I bought a 1gig Sandisk Cruzer Micro U3 a few weeks ago. All went well until yesterday, when I got an error message after plugging it in at work. The message reads:
“An error has occurred while initializing U3 Launchpad: Drive K is unavailable or unformatted. U3 Launchpad will close now. Please format the drive, disconnect the U3 device, and try again.”
Tried again when I got home, and got the same message. Googled the error message, but can’t find a solution. Sandisk FAQ and Troubleshooting have also been no help at all.
This problem has come out of the blue. I haven’t changed the way I use the device at all. Does anyone know what’s causing the failure to launch, and how to fix it?
[quote=“Chicken”]2 things can go wrong with this type of thing (well 2 that you can fix)
Did you unplug it while it was doing something or take it out with out “disconnecting” it.
If you put too many files in the root directory it can mess it up. This usually tells you it is full when it is not.[/quote]
Thanks, Chicken. I’ve been sure to safely remove the drive every time…but come to think of it, I’ve given it to the secretary at work a couple of times. I’ll ask her tomorrow.
[quote=“Infidel”][quote=“Chicken”]2 things can go wrong with this type of thing (well 2 that you can fix)
Did you unplug it while it was doing something or take it out with out “disconnecting” it.
If you put too many files in the root directory it can mess it up. This usually tells you it is full when it is not.[/quote]
Thanks, Chicken. I’ve been sure to safely remove the drive every time…but come to think of it, I’ve given it to the secretary at work a couple of times. I’ll ask her tomorrow.[/quote]
There’s your answer probably, but don’t expect her to admit anything.
[quote=“Infidel”]
What is the root directory?
How do I do that?
Cheers[/quote]
Root directory just means what you see as soon as you click into the drive (before you start going into sub-folders, etc.)
Formatting is easy, just right-click on the drive and choose “Format”. Choose FAT32 as the filesystem.
FAT32 is the one you want because you need less fat.
Your stuff is gone. Never have the only copy on a removable media (disk, USB or other)
It won’t solve the problem, not lending it to the (insert derogatory sub group here) will solve the problem.
[quote=“Chicken”]FAT32 is the one you want because you need less fat.
Your stuff is gone. Never have the only copy on a removable media (disk, USB or other)[/quote]
Right then, time for a good old-fashioned purge.
In fairness, she’s actually very nice, and has made my job a hell of a lot easier. Not worth calling her on this one. I just want my new toy to function again.
FAT32 is usually the best choice for removable media because just about everything will read FAT32. If you use NTFS then it won’t work on many older PCs or non-PCs.
FAT32 is usually the best choice for removable media because just about everything will read FAT32. If you use NTFS then it won’t work on many older PCs or non-PCs.[/quote]
And FAT32 possibly won’t work on older PCs or non-PC either. For the best compatibly you should use FAT16.
FAT32 is only necessary if the drive is over 2GB (which in this case it isn’t).
Telling people to format a drive at FAT32 is wrong. The correct advice is to format it the same as it was originally by the manufacturer (typically FAT16).
It’s possible to reformat some FAT16 drives to FAT32, and this may result in slightly faster read speeds and/or a slight increase in capacity if the drive is going to be used to store large numbers of small files, but this is not guaranteed to work with all drives (depending on factors such as the memory chips used), and my cause incompatibilities with features of the drive, say for example U3.
The number of computers that don’t support FAT32 is tiny. You’d also have a hard time finding such a computer that also supported USB, since USB support wasn’t added until after FAT32 in Windows. And besides the 2gb limitation, FAT16 also has a 512 file limit for the root directory and has to use a larger cluster size (which wastes space) than FAT32. There is one situation where one should use only FAT16: some older digital cameras only support FAT16 on their memory cards.
There are more things than a typical PC that you can stick USB drives in nowadays, you mentioned them yourself, no-PCs, printers, network storage devices etc. which like the cameras might not support FAT32.
Wide compatibility was only a minor point anyway; more important was that the USB drive might not support it, or that it may cause problems with features of the drive. Are you prepared to stand by your original advice and say that it’s impossible that formatting a drive to FAT32 that was originally designed for a different file system will cause issues with proprietary futures of the device such as fingerprint scanner, secure partition, or with software written for and included with it by the manufacturer?
