real cause, it allows me to function.

I have not had this problem with any other types of USB devices - just ones that Windows sees as removable storage.

Maybe worth a try?

[mofthegame]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to the forum. I have experenced a similar problem and have sought a "real" solution for many months. Any USB device plugged into my USB ports (ASUS A8N-SLI) will be "seen" by Explorer as a working device in XP, but the data can't be accessed. Some have suggested a BIOS upgrade, which for me, hasn't worked. The only workaround that allows me to use my known-good devices on my computer (they work on other computers) is to physically remove power from the power supply (mine has a power switch, but you could remove the power cord as well). I do this for a 10-count, reconnect power and reboot. My flash drives and portable USB hard drive work fine until I power off and reboot. After a reboot, I usually see the same original problem and need to repeat the wall-power disconnect procedure to make these devices work again. Obviously, this is a pain, but until I can find and fix the real cause, it allows me to function.

I have not had this problem with any other types of USB devices - just ones that Windows sees as removable storage.

Maybe worth a try?

i would see if there is an upgrade for your motherboard and see if it will upgrade your usb ports to 1.0 or 2.0 it sounds like the computer it is being hooked up doesn't have the up to date drivers i would try it in another computer to see if it will work in that one and if you are running windows 98 it will not work unless you have usb 2.0 drivers for your usb and if you can't get 2.0 drivers for your motherboard there are usb adaptor cards that you can install

[doktor farhad]

i would see if there is an upgrade for your motherboard and see if it will upgrade your usb ports to 1.0 or 2.0 it sounds like the computer it is being hooked up doesn't have the up to date drivers i would try it in another computer to see if it will work in that one and if you are running windows 98 it will not work unless you have usb 2.0 drivers for your usb and if you can't get 2.0 drivers for your motherboard there are usb adaptor cards that you can install

my sony viao flash drive appears but when i want to open it it says please insert disc........i`m lost

[epots9]

my sony viao flash drive appears but when i want to open it it says please insert disc........i`m lost

go to sony's website and look for the newest drivers? are u running on vista?

[botanick]

that leads back to the original problem. I can't format it because it says there's nothing there.

though, I can still "safely remove the hardware", and it shows up that something is in the drive, but when I try to do ANYTHING, it says there's nothing there, it's really weird...i'm about to just trash the thing.

Ok, I finally managed to recover my data using two different softwares.

1. PC inspector smart recovery: COMPLETELY FREE tool, worked for me pretty well. It has two drawbacks. First, it is only able to recover files with certain extensions, such as jpg, mp3, vaw, etc. So if you have some files lost with rare extensions this might not be your solution. Second, recovered files are renamed. Therefore you have to rename all your recovered files. I only lost like 20 files, so it was not a problem for me but if you have thousands of pics to recover, well, you must know if your time worth it...

2. getmydataback. Free for recovery, you can see your files, play your mp3s but cannot save them unless you buy the full version. To my opinion it is worth the money if you have lots of files to recover. Professional tool, finds all files regardless of their extension, keeps original filenames, but be aware of your file system as there is a different software for FAT and NTFS.

As I mentioned, I used PC inspector smart recovery for my 2 GB flashdrive to recover some vaws and it worked fine. However, it does not repair your disk! So I reformatted my pendrive after I saved all files. It works fine again so far...

Almost forgot... be prepared to give recovery softwares hours to find your files. Have your lunch, take a nap or just go for a walk, all up to you. They work well but very-very slow!

[dafodil]

I've got several flash drives, but I'm having issues with one of them. I'm using Windows XP. I connect it, then get that message that "new hardware is found", but when I go to the drive, I get a message telling me to "connect a device"...yet, I can still "safely remove" it.

Basically, it's seeings the stick but not letting me open it.

I've never had this problem and no one I've talked to seems to know why this is happening. If someone can help me out I'd appreciate it.

I had an experienced before where a virus is preventing me from opening my flash drive and my solution is to delete the virus.
And I must format it....


