USB thumb-drive troubles

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H

hyRAMelu

New member
Aug 15, 2025
3
0
Please help, Steve or anyone!

I am having USB thumb-drive troubles. My email is: [ moderator redacted email ]


I find that I need your help and/or advice. I have a Sandisk USB 3.0 thumb-drive that no longer works on my laptop as of 7-31-2025. The laptop, an HP Envy x360, was purchased new in late 2023 or early 2024. On 7-31-2025, I was working on some rather important files regarding my role as an elected township treasurer. The issue is that I cannot access the necessary files that reside on the USB thumb-drive due to some issue that developed with the laptop/USB drive/port/whatever. I have verified that other USB thumb-drivesDO work on the laptop's USB port. The USB thumb-drive was initially verified to work on a desktop PC. That same PC now will lose the drive letter. The USB thumb-drive will be initially acknowledged by the PC/laptop but its drive letter will disappear. Is this issue a registry tweak or something such?

I am at a loss as to what to do next. I assume that this issue is an easy fix for someone that would know how to effect a fix. PLEASE ADVISE.

The following information is from my laptop's System Information.
Code: 
OS Name    Microsoft Windows 11 Home
Version    10.0.22631 Build 22631
Other OS Description     Not Available
OS Manufacturer    Microsoft Corporation
System Name    HP-LAPTOP-FOR-M
System Manufacturer    HP
System Model    HP Envy x360 2-in-1 Laptop 15-fe0xxx
System Type    x64-based PC
System SKU    7H9Y3UA#ABA
Processor    13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1355U, 1700 Mhz, 10 Core(s), 12 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date    Insyde F.06, 4/11/2024
SMBIOS Version    3.4
Embedded Controller Version    69.36
BIOS Mode    UEFI
BaseBoard Manufacturer    HP
BaseBoard Product    8BDF
BaseBoard Version    69.36
Platform Role    Mobile
Secure Boot State    On
PCR7 Configuration    Elevation Required to View
Windows Directory    C:\windows
System Directory    C:\windows\system32
Boot Device    \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale    United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer    Version = "10.0.22621.2506"
User Name    HP-LAPTOP-FOR-M\bigdu
Time Zone    Central Daylight Time
Installed Physical Memory (RAM)    16.0 GB
Total Physical Memory    15.7 GB
Available Physical Memory    5.44 GB
Total Virtual Memory    18.1 GB
Available Virtual Memory    4.17 GB
Page File Space    2.38 GB
Page File    C:\pagefile.sys
Kernel DMA Protection    On
Virtualization-based security    Running
Virtualization-based security Required Security Properties   
Virtualization-based security Available Security Properties    Base Virtualization Support, Secure Boot, DMA Protection, UEFI Code Readonly, SMM Security Mitigations 1.0, Mode Based Execution Control, APIC Virtualization
Virtualization-based security Services Configured    Hypervisor enforced Code Integrity
Virtualization-based security Services Running    Hypervisor enforced Code Integrity
Windows Defender Application Control policy    Enforced
Windows Defender Application Control user mode policy    Off
Device Encryption Support    Elevation Required to View
A hypervisor has been detected. Features required for Hyper-V will not be displayed.


The event assessment below is from my laptop's Event Viewer.

Code: 
Log Name:      System
Source:        Microsoft-Windows-Bits-Client
Date:          7/31/2025 10:26:06 AM
Event ID:      16385
Task Category: None
Level:         Warning
Keywords:     
User:          SYSTEM
Computer:      HP-Laptop-for-Mike
Description:
While canceling job "Chrome Component Updater", BITS was unable to remove some temporary files. To recover disk space, delete the files listed below.  The job ID was {06f3de5e-46a2-4bce-8298-a8786ee074ce}.      C:\Users\bigdu\AppData\Local\Temp\chrome_BITS_12656_2002967108\BITB9E8.tmp

Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
  <System>
    <Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Bits-Client" Guid="{ef1cc15b-46c1-414e-bb95-e76b077bd51e}" />
    <EventID>16385</EventID>
    <Version>0</Version>
    <Level>3</Level>
    <Task>0</Task>
    <Opcode>0</Opcode>
    <Keywords>0x8000000000000000</Keywords>
    <TimeCreated SystemTime="2025-07-31T15:26:06.5236047Z" />
    <EventRecordID>1073453</EventRecordID>
    <Correlation />
    <Execution ProcessID="22796" ThreadID="9692" />
    <Channel>System</Channel>
    <Computer>HP-Laptop-for-Mike</Computer>
    <Security UserID="S-1-5-18" />
  </System>
  <EventData>
    <Data Name="Id">{06f3de5e-46a2-4bce-8298-a8786ee074ce}</Data>
    <Data Name="Title">Chrome Component Updater</Data>
    <Data Name="FileList">    C:\Users\bigdu\AppData\Local\Temp\chrome_BITS_12656_2002967108\BITB9E8.tmp
</Data>
  </EventData>
</Event>
 
Troubleshooting and "rub it in" or "horse out of the barn" advice:

Boot in safe mode, sometimes it simplifies and reduces interference
and allows access.

Use ANY recovery software - free will do - to do a raw search on the
drive if the recovery software can see the drive at all.

"Rub it in" or "horse out of the barn":

NEVER work directly on a USB drive.​

Instead, work on the computer, save our work, then make a copy of
the saved files to the thumb drive for backup and transport.

