Hi my 8gb usb flash drive has got problems, when i insert it into my laptop it comes up as removable disk with a drive letter, but i can't use it It keeps saying please insert a disk into removable drive. Ive tried formatting it through my computer but it says no disk is inserted. under properties it says its 0mb.So after searching thru google I'm told it needs a low level format, but every program I try can't see the usb drive they only see my laptops HDD. can anyone point me in the right direction, thanks.Michael

It is faulty, throw it away

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You can try check what controller is inside and than use proper formatter to fix it. Sometimes it works. But remember, you lose all data on flash!

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Odzyskiwanie danych

Hi, if you want the data, then going in that direction is going to kill all chances of that. If you don't, then may as well experiment with it if you want, or have the time or are interested.

to do:

-open the drive, be careful as a knife can easily knock off small surface mount parts.. that would kill everything for you right there. Most times this is easy.

- Open a new text file, read the controller chip numbers and record them (small square one)

-read the NAND chip numbers and record them

-record any stickers inside with numbers like "8G S 511-12062210", this can help you know what firmware you need later

-search for your controller number on flashboot.ru(google translate is your friend) or another similar sight which Ive forgotton the name of..no here: http://bbs.mydigit.cn very full of annoying grahics, ads and ahhh crap.. or the www. research what MP Tool(mass program tool) suits your controller, each tool supports different chips, so be sure to read the docs for the tool before you download... and how to use it. Read, read, read BEFORE you press any ok button to write to your drive.

Search for infos on "fixing fake memory sticks" because it is a similar process to what you are doing.

Basically I believe your controller is corrupted and not controlling your flash drive properly anymore.


HTH

cheers,
Brian

controller is damaged you could try and find another correct controller for it
but that a very very slim chance

Hi you don't say if you want to recover the data or if you want to fix the drive to use again.

This would mean 2 distinct sets of advice we could give..