16GB USB flash drive unusable

[jesterb84]

My sister recently bought a 16GB USB flash drive (Kingston DataTraveler). On my computer, the drive works perfectly but not on hers. Her computer can read the contents of the flash drive, but when you try and open the files, copy/delete files, or even format the drive, the computer seems to freeze and I hear the USB disconnect sound from Windows and the drive cannot be read anymore.

This is baffling as her computer is relatively recent. She has an Asus M2A-VM motherboard, and I have flashed the motherboard BIOS to the latest release (I think Oct. 2008?) and also installed the latest motherboard drivers. We are both using Vista 64-bit.

Anyone have any ideas as to why her computer cannot use this USB drive while mine's can? The motherboards should be the same generation (Gigabyte P35-DS3L vs. Asus M2A-VM).

EDIT: I forgot to mention that other USB drives (of smaller sizes) seem to work. My 2nd-largest USB drive I can find was a 4GB one and that works well.

 

[mpilchfamily]

Chances are its a jumper setting on the motherboard. Some motherboards have a jumper where you set weather the USB port is pulling from the 5VSB or the regular 5V rail from the PSU. If the 5VSB is selecteced this allows you to still charge USB items like ipods while the system is off. But the 5VSB doesn't offer much amperage. So if its the rail feeding the USB ports the larger thumb drive may reguire a bit more power then the 5VSB can support. So switching it to the regular 5V rail should fix the problem. You'll have to look threw the mothebroard manuel to see if the board has that option. This may not be the problem but it is a possibility.

 

[jesterb84]

Originally posted by: mpilchfamily
Chances are its a jumper setting on the motherboard. Some motherboards have a jumper where you set weather the USB port is pulling from the 5VSB or the regular 5V rail from the PSU. If the 5VSB is selecteced this allows you to still charge USB items like ipods while the system is off. But the 5VSB doesn't offer much amperage. So if its the rail feeding the USB ports the larger thumb drive may reguire a bit more power then the 5VSB can support. So switching it to the regular 5V rail should fix the problem. You'll have to look threw the mothebroard manuel to see if the board has that option. This may not be the problem but it is a possibility.

mpilchfamily, thanks for the informative reply. I did check the 3 USB jumpers on the M2A-VM motherboard but they were already set to +5V (vs. the +5VSB setting). Therefore, the USB ports should be feeding off the +5V rail so there must still be something fishy going on. By default I am using the included 300W PSU that came with the Antec Micro-ATX case.

At least I learned something new, I didn't know there was this setting for USB connectors. But this problem is really bugging me because apparently, this 16GB USB flash drive is working fine on her 5+ year old computer at work too!!!

 

[bruceb]

Try using it thru a USB Powered Hub .. see if it works that way

 

[jesterb84]

Originally posted by: bruceb
Try using it thru a USB Powered Hub .. see if it works that way

Thanks bruceb, I thought of that as well but don't have one on hand right now . Really wishing there was a quick-fix for this issue as there should be no way the M2A-VM motherboard can't support a simple USB flash drive.

 

[mpilchfamily]

After 4Gb its no longer a simple USB flash drive.

 

[jesterb84]

Yeah...I suspected there was something more complex after a certain number of GBs. For reference, this is the model:

http://www.kingston.com/flash/dt100.asp

I was hoping that others on the internet had similar experiences but a quick Google turned up nothing...

 

[bruceb]

It would be nice if mpilchfamily posted a link to the relevancy / fix he says is the cause of the problem. I also could not find anything thru Google with regards to size limits of USB flash drives and windows.

 

[imported_mostlyprudent]

Since it works on your Vista 64 and not your sister's, it obviously is not a compatability issue between the drive and Vista. It could still be a power issue, assuming a 16GB flash drive requires more than a 4GB dirve (I don't know whether that is the case). Have you tried other USB ports on her computer? On my old system, I had some devices that did not work well plugged into the front case ports, but worked fine in the back (maybe a wiring issue).

 

[mpilchfamily]

Thought the 8gb and 16gb drives pulled a bit more power then the 4gb and smaller? Guess not.

 

[Dahak]

are you using the front usb ports on the case or the ones on the back on the motherboard. Ive see one cheaper cases that can cause and issue. could be bad front ports

 

[mpilchfamily]

Good point. I've just ran into a problem with the front USB on my CM 690 case. Not really sure its the case's ports or the motherboard but it won't recognize my iTouch anymore. Though it works fine on the rear USB ports.

 

[jesterb84]

Thanks for the tips and all the help - really appreciating it! I did think this was the case, so I plugged it into the back. It looked like it was about to work (could see all the files, etc.) but when it came time to read or delete a file, it just would freeze Vista again. Now that it is mentioned, it seems like the case would have something to do with how well the USB ports functioned (and not the motherboard)?

My sister is using the Antec NSK1380 case: http://www.antec.com/usa/produ...ls.php?lan=us&id=91380

 

[MrControversial]

How old is her computer? Is USB 2.0 enabled in the BIOS?

 

[jesterb84]

Yes, USB 2.0 is enabled in the BIOS and her computer is only about 1 year old. The motherboard (Asus M2A-VM) and other components are all the same age. Would this have anything to do with a driver issue maybe? I know that on my old computer, I used to have to install USB 2.0 drivers, etc. (quite sure they're installed on her computer, but maybe not functioning properly?).