How do I fix a Memorex USB 8GB flash drive that shows 0 B available?

Question

Memorex USB 8GB drive that shows 0 B available. I don't know if it's mechanically broken or something is wrong with it.

Even disk part shows it as (See Disk 2)

Any ideas?

EDIT: The bios shows it as 2231 PRAM...

Answer 1

The No Media status is a very bad sign. It usually means that the USB flash controller chip has lost the connection(s) to the memory chip(s) - it's a hardware problem.

Unless the data is very valuable (insert 4-5 figure number here) - then you can ask one of the specialist data recovery centers - you can only throw the stick away and get a new one.

Answer 2

I've run into this myself. Here's how I solved it when I saw the USB drive as a 2XXX PRAM device in Device Manager and it was missing from My Computer/This PC:

1. In Device Manager, find the PRAM device. If it's missing, unplug the drive and plug it back into a USB 2.0 port. Once you find it in Device Manager, right-click, uninstall.
2. Confirm as necessary so the device is uninstalled.
3. Unplug the device, then plug it back into a different USB port. If you have a USB 3.0 port, use it now.

Result: the drive appears as a normal USB drive as it's supposed to. Format it at your earliest convenience.

I think this happens if you format the drive as an EFI bootable disk.

Answer 3

The "No Media" would bother me. Is it showing up in the Device Manager? Disk Manger? How old is it?

Assuming there was nothing critical on the disk, I would try this:

select disk 2
list partition
select partition 1
delete partition

Then create and format it again.