[toll_booth]

Something is wrong with my flash drive. I've been saving files to it, and each time before disconnecting I go to "stop" the drive before removing it. However, most of my files have been lost on it, reduced to some obscure format that I can't work with. Also, each time I put it in, I get this message asking me if I want to scan and fix errors on the flash drive. Selecting "more options" reveals that, apparently, it's not a Windows XP drive.

What is going wrong? Is there some way to just re-format the entire zip drive and start from scratch?

EDIT: I put this in the wrong forum. Can a mod please move it to the WinVista forum?

[widewiilover]

your best bet, is to remove all the files on it, then you should reformat by putting it in a different computer then back in you own computer

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by widewiilover

your best bet, is to remove all the files on it, then you should reformat by putting it in a different computer then back in you own computer

OK. Can anyone else confirm that this is the optimal solution?

[toll_booth]

Yikes, we're going from bad to worse. Now I can't even format it, let alone access any data on it.

I'm starting to wonder whether it's just a bad disk. Is there any other way to wipe it clean? FWIW, I did complete a format earlier, but this didn't solve the problem over the long term. It worked for a few days but then...didn't.

[toll_booth]

Bump. Problem not solved yet.

[toll_booth]

Please, I need help with this.

[pllobell]

It would seem to me that if you're still having problems after a format you have a bad drive.

What are the specs of the drive? Size? Manufacturer? Age?

If it's still under warranty you'll most likely be able to get a replacement sent out from the manufacturer.

Have you tried running a chkdsk -f on the drive?

[BillSnapWire]

Are you running any type of user control software, this may be affecting the way your drive works.

[Rich-M]

Originally Posted by toll_booth

Yikes, we're going from bad to worse. Now I can't even format it, let alone access any data on it.

I'm starting to wonder whether it's just a bad disk. Is there any other way to wipe it clean? FWIW, I did complete a format earlier, but this didn't solve the problem over the long term. It worked for a few days but then...didn't.

It could be a bad disk as they really don't last long. How are you trying to format it?

[BillSnapWire]

Maybe you should try formatting through command prompt. If you need help formatting through the command prompt then open the command prompt (Start Menu >> Run>>cmd.exe) and type HELP FORMAT in the command line.

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by pllobell

It would seem to me that if you're still having problems after a format you have a bad drive.

What are the specs of the drive? Size? Manufacturer? Age?

If it's still under warranty you'll most likely be able to get a replacement sent out from the manufacturer.

Have you tried running a chkdsk -f on the drive?

16 GB, unknown manufacturer/age. I ordered it used off of ebay.

Originally Posted by BillSnapWire

Are you running any type of user control software, this may be affecting the way your drive works.

Such as?

Originally Posted by Rich-M

It could be a bad disk as they really don't last long. How are you trying to format it?

Via Windows. Whenever I insert the drive while My Computer is up, it wants to format (but can't).

Originally Posted by BillSnapWire

Maybe you should try formatting through command prompt. If you need help formatting through the command prompt then open the command prompt (Start Menu >> Run>>cmd.exe) and type HELP FORMAT in the command line.

Tried that but it failed. This error message appeared:

"Invalid media or Track 0 bad - disk unusable."

[BillSnapWire]

Originally Posted by toll_booth

16 GB, unknown manufacturer/age. I ordered it used off of ebay.



Such as?



Via Windows. Whenever I insert the drive while My Computer is up, it wants to format (but can't).



Tried that but it failed. This error message appeared:

"Invalid media or Track 0 bad - disk unusable."

User control software such as Windows SteadyState or surveilance software.

If it says the disk is unusable, then maybe it is just a corrupted disk. A company such as Tech Guys may be able to help retrieve data on it or some software can. You may want to research this further.