16GB USB Flash Drive Not Showing Up in My Computer

[MrDeftino]

Hey guys, my girlfriend has asked me to try and fix her usb flash drive as it's not showing up in my computer on any system, and on any USB port. This is the drive she has: http://www.amazon.co.uk/YooUSB-CUTE-Penguin-YOOUSB-Drive/dp/B00ABSMR7A/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1413898285&sr=8-2&keywords=penguin+usb+memory+stick+16gb

I will list things I have tried and details about the problem.

Details: When in Computer Disk Management, the drive appears as drive F and has "no media" under it. There should be some media on it as she uses it for University work. I have tried changing the drive letter to run a checkdisk (chkdsk F: /f) but no matter what drive letter it is I get "Cannot open volume for direct access" whenever I try to run a checkdisk.

When the drive is inserted into the system, it installs the drivers normally and there are no problems, but it still does not show up in My Computer. I have tried uninstalling the driver and reinserting the drive but the same thing occurs.

I have tried running SeaTools for Windows and doing a Long Generic scan of the drive for issues. It completed and nothing was out of the ordinary, drive still is not fixed.

This is the limit of my technical know-how, I need some of you smart guys on the case. Any ideas please let me know.

Thanks guys.

 

[tcottrell]

Maybe it's just broken a 16gb flash drive is fairly inexpensive to replace.

 

[Boogieman_WD]

Hey MrDeftino. What does it say in Disk Management about the partition? It might be corrupted or something and you should try data recovery software to extract any important files she may have. Then try reformatting it. It is a possibility that the flash drive has failed as tcottrell mentioned.

Edit: You could also take a look at that thread to see if it helps you with the chkdsk issue: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-performance/chkdsk-error-cannot-open-volume-for-direct-access/5f8c4a7f-e609-445b-a63d-aa63f7112440

Boogieman_WD

 

[sora]

What does it say in Device Manager? Is it even read?

 

[yolkgulp]

This is the exact problem i have and i was wondering about the data recovery software you are referring too?

 

[Boogieman_WD]

Hey there, yolkgulp.

You could try accessing the USB flash drive via Linux Live CD/USB as well, in order to find out if it's properly recognized and if you're able to get to your data. If that doesn't work, you could try some of the data recovery options, mentioned in this thread: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-1644496/lost-data-recovery.html

Hope that helps.
Boogieman_WD

 

[GreyCatz]

Hello,

I'm new to this site, but I have the exact same problem as MrDeftino although I would like to enlarge on the matter:

a) My 32 GB NAND Flash USB 3.0 was used to create a Win8.1 recovery image file. That didn't work, but I got the OS installed later on.

b) Now, the USB won't appear in Windows Explorer, but it will appear in my Device Manager in 2 places: As a disk drive (no drive letter) and as a portable device (drive letter K only). It also appears in my Disk Manager with drive letter K and "No Media", as with MrDeftino.

c) I can't do anything with the USB (Error: Insert disk): I've tried DOS commands, been to the REGEDIT feature and downloaded numerous recovery applications - all to no avail.

d) It's as if the USB is now an external optical drive, and now Windows is confused as to what it should do so it does nothing...

Unlike most others with this problem, I haven't really lost anything (except a useless image file and, possibly, a $40 USB), but I'd like to know if it's possible to reverse the process, i.e. to turn the optical USB drive back into a regular, and useable, USB flash device?

I would greatly appreciate any comment. Thanks.

 

[GreyCatz]

It's good news, everybody!

This is indeed a great site! I've just read a post by user LYNXeffect and here is what you do with this particular problem:

USBs are proprietary items and the manufacturers have web sites with online support. In my case, I went to Transcend's support page and searched for JetFlash Online Recovery. I downloaded OnLineRecovery_v1.0.0.41, and it worked!!

I'm now the happy "re-owner" of my 32 GB USB stick. So, take a close look at your USB and google its name, e.g. Integral or Kingston.

Transcend can be found here:
http://www.transcend-info.com/Products/online_recovery_2.asp?LangNo=0

And thanks to all who offer their time and skills to help others!