Let us know how it goes, of course.
 
Last edited:
OK then, move on to recovery software - been there, got a favorite that
can deep scan a raw drive IF IT CAN SEE IT?

Otherwise, it's:

- retype while your thinking is fresh
- send it out for recovery.

Ouch either way!
 
If your PC can see the drive, Testdisk may help with data recovery.
www.cgsecurity.org

TestDisk Download

Download TestDisk & PhotoRec. TestDisk is a free and open source data recovery software tool designed to recover lost partition and unerase deleted files. PhotoRec is a file carver data recovery software tool.
www.cgsecurity.org www.cgsecurity.org

If your PC can't see the drive, it is probably a failure in the thumb drive and probably terminal. Do you have any backups?
 
It's possible that the drive has been damaged electrically, so it just is not recognized by the USB circuitry on your computer. Assuming you've tried to read it on another system and had it not be recognized, you may have to send it out for repair, with no guarantee that anything will be recoverable. And a repair, if possible, could take weeks. You can google for data recovery services and see who works on flash drives. Sometimes prices can be in the thousands, depending on the type of problem the drive has.

I've heard good things about these folks but I have not used them so really can't say if they'll be able to do the job, but they are generally cheaper than most companies in this space:

USB Flash Drive Data Recovery for an Affordable Price

USB Flash Drive Data Recovery for an Affordable Price! We can recover from USB Flash Drives with broken USB connector/interface/port, bad fuses, lifted pads, and also perform chip-off recovery.
www.300dollardatarecovery.com www.300dollardatarecovery.com
 
peterblaise said:
OK then, move on to recovery software - been there, got a favorite that
can deep scan a raw drive IF IT CAN SEE IT?

Otherwise, it's:

- retype while your thinking is fresh
- send it out for recovery.

Ouch either way!
Click to expand...
The PC/laptop(s) that initially read the USB thumb-drive will NOT read it now. This leads me to a question. Does the Windows Registry "flag" a drive as being "unreadable" due to perhaps a "bad" file or such? Below is a description from EVENT VIEWER of the start of my USB troubles. Your thoughts?

Code: 
Log Name:      System
Source:        Microsoft-Windows-Bits-Client
Date:          7/31/2025 10:26:06 AM
Event ID:      16385
Task Category: None
Level:         Warning
Keywords:     
User:          SYSTEM
Computer:      HP-Laptop-for-Mike
Description:
While canceling job "Chrome Component Updater", BITS was unable to remove some temporary files. To recover disk space, delete the files listed below.  The job ID was {06f3de5e-46a2-4bce-8298-a8786ee074ce}.      C:\Users\bigdu\AppData\Local\Temp\chrome_BITS_12656_2002967108\BITB9E8.tmp

Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="[URL]http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event[/URL]">
  <System>
    <Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Bits-Client" Guid="{ef1cc15b-46c1-414e-bb95-e76b077bd51e}" />
    <EventID>16385</EventID>
    <Version>0</Version>
    <Level>3</Level>
    <Task>0</Task>
    <Opcode>0</Opcode>
    <Keywords>0x8000000000000000</Keywords>
    <TimeCreated SystemTime="2025-07-31T15:26:06.5236047Z" />
    <EventRecordID>1073453</EventRecordID>
    <Correlation />
    <Execution ProcessID="22796" ThreadID="9692" />
    <Channel>System</Channel>
    <Computer>HP-Laptop-for-Mike</Computer>
    <Security UserID="S-1-5-18" />
  </System>
  <EventData>
    <Data Name="Id">{06f3de5e-46a2-4bce-8298-a8786ee074ce}</Data>
    <Data Name="Title">Chrome Component Updater</Data>
    <Data Name="FileList">    C:\Users\bigdu\AppData\Local\Temp\chrome_BITS_12656_2002967108\BITB9E8.tmp
</Data>
  </EventData>
</Event>
 
That BITS event is tagged "Chrome Component Updater" and is most likely just a progress report on Google Chrome downloading an update in the background.

BITS is a utility built into Windows to retrieve files in the background, and is part of how the MS Store and Windows updates do their work, but it is available to any application to do likewise.
 
Even if Windows flagged a USB drive as anything, Windows would first
have to recognize and enumerate the USB drive before correlating it
with any registry entry.

Sine your USB drive is not even recognized when inserted, then, no,
it's not being compared to any registry flag.

If the drive itself got 'munged' at it's 'track 0' or internal cache or
firmware, or a physical crack or poor soldering, then it would present
the same wherever it was plugged in, in this case, by NOT presenting.

"... The USB thumb-drive will be initially acknowledged by the ​
PC/laptop but its drive letter will disappear ..."​

The chip itself has gone bad and needs recovery, if possible, by a
chip test bench service.

Hence my suggestions:

never work directly on a USB drive, instead, work on the​
computer's internal drive, then copy /. backup the final file to the​
USB for transfer to other computers​
​
retype immediately while the information may be fresh in our​
minds​
​
try low-level software recovery ( such as even free Recuva​
https://www.ccleaner.com/recuva ), you may have to wedge​
something under the USB drive to hold it under pressure in​
case it's contacts are wonky or there's a crack in the soldering​
or circuit board, but it connects when slightly bent and forced to​
maintain contact​
​
send it out to a chip test-bench data-recovery service​

Let us know how it goes.
 
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