USB storage device

[SuperDave]

I tried to transfer some files from my storage device to one of my computers running XP Pro. SP2. It just treats the storage device as another disk drive. When I try to open it I get this message; "Disk is not formatted. Do you want to format it?" The device works very well on my other pc and my laptop. Any ideas?

[alexK]

I assume you are referring to a plain USB Jump Drive.

Your USB Jump Drive in fact may just not be Formatted, and you got away with that on your PC and Laptop, while your XP Pro will not let you do that.
That problem exists also with Floppies, older systems will allow this while XP won't.

If there is nothing important on that drive, than just Format it, as it wants you to do. Then plug it into your PC and Laptop, and see what happens. If none of your computers are complaining about your Reformatted Jump Drive, than put some file on it and try to load it from one to another.


 

[agusted]

Also, if you want to save anything that is on it, just put it into a computer that will accept it, take the data off, and then format it, and put the files/data back on.  This may be obvious, maybe not.

[BC_Programmer]

you cannot store data on an unformatted drive in the first place, there is no "getting away with it" in any OS.


However, Some OS's simply don't recognize some formats- if your PC & laptop are running vista, it may be possible the Drive is formatted using "exFAT" which XP doesn't recognize.

Determine the file-system by viewing the drive properties on one of the computers that it works on. Let us know the filesystem.

[SuperDave]

The format is Fat.
Edit. I just tried it again and it works. The computer is playing mind games with me.

[patio]

PC's do that when they get bored.....

[BC_Programmer]

that's why we try to replace them so often- before they wise-up. My Old PC, why, we got along alright for a while, but he kept saying he was hot stuff, and I said otherwise, so now when I use it, it'll randomly shoot up to 80 degrees Celsius. It was just after the PC showed me it's proof that 1=0 that I managed to replace it.