USB not recognized (Device Descriptor Request Failed)

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scarlettpenelopegwe

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I have a flash drive that I previously used in the public computer lab (where many viruses linger) the other day to do my work. As I got home, the flash drive isn't working anymore, saying "USB Device not Recognized". I also noticed that it really took me a while to finally, safely remove it from the computer lab's PC. So I actually wonder if it actually removed my flash drive properly.

On Device Manager, it says "Unknown USB Device (Device Descriptor Request Failed)".
On the Properties, the device status says "Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43) -- A request for the USB device descriptor failed."

My flash drive is a Kingston Flash Drive DataTraveler (DT100) 16GB, and my PC is running on Windows 8.1.

Things I have tried:
- Shut down my PC, unplugged power and removed the battery, waited for a while, booted my PC, and try plugging in again.
- On Device Manager, uninstalled it and scanned for hardware changes, it still returns as "Unknown USB Device".
- On Device Manager, I clicked "Update Driver Software..." and it returns me a message saying "The best driver software for your device is already installed".
- Unfortunately, when I visited Kingston's website to check if there is a driver for this specific flash drive, there isn't any... "There are no downloads or drivers available for this product".
- Used Windows 8's Troubleshooting tool. It only detected my problem but was unable to fix it.
- I also tried plugging it to other devices that are running on Windows XP, Vista, and 7, none does any better.

Is there any other way to fix it?
 

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It's a gonner. It doesn't seem to make much difference whether you get a good known brand or generic USB stick you'll get problems like that, they either go un-recognised or write protected.
 

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The descriptor table is probably stored in a 'protected' area of memory which has somehow become corrupted. In some devices it is in OTP memory, in some in EEPROM but unless you know the original contents and how to unlock it you might as well throw it away. It isn't impossible to reprogram it if it's in EEPROM but there would be a secret way to access the memory area only known to the manufacturer.

Obviously, some crooks have found a way to do it, at least for some USB sticks because they manage to set the descriptor so it appears to have greater capacity than is physically present. Search a well known on-line bidding site and you will see things like "512Gb USB stick. Note the real capacity may be less", not being specific but sometime 'less' means 4Gb!

Brian
 

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