# Flash drive doesn't work



## laurfar (Nov 27, 1999)

Hi, 
I don't know much about a flash drive but we have one plugged into one of my front USB Ports on my PC. When I tried to backup my work onto it I got a pop up saying that the F drive isn't ready to receive data. I pulled the flash drive out and reinserted it into another front USB port to see if it would work, but no. Can someone tell me if this is what happens when the drive is full. I have a 2G "Attache" Flash Drive and I've stored my Quickbooks info on it. Is there some directions I can follow to see if my front USB Ports are working, or is it the flash drive that is the problem?
Any thoughts? I need some step by step directions to follow.
Thanks


----------



## RogueSpear00 (Jan 18, 2008)

Some more detailed information would be nice on this one. When you plug in the drive, does it show up in your Device Manager at all? (Right Click "My Computer" > Properties > Hardware Tab > Device Manager) Look in the USB Devices (should be near bottom) or in the Disk Drives section. Do you see any errors, exclamation points or red X's on any of the devices? Does the Flash Drive show up at all? If it's a Attache it should show something like PNY **** etc.

Just a side note - Flash drives should NEVER EVER be used for a backup medium. Flash drives are meant for a temporary transportation of data, not a means to "backup" for disaster recovery or anything.


----------



## laurfar (Nov 27, 1999)

Wow, didn't know that flash drives shouldn't be used for backup. What should I use for disaster recovery? Thanks for cluing me in.
I followed your instructions to look at the device manager and found no red marks or exclamation points, and I don't see anything that would be my flashdrive, unless I just don't know what I'm looking for. There was nothing that said PNY on the list, only one thing that says USBNULL HPO08 and that looks like my HP officejet 6100.


----------



## matthew0155 (Jan 14, 2008)

a cd?


----------



## SB305 (Sep 20, 2007)

RogueSpear00 said:


> Flash drives should NEVER EVER be used for a backup medium. Flash drives are meant for a temporary transportation of data, not a means to "backup" for disaster recovery or anything.


Based on experience with over a dozen flash drives ranging from 256MB to 8GB, used constantly, I could not disagree more.
What do you suggest as a more reliable medium? Optical disks burned on a PC I've found too often to fail within a couple of years. Hard drives generally are considered good for 5 years after which longevity is pot luck. I notice that the manufacturer of one of my flash drives is confident enough to state that it will be good for at least 10 years. Although I've used them for only about 5 years, I had only one fail and that was caused by a mechanical fault.


----------



## Rich-M (May 3, 2006)

SB305 said:


> Based on experience with over a dozen flash drives ranging from 256MB to 8GB, used constantly, I could not disagree more.
> What do you suggest as a more reliable medium? Optical disks burned on a PC I've found too often to fail within a couple of years. Hard drives generally are considered good for 5 years after which longevity is pot luck. I notice that the manufacturer of one of my flash drives is confident enough to state that it will be good for at least 10 years. Although I've used them for only about 5 years, I had only one fail and that was caused by a mechanical fault.


I have to agree these forums are littered with posts about flash drives not recognized, I would never chance one for backup, only transfer. I am not thrilled with reliability of cd's either but they are much more stable than a flash drive so next best would be an external hard drive or another internal hard drive.


----------



## SB305 (Sep 20, 2007)

First of all, apologies to laurfar: I can suggest only that you try the unrecognised flash drive in another PC if one is available.
To Rich-M: Don't know about you but I have a few gigabytes of data which might cause problems or regret were it lost. Had I used a bit of gumption, bearing in mind the long-term unreliability and early obsolescence of home computer media, much of that data would still be in its original paper state. In any event, I've just finished backing it up to external hard drives, DVD-Rs and flash disks. Of the three types of media, I'd gamble on the flash disks being there and remaining functional and capable of being accessed by contemporary equipment longest. They're also uniquely small (if you ignore fiddly SD cards, etc.) a huge advantage for easy physical retention and availability. They need no fans and have no moving parts except plugs and sockets. 
You pays your money and you takes your choice.


----------



## laurfar (Nov 27, 1999)

Thanks SB305 for the idea of trying my flashdrive on another computer. If it's not the flash drive is there any way to help the USB ports on the front of my PC?


----------



## SB305 (Sep 20, 2007)

Hello, laurfar. We don't know much about your PC except that it's running XP. Is XP updated to SP2? Presumably the PC also has USB ports on the back. If so, have you tried the flash disk in those or are they too awkward to get at? I use short extension leads (often supplied with the flash disk) to run flash disks from the rear connectors.
I don't like fiddling with malfunctioning front USB ports because the internal connectors are often several separate leads rather than a convenient single block and connecting them improperly can do a lot of damage. That said, the motherboard manual always specifies how the connections should be made and the leads themselves are labelled.
Is your PC home-built? Have you opened it to check whether the front USB ports are connected; or does any other USB device run successfully from the front ports?


----------



## laurfar (Nov 27, 1999)

Yes I'm using XP but don't know how to update to SP2, need help on that one. I did as you suggested and checked my flash drive on another PC since my back USB ports are tough to get to. My friends PC didn't recognize my flash drive either, so that shows me that it is the flash drive. I need to get another and try it on my front USB ports to see if those are a problem as well.
I haven't taken the PC apart physically, and probably would take it some PC repair place to do that. Is there anything I can do without dismantling the actual PC that might check within my system to see if the USB Ports are OK? Like is there anything that lets me "click" my way to checking these thing on the hard drive?Thanks


----------



## Rich-M (May 3, 2006)

laurfar said:


> Yes I'm using XP but don't know how to update to SP2, need help on that one. I did as you suggested and checked my flash drive on another PC since my back USB ports are tough to get to. My friends PC didn't recognize my flash drive either, so that shows me that it is the flash drive. I need to get another and try it on my front USB ports to see if those are a problem as well.
> I haven't taken the PC apart physically, and probably would take it some PC repair place to do that. Is there anything I can do without dismantling the actual PC that might check within my system to see if the USB Ports are OK? Like is there anything that lets me "click" my way to checking these thing on the hard drive?Thanks


Go "Run","devmgmt.msc" hit enter and scroll all the way to the bottom under Usb and click open ...see if any of the first bunch which are controllers say "enhanced" or "enhanced usb 2.0" in the description. If one does then your usb ports are fine.


----------



## SB305 (Sep 20, 2007)

Hello again, laurfar. SP2 is Windows XP Service Pack 2, available using Windows Update. If you haven't already got it, I'd guess you're way behind with all the critical updates issued by Microsoft. If so, even on broadband, it will take you a long while in downloading to get up-to-date. Still, it's something you should consider to get your PC running smoothly. Unfortunately, as with everything Windows, you'll find a load of threads here detailing the problems people have had with some updates.
Service Pack 3, consolidating earlier updates, is reputed to be imminently due for release by Microsoft and I'm hoping it'll soon be issued along with computer magazines' cover disks just as SP2 was.
The quickest way to check whether your front USB ports are OK is to plug another USB device, known to be working properly, into them. If the ports ARE defective they could conceivably damage that device, though. 
What PC did you use to transfer your Quickbooks data to the non-working flash drive in the first place?


----------