FAT32 is usually the best choice for removable media because just about everything will read FAT32. If you use NTFS then it won’t work on many older PCs or non-PCs.[/quote]
And FAT32 possibly won’t work on older PCs or non-PC either. For the best compatibly you should use FAT16.
FAT32 is only necessary if the drive is over 2GB (which in this case it isn’t).
Telling people to format a drive at FAT32 is wrong. The correct advice is to format it the same as it was originally by the manufacturer (typically FAT16).
It’s possible to reformat some FAT16 drives to FAT32, and this may result in slightly faster read speeds and/or a slight increase in capacity if the drive is going to be used to store large numbers of small files, but this is not guaranteed to work with all drives (depending on factors such as the memory chips used), and my cause incompatibilities with features of the drive, say for example U3.[/quote]
I’m seriously beginning to wonder if it’s worth trying to help people here. Seriously.
I said to format it as FAT32 so that if Windows XP unhelpfully suggested NTFS, Infidel would know that he had a better option.
Suggesting FAT32 is WRONG?? WTF?? In most cases this would be a good suggestion. This is USB memory stick for feck’s sake, not a camera SD card or something. As Jlick correctly pointed out older file systems would have a hard time with USB in the first place. I’d bet money that Infidel is not going to use this on anything OTHER than standard PCs, so what is the problem here? Is there some sort of “I’m better than you” mentality going on here that I’m not aware of? Is it not OK to make helpful suggestions anymore?
So your argument is at best “FAT16 in certain cases is a better suggestion than FAT32”. Nothing more.
[quote=“irishstu”]Suggesting FAT32 is WRONG?? WTF?? In most cases this would be a good suggestion.
I’d bet money that Infidel is not going to use this on anything OTHER than standard PCs, so what is the problem here?[/quote]
The problem is that in some cases the type of memory used on the drive, the memory controller, or the added functionality of the drive (e.g U3) may not work if the drive is formatted to something other than originally intended by the manufacturer.
In most cases where this is true people will get a generic “Windows was unable to format the drive” error message, which under the circumstances might make them think the drive is faulty leading to a trip down to the store to return it, wasting their time.
OK, arse that I am, I couldn’t stay away from this thread.
Rik, firstly, no offence meant or anything. You abviously appear to know way more than me. That’s great. Please think about the WAY you add more advice next time though. It’s very easy to piss people off.
Anyway, I found this on the net. Perhaps it’s of use, Infidel.
The solution may be to remove the Sandisk software. More info here. (Incidentally, the Sandisk software apparently doesn’t work on MacOS. Some people are advising wiping it for that reason too). I seriously recommend you Google this, Infidel. It seems your particular USB drive is a bit, erm… “special”.
Anyway, read it and decide what you want you do. Obviously this sort of thing is up to you.
This appears to be an official removal tool from Sandisk themselves: sandisk.com/Retail/DriverDownloads.aspx
(Scroll down to last download)
I guess if you want to stay within your warrantly, this is the best option.
I really appreciate all the helpful suggestions. I’m confused about all the possible solutions, though - I’m nowhere near as tech-savvy as you guys.
[quote=“irishstu”]
Anyway, I found this on the net. Perhaps it’s of use, Infidel.
The solution may be to remove the Sandisk software. More info here. (Incidentally, the Sandisk software apparently doesn’t work on MacOS. Some people are advising wiping it for that reason too). I seriously recommend you Google this, Infidel. It seems your particular USB drive is a bit, erm… “special”.
Anyway, read it and decide what you want you do. Obviously this sort of thing is up to you.
This appears to be an official removal tool from Sandisk themselves: sandisk.com/Retail/DriverDownloads.aspx
(Scroll down to last download)
I guess if you want to stay within your warrantly, this is the best option.[/quote]
That bit about not using the XP “Safely Remove Hardware” function set the old alarm bells ringing. I’ve watched the secretary use that a couple of times, and thought nothing of it. So, no more mystery about how the problem started, or how to avoid it in future.
Thanks for the links, irishstu. I’ll check them out when I have more time during the weekend. Will let you know how I get on.
In fairness, she’s actually very nice, and has made my job a hell of a lot easier. Not worth calling her on this one. I just want my new toy to function again.