What to do if the USB flash drive does not work

Computer technology modifies quickly. Recently, several types of storage media have changed: floppy disks, CDs, flash cards. Flash drives are so easy to use that they become familiar to students, office workers and just users of personal computers. Like any device, sometimes they are prone to failure, and then a problem arises. What if the flash drive does not work? What should I do to return it to work?

The most common problems are associated with these information carriers. The computer does not format the flash drive, it displays it as a removable disk with a capacity of 0 MB, or the PC sees it as a removable drive, but does not allow it to enter. The following message appears: "Insert a disc into the drive".

To find out why the flash drive does not work, you first need to determine what controller it has and the memory chip. If a controller or memory chip fails, Windows can not recognize it and identify it as a connected device, and it can not install the correct driver. An error in recognizing the device appears because of the program that controls the controller, which does not read the memory chip. In this case, the flash drive must be disassembled and run the controller in test mode. To do this, you need to close the two special areas in the device's memory chips. The reason that the USB flash drive does not work and the computer does not see it, may be the lack of connection of the USB device controller in the BIOS. It is necessary to find the Integrated Peripherals parameter in the Award BIOS, and to find the Advanced parameter in the Ami BIOS. They contain an item called USB Configuration. It is necessary to go into it and press Enter, after that the USB-controller should be "On".

In cases where the flash drive does not work, you can use special programs. For example, AlcorMP.ini is suitable. True, this program does not assume the preservation of information on the USB flash drive, since it starts formatting the device at startup. The file of the initial configuration of the program must be saved, as it will change in accordance with the flash drive.

After the instrument is restored using the AlcorMP.ini program, the safe removal icon of the device may disappear. To prevent this from happening, just in Setup-BadBlock check the Uninstall Driver When Close MP. You should follow the rules: first run the program AlcorMP.ini, and only then - insert the flash drive, and vice versa - close the program and then pull out the USB flash drive.

If the flash drive does not work, then the reason can be covered in the number of devices connected to the computer and their power, as well as in their electricity consumption. If there is a shortage for their power (scanner, printer), then Windows turns off some devices and as a result does not see the USB flash drive. You can find out the power of the USB controller in the "Properties" tab - "Power" in Device Manager. The reasons for the failure of the flash card can be hidden in its incorrect extraction from the USB port of the computer, in virus attacks.

Flash drives are not only convenient removable storage devices, thanks to an interesting design, they turn into collectibles. For example, there is a flash drive, which was released by the company Ravage. Your collection of original gizmos can replenish the cat-robot, which turns into a flash drive with a memory capacity of two gigabytes, compatible with Windows.