USB thumb drive suddenly invisible

daveh551 · 01-10-2009, 08:55 AM

I have a 2GB USB2.0 Thumb drive that I use to transport files, primarily from work to home. It has been working fine for some time. I copied some files off it last night.

This morning, when I put it in the computer, nothing happens -- no "ding", not visible in My Computer (or Disk Storage Manager). The red led in the drive doesn't even come on. And 1) I've tried other devices in that same port on that same computer and they're all fine 2) I've tried this device in 3 different computers (all running XP Pro SP3), and the same behavior in each of them.

I'm concluding something has happened to the drive itself. I've googled everything I can think of, and I see lots of posts on Windows reporting an "Unrecognized USB device" or something similar, but Windows isn't doing anything with this one.

The drive is cheap, and, fortunately, I only have a few days of work on it, but I really would like to be able to get it off of there. Does anyone know a solution?

For what it's worth, the drive is an EMPREX stick (no markings that I can see other than USB 2.0 and the size), and it's relatively new (several months old with relatively little use), so it's nowhere near the 100,000-200,000 re-write cycle limit. Two of the machines are Dell laptops, and it has worked in both of them before. The 3rd is a Compaq Presario desktop, and it's worked in it before.

Any help would be appreciated.

**vladimirb** · 01-10-2009, 10:11 AM

Hello and welcome to TSF...
I am afraid your USB thumb drive is dead...
If it is not recongnizable on three different PCs, and if your PC was able to detect other devices than thumb drive is dead...

01-10-2009, 08:55 AM	#1 (permalink)
daveh551 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1 OS: XP Pro SP3	USB thumb drive suddenly invisible I have a 2GB USB2.0 Thumb drive that I use to transport files, primarily from work to home. It has been working fine for some time. I copied some files off it last night. This morning, when I put it in the computer, nothing happens -- no "ding", not visible in My Computer (or Disk Storage Manager). The red led in the drive doesn't even come on. And 1) I've tried other devices in that same port on that same computer and they're all fine 2) I've tried this device in 3 different computers (all running XP Pro SP3), and the same behavior in each of them. I'm concluding something has happened to the drive itself. I've googled everything I can think of, and I see lots of posts on Windows reporting an "Unrecognized USB device" or something similar, but Windows isn't doing anything with this one. The drive is cheap, and, fortunately, I only have a few days of work on it, but I really would like to be able to get it off of there. Does anyone know a solution? For what it's worth, the drive is an EMPREX stick (no markings that I can see other than USB 2.0 and the size), and it's relatively new (several months old with relatively little use), so it's nowhere near the 100,000-200,000 re-write cycle limit. Two of the machines are Dell laptops, and it has worked in both of them before. The 3rd is a Compaq Presario desktop, and it's worked in it before. Any help would be appreciated.

01-10-2009, 10:11 AM	#2 (permalink)
vladimirb Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Banja Luka, Serb Republic Posts: 3,661 OS: xp pro sp3, Server 2003, Windows 7 Professional x64bit My System	Re: USB thumb drive suddenly invisible Hello and welcome to TSF... I am afraid your USB thumb drive is dead... If it is not recongnizable on three different PCs, and if your PC was able to detect other devices than thumb drive is dead... __________________ MCP - MCSA Cisco SMB Account Manager