Problem with new flashdrive

[Prot]

I bought a 1GB Sandisk Micro Cruzer with U3, and I can not get my system to recognize it. I am running XP Pro SP2, and the USB 2.0 chipset is Intel. The computers at school (also Win XP Pro) can recognize it, but for some reason my computer will not. It WILL see the CD drive and removable storage after a few minutes, but will show nothing in those drives.

I thought at first it might be the way my drives were mapped. Since I added the second hard drive last, that drive shows up as F: instead of D: as you might think. Using drive management, I renamed the drives thinking this might be the cause, but alas, it was not. I guess I should have realized it would not work since Windows could not recognize the USB device fully.

Any help would be appreciated. My computer specs are available to look at.

TIA

[redwudz]

I can't imagine why it wouldn't be recognized. Have you checked Control Panel>Administrative Tools>Computer Management>Storage>Disk Management? Maybe it needs to be formatted? I've never had any problem with my USB flash drives of various sizes, USB 1.1 and 2 with about any system I have plugged them into.

[Prot]

Doesn't need to be formatted since I know it works on other computers. It has 4 MB reserved that acts like a CD drive. The necessary files are in ROM, but I can't even see those files. The other computers recognized the flashdrive right away, but not mine. I have a 512 MB Sandisk that is recognized by my system, but not this new drive for some reason. I tried all 6 USB ports, but still nothing.
I have a tech question submitted to Sandisk. Maybe they have an idea.

[b1tchm4gn3t]

Have you tried it in another computer?

[waheed]

Have you tried it in another computer?

The computers at school (also Win XP Pro) can recognize it, but for some reason my computer will not.

Try re-install your USB 2.0 Drivers.

[ROF]

Are you connecting it to a USB port or through a USB Hub? Sometimes connecting through a self-powered hub will not supply enough power to "jump start" the drive. connect it directly to the PC USB Port to resolve this.

You may also want to check if the encryption is enabled on the drive. This can also prevent a drive from being recognized when plugged in.

[Prot]

Like I've said before, my other Sandisk flashdrive, 512MB, is recognized, but not this new one.
Win XP has built-in USB 2.0 drivers, but I uninstalled, and reinstalled the USB 2.0 controller just to be sure. Still no dice.
When I insert the flashdrive, it shows a USB device has been plugged in, but no messages as to what the device is. When I open Explorer to look at the USB drives, after a minute or so, it shows a CD drive and a removable drive, but nothing inside them.
And yes, I am hooking directly up to the port, not a hub. And since other computers can recognize it, I have to assume that it is not encrypted.

I have to admit this has me stumped. I even disconnected the other USB devices just to verify there was not a conflict. I am beginning to think that it has to do with my chipset -
USB - Intel 82801EB
MB - Intel 865PE

[b1tchm4gn3t]

Prot wrote:
The computers at school (also Win XP Pro) can recognize it, but for some reason my computer will not.

Sorry...I swear I didnt see that!

[Headbanger's Ball]

Would it be a driver conflict? They're both SanDisk.

[SLK001]

Sometime my XP Pro requires a system reboot to recover from the "not acknowledged" status (I just had to go thru one). While it is in this state, you can go to the DEVICE MANAGER->DISK DRIVES and see the flash drive, but EXPLORER does not.

Probably another bug (AKA: "feature") in XP.

[Prot]

I talked with Sandisk tech support, but could not get it to work. It is probably one of two problems:
1) My USB chipset will not recognize it
2) There is a software conflict somewhere on my system

I am more enclined towards number 1, because a software conflict would not explain why Windows could not detect the new hardware. Problem number 2 would explain why it could not write.
Who knows....it might be a combination of both.

That being said......I took it back to store and got my money back. Since the store (Best Buy) did not have any other 1 GB flashdrives on sale, or any other Sandisk 1GB that were NOT U3 enabled, I went to another store (Staples) and got the Sony MicroVault 1GB. It ended up only being $5 more. I further made sure it was not U3 enabled.

[redwudz]

I've got a Sony microvault 2Gb. Works great with any system I've used it on. The only worry I have is dropping it. Being it is a miniature hard drive, I wonder if it will survive the drop.

I've ran one of my solid state flash drives through a washer and dryer cycle and it's plenty tough as it survived with no permanent damage. It was really clean too.