USB devices will not connect, prompted to format drives

Hi guys, Every time I connect a USB device to my computer I find that I can't access the content of the devices. When I go to open the device, I am immediately prompted to format the drive (I have tried this and I get a message saying that format cannot be completed). I have tried the devices on my laptop and they work as usual. What the dooby is going on? Thanks in Advance!

Could somebody please help me

Hi InDesolation

Run chckdsk x: /f where x is the drive letter of your USB drive..

Run it Safe Mode. Restart / press F8 / choose safe-mode with command prompt or when in XP mode: right-click on drive X, open Properties, Tools-tab, click "check now". You'll get message that it is not possible, only after restart: it will be scheduled at next reboot - just reboot.

Hi InDesolation

Run chckdsk x: /f where x is the drive letter of your USB drive..

Run it Safe Mode. Restart / press F8 / choose safe-mode with command prompt or when in XP mode: right-click on drive X, open Properties, Tools-tab, click "check now". You'll get message that it is not possible, only after restart: it will be scheduled at next reboot - just reboot.

I have tried that above. When using cmd in safe mode I am informed that RAW filesystem cannot be formatted. Besides, I don't want to format the drives; they work fine on other machines. I just want to know what's up with this PC and why it won't recognise anything. Saying that, I've connected my Creative Zen and it is recognised through the Creative Central software. Maybe there is something wrong with my plug-in and play?

Hi InDesolation,

USB connections are more subject to corruption than other connectors from your motherboard, because multiple devices are connected and disconnected from time to time, each requiring their own Device Driver. (printers, flash memory, external HDs, network interface devices, external sound devices, joy sticks, USB hub extenders, HID mouse and keyboard, etc.)

Ordinarily, Windows and your motherboard do a pretty good job of recognizing the USB Device when it is plugged into the machine.

But if you are experiencing problems getting the Device recognized, then you may benefit from uninstalling all USB Devices.

Then when you resume your ordinary computing work, Windows will detect new hardware when you plug in a USB Device, and freshly install the correct Driver.

Ztruker has provided an excellent mini-tutorial on how to perform this process, here: http://forums.whatthetech.com/index.php?showtopic=97497

Keep us posted with your progress and/or additional questions.

Best Regards


p.s. Though Windows sometimes suggests to "format" an unrecognized Device, you should not do that in most cases because formatting will destroy all of the information saved on that memory device. Instead, try the Driver related solution above.

I've followed these steps and the problems still persist. When I connected my devices after restart, the Safely Remove Hardware icon on the toolbar informed me that new hardware was found and that the Kingston Data Traveller 2.0 had been found. However, when I went in to My Computer to access the drive I was again prompted to format it.

It might be a good idea to remove the data from the USB drive to a safe folder and then reformat it as it might be the quickest way home.

Download TestDisk to Desktop.

Go here and scroll down the page until you get too Run TestDisk:

Follow the next few steps until you reach Press Enter to continue but select quit instead.

You should now have a back-up of your USB.

Re-format the USB the next time it prompts you to do so.

You may have formatted the drive with an exFAT file system while using Windows 7. In order to resolve, reformat the drive with the FAT32 file system.

http://www.kingston.com/support/usbflashdr…dt_032600_0.asp

It might be a good idea to remove the data from the USB drive to a safe folder and then reformat it as it might be the quickest way home.

Download TestDisk to Desktop.

Go here and scroll down the page until you get too Run TestDisk:

Follow the next few steps until you reach Press Enter to continue but select quit instead.

You should now have a back-up of your USB.

Re-format the USB the next time it prompts you to do so.

Hmm. The back-up option isn't available. I've tried my Kingston elsewhere and it is now formatted…bizarre. It's still not recognised by the PC, however. I really don't want to format anything else from here.

You may have formatted the drive with an exFAT file system while using Windows 7. In order to resolve, reformat the drive with the FAT32 file system.

http://www.kingston.com/support/usbflashdr…dt_032600_0.asp

'The disk in drive G cannot be formatted'. This is the message I was getting before, so no change there.

I just tried connecting my External HD and it is not being read properly in My Computer (local disk G). The safely remove hardware tab is recognising the device correctly (WD 3200).

you say it is usable on other pc's in your home, can i ask what operating system is on them and what operating system is on the pc that doesn't work? eg. xp, win7, vista also you say you have now formatted it elsewhere, can i ask what file system you formatted it with? eg. ntfs, fat32, exfat i don't see it being a hardware problem because the drive is always seen when plugged in to the problem pc, it just can't read(and you say format) the file system for some reason, so i'm thinking it's an os specific problem with kingstons autorun software on the stick(if it has some like i think on a hidden partition or the file system you formatted it with.) mmm external hard drive not being read could also be a file system problem, we'd need to know what that was formatted with also.

you say it is usable on other pc's in your home, can i ask what operating system is on them and what operating system is on the pc that doesn't work? eg. xp, win7, vista

also you say you have now formatted it elsewhere, can i ask what file system you formatted it with? eg. ntfs, fat32, exfat

All my things are XP. Just reformatted my Kingston as FAT32 on my laptop, and its working fine on that. Still the same message on my PC (pc is recognising file system as RAW)

i don't see it being a hardware problem because the drive is always seen when plugged in to the problem pc, it just can't read(and you say format) the file system for some reason, so i'm thinking it's an os specific problem with kingstons autorun software on the stick(if it has some like i think on a hidden partition or the file system you formatted it with.)

I'm thinking along similar lines, but that there is something wrong with plug in and play because my Creative Zen works fine and that uses installed software to work.

mmm external hard drive not being read could also be a file system problem, we'd need to know what that was formatted with also.

My external HD is FAT32 but, again, the PC is recognising it as RAW.

seeing how they are all xp systems i think that pc has a corrupted os on it and just can't read fat32 file system and why it defaults to raw. i think i'd do an os file system check, or a repair install of your os, either way you'll need your windows xp disc to copy the corrupted files from back onto your hard drive. have a bad memory so can't remember off hand the command to check your file system but i'm hoping another tech will chime in with instructions on how to do this and fix the problem now i think we've narrowed it down to where it is.

System File Protection - System File Checker Place the Windows XP disk in the cd drive. If it attempts to initiate, terminate/cancel next – Start - Run - (type)sfc /scannow SFC takes about 1/2 hour to complete. If it appears to run, but finishes within less than a minute, or just a minute or two, … then it did not function properly. Let us know if SFC does complete its operation. SFC does not yield an easily accessible log file, so you cannot see which files may have been refreshed. ____________________- I've been reading around the Internet about your problem. Many folks have similar, and there are a few possible other avenues to investigate.

Doug, I have completed the task and it took about 45 so I'm assuming it ran successfully. Awaiting further instruction, cheers.