'USB device not recognized' error for pen drive

Have you tried all the USB ports on your computer, including the rear ones? If you've done that and the result is the same, the next thing to do is to insert another pendrive into your computer.

Another thing you can do is to insert the pen drive into another computer and see if it's recognized there.

Try the tips and trciks mentioned here-
USB device is not recognized when you attach it immediately after your Windows XP-based computer resumes from standby or hibernation

USually this happens when Pen Drives 'die'/ I accidentally flushed my 2 GB Transcend ,forgot to take it out of the pocket and washed the pants It worked that day , gave error 2days after that .

Its happening in all machines.

In that case, you have to accept that its life is over. One last thing you can try is to put your pen drive in the sun for a couple of hours. This is to get rid of any moisture that might have accumulated inside. Place it with the contact side pointing upwards. It's a long shot, but it's worth a try as a last-ditch measure.

Most pen drives have a pretty long warranty, you could try to get a replacement. For transcend, you will most probable need the original invoice. You could go to the shop you bought it from, if you have the bill

@pimpom: That's a good suggestion. I will try it if I accidentally wash one of my drives

Btw, agree with Cool Buddy, OP can ask for replacement, if it doesn't seem physically damaged.

vineet369 said:

@pimpom: That's a good suggestion. I will try it if I accidentally wash one of my drives

Click to expand...

Some readers may think that my suggestion was made out of some wild guesswork, but it's based on sound technical principles and my own experiences (I'm in electronics).

For many/most of us in India, our technological marvels are exposed to a lot of dust and pollution, with a bonus of high atmospheric moisture levels in the rainy season. The moisture clings to the accumulated dust and pollution particles long after the air is reasonably dry again. This plays havoc with sensitive electronic circuits.

Sometimes, the dust-moisture combination is lodged so firmly that they don't dry out even after exposing them to the sun. Sometimes the tiny spaces between circuit elements are bridged by corrosion products, causing short-circuits. In such cases, if the product is valuable, the only thing to do is to clean everything thoroughly. But this is a job for experienced people only.

Unless any device is powered on while wet, the chances of getting damaged due to the water are low. That's why it is advised to remove the battery immediately if a cell phone gets wet. I have myself put the pen drive in washing machine twice. Just let it dry thoroughly before using it and you should be fine

pimpom said:

Some readers may think that my suggestion was made out of some wild guesswork, but it's based on sound technical principles and my own experiences (I'm in electronics).

For many/most of us in India, our technological marvels are exposed to a lot of dust and pollution, with a bonus of high atmospheric moisture levels in the rainy season. The moisture clings to the accumulated dust and pollution particles long after the air is reasonably dry again. This plays havoc with sensitive electronic circuits.

Sometimes, the dust-moisture combination is lodged so firmly that they don't dry out even after exposing them to the sun. Sometimes the tiny spaces between circuit elements are bridged by corrosion products, causing short-circuits. In such cases, if the product is valuable, the only thing to do is to clean everything thoroughly. But this is a job for experienced people only.

Click to expand...

I'v heard of a solution for removing moisture in case you get the thing wet.. Dip the thing completely in Alcohol , then dry it. Alcohol , easily vaporises. Actually , it was the solution for "WHat to do if you drop your laptop in water" Anyways , it probably does work , but the site already had the warning , "Try it only if you are a fearless *******." .. so that's that.

I use various types of alcohol and other chemicals extensively in my work in electronics and computers. They are very useful if you know what you're doing. However, blindly advising others to use them as a general cure-all can be misleading and could do more harm than good.

For example, organic solvents, including alcohol, can dissolve some plastics, seals and lubricants. Moreover, many such chemicals mix readily with water and often have a high content of water by absorbing moisture from the air. Even if the chemical itself evaporates quickly, the water is left behind and that can cause more problems.