If you cannot format it using windows use dos...

go to:

start menu-->run *** then type command***

If the DOS prompt already appears


Then type format with the name of the drive of your usb with colon and press enter

example: format E:

YOur should computer should already be formatting the usb....


Hope this helps you....

[theother73]

I have found that some USB drive need to be allocated drive letter D before the actually work.
If you reconfigure your drives (ie change the drive path for your DVD/CD to other than D and leave D free) the USB drive will be picked up as D and should be accessible.

To do this right click my computer -> manage
select disk management -> then reassign drive letters so that the d drive is not in use.

Connect USB drive and it should be all ok.
Hope this helps

[Typokween]

Hello I'm also having this problem. I've tried to reformat, nothing happens. I've tried the PC Inspector File Recovery... nothing. I've tried using other computers. Nothing. I have a lot of word document files on this USB Flash Drive (Dane-Elec) and I really would like for them to come back to me! I've been to the Dane Elec website and saw nothing that could be of use. If I were to go to a computer store could they fix it? I really dont know what to do but I really, really, really need/want the files on this USB.

Can someone help? Thank you.

[dafodil]

Hello I'm also having this problem. I've tried to reformat, nothing happens. I've tried the PC Inspector File Recovery... nothing. I've tried using other computers. Nothing. I have a lot of word document files on this USB Flash Drive (Dane-Elec) and I really would like for them to come back to me! I've been to the Dane Elec website and saw nothing that could be of use. If I were to go to a computer store could they fix it? I really dont know what to do but I really, really, really need/want the files on this USB.

Can someone help? Thank you.

Can your computer detect your flash drive?

[Motoma]

Hello I'm also having this problem. I've tried to reformat, nothing happens. I've tried the PC Inspector File Recovery... nothing. I've tried using other computers. Nothing. I have a lot of word document files on this USB Flash Drive (Dane-Elec) and I really would like for them to come back to me! I've been to the Dane Elec website and saw nothing that could be of use. If I were to go to a computer store could they fix it? I really dont know what to do but I really, really, really need/want the files on this USB.

Can someone help? Thank you.

Does the drive show in the device manager?
Can you see it in the disk management screen?

[Typokween]

In answer to both questions. Yes my computer realizes that its plugged in. It says that there is a new device hooked up. But when I try to OPEN that device, it says to insert said drive.

So yes, it shows up in device manager. Yes I can see he disk management screen. But I cannot troubleshoot it because the button is faded out, therefore I cannt press it. Also, my USB is named "Elena's USB" so whenever it USED to plug in that is the name of the drive I would save to/open from. Now it just says Removeable Disk.

I'm going crazy here. It actually opened last night miraculously for a few seconds. In those few seconds I copied everything and saved it to my hard drive. But alas, I'm back to square one trying to reopen it.

How I got it to open before I had Word Document open and on the right hand side in the "New Documen/Open Document" menu I clicked an old pathway to a document saved on the device. It opened and for a few short moments all was well.

But like I said. I'm back at square one. lol

[dafodil]

Try to use the dos prompt. You have saved your files so you could already format it now...

Start->Run
command
then type format and the drive letter followed by colon
format E:
After formatting check again your flash disk by opening it.

[epots9]

Try to use the dos prompt. You have saved your files so you could already format it now...

Start->Run
command
then type format and the drive letter followed by colon
format E:
After formatting check again your flash disk by opening it.

before u do that, make sure that the drive is the "E drive"....u don't want to format anything else (incase u have other hardrives/partitions).

[Chrisjc]

All of these questions and answers are great. But it comes down to this I have seen this more than enough times to know better...

From my experience at home and as an IT in an office with well over 900 computers to look after I maybe get this question up to 3 times in a week... sadly

I suspect that if you remove your FLASH drive with out safely disconnecting it the next PC will not recognize it for the soul porpoise that it was transferring data and needed to finish... and the computer did not say “Okay its safe to let go"

So in many cases I have seen in this thread that you all suggest going to "Manage" in XP by doing so "Right click My Computer > Manage" and then once in there by going to "Storage > Disk Management" You will see all available drives that XP will see thus your PC... Now there are 3 possible issues...

