Removable Flash Drive Recognized as a Local Disk and not a Flash Drive

[masonta]

I recently purchased a 32 GB San Disk Flash Drive. The security files pre-installed on the drive were junk, and I could not delete them so I formatted the drive to remove them. This cleaned the disk, and it holds data, but I'm not sure if this is part of my problem. I am trying to load my copy of windows 7 onto this disk, and using the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool, I can select my ISO file, but when I go to select my USB drive, my computer does not recognize the flash drive as a flash drive. Is there a way to change the Flash Drive so Windows will recognize my Flash Drive as removable media? Smaller USB drives still work on my computer, so its not the computer. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[TVeblen]

Hello masonta. Welcome to the forum.

Let's start with this: can you post a screenshot of your Disk Management window, expanded so we can read everything, with the USB stick installed?

You also might check in Device Manager to see if the stick shows up as a USB device, or a hard disk.

 

[masonta]

The Flash Drive is Disk G, and I also uploaded a screen shot of my device manager where the flash was listed as a hard drive. Thanks for timely response btw

 

[maxie]

Hi there .. This is quite a common problem with some Flash Drives .. Have seen it many times on the forum ..

 

[whs]

Reformat it to NTFS and see whether that works.

 

[masonta]

I used the quick format to NTFS, that hasn't helped. I'm currently formatting the flash with the "quick format" option unchecked. Will see if that changes things...

 

[TVeblen]

I've got a feeling it has to do with the fact that the stick was marked ACTIVE in order to install the OS on it.

Doing a full format will probably get rid of the ACTIVE flag, but if it doesn't then do this:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/197157-partition-mark-inactive.html

 

[whs]

Let us know how you are doing. Will be useful input for the future.

 

[Ranger4]

As well as the solutions already suggested by TVeblen & whs try formatting it as a FAT32, which I think they are originally.

 

[OptiplexBoy755]

Yes this happens to me to this is how new windows and flash drives are they do this for security and it's a requirement for windows 8 / 8.1 so new flash drives are setup that way

 

[OptiplexBoy755]

The Flash Drive is Disk G, and I also uploaded a screen shot of my device manager where the flash was listed as a hard drive. Thanks for timely response btw

Why dont you format to ntfs thats more reason so you make the usb bootable

 

[jumanji]

Return the SanDisk pen drive to the vendor and get some other brand.

Extract from a communication from Sandisk:

We have recently made some changes in the manufacturing of the flash drives to make them compatible with Windows 8 certification. The changes are in effect from June 2012. Flash drives configured as fixed disks still function the same as those configured as removable disks.

This fixed disk matter had already been brought to notice in this forum by Britton30.

http://www.sevenforums.com/hardware-devices/299263-flash-stick-showing-local-disk.html

In a Dec 2013 post one user elsewhere indicated :

SanDisk has recently reversed their decision on configuring drives as fixed disk and are back to removable. Per support "all sandisk drives are being moved back to the removable disk configuration".

So you got one manufactured in the interim period between this flip-flop by SanDisk.

 

[TVeblen]

I did not know that. Thanks jumanji and Britton30!

 

[Britton30]

You're welcome, I did return mine.

 

[ahmedsharabash]

From my side I found a solution to make a bootable Windows 7 flash drive on my Sandisk USB by using this freeware
http://rufus.akeo.ie/downloads/rufus-1.4.9.exe

 

[jumanji]

Good you found it yourself.

The earliest mention of my find in Jan 2012 here http://www.sevenforums.com/general-discussion/210438-problem-bootable-flash-drive.html#post1762432

 

[donniebob]

Change flash drive type to hard disk

I have an opposite problem. I have a new ScanDisk 64 gig flash drive. I loaded it up with misic. I want to add it as an additional location in the Music Library. Windows 7 won't allow this for removable drives. How can I force Windows to change the drive type to hard drive?

 

[jumanji]

TMK (To My Knowledge ) that is not possible.

 

[decksie]

Hello all, sorry to dig up an old thread but I have the same problem. did anyone find a way that wasn't a workaround?

I contacted Western digital and they said to update the firmware on the drive and my computer drivers. I did all that and no change.

My problem is I have a backup utility that uploads an automatically encrypted backup to online storage space. The way it is configured, because my computer sees my external drive as a hard disk, if I start it up without having my drive mounted, it assume the data has been deleted and deletes the files. I contacted the program owner and they said the disk needs to be recognised as a removable device for this not to happen. I was given the following explanation to what is happening:

"Under Windows, a drive is considered external if the API function GetDriveType does not return DRIVE_FIXED. CD/DVD drives, USB & firewire devices, and mounted network shares are all treated as removable. If the hard drive is reporting it's a "Local Disk," then it is reporting DRIVE_FIXED - it's telling the Windows operating system that it is permanently mounted inside the case to your computer."

Problem is, if WD think that the problem should go away after using their latest firmware the problem (assuming WD is right) has to be something in my windows set up doesn't it?

Thanks

 

[jumanji]

Welcome decksie.

This thread deals with Flash drives showing up differently than as a Removable drive.

Your problem is different from what little I understand.

You will be better off to start a new thread with your problem stated ab-initio.. That way it will catch and get the required attention from others.