Formatted my 512Mb Flash Drive and now it only shows 118Mb. Please Help.

[t_bird1199]

I have a 512 Mb flash drive/ mp3 player. When i was trying to access the folders on my flash drive it wouldn't let me open them. All it would say was: " This device is not formatted. Do you want to format it now? An it gave me the option of clicking on yes or no. I clicked on yes, and after it formatted the flash drive it only shows that the size of the flash drive is 118Mb. I don't care about the lost files, but i do want to get it back to the original 512Mb. Can someone please help me out. I really need the help and i would appreciate it alot.

t_bird1199

 

[RealBlackStuff]

go find a PC with W98SE, install the drivers there for your key and format it in FAT32.

 

[t_bird1199]

I have a driver to this flash drive/mp3 player but i don't know if the files that are in there are the ones needed to format it. I got told that that driver was only needed in case the computer i had had windows 98 for transferring mp3 files from the computer to the flash drive, which i don't. I have a windows xp computer. So do you think i should still apply that driver?

 

[RealBlackStuff]

Like I said, ONLY W98 needs a driver!
So look for somone that has W98SE installed.

 

[barfarf]

Several Solutions to fix a flash drive or mp3 player issues

I have had my share of issues with flash based mp3 players and flash/thumb drives. Below i have listed several solutions you can try.

First off a couple of questions. What brand and model number is your mp3 player? Secondly, are you sure the device states somewhere in the titerature that the entire ram upto 512mb is supposed to work with windows 98SE?

Here are the possible solutions.

0. Software Driver latest version: I am sure you did this already but its still worth mentioning. Make sure you have downloaded the newest driver from the manufacture’s website. Don’t use the driver that came with the device those are often already outdated. TIP: That is good advice for any device.

1. Firmware Update: Go to the manufacture website and download a firmware update for your device, if there is one. Firmware updates can often solve problems like the one you are having. NOTE: it will destroy all your data on the mp3 player.

2. Formatting: Don’t do a quick format. Try format using a “FAT32” or a “FAT” file system. See if one of those will work. Sometimes FAT32 will not work on mp3 players or flash drives.

3. Reset the USB driver. Hold the power button on the mp3 player for 30 seconds as you plug it into the USB port. So hold down the power button then plug the mp3 player in then continue holding the power button for another 30 seconds. If it works the a window will pop up on the computer re-installing or re-recognizing the windows usb driver for the mp3 player. Note: this worked with my Creative Muvo TX FM flash player.

4. Options: My friend had a scandisk brand mp3 player that would be recognized oddly by windows. Windows XP would not assign a PnP logical drive letter. The solutions was setting hidden under all the menu options on the mp3 player. Check each menu option on your player and refer to the manuel.

5. Create a Folder: On some flash devices and mp3 players you can NOT put too many files on the root folder of the drive. Meaning create a new folder and put files under there instead.

Good Luck!

Be sure to post back here and let us know what happens.

-Chris

 

[dennislinang]

hi, i also have this problem. i just bought a 1gb usb flash mp3 player. i formatted it in winxp. now it only has 245mb. were you able to recover it using the win98. what did you do.

 

[orangesegment]

My 128mb drive also shows 118mb

I don't know if it was just a coincidence but my flash drive also has only 118 left. It's being detected when plugged in and shows up in Windows My Computer with a drive letter but when you check the properties, it says it has 0 bytes free and 0 bytes total. I have a similar problem with my laptop hard disk which i put in an enclosure. The computer reads 0 bytes. Like most people, i don't mind that the files can't be retreived, I just hope I can get the drives working again.

 

[rcozer]

a) I think if you cancel a full format (that's the default) and then do a quick format then you may see a very small drive.

b) A formatted drive is usually smaller than the advertised numbers.