ONE: If you see you’re FLASH DRIVE LETTER but you don’t see it as an open able file or DRIVE in My Computer the case of this is because the last PC it was working on it was still transferring data and did not close correctly and must be REFORMATED. Or taken back to that last PC open it and transfer something the safely remove it and try again at another PC. <<<< THIS IS ALMOST ALL MY CASES

TWO: If you don’t see it in the Disk Management you’re FLASH drive is either JUNK or you do not have the correct drivers installed to run it... I.E. some flash drives won’t work unless it’s USB 2.0

And

THREE: If you do not see anything at all in disk management and or inserting the FLASH in your USE such as the connected window that comes up in your TASK bar then your USB port might be broken TRY a new PORT.

These are the only issues I ever check and sure enough I always find and fix the issue and it is always one of those 3…

I hope this helps some of your guys understand that every answer in this thread is correct! Just need to single out WHY and which reason is your FLASH doing this.

[bartonc]

Thank you, JC for all that work in getting this point across.
I've created an article from your post. You may now reply with a link to this thread any time this comes up in the future.

Thanks, again,
Barton

[Chrisjc]

Thank you, JC for all that work in getting this point across.
I've created an article from your post. You may now reply with a link to this thread any time this comes up in the future.

Thanks, again,
Barton

np, Glad I was able to help =)

[wannano6]

Here is a fix that might help.
Control Panel -
Administrative Tools -
Computer Management -
Disk Management -
Then right click on your correct disk (The one that says removeable) and create a partition then just click thru the steps and you should be ok to use your flash drive again.

Good Luck

[archer2good]

now guys I am really stuck
here is the problem. When insert the flash drive, my computer sees it, and when I enter My Computer it's there. BUT when I try to open it, I get the "insert the said drive" thing. The drive won't open by any means. It won't format either. The disk management thing doesn't work either. I tried the Arax and Recover My Files recovery soft, but it's all useless - all the same "there is nothing, and please insert the drive". I tried also the low level format tool but it doesn't see the drive at all, even though it's still displayed in My Computer. I tried to download the latest driver for it -- it's Centon Datastick Advanced 4Gb -- but the #@#@ manufacturer has drivers only for the Win 98!
I think that there is nothing out there in the world that can recover the data on my flash drive! If anyone can help, you'll be my hero!

[ruselrones]

The first thing you should do it take your flash drive to a another computer to see if that computer can access it when you plug it into the USB port. If that computer can not access it, then the problem is mainly in the flash drive. Your best bet if that is the case is to contact a firm that specializes in data recover.

[deathxxxx]

ive had this same problem recently only i know how mine got this way i was formatting my pc an flash drive was plugged in an it was formatted using windows set up can this be reversed now my computer does see my flash drive but i cannot get in it or use it is there a fix (its a 16gb PNY)

[deathxxxx]

i would guess that wiping that way removed the data windows needs to recognize it maybe not sure any help would be appreciated

[ktgardens]

[quote=botanick;2631501]I have the exact same problem. It appeared after my son used my flash drive at school on a Mac to save data for a class. Now, the drive won't open, it shows 0 bytes of data, but also shows that it is completely full (all blue). My XP says it's not formatted, and can't be formatted- even though it worked perfectly fine before my son used it to save data from a Mac.

I don't need to recover data. He had to re-do his entire assignment- since he created it at school and isn't allowed to save it there. But I am now wary of sending a flash drive to be used on a Mac at school, if it will be destroyed every time...

Does anyone know if school Mac computers regularly trash flash drives? (I assume the flash drive (8GB size) is trashed.)

ktgardens

[pbyfield01]

it happened to me too right after i tried to put a network on it