usb drive not recognised

[deadmanwalking]

windows 7 32bit has been giving me this error message last few days that it does not recognise my usb flash drive.this happens no matter which usb port i plug it into.my external hdd works no problem as does my usb mouse,the flash drive did work with no issues occuring until about two days ago.
i have not updated anything with at least a week and neither has auto updates. when flash drive is attached under device manager it reads "unknown device" for the flash drive?
i uninstalled all usb drivers,restarted windows,windows then detected and installed drivers, attached flash drive again and still same message.i have searched for solutions on this site but i just want to know what might have caused this problem? the fact that the flash drive did work and now will not is what is bugging me.i do not want to go updating bios and stuff like that as i am nervous of messing with things that could wreck the os

 

[Bill2]

Try unplugging the computer from the power outlet, wait for a few minutes, then power on again, then try using the flash drive.

 

[deadmanwalking]

bill2 i shutdown laptop,unplugged from power outlet,removed battery,held on switch down for ten seconds,replaced battery,turned laptop back on again. still same issue with flash drive not recognised but now i have another issue as well. when i powered laptop back up it would not detect my wireless internet and i know that is working as it was before i went through the above steps
using ethernet cable at the moment to connect but do not know how to proceed from here?

 

[deadmanwalking]

powered down my netopia router(eircom internet),waited ten seconds,powered router on again but laptop still is not picking up the wireless connection obviously i have a valid connection since i am writing this now using the ethernet cable to connect so what could be wrong?

 

[Bill2]

Do you have a wireless on/off switch on your laptop? That might be off. Otherwise, check the adapter settings.

 

[deadmanwalking]

well bill2 you were right,the wireless switch was turned off which is strange since i did not touch it.must have turned it off when i upended laptop to remove battery, Doh! still getting same issue with flash drive not recognised though,thanks for your help anyway

 

[Bill2]

Check the flash drive on another computer.

 

[marsmimar]

Concerning the flash drive not being recognized. Have you tried it in another computer? If another computer can recognize the USB drive and your computer will not, even after loading the appropriate drivers, you might have to assign a drive letter.

 

[deadmanwalking]

waiting for someone to contact me to try the flash drive in their laptop also running windows7. the issue i have though is that 48hrs ago my laptop was picking up the flash drive and all was working fine,now all of a sudden it will not recognise it and i have not done any updates in the meantime
i take the point about assigning a drive letter but i do not believe this will solve the issue since the drive was working two days ago and windows automatically assigned drive letter upon inserting it into usb slot,good suggestion though

 

[marsmimar]

Guess there's always the possibility the flash died an unnatural death. Maybe a power surge, etc. Hopefully testing in another computer will let you know.