USB flash drive - can read but can't write

I have a USB thumb drive that my computers can read but can't write. It has a read-only switch, SPDT, but flipping it makes no difference, nor does unsoldering it and replacing it with a jumper wire. Is there something else that may work, such as running a special utility (The manual refers to a "recovery disk," but the driver CD contains no such thing) or shorting a certain reset pin?.

This device uses an OTI 6828 USB bridge chip and was distributed by Pretec as the iDisk and also given out by Microsoft years ago (they have nothing on it), but I can't find any information about it.

Reply to
jamarno
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Hi,

Has it only just recently stopped writing?

snipped-for-privacy@my-deja.com Wrote:

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M.Joshi
Reply to
M.Joshi

On 31 May 2006 16:27:03 -0700, snipped-for-privacy@my-deja.com put finger to keyboard and composed:

The OTI chip has a Flash Write Protect signal on pin 18

formatting link
Have you verified that it changes state according to the position of the read-only switch?

Have you tried to format the drive? Is it possible that the directory you are trying to write to has a read-only attribute???

- Franc Zabkar

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Reply to
Franc Zabkar

Thank you, Frank. That's great in formation. I'll take a look at pin

  1. I had no luck formatting the drive, and nothing had the read-only attribute enabled.

Reply to
jamarno

On 1 Jun 2006 20:25:19 -0700, snipped-for-privacy@my-deja.com put finger to keyboard and composed:

IIRC, someone with a similar problem found that there was a limit to the number of files you could have in the drive's root directory. But this doesn't explain your inability to format the drive ...

- Franc Zabkar

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Reply to
Franc Zabkar

That is a FAT limitation: All directories expand as needed, except the root directory. You should still be able to rename files and directories there and you should be able to write in subdirectories. (The limitation is a design error IMO.)

What about this: The drive has exhausted its supply of spare sectors and goes into a safe read-only mode now. Would be a sensible failure mode, because the user can at least get his/her data of the drive and there is no risk of failed writes.

Arno

Reply to
Arno Wagner

On 3 Jun 2006 00:49:43 GMT, Arno Wagner put finger to keyboard and composed:

But if the user requested a format, wouldn't that tell the drive's smarts that the data wasn't of any consequence?

- Franc Zabkar

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Reply to
Franc Zabkar

Hmmm...that's the way it is with floppies, 512 files maximum for FAT12 file system, something like that.

Tom

Reply to
Tom MacIntyre

You can actually specify more at format time.

Reply to
Rod Speed

on the side of the unit (at least mine) there is a lock switch that will not allow a write or format. this is a PNY drive stick.

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Reply to
Jamie

Did you even read his post?

Reply to
Michael Kennedy

Well I will give you some credit.. The write protect switch was the first thing I thought of also.

- Mike

Reply to
Michael Kennedy

A "format" ooperation on Windows is not a format. MS confused the terms. For hard-sectored devices like HDDs or memory sticks a "format" on Windows is actually filesystem creation and on most other OSes it is called that. Filesystem creation looks to the drive just like ordinary writes, nothing special about them. So if the device refuses writes, it consequentially also refuses "formats".

Arno

Reply to
Arno Wagner

With these drives, when they fail, I replace them. I am on my third one in about 6 months. I think static electricity in my pockets or something else is damaging them.

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JANA
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Reply to
JANA

Can you re-partition it? Fdisk or for xp disk management..

Just a thought.. probably won't work either, but I'd give it a try.

- Mike

Reply to
Michael Kennedy

yeah it happens to the best of us ;)

Reply to
Michael Kennedy

sorry, i must of missed that. btw, i think you have to have it pulled from the USB , set the switch and then plug it back in.

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Reply to
Jamie

That is also not a special operation from the point of view of the drive.

Arno

Reply to
Arno Wagner

Maybe you just write a lot or a lot of small files? USB is very well protected against static electicity....

Arno

Reply to
Arno Wagner

On Sat, 3 Jun 2006 20:39:48 -0400, "JANA" put finger to keyboard and composed:

AFAIK, a common problem with these is that they develop dry solder joints at the connector pins, probably due to mechanical stress.

- Franc Zabkar

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Reply to
Franc Zabkar

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