Ive used my flash drive many times, and Ive had it for about 5 years. Its been working fine for the past 5 years, except for today. I had downloaded some data and wanted to transfer it over to another computer, So My flashdrive is my main means of convaence. Put data on it (from Kubuntu- Not that that matters- Ive done it many times without any problems) and then I plugged it into the other computer.

Nothing Happens. The LED indicator blinks once when you plug it in (usually it stays on) and Nothing pops up. Tried it on another computer. Same thing. I noticed the USB plug was a bit loose, so I took the thing apart and gave it a bit of solder (it was the ground tabs that were loose). So I try it again. Same thing.Im thinking now the actual connector is bad, but that cant be since It gets power for that 1 second.

However, if I let the drive sit, the LED goes bright and then dims down and dies. Computer still doesnt see it.

So is my drive dead?

I cant return it, Ive modded it too much; Ive painted the case, and took out the yellow LED and swapped in a blue one. I doubt they would RMA, but I dont know if they can recover the data. The only data Ive had on there was school stuff, Ie, reports. Im about 75% Sure I have a backup Somewhere, but it sucks it had to go now! At the worst time ! (A week before school!)

ADD: Just out of curiosity for you linux folk;

overclocked@linux-desktop:~$ sudo lsusb
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 04b4:6370 Cypress Semiconductor Corp.
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 0000:0000

Ie, it doesnt show up. That one device is my mouse.

Reheat all of the solder joints on the USB connector, and maybe go ahead and tin any exposed metal. With the connector loose and possibly working back and forth you may have cracked something you can't see. Oh and give me a #tail dmesg before and after you plug the drive in.

Quote: Originally Posted by thedemonxanth Reheat all of the solder joints on the USB connector, and maybe go ahead and tin any exposed metal. With the connector loose and possibly working back and forth you may have cracked something you can't see. Oh and give me a #tail dmesg before and after you plug the drive in.

That command gives nothing.

I re-soldered all connections and still nothing. Tried it on a windows machine, and Ive got nothing. I even got a USB cable and soldered the wires to the board. Still nothing. Whats strange is that the LED blinks (but isnt bright like its supposed to be). It doesnt blink as if its normal operation, rather its dim and acts erratically.

I thought flash drives were supposed to be godly? Then again, I did buy it when 512Mb was sorta King (and 1Gb was just coming out), which was back in 2002 or 2003.

Since it's only a 512, I would say just pick up a new one. They are extremely cheap, the other day I picked up a a 2GB PNY Attache for $20 at Wal-Mart.

Best Buy runs a 4gig stick for 39 bucks every couple weeks. I got one and I like it a lot.

Quote: Originally Posted by Sn0wMan Since it's only a 512, I would say just pick up a new one. They are extremely cheap, the other day I picked up a a 2GB PNY Attache for $20 at Wal-Mart.

I just bought one from newegg, 1Gb. I saw those sales for a while, but i didnt need one then. I was really looking for a 4Gb one, since I wanted to try using it as a Solid State HDD and run a OS from it.