USB stick problem

BlueMak · Sep 4, 2008, 11:31 AM

My mother has a Kingston USB stick, I think 2GB capacity, where she stored some important personal files of hers. In three different PCs the stick is not recognised properly. I get error message that there is something wrong with it and to try to re insert it and if that fails to try another one...

Is it dead for good or are there any tricks that might help?

Tried Vista (her notebook) and XP, same result.

Judas · Sep 4, 2008, 03:45 PM

if it just suddenly started doing that.... theres a good chance it died for no apparent reason.

check the metal contacts to make sure they are straight and not dirty.

P4raDoXx · Sep 7, 2008, 06:18 PM

my english teacher had 3 USB sticks do that same thing to her. no computer would recognise them. i could never find out why, but one of them would work on my laptop but on nothing else...

Tipstaff · Sep 8, 2008, 01:33 AM

If the data is critical, and you (or she) is willing to pay some money, take a look at this program called Zero Assumption Recovery. Right now it's on sale for $30, and is worth every penny. I use this program all the time to recover data from drives of all types, such as RAW drives (ones that have a deleted MBR for instance or that have been formated by accident), I've used it to rebuild RAID setups, recover corrupted partitions, and I've used it to get data off flash pens that looked like they were dead.

Sep 4, 2008, 11:31 AM	#1
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,465 Rep Power: 349 System Specs	USB stick problem My mother has a Kingston USB stick, I think 2GB capacity, where she stored some important personal files of hers. In three different PCs the stick is not recognised properly. I get error message that there is something wrong with it and to try to re insert it and if that fails to try another one... Is it dead for good or are there any tricks that might help? Tried Vista (her notebook) and XP, same result. __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*

Sep 7, 2008, 06:18 PM	#3
P4raDoXx DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Edmonton, AB, Canada Posts: 65 Rep Power: 0	my english teacher had 3 USB sticks do that same thing to her. no computer would recognise them. i could never find out why, but one of them would work on my laptop but on nothing else... __________________ P4RADOXX: Intel Core Quad Q6600 @ 2.40Ghz \| BFG nVidia GTX 260 OCX \| eVGA nVidia nForce 680i \| 2GB DDR2 800Mhz Mushkin XP2 \| 80GB Seagate 7800.10 (System Drive) \| 500GB Seagate 7800.10 (Storage Drive) \| PC Power and Cooling 600 \| Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer \| Antec P-182 SE \| Windows Vista Home Premium (x64) \| Acer AL2223W 22" Widescreen \| Logitech G9 Mouse \| Logitech G15 Keyboard PCMARK06: 10,035

Sep 8, 2008, 01:33 AM	#4
Tipstaff HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Real capital of Canada: Torauna Posts: 6,773 Rep Power: 190 System Specs	If the data is critical, and you (or she) is willing to pay some money, take a look at this program called Zero Assumption Recovery. Right now it's on sale for $30, and is worth every penny. I use this program all the time to recover data from drives of all types, such as RAW drives (ones that have a deleted MBR for instance or that have been formated by accident), I've used it to rebuild RAID setups, recover corrupted partitions, and I've used it to get data off flash pens that looked like they were dead. __________________ Portal: The Flash Version _________________________________ Brain: So, you sacked the cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker? Mr. Sackett: The second cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker I've sacked since the sixth sitting sheet slitter got sick.