USB flash drive no longer working
I have a Kingston DataTraveler USB flash drive of 4gb that used to work fine until this morning, when I conect it to the computer I can hear the windows sound when it detects a new component and then the sound you usually hear when you disconnect it. I tryed on a different computer and after automatically installing the drivers it says "there was an error installing the hardware and may not function properly" and I cannot see the drive in "my computer" (not even an error icon, or a drive letter with a sign or something)
I really need the information I have in that USB, any ideas??? Help!!!
I really need the information I have in that USB, any ideas??? Help!!!
iceblock
In device manager, are there any errors on the USB Host controller or root hub entries?
right-click My Computer, select "Manage" and "Disk Manager"
Does it show up in there? It may have gotten corrupted, if it is not formatted properly, it will beep, but not show up in My Computer.
Does it show up in there? It may have gotten corrupted, if it is not formatted properly, it will beep, but not show up in My Computer.
ASKER
Hello,
No, I don't see it in the disk manager and also I can't see it in the "device manager"...
No, I don't see it in the disk manager and also I can't see it in the "device manager"...
If you scroll to the bottom of devce manager, there should be an entry called Universal Serial Bus Controllers. Expand that entry and look at the entries below it. Do any have warnings or x's?
ASKER
No, I don't see any.
With the device manager open, at the moment I plug the USB drive I can see how it refreshes automatically and adds an "USB Mass Storage Device" to the list in "Universal Serial Bus Controllers" then it refreshes itself again and that device is gone, I guess it should show an error message but no, I don't see anything...
I tryed using the Data Doctor Recovery but does not recognizes the drive. I also tried in a different pc...
With the device manager open, at the moment I plug the USB drive I can see how it refreshes automatically and adds an "USB Mass Storage Device" to the list in "Universal Serial Bus Controllers" then it refreshes itself again and that device is gone, I guess it should show an error message but no, I don't see anything...
I tryed using the Data Doctor Recovery but does not recognizes the drive. I also tried in a different pc...
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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Try the stick on other PC first see if it works just fine.
if you tried it on another PC - it may just be bad
but try this tool too (helped me in the past) :
http://drivers.softpedia.com/get/Other-DRIVERS-TOOLS/Others/Sony-EzRecover.shtml
another couple recovery tools :
http://www.handyrecovery.com/ handy recovery
http://www.snapfiles.com/download/dlsmartrecovery.html usb key recovery FREE
but try this tool too (helped me in the past) :
http://drivers.softpedia.com/get/Other-DRIVERS-TOOLS/Others/Sony-EzRecover.shtml
another couple recovery tools :
http://www.handyrecovery.com/ handy recovery
http://www.snapfiles.com/download/dlsmartrecovery.html usb key recovery FREE
- Plug it on the back usb ports of your PC
- If you have problems you can use R-Studio to recover your files
- If you have problems you can use R-Studio to recover your files
If another machine can't see it either it's likely to be the drive that has failed. They do have a limited lifespan.
However the weak point on them can be the USB connector. If the data is that important it's worth seeing if the soldered joints between the connector and the PCB with the memory chip(s) are intact. Sometimes you can feel movement between the usb plug and the rest of the stick. These can be successfully resoldered.
However the weak point on them can be the USB connector. If the data is that important it's worth seeing if the soldered joints between the connector and the PCB with the memory chip(s) are intact. Sometimes you can feel movement between the usb plug and the rest of the stick. These can be successfully resoldered.