i have a 512 MB thumb drive.i used it on a 2000 and it has a 98 driver on it. I plugged it into a Xp and now it wants me to format it. Will i loose all of the files on it i really need them please help there are precious files on there.
2006-12-02 11:18:14 · 4 answers · asked by kyality 2 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Other - Hardware
Yes, formatting it will erase everything. Definitely copy everything off it immediately... there might be some corrupt data, because I see no reason why Win XP would say it requires formatting if it worked on an older system. If you can get everything copied off it, put it in the WinXP machine and let it format it, then you ought to be able to copy everything back onto it.
Windows XP should be able to format it just fine; just right click the drive icon and say format. Win XP automatically installs drivers for flash drives, so you do not need to install anything seperately.
Flash drives are notorious for losing data... it is not a good idea to have important data stored on a flash drive without backing it up somewhere. You should back up your documents first chance you get.
2006-12-02 11:33:54 · answer #1 · answered by computerguy103 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
based on my experience you cannot format a thumb drive just like a floppy drive. to format a thumb drive you will be needing the cd that comes with it. there should be an application in the cd that can format you thumb drive. after formating you will lose all your file, bt you can recover them using a file recovering program. search it at download.com
2006-12-02 11:26:21 · answer #2 · answered by magina 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
transfer the files from the thumb drive to your regular hard drive. then format the thumb drive. transfer the files back.
2006-12-02 11:22:30 · answer #3 · answered by Jordan L 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you do format your thumb drive you will definitely lose the information that's already contained on it.
2006-12-02 11:23:40 · answer #4 · answered by micksmixxx 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