USB Flash Drive showing up as LOCAL DISK

Is there a way to differentiate between the two version?
I want to make sure that I buy the “correct” one.

*sigh* I have just ended up buying one of these defective sticks that it seems SanDisk are now covertly offloading from their stock. This has been very dissappointing and even a bit embarrassing as I’ve always been a vocal supporter of SanDisk USB sticks and only bought this brand. So now I’m needing to buy another stick as this one I’ve been saddled with just can’t do the job. Does anybody know if there is any way whatsoever to tell if the SanDisk USB drive is one of the defective ones or not, before purchase? Is there a list of known defective types? I’ve actually had to swallow some pride and look at some of SanDisk’s competitor’s drives so atleast I can be sure of what I’m getting. I’d rather avoid that. Does anybody know if any of the SanDisk 128GB drives were also defectively manufactured? If that is known with absolutey certainty, I may just have to splurge on one of those.

Just to be clear, the Fixed format was not a defect.  It was made to conform with Microsoft’s new Windows to Go requirement.  When it was found to not be that popular SanDisk stopped making them.  Stores and other vendors may have them still in stock but SanDisk doesn’t control that.

If you look for devices that don’t mention Windows 8 I would think you would be ok. 

Ed, I’ve never seen a Windows 8 logo on any of the SanDisk listings in Amazon, and there certainly isn’t one for the 64gb stick I bought. Do you know if this defect, for lack of a more apt description, made its way into any of the 128gb sized SanDisk USB sticks? If I could have that assurance that it did not, I think I will pull the trigger on the 128gb version. But that is a pretty nice little chunk of cash to thrown down. I really don’t want to be surprised or disappointed. I can’t find anything on the SanDisk websites. It would be nice to have that assurance. If I can’t get it, I think I will have to go to a competitor. I’ve got some projects that can maybe wait a bit longer, but eventually have to move forward. And I need a Removable USB Disk for that work to get done.

I don’t know ouflak.  I do know that if I buy something that doesn’t work I return it to where I bought it an get my money back.  I’m reasonable sure that Amazon would support that and worst case a SanDisk RMA would.  So I don’t think money is the issue so much as time.  And we do what we do to get the job done, on time.

Good luck with your decision.

@ed_p wrote:

Just to be clear, the Fixed format was not a defect.  It was made to conform with Microsoft’s new Windows to Go requirement.  When it was found to not be that popular SanDisk stopped making them.  Stores and other vendors may have them still in stock but SanDisk doesn’t control that.

Or SanDisk could do what other major manufacturers have done: offer a utility that allows the users to flip the “removable” bit.

Yes, years ago when flash drive technology was simpler they could be changed by flipping a bit.  Welcome to the 21st century, technology has changed, these drives were totally different than the run of the mill flash drives.  More than a bit was different.

@ed_p wrote:

Yes, years ago when flash drive technology was simpler they could be changed by flipping a bit.  Welcome to the 21st century, technology has changed, these drives were totally different than the run of the mill flash drives.  More than a bit was different.

I am quite familiar with the state of the technology, thank you very much.

I also know that the removable media bit has nothing to do with it, other than identifying the drive to the Windows OS as either fixed or removable for the purposes of partitioning, autorun, etc.

If you have any information that supports your tirade above (idle speculation does not qualify) do post it here.

Best regards,

Alex.

Good, then you also know that there are filters that can be used to make a drive appear as removable or fixed, so why don’t you use one of them?  I’m referring to r dummy.sys and dummydisk.sys drivers.

Reviewing this thread may help you:

http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/69211-a-multiple-partition-usb-stick-with-multi-boot-os/page-3

Is there any way to know with certainty that none of the 128 GB USB disks have this defect? If not, I’ve got to pull the trigger on some solution pretty much now. Thanks!

Ed: I went through your link, but it only indirectly states what has been confirmed here: That you can only flip the necessary bit if that has been made physically accessible, which has been shown to not be the case with these defective USB disks. Thanks anyway.

     

Is there any way to know with certainty that none of the 128 GB USB disks have this defect?

Not that I am aware of, which doesn’t mean there isn’t. If you buy from a reputable source, one that supports the customer satisfaction concept, if you have a problem they will allow you to exchange the device(s).  If you buy randonly on the 'net you may not have that option.

Well that’s the thing isn’t it? Even if it’s a ‘reputable source’, how are they supposed to know which USB drive is which? They could just innocently *shrug* and trade what I sent back for just another one in their stock without any better clue than anybody else on whether it’s defective or not. This clearly is time (and emotional investment) that I cannot waste. So I have had to go to one of SanDisk’s competitors. Hope the thing lasts long enough for me to get some good use out of it (SanDisk is particularly noted for its longevity and reliability). And hopefully when the time comes for me to buy a 256GB, all of the defective SanDisk stock will have been plied out to owners who don’t need the particular traits of a Removable USB disk. I’ll be reading a lot of reviews to find out as much as I can beforehand. Sad that SanDisk won’t simply come forward and straighten all of this out. I guess it would be just too embarrasing for them to acknowledge that they hedged their bets with yet another flopped Microsoft product, especially in light of the fact that no other manufacturer appears to have made the same goofball decision.

I think you will find that; 1. “Removable” USB drives will fade away, like floppy disks.  And 2. Apps that want to continue being used with USB drives will be fixed to handle the new format.

Manufacturers supporting the Windows 8 to Go standard include Kingston, Imation, Western Digital and others.

@ed_p wrote:

Manufacturers supporting the Windows 8 to Go standard include Kingston, Imation, Western Digital and others.

Yeah I thought something similar to this as well. Not wanting to be burned again, I started looking around to research all of the USB stick manufacturers who also got on board with this. Since the complaints for the Sandisk are right at the top of any internet search for this problem, I expected the same for any and all major competitors. I couldn’t find even a single example of anybody else producing a USB stick that comes up as a Fixed Disk instead of the expected Removable Disk. Not one (thankfully). Not Kingston, not Toshiba (Imation and others…), not Corsair, or Adata. It was only when I probed much deeper that I finally found one other stick likewise produced with the defect; by someone called Centon, a company I’ve never heard of, I suspect for good reason.

@ed_p wrote:

I think you will find that; 1. “Removable” USB drives will fade away, like floppy disks.  And 2. Apps that want to continue being used with USB drives will be fixed to handle the new format.

An interesting remark to make considering that Sandisk has already abandoned the defect. Sorry Microsoft: But I will one day need something larger than a 40MB sized harddrive; I will want to actually play games on my PC; And no, 640k RAM is not “enough”. I won’t try to match that kind of arrogance about what people will want and/or need to use in the future with my own predictions. RIGHT NOW, a lot of people need and expect a USB memory stick to be a Removable Disk. That will not change because Microsoft dictates it based on God-only-knows what delusions are swirling around in their own heads. That will change because the market dictates it and only then.

The market wants USB drives that are able to be partitioned.  A single partition is fine for 4 GB, 8 Gb even 16GB drives but 128 GB it too big and the number keeps getting larger.  If you want to be sure the USB drive you buy is removable, buy small size. 

The market wants USB drives that support flipping the “removable” bit with a utility.

@ed_p wrote:

The market wants USB drives that are able to be partitioned.  A single partition is fine for 4 GB, 8 Gb even 16GB drives but 128 GB it too big and the number keeps getting larger.  If you want to be sure the USB drive you buy is removable, buy small size. 

In five to ten years, if history is any kind of a guide, 128GB or 256GB sized single partition USB memory sticks might be laughably trivial in comparison with the needs of the ‘market’. I myself am having to upgrade to double size once every two years on average (a bit less actually). That is just to keep up with my normal professional tasks. Note that those tasks haven’t themselves changed over the years. Just the requirements on the base storage space on a Removable Disk when performing those tasks.

It is an extreme act of hubris to try and anticipate just exactly what the entire market will be like in that time frame, and I will try and avoid doing so myself, except by perhaps suggesting again that we look at history as a guide. But I recommend that Sandisk dances to its own tune and not subscribe to Microsoft’s shortsighted vision of the world. I would also recommend that the next time they go for such a fundamental change to a key part of their product base, that they atleast provide the tools such that the key customers in that primary market can use the technology as they need to for their particular demands. If they can’t provide that flexiblity, then they should get out of the business altogether.

And I guess there’s no reason to play any cards close to the vest at this point is there? There are several existing programs out there on the market that will partition a USB Removable Disk, no problem. And there are OS’s that will recognize all of the partitions on that Removable Disk, no problem. The problem is that none of them are owned by Microsoft, and neither is the patent for such technology. So the only way of being able to partition a USB Removable Disk with Microsoft’s default disk management software, and/or to recognize any multiple partitions, outside of Microsoft spending some big money (or using true open source licensed software), is to have the USB memory stick be seen as a Fixed Disk. Gosh, what a surprise. :cat:

I just hope that if Sandisk decides to merrily go along with some Windows-9-to-Go requirement that all USB Removable drives become Fixed Disks, then they atleast provide some facilities for those of us who live in the real world outside of Microsoft’s veiled perception of how they thought things would be (as opposed to how they actually are).

The market wants USB drives that support flipping the “removable” bit with a utility.

Then always buy USB drives 16 GB and smaller and you’ll have no problem flipping the bit.

In five to ten years, if history is any kind of a guide, 128GB or 256GB sized single partition USB memory sticks might be laughably trivial in comparison with the needs of the ‘market’.

Oh I don’t think it will be that long before USB devices are phased out.  SanDisk already has wireless drives out.  USB drives are going the way of floppy and CD and DVD drives.

And I guess there’s no reason to play any cards close to the vest at this point is there? There are several existing programs out there on the market that will partition a USB Removable Disk, no problem. And there are OS’s that will recognize all of the partitions on that Removable Disk, no problem.

Yes, Linux and gparted and etc have been around for a long time.  10 yrs ago there was big talk about Linux growing and dominating the world.  You’ve seen how that has gone.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve used Linux and even have a Linux system on this netbook that I boot frequently but Linux is still a small portion of the pc world.  But there are others that are growing, some of which didn’t even exist 10 yrs ago; OS X, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, etc.

The bottom line, the world is changing, the market is changing, change is inevitable, change is life.  No more CRT monitors, no more 20 lb desktop machines, soon no more removable drives.  :-) 

I have the same problem as discussed here.

I had a 64Gb Cruzer Extreme, worked perfectly.

Unfortunately I lost it.

Bought another one and now have a problem.

On my Win8 laptop the drive is not working, I only get “USB device not recognised”…jada jada malfunctioned.

On other computers it works but only as local drive.

As I understand it there are different model numbers for the units.

My current not working unit has SDCZ80-064G-G46.

On this page http://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-SDCZ80-064G-X46-Extreme-Flash-Drive/dp/B007YXA5SI

it says that the one there ending in X46 is a newer model of this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-SDCZ80-064G-G46-Extreme-Flash-Drive/dp/B00DZPUOUI/

I dont have access to the box of old unit right now, but that one came in box. The new one came in a Bubble pack.

Its not mentioned anywere on Amazon or the packing that this is Windows 8 certified, or that it will appear as a Local Drive, or my case not working at all in my Win8 laptop.

Im gonna return this item, but how are one supposed to know which model is the removable one?

Very very bad of SanDisk indeed.

You say SanDisk stopped making the drives with firmware that causes the drives to be recognized as a hard disk.  Do you have any information on model numbers, etc.?  We just purchased a 16GB Extreme and a 16GB Cruzer Glide and they still have the issue.  Not sure if there’s a lot of old stock out there?