Computer help!!!

the_Journeyman · August 04, 2011, 05:29:50 PM

So... My wife's flash drive suddenly stopped working.

I plug it up, using different OS on different computers and nothing happens. Then it gets fairly warm to the touch when left plugged in for a while.

She has a lot of important documents, and some aren't backed up anywhere else. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

JM

mitt · August 05, 2011, 06:51:06 AM

Quote from: the_Journeyman on August 04, 2011, 05:29:50 PM
So... My wife's flash drive suddenly stopped working.

I plug it up, using different OS on different computers and nothing happens. Then it gets fairly warm to the touch when left plugged in for a while.

She has a lot of important documents, and some aren't backed up anywhere else. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

JM

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but flash drives are not very robust, and it is probably toast. You have tried first idea w/ the different computers.

What type of windows have you tried it on? If it is not showing up in explorer there is a chance it could just be a naming conflict problem (f:, g:, etc). There is a virus that resides on flash drives that causes them to "disappear" from explorer view.

In xp you can try to see the removable media a 2nd way by
right clicking on "my computer" -> manage -> storage -> removable storage -> media

from there, you can rename the drive letter associated with it.

good luck.

mitt

the_Journeyman · August 05, 2011, 08:34:25 AM

It doesn't even light up the LED on the drive when it plugs in. I've tried it on XP, Vista, and 7. Once I had it out of the casing, one of the chips gets really hot within seconds of being plugged in. That makes me think that particular chip is toast.

JM

take risks · August 05, 2011, 10:41:03 AM

yep, put some butter on it.

what brand is it?

the_Journeyman · August 05, 2011, 04:14:03 PM

Sandisk Cruzer. First one I've had go bad.

JM

take risks · August 05, 2011, 05:38:52 PM

sucks those are usually solid.

i have never figured out how to make those come back to life.

good luck.

gregrnel · August 08, 2011, 05:11:17 PM

Try throwing it in a Mac, the disk utility repair function is much better that in Win, it's formatted FAT16 or 32 so it's readable. A Mac might just read it w/o the utility, I've also had that happen before. If that fails, load up a disk based OS, Ubuntu and give that a shot. Rarely, and I do support for a livin', have I seen a USB drive become completely unreadable by every OS.

the_Journeyman · August 08, 2011, 07:23:46 PM

If I run across a Mac, I'll do that. My Ubuntu disc is FUBAR. The fact one of the chips gets uncomfortably hot (jerk finger away, check for a blister) within seconds of plugging in makes me think it's dead.

JM

hurricane1 · August 08, 2011, 10:08:20 PM

The heat thing makes me think it is not only dead but probably unsafe to use. It might fry your usb port. I have a flash drive that works on my desktop but not on my laptop, so it could be the usb port, but if it has worked in that port in the past then that is probably not it.

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Computer help!!!