PC Won't Recognize USB Flash/Thumb Drive!

[Baasha]

I have had a PLEOMAX (Samsung?) 8GB flash/thumb drive for a few years and it has worked flawlessly.

Two days ago, I plugged it into my keyboard's (Razer Blackwidow Ultimate) USB slot and as usual the AutoPlay popup window came up. When I clicked "Open Folder to View Files" I immediately got this circling reticle (the blue ring) and the background of that AutoPlay window faded and went to white. I noticed it said "(Not Responding)" on the top so I was like WTF but I waited. Two (2) minutes later, it was still sitting there "Not Responding" so I pulled out (like a boss) the USB thumb drive.

Now, when I plug the drive back in, the AutoPlay window never shows up. The drive does NOT appear in "Computer". The drive does NOT even show up in Disk Management!! It does show up in the Device Manager however as "CORNICE Mass Storage" or something like that but I can't seem to access the drive at all.

This is so frustrating because I have some VERY IMPORTANT files on that USB drive that I need ASAP. I can't get the drive to show up anywhere and it won't work on any computer! I tried Macbook Air, two other PCs (Windows 7), and my other VAIO laptop. None of them seem to recognize the USB drive! They all show the drive in the Device Manager but that's it.

I even tried other USB ports etc. to no avail. :thumbsdown:

Please help! I really need to access the files on this USB Thumb/Flash drive right away.

 

[Puppies04]

Sorry bud sounds like it died .

 

[VirtualLarry]

http://www.recovermyflashdrive.com/

Perhaps these guys can help?

PS. Remember to back up your flash drive regularly, in the future.

 

[Baasha]

http://www.recovermyflashdrive.com/

Perhaps these guys can help?

PS. Remember to back up your flash drive regularly, in the future.

Thanks for the link and suggestion.

It definitely seems to be dead. However, would the drive even show up in Device Manager as CORNICE Dragon USB if it is "dead"?

I will call those guys and see what they can do. I NEED some files on that drive. Should've backed up the contents on that drive! ARRGH..

 

[Bubbaleone]

Safely disconnect physical USB drives. Copy and paste (below) into Notepad. Name file "setdev.bat", save as "all files" (NOT .txt), and save to Desktop.

set DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES=1
start devmgmt.msc

Double-click "setdev.bat" to open an advanced MMC version of Device Manager. Click "View">"Devices by type">"Show hidden devices".

Notice in addition to the normal icons that there are also "ghosted" (pale, translucent-gray) icons. These are devices no longer installed, but still in the registry.

• Starting at the top of the list, with "Disk Drives", click the + sign to expand, and uninstall all normal and ghosted USB devices. Ignore any prompts to reboot (very important).

• Under "DVD/CD-ROM drives" uninstall all normal and ghosted USB devices (if any). Ignore any prompts to reboot (very important).

• Under "Keyboards", and "Mice and other pointing devices", uninstall all normal and ghosted USB devices. Ignore any prompts to reboot (very important).

• Under "Storage volumes" uninstall only the ghosted "generic volume": there will probably be several. Ignore any prompts to reboot (very important).

• Under "Universal Serial Bus Contrllers" uninstall EVERYTHING. Now reboot.

Plug the drive in once your back to the desktop. Open Disk Management and see if the drive is now recognized. If it is, but no longer has an assigned drive letter, you'll have to manually assign a drive letter before you'll be able to access your files.

No guarantees here: Your data may or may not already be corrupted, but this will give you the best chance to have the drive properly detected if the drive itself isn't smoked.

 

[dbcooper1]

Sounds like the device might be okay but the partition got deleted or altered somehow.

 

[sm625]

Take it out of the enclosure and look at the solder connections where the usb header meets the pcb.
See below image, it is where those 4 arrows on the right are pointing.

I've had that connection break a couple of times. Its an easy fix, if you have an iron and some flux. (Both are commodity items these days.)