Cruzer Blade Flashdrive Spontaneously Incompatible - Period

I am one of those geeks who carries around important stuff on a flashdrive. It's a habit of mine, and I'm very dear to it. It simplifies matters to no end, not to mention convenience and security. That is...until the flashdrive suddenly decides it wants to switch to F drive. I'm unfamiliar with that particular drive, but through this experience, I've come to associate it with the portable version of the blue screen. One day it works, and the next, it's in a coma.

WTF?!?!?

The long and short of it is, the flash drive is no longer recognized in most devices, and unable to function properly in all others. The only option is to reformat, which is available but unable to complete. Unfortunately, some work I've been delaying and finally decided to peek at was on the drive. Inaccessible, and possibly corrupt.

Due to my self control, I am maintaining my cool to a degree. But deep down inside, I am struggling to keep myself from dropping it down a food disposal or torching it - I am this furious with the twist of fate that has befallen my beloved technology. It's an 8 gb, larger than the standard portables I've come across. Usually, it's 4 gb. Stroke of fortune that has been stolen away like a thief in the night.

I have tried managing it, I have tried everything except a complete overhaul by way of cmd. I am open to the possibility of having to bury it, but I hate the thought.

Anyone who has a deep appreciation for technology will understand that such things warrant a rant. A deep, soul-wracking rant that leave my fingers burning and my heart aching. I'm a borderline technoholic, and this is the equivalent of watching my last bottle smash on the ground.

I am ticked.

Having built and cared for computers for over a decade, I've come to realize that they and their accessories tend to be quite quirky... Sometimes things just stop working, so you put it in the storage for a few months. Then, for the sake of curiosity, you hook it back up and it's working again.

I wouldn't go berserk on it just yet.

reply to post by AdamsMurmur


I have some of those SanDisk cruzer blades..they look like they're cheaply made. Looks can be deceiving..I don't know how they'll hold up. I was at a Costco or Sams club a couple years ago and they had Toshiba 16GB flash drives.
They were mismarked, like $19.99 for a pack of 2!!! I pointed it out to a clerk, they checked and said "That's the price;"
So I bought some.

I can relate to your rant completely. My blood pressure has gone up 30 points many, many times while working with computers and their peripherals, various & sundry.

AdamsMurmur...Sorry...this comment was meant to be general and not directed at you specifically.

I have from 525mb up to 62gig drives and no problems with them at all except I gave a loan of an 8 gig one to someone who pulled it out of her laptop without the correct procedure and it no longer works at all.
I am watching a movie on a 28gb memory card with no problems either. They are sturdy little things that rarely give any problems. Only time I did was when I bought two 16gb ones and one of them went warm to the touch and failed to work. I returned it and got a replacement which hasn't let me down since.
Mine are from different makers including the same ones the op uses as well.
I used to use CDs and DVDs but haven't for a very long time as I use these instead. I even use a USB flash drive to listen to music in the car as well....

I don't know if this will help, especially since I have no idea how much you may have already done in trying to recover it through Windows. However, I've come to value Linux for something and before anyone rolls their eyes and groans...it's not that bad in this form.

Linux Live Installs

This is designed to install to a flash drive, altho they will install onto a DVD just the same. What these do is streamline and 100% automate the process of installing a functional and completely turn key Linux install.

Why?

Linux isn't Windows. I know..obvious...but think a sec. It's not windows, which means it doesn't care about windows errors or windows glitches or corrupt this or that which Windows might go tilt from. If the files are there and readable, it'll read them. Something like Puppylinux, Clonezilla or even Tails for ultra-light weight.

All you're looking for is the O/S to boot to a desktop (which will look and function close enough to Windows to navigate easily for this purpose) and access the file system on the Flash drive. For that limited purpose? Nothing about this should pose a problem at almost any skill level.

I hope this helps you get back into whatever is still on that drive.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


I should probably mention that at this time, I do not have access to a computer where I have admin priveleges. All solutions must be viable for guest access only. If you can still help, I'd be grateful.

reply to post by ColeYounger


I have a SanDisk mp3 player (Clip+) and have had it for a few months now, and it's been pretty good until recently... The thing cuts out on the left ear if I don't tighten the headphone cord by clipping it down to hold it in place. It's really annoying because now I have no choice but to pocket it, and as I walk the sound cuts out sometimes regardless of my little fix.

I'll most likely go for another company next time... haven't had a piece of audio equipment fail this quickly on me. It's too bad though, the little guy sounded great, supported lots of filetypes, and even supported Rockbox.

reply to post by scotsdavy1


That's what I did. The computers I use are timed, or I move brusquely, and I pull the flashdrive without properly ejecting it. If that is indeed what caused its current state, is there any means of restoring it? Preferably without losing the data?

Originally posted by AfterInfinity
reply to post by scotsdavy1

 

That's what I did. The computers I use are timed, or I move brusquely, and I pull the flashdrive without properly ejecting it. If that is indeed what caused its current state, is there any means of restoring it? Preferably without losing the data?

Unfortunately I have been unable to get it working at all although the Linux looks to me as a good idea.
When I insert the drive it says it is installing then says it is not working or words to that effect.
A pal of mine bought me a new one as a present many years ago and he said it was never used. The contents were opened in the box and it didn't work. He admitted he tried it out and pulled it out with going the right way about it but only many months later as he blamed me for doing it!
Sorry I can't be of much help to you on this, but maybe try the Linux as I haven't tried it as yet.
Good luck...

reply to post by scotsdavy1


Don't worry, I shall appeal to my deity, the great and mighty "Google Machine". With fortune at my side, perhaps my all-knowing patron will deign to bestow upon me the perfect solution to my plight.

Or perhaps someone else from ATS will know exactly (or approximately [read: knows someone who knows someone]) how to fix it.

reply to post by AfterInfinity


I lost a 16-gig flash drive just the other day because some idiot pulled it out without dismounting it first.

What I want to say is: If it's formatted as NTFS you'll destroy it every time. If you format as FAT32 it's more forgiving, and usually won't fail from being jerked out.

So those are your choices. I've never been able to recover one destroyed in that fashion, so take it for what it's worth....

reply to post by Ex_CT2


I tried reformatting it, and it failed. As far as I know, the flashdrive is now nothing more than a tiny chunk of plastic and metal, with little to no capacity for storing even the smallest piece of data.

I guess it was my turn on the Wheel of Fate.