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  • PortableApps and new flash drive...won't install

    My desktop (soon to be upgraded) is Win7 Home Premium.

    I got the Steampunk Flash Drive (8GB) from ThinkGeek awhile ago, but have just now gotten around to using it. Trying to install PortableApps and running into a big snag.

    10 The drive was initially read as 8GB. PortableApps downloaded fine onto the desktop, but when I try to install it to the flash drive I get sequential "Error opening file for writing..." messages and the only way to get rid of them is to either skip the file in question or abort the install entirely.

    The drive now has a partial folder from PortableApps...I try to delete it and "This disk is write-protected"...how was I able to create the file then? Windows lets me format the drive, and reads it as 16GB O_o But it can't format it.

    20 GOTO 10 Except now I can't write anything to the drive (but Windoze will try to format it only to error out and tell me it is write-protected). A different flash drive is fine, so I don't think it's (for once) the desktop. MBAM can't see anything wrong with it. I don't see any write-protect switches on the flashdrive itself...so what's going on? It's unbranded so I have no idea who the manufacturer is.

    ETA: Ran diskpart to remove read-only...that seems to have worked and I'm now trying to format the drive againbut a formatting attempt gives me 'write protected' again. I found some evidence that BitLocker may be the culprit...not sure what triggered it. That raises the question whether or not I'll ever be able to use the drive normally or have to go through this each time (kinda defeats the whole purpose of a flashdrive then doesn't it).
    Last edited by Dreamstalker; 12-18-2014, 02:00 PM.
    "I am quite confident that I do exist."
    "Excuse me, I'm making perfect sense. You're just not keeping up." The Doctor

  • #2
    You could try using something like an ubuntu live cd or gparted to try formatting it, but... it sounds like there a fault on the pen.

    Also as far as I'm aware you don't get bitlocker with Win 7HP although I might be wrong.
    Not y3k compatible

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    • #3
      I have an Ubuntu box (no network access but that's moot) so will try that...my concern of course is once I'm able to format and write to the drive will I be able to access it as normal (under Windows)?

      Win7 Home Premium does have BitLocker, although it's never been enabled. It's way past the RMA period, but I'll probably email ThinkGeek anyway and see what my options are...darnit, I like that drive.
      "I am quite confident that I do exist."
      "Excuse me, I'm making perfect sense. You're just not keeping up." The Doctor

      Comment


      • #4
        Well, it's useless under Windows right now, so what's the harm in reformatting it under Ubuntu? Just do that and drop a plain-text (TXT) file on it, just to see if Windows can access it properly.
        "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
        "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
        "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
        "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
        "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
        "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
        Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
        "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

        Comment


        • #5
          Quoth Dreamstalker View Post
          I have an Ubuntu box (no network access but that's moot) so will try that...my concern of course is once I'm able to format and write to the drive will I be able to access it as normal (under Windows)?

          Win7 Home Premium does have BitLocker, although it's never been enabled. It's way past the RMA period, but I'll probably email ThinkGeek anyway and see what my options are...darnit, I like that drive.
          As long as you format NTFS/FAT whatever Windows shouldn't have an issue with it. I would rebuild the MBR as well personally, although it's unlikely to be the issue.

          We use bitlocker on our work laptops so I know usb disks "bitlockered" will open on windows 7 but I always thought Bitlocker boot drives and encrypting external disks was a feature of Pro/Enterprise. Learn something new every day, although I work with *nix servers day in day out so avoid windows as much as possible.
          Not y3k compatible

          Comment


          • #6
            BitLocker is on Ultimate & Enterprise only, iirc -- I double-checked. Odd that a Premium box would mention it, other than as an ad. Granted, Win7 technically installs everything (it really only has one core installer) no matter which disc you use -- the keycode determines which portions of the OS are usable. (Some progs, like QuickBooks and Peachtree, do this as well).
            "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
            "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
            "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
            "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
            "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
            "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
            Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
            "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

            Comment


            • #7
              Ouch, I had a flash drive do that on me once. In my case, the files already on it worked fine, but it was borked for any changes. Hope you find a fix for yours.
              The Rich keep getting richer because they keep doing what it was that made them rich. Ditto the Poor.
              "Hy kan tell dey is schmot qvestions, dey is makink my head hurt."
              Hoc spatio locantur.

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              • #8
                I'm not sure why this popