Is this flash drive toast?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ronin
  • Start date Start date
R

Ronin

Friend has a flash drive that was working OK, but when he plugged it in
yesterday, it didn't show in Explorer. When he plugs it in it makes the
appropriate sounds, but it doesn't appear in Explorer or Disk management. We
uninstalled all of the pertinent entries in Device Manager and tried it
again, and it all reinstalled perfectly, gave notice that it was in stalled,
etc., but in addition to not showing up, there is no "Safely Remove
Hardware" icon, no mention of the device when I force the "safely remove"
dialogue.

Tried it on another machine with the same results, tried another stick on my
friend's machine and it works fine. Is this thing toast? Is there no utility
that can reach into the "drive's" guts and make it come back out of hiding,
or is it irrecoverable corruption?
 
Ronin said:
Friend has a flash drive that was working OK, but when he plugged it in
yesterday, it didn't show in Explorer. When he plugs it in it makes the
appropriate sounds, but it doesn't appear in Explorer or Disk management.
We uninstalled all of the pertinent entries in Device Manager and tried it
again, and it all reinstalled perfectly, gave notice that it was in
stalled, etc., but in addition to not showing up, there is no "Safely
Remove Hardware" icon, no mention of the device when I force the "safely
remove" dialogue.

Tried it on another machine with the same results, tried another stick on
my friend's machine and it works fine. Is this thing toast? Is there no
utility that can reach into the "drive's" guts and make it come back out
of hiding, or is it irrecoverable corruption?
Click to expand...

USB flash drives have a tendency to suddenly and irretrievably fail.

This is why they are good for conveniently transporting files that you
already have, but should *never* be used as working file storage or as
backup media.

Because of this tendency to fail, I've just stopped using them, and instead
use portable drives that use different technology. An iPod can be a
handy option.

HTH
-pk
 
Patrick Keenan said:
USB flash drives have a tendency to suddenly and irretrievably fail.

This is why they are good for conveniently transporting files that you
already have, but should *never* be used as working file storage or as
backup media.

Because of this tendency to fail, I've just stopped using them, and
instead use portable drives that use different technology. An iPod can
be a handy option.

HTH
-pk
Click to expand...

Thanks, Patrick. I was aware of those issues, and I don't use them much
either. Still, my friend and I believe he inadvertently removed the stick
immediately after inserting it, while it was in the middle of "installing",
and then reinserted it. He has a form of chorea that involves gross tremors
and spasms, and what he observed on screen and via the sound prompts leads
him to that conclusion. No biggy, though. Nothing that can't be replaced.
More a PITA than a disaster, and an opportunity to research possibilities
and learn.

My thanks to you MVPs (and other volunteers.) The cyberworld would be quite
different without you.
 
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