8GB USB not reading correctly (reading as 1.75gb)

Hey everyone. Happy early Labor Day Weekend!

This morning I plugged in my 8gb USB (with only a few songs on it) and my computer didn't recognize it at all. It just wanted to format it. So I formatted it, but it only formatted it for 1gb of storage space. Any solutions? Thanks.

Are you talking about a thumb-drive / flash device, or a small usb hard-drive?

as you already attempted the formatting, you have nothing to loose.

access the Disk Manager,

delete All partitions on the device
create ONE partition
format it {*}

{*} If you only use it on Windows, then FMT as NTFS
else if you use it on Mac and/or Linux, FMT as FAT32

I believe you should be able to run CHKDSK on the drive

Alright, so there is a big partition, but I right click and there is no option to delete it...

Its 5.74gb of unallocated space

Ok your flash drive is now 1GB you may have a littel bigger space by formatting it using MS-dos
but you have to convert it's file system from fat to NTFS run dos then convert (drive number I:\,J:\,or y:\ like what it is on your pc ) fs /ntfs and hit enter

Before you "throw in the towel", here's one more thing to try...

1. Download the Lexar tool and extract to your PC
http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=369

2. Click on the 'Non-Active' radio button at the bottom of the window
3. Now click on the 'Format' button
4. Remove and insert back of your Flash drive and you're done.

I hope this will help you to get back your Flash drive in original capacity.

--- NTFS vs FAT ---

I may be wrong, but I thought there was a 2gb max for FAT.
If true, it means you would need to use NTFS for full capacity.
Do you remember how you formatted it?

I love you bookwyrm. Not that way. That is a really great tool.

Thanks for your help everyone!

Glad to hear the lexar tool worked for you.:grinthumb

MS will go to 32gb but support much larger if it was formatted elsewhere

You cannot format a volume larger than 32 gigabytes (GB) in size using the FAT32 file system during the Windows XP installation process. Windows XP can mount and support FAT32 volumes larger than 32 GB (subject to the other limits), but you cannot create a FAT32 volume larger than 32 GB by using the Format tool during Setup. If you need to format a volume that is larger than 32 GB, use the NTFS file system to format it. Another option is to start from a Microsoft Windows 98 or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) Startup disk and use the Format tool included on the disk.

see this KB, bullet #5

Maybe I was thinking of an earlier version of FAT (before FAT32).