Ok, I'm back folks!  And yet again, poised with a stupid problem from my boss!
 
We got this flash drive....some generic 4 gig'er with the only writing on it saying "Super Flash Drive" (Exhilarating...)
 
Anywho...My problem is that when I plug'er in, nothing happens...at all...aside from the red light that pops on the drive itself...
 
So, I've established that it's getting power...but I think the firmware is fried or something...I don't know.  And according to my boss, its imperative that I get this device working. SO if any of you beautiful brainy folks have some sort of firmware flasher or....something, I would be very appreciative...
 
Thank you~

When you plug it in to.... what?? Is the PC running Win2k or later? If it fails to work on more than one suitable PC, it is BROKE!, send it back/replace. Do you have access to a working pen drive as a further check?.
 
      Mike.

I tell you, I have seen this a few times myself. I go threw thumbdrives fast. It does pay to buy a known brand. I have an el cheapo that went out on my inside of a month. I plug it in and nothing happens.  
 
Does the pc recognize it at all? Can you run scan disk on it ? Does it show up in disk manager?

 
Maybe the guy who broke your nic card got a hold of it.

Sounds like it died a horrible death! Hope your boss has backups somewhere.

Go to Start, Control Panel, System, Hardware and then Device Manager and look under Universal Serial Bus controllers.  If there is a warning symbol next to it then you have to click or right click on it for it to reset itself.
 
You could be locked out but if another thumb drive works in the same slot, then you will know by process of elimination.

Get a new flash drive. I recommend a Corsair Voyager. Its on newegg for ~$15 + free S&H. (2GB version)

Oui, I was afraid it was dead...
 
Lol, I appreciate the help you guys!
 
And yea, I tried it on many a PC on many a USB slot, and it does absolutely nothing...
 
All running windows XP just so ya' know...
 
Thanks again~ and stay tuned for some other retarded crusade my boss will send me on...
 
 
Love peace and nipple grease everyone!
 
-waves-
 
Limpet~

You are welcome.
 
In order to keep these devices from being fried, you do have to turn them off before you disconnect them.  There is usually a control in the system tray or under "My Computer" (eject) where the drive is located.  They are forgiving most of the time but the circuits are small and there is a load from electricity.

Ejecting a USB device does not turn power off to the device.
 
Ejecting the device flushes any buffers (for memory devices) and unloads the driver. Power is still being provided to the device and is removed when the device is unplugged or the system turned off.
 
Ejecting the device is not any easier on the device than unplugging it - it just ensures data is not corrupted.

Okay.  I accept that you are right.  Thank you for that.
 
It use to be that with older computers, they told you not to plug anything in with the power on.  USB ports seem to run at 100 MA to 500MA so I wonder how you can connect electronics to it without damaging the chips inside.