Solved USB flash drive not recognized

[proudtobegreek]

A Trancend 8 gb will not be recognized by any means,tried trough command(even in safe mode),registry edits,trancend software,hp software,nada.Disk management lets me assign a new letter but nothing more,windows says please insert a disk into removable disk "H".It was fully operational until yesterday.I dont mind formatting as long its gonna work again.Anybody got a hint,a clue,anything?

 

[MilesAhead]

Is there someplace that will do a virus scan of the drive cheap? I wouldn't plug it into a friend's computer to test it because if there's a virus on it they may not be a friend much longer.

I'd say the possibilities are:

a) something physical in the drive. They are not the most rugged. Electronic stuff may be intermittently connected.

b) the drive picked up a virus

c) the USB port or system you are plugging into is flaky.

First thing I'd do is try to get it tested for virus at a PC store and while they are at it maybe run some other tests, that is if the place doesn't charge a lot for that service.

Once you rule out the virus then you may try some diagnostics like plugging it into a different PC.

 

[proudtobegreek]

virus is out of the question,stick was formatted and wiped clean a few days ago,system is flawless,recognizes multiple other sticks on all other ports.Lookin for a fullproof option to format it,even in fat32,so that i can blame on physical.Diagnostics?

 

[MilesAhead]

I would format it and put some files on. Make an MD5Hash for each file and store it on the HD. Every few days compare the old MD5 to a newly computed one on the stick files to see if they got corrupted. If it stays good over a period of time then you may be ok.

You can use free MD5Hash from my site or another. There are plenty around for download:

FavesSoft Windows Utilities

 

[MilesAhead]

afa the formatting you can do it from command prompt using DiskPart.


1. Go in Start > write “cmd” > right-click the Windows Command Prompt and choose to run it as an Administrator.
2. At the prompt, enter “DISKPART” to launch Microsoft’s disk management utility. It will take a second until it loads and when ready it will read “DISKPART>”.
3. Type in “list disk” to show a list of all disk drives. If your USB key is plugged into your PC, it should be listed here, along with other drives. Note the USB key’s disk number – you can pick it out by looking at the disk capacity.
4. Type “select disk n" (whatever is your USB disk number in place of "n").
5. Type “clean” for the utility to clean the disk, which DiskPart will confirm.
6. Create a new partition by entering “create partition primary”.
7. Choose this partition with “select partition 1", and then mark it as active by typing “active”.
8. Format the key by inputting “format fs=fat32". This should take a few minutes, and DiskPart will display a progress percentage.
9. Lastly, type “assign” to give this USB key a drive letter and “exit” to exit DiskPart.

 

[jumanji]

Try JetFlash online Recovery JetFlash Online Recovery

 

[proudtobegreek]

i gave trancend and that recovery application another try.this time the formating tool worked and with command prompt i am actually formatting this minute. I ll let everybody know how it went.

 

[proudtobegreek]

atfer two hours formatting,it gave me an error,the media is write protected. Got no switches ,no protection applied.

 

[jumanji]

Did you try the JetFlash Online Recovery tool?

Did it not format your Transcend pendrive? (as in the screenshot below)



( Why did you have to use the command line to format? )

 

[proudtobegreek]

The recovery tool claimed to do its job,but still unreadable,so i moved on with the command which failed due to write protection,back to starting point.

 

[jumanji]

According to their website, either the format will go through without any error (in which case it is assumed that the pendrive has been given life) or will display an error message as below.



From what you say the format did go through and still you are not able to write or Read. Am I right?

Let me ask what happened when you tried to write after formatting with that utility?

Did it give any write protected error message then?

Did you check how the pendrive appeared in the Disk Management? Was it recognised and did it get a drive letter? Did it show that it is formatted?

At your leisure, repeat the exercise and let us know. Atleast I am curious to know what exactly the utility did or didn't do.( I have seen many success stories with that utility.)

(That said, if your pendrive is still under warranty, get it replaced. Contact your vendor. May be he will replace it immediately.)

 

[proudtobegreek]

sorry i was not accurent,recovery tool says:format failed error 0x1405.afa dskmgmnt,it shows up with its letter,lets me assign a new letter but nothing more.repeated the exercise with no results.

 

[MilesAhead]

Did you try the diskpart procedure step by step? That has a much higher chance of success than using disk management applet.

Also these key drives aren't the most solid. The first one I bought was Sandisk titanium because the review made a big deal about the solid construction. Well it's a "sliding guts" design and I lost all my data after only using it maybe a dozen times. I'll never buy "sliding guts" design key drive again. No moving parts. Even so plugging and unplugging it's not that tough to put stress on the thing. If the data is not critical it may be more hassle than it's worth. If you paid less than $50 it might be a chuck and forget solution.

 

[proudtobegreek]

believe me,step by step.if nothing new comes up,i will consider the stick as damaged and open it s guts for some...interial examination,cant profit from your losses,greek sayin.

 

[jumanji]

Yep, if the Online Recovery tool said format failed, then I would take that your pendrive is beyond redemption.

As suggested by me earlier try to get a replacement. I think Transcend drives carry a lifetime warranty or a long warranty replacement.

 

[proudtobegreek]

thank you everybody for trying,it was worth the try and i learned a lot from the command sheme.I ll open it up and use its housing for some mods,nice that somebody out there listens or reads...

 

[DimWit]

afa the formatting you can do it from command prompt using DiskPart.
1. Go in Start > write “cmd” > right-click the Windows Command Prompt and choose to run it as an Administrator.
2. At the prompt, enter “DISKPART” to launch Microsoft’s disk management utility. It will take a second until it loads and when ready it will read “DISKPART>”.
3. Type in “list disk” to show a list of all disk drives. If your USB key is plugged into your PC, it should be listed here, along with other drives. Note the USB key’s disk number – you can pick it out by looking at the disk capacity.
4. Type “select disk n" (whatever is your USB disk number in place of "n").
5. Type “clean” for the utility to clean the disk, which DiskPart will confirm.
6. Create a new partition by entering “create partition primary”.
7. Choose this partition with “select partition 1", and then mark it as active by typing “active”.
8. Format the key by inputting “format fs=fat32". This should take a few minutes, and DiskPart will display a progress percentage.
9. Lastly, type “assign” to give this USB key a drive letter and “exit” to exit DiskPart.

I used the above instructions to rescue a fairly new 8GB fast USB stick that had been in use on a Linux system that had for some reason become corrupted in that when plugged into my Win7 PC it did not appear in Explorer at all and was shown as "Drive 7" in Disk Management with 3 RAW partitions, refused to be formatted and refused to accept a Drive letter.
After formatting as described, the junked stick was restored to as-new condition.
Thanks, MilesAhead!