USB memory stick no longer recognised as USB2.0!?!

[mouro_81]

Hi there
My 1Gb Samsung Mighty Drive (USB memory stick) is no longer recognised as a USB2.0 device. It used to, but now, everytime I plug it in I get the message: "this device can perform faster". I have tried plugging it to different ports in my laptop and I have also tried different PCs, however, I always get the same message. In addition I know the problem is not my USB ports because I have tried different memory sticks and they have all been ok!
I have formated the drive, yet to no result.
I can copy and read files from the USB stick fine, however, it is very frustrating that file transfer is so slow, not to mention the annoying pop-up balloon I get everytime I plug it in!
Does anyone know what's wrong? Can you please help me?
Thanks

[Paul Komski]

The drive shouldnt have changed unless it is developing or has developed a fault. If you are using any extension cable try without it. Also try it in another PC and if it is again not seen as a USB2 device I would think it is going to be unreliable.

A long shot would be to format the drive using the HP utility which (even though it says there is only support for certain OSes) should run under WinXP and is better than simply formatting from Disk Management or My Computer, which you could also try of course.

[Sylvander]

1. "this device can perform faster"
I once got that warning when...
I connected a USB 2.0 HDD to a USB 2.0 socket [PCI to USB2 card] on a PC running WinXP that had not yet been upgraded to SP2.
Once XP was upgraded to SP2 [to support USB 2.0] there was no longer a problem.

2. "I have tried different memory sticks and they have all been ok"
Could that be because those were all USB 1.1, so no incompatibility?
And you only got the warning when you tried to run a USB 2.0 memory stick on a system with an OS [or socket] only capable of supporting USB 1.1?

[mouro_81]

Thanks for your answers.
- Regarding an extension cable, no, I am not using one.
- Regarding the OS I have Vista 32 and I ave tried it in XP as well (not sure if SP1 or 2 though).
- Regarding the other USB sticks I have used - "Could that be because those were all USB 1.1, so no incompatibility?" suggesting that my USB ports are 1.0 as well - No, all drives were all USB2.0 and all ports in my laptop are USB2.0 as well, as I could see from the device manager and could well tell by the speed of transfer!
The USB stick in question used to be recognised as 2.0 (I did not get the message "this device can perform faster" until about a month ago and I've had the drive for over a year!). It used to be really fast and now is frustratingly slow!
Any other ideas?

As I mentioned I have tried formatting it, but will try the HP utility as suggested.

[Paul Komski]

I believe you only get that balloon tip when the system knows that the drive is USB2 but is not able to function at the correct speed. Commonly this occurs because of a USB1.1 port or cable but that is obviously not the problem here. That is why I think the problem is likely to be hardware failure of the device itself. Either the drive's surface/sub-surface or some failure to be attached to the shielding that is necessary for USB2 data transfer speed. Since this occurs only with this one device and in different OK ports and OK PCs I see no reason to change my opinion that it is faulty.

[mouro_81]

Hi Paul
I guess I have to agree with you. It must have become faulty. Anyway I'd like to try that HP utility you suggested. How do you use it?

[Paul Komski]

Start the HP Flash Drive Boot Utility

Ensure you select the correct Drive Letter (check in My Computer first).

Choose "Create New or Replace Existing Configuration" (without "Backup Existing Contents").

Format it as a "Hard Drive".

Select "Create New File System".

After this completes a file called ldlinux.sys should have been added to the newly formatted drive and you can Cancel continuing or, for the hell of it, add the HP Firmware Flash Package it that takes your fancy.

Either way delete any files created from the drive.

HP used to distribute a straightforward USB formatter but now I can only find it included in this compound utility.