Cruzer Mini 1.0GB Woes

Hello. My 1st post and new to this Community so please bear with me.

I found a message (below) from 2009 with the exact same problem, but no answers. Just trial and error suggestions that were a waste of the author’s time.  The thread appears to be locked but it may be that I am not familiar enough with this board to click in the right place. 

My problem is that I have had my little Cruzer mini 1.0 GB for several years. I use it simply to keep some documents secure and permanently off my PC. I have not had a problem with it even during all the MS Windows updates until Win 10 and the latest PC update to Ver 1803.  This could have caused the issue but I am not sure.  

I now have the same symptom as 1. below which was my first clue. Basically it looks like it can’t connect during the boot up of the PC.  If I unplug the USB Drive, everything starts normally. Afterwards I can plug the Drive in but it is not recognized immediatly and I might have to wait 5 to 15 minutes before the drive is recognized.   

I also used Bitdefender and it gave me a pop up that said do you want to immunize your USB Stick. That could be an issue too. 

There is one other thing I noticed which is a MISSING LICENCE pop up and the message: “Unable to locate a licence key on currently available media” It does allow you to continue without the key however.  Whenever the PC or Laptop does recognize the USB drive on the PC, it will bring up the File Explorer screen.  

I also have a laptop with Win 10 Ver 1809.  With my Cruzer mini in the USB drive, the laptop boots but it doesn’t recognize the USB Stick.  I can go to Settings -  Bluetooth & Devices - Add Device and get it but it isn’t recognized automatically on the laptop either.

Since this problem has been around for so long, can anyone point me to the correct solution. I am looking for the answer, not a  trial and error approach to fix this. It may be that I just have to wait for the next Win 10 PC Update if this is a MS OS defect. 

I’d appreciate any feedback on this from someone who had the same problem. 

BTW, locking out old posts where people have clicked “Email me when someone replies” makes this board very inefficient. Not only do I clutter up the board with redundant information, I can’t get answers from those who have gone through this experience in the past. Just sayin’

— Previous 2009 post—

I have a Cruzer Mini 1.0GB drive, and it has recently started acting very strangely on my main desktop. Here are my symptoms:

  1. Sometimes (about 10% of the time) the computer refuses to display the login screen while the drive is plugged in. It waits until I unplug the drive, then continues with the little vista globe and login page.

  2. When I plug the thumbdrive into its usual powered USB hub it is often detected as an “Unknown Device.”

  3. When I plug the drive into any USB port directly on my PC, it works but Windows tells me that the device could run faster because it is a USB 2.0 device in a 1.1 port. All of the ports on my PC are 2.0.

Non of these symptoms occur on any other drive or with this drive on another computer.

I have attemted the following fixes:

  1. Reformatted the drive. No effect.

  2. Updated my chipset drivers. No effect.

  3. Updated my BIOS. No effect.

  4. Uninstalled/Reinstalled my USB controllers in Device Manager. This solves the problem competely until, it seems, the next time I reboot the PC without the drive inserted. Then when I reinsert it, the problems begin anew.

Please help! Is there some fundamental incompatibility between my PC and this drive?

A couple of thoughts come to mind but I don’t want to waste your time trying them if they won’t work so I’ll shut up.

Or you could just buy 5 new ones for $13.99.  https://www.amazon.com/TOPSELL-Flash-Memory-Drives-Colors/dp/B06XK8PPDX/ref=sr_1_14?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1548618094&sr=1-14&keywords=1+gb+usb+flash+drives  Includes free shipping.

BTW Links to locked postings works.

Good luck.

Just discovered that the USB Drive is stuck as Drive H: but the drives are C:  D: E: F: and no G:

I plugged in another USB Drive as drive G: and rebooted the PC. 

When I plugged in the San Disk Cruzer Mini,  it was recognized right away.

Interesting!   Maybe changing the drive letter on the Cruzer mini might fix the issue.

 We’ll see.