This USB stick is not recognized on an HP ZBook 15G with Windows 11 installed. It is not in Windows Explorer or Disk Management. I have tried several fixes for similar issues found on the web. I have been communicating with SanDisk Technical and so far no solution. The stick works fine on Windows 10 and Linux Mint 22. When plugged into the Windows 11 HP laptop, its like it does not exist. Anyone with a similar issue?
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If your USB stick isn’t recognized on your HP ZBook 15G with Windows 11, try testing it on different USB ports, updating the USB drivers in Device Manager, and checking Disk Management to see if the drive shows up. You can also make sure Windows 11 is up to date. If none of these steps work, it could be a driver or compatibility issue.
You may have to Uninstall and Install via Device Manager depending on what’s shown.
Last week I purchased an 64GB SanDisk Ultra and it works fine in all of my computers. I plan on buying a refurbished Windows 11 desktop and see how the Ultra Flair works in it. Anyone know what the differences are other than appearances between the Ultra and Ultra Flair?
I could not do that because it does not show up at all on the Windows 11 machine.
The Ultra has a plastic body, while the Ultra Flair has a metal body. The Ultra Flair also offers faster read speeds. Both are USB 3.0 drives.
There is something different between the two that my Windows 11 laptop does not like, because the Flair is completely ignored.
Nice suggestions by @johnjacobb40
Now to answer your query, It might be a driver or compatibility issue. Try updating your USB drivers, checking Windows Device Manager for errors, and testing the Flair on another machine. Sometimes, USB 3.0 ports behave differently—try a USB 2.0 port if available. Formatting the drive on another device might also help.
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I have done all you have suggested, some things multiple times. I even cleaned and formatted the USB with Diskpart and no change. SanDisk in now replacing the USB. Last week I bought a SanDisk Ultra and had no problems with it on my Windows 11 laptop. There is something on that USB that causes the laptop to not recognize it.
Root Cause, I think. Today I checked to see if the stick worked on my desktop which has USB 2.0 and 3.0. Would not work on the 3.0 ports. (My HP laptop has all 3.0 ports.) Then I found this post on Reddit from 6 years ago: “Worked for SanDisk in the past as tech support. Unfortunately this does happen. Keep in mind that those drives have a 0.1 return rate, so nothing to major. Cause of the failure is that one of the added pins for USB 3 fail. They will still have sufficient pin layout for USB 2 to function. As this is normally a short circuit of the pins it might cause different issues. Most affected devices would be the Ultra 3.0, Ultra Fit 3.0 and Cruzer Blade.” SanDisk support never mentioned this. They said I could send it back for a new one. It would have cost me half or more the price of the stick. I feel they should have paid the return cost. They lost my loyalty. In the future I will check my sticks in both 2.0 and 3.0 ports as soon as I get one.
I’m not entirely sure what’s going on, but did you ever consider that perhaps Windows 11 might simply be playing hide-and-seek with your USB stick?
Let me know what you find out.
My previous post and the quote I included is what I found. The USB Flair does not work in USB 3.0 ports. That quote is 6 years old from the Redditt forum. So the problem has been known for quite some time. What I really don’t like is the tech that I was dealing with at SanDisk never mentioned that and yet it is an old problem. I have been a loyal user of their products, but some of that loyalty is now gone. They said they would replace it, but the stick was about $9 and until I bought a padded envelope and paid postage I would spend almost that amount. I think they should pay the return costs. Just my opinion.
