Flash drive no workie?

[juppy]

Not sure if I bought a bad stick or what. Staples has PNY 32GB flash sticks on sale for $19.99, so I bought one. Plugged it into my computer, Win XP did all the "found new hardware", "found new disk drive" stuff, etc, and said it was installed and ready to use. Except I can't use it. The stick shows up in Explorer or "My Computer" as a removable disk, but any time I try to copy something to it, I get an error saying Windows can't find the source file. I know that's not the problem because I can copy the same source file to anywhere else and it copies fine. I thought maybe the stick needed formatted, but when right clicking on it and using the "format" option, it does nothing. Just sits there not saying anything about formatting options or anything. So, am I missing something with this like a driver (didn't think XP needed those) or is the stick bad from the factory or what?

Oh yeah, the package says it's compatible with XP and is capable of USB 2.0 but is backward compatible with USB 1.0 (which is what I've got). Any ideas?

[rjfvillarosa]

Sounds like a bad stick. I have never had much luck with PNY pendrives.

[Jbc223456]

Must be why they're on sale for 20 bucks.

[glc]

I have a 32gb PNY I got on sale on Black Friday, and it works fine. Luck of the draw, I guess.

[juppy]

Well, I got my brother one of these at the same time (same kind, size, everything) and his works fine on my machine. BUT, get this....my so-called "bad" one works fine on his machine! Go figure that one, eh? He said he'd trade me sticks if I wanted to, but I don't know whether this one is going to go bad right away on him too, seeing as how it only works on certain machines or if it's just picky and will continue to work fine for him. Wondering if I should take it back for an exchange or just keep it and let him try it.

[quartet-man]

The only PNY item I have had experience in were some blank CDs my brother got years ago. They were poor (at least when I tried using them).

[Petef56]

Originally Posted by glc I have a 32gb PNY I got on sale on Black Friday, and it works fine. Luck of the draw, I guess.

glc, your success might not be so much luck, but more related to how you handle your flashdrives. Over the past 5 years or so I've owned about 10 flash drives and only one (Sandisk 1GB) has failed. I just keep buying larger Flashdrives which accounts for the 10 purchased of various brands, including Sandisk, PNY, OCZ, and unknown brands.

My point is, I'm extremely cautious about static/ESD and I *ALWAYS* discharge myself by touching the metal case or by other means before plugging in a flash drive. It could be that certain flash drive brands are just more susceptible to ESD damage than others and that would account for some people's bad experiences, but if proper ESD precautions are taken most brands are equally reliable, at least from my own experience.

---pete---

[Petef56]

Originally Posted by juppy Well, I got my brother one of these at the same time (same kind, size, everything) and his works fine on my machine. BUT, get this....my so-called "bad" one works fine on his machine! Go figure that one, eh? He said he'd trade me sticks if I wanted to, but I don't know whether this one is going to go bad right away on him too, seeing as how it only works on certain machines or if it's just picky and will continue to work fine for him. Wondering if I should take it back for an exchange or just keep it and let him try it.

You might try reformatting it on the computer that it works fine on.
If that doesn't fix the problem on your computer, consider returning it.

---pete---

[glc]

Juppy, what are the specs on your computer? Are you using a front USB port?

[juppy]

glc > No, I'm using the rear usb port....no fronts on my machine. I thought at first that maybe it was because of my usb being 1.0, but my brother's machine has 2.0's in the back but 1.0's or 1.1's in the front (can't remember which) and his works fine on either front or back. Plus, as mentioned, it's supposed to be backward compatible with 1.0 (or so their site says).

I think I'll just take it back to Staples and see if they'll exchange it for me anyway. We got to looking at it closer and noticed that the little metal part that plugs in to the port is kinda loose and rattles when you shake it. I'm wondering if it's just been put together poorly or if there's something else actually not making contact good inside the stick. Just exchange it and not have to worry about it.

[Eggo]

I don't think it should rattle at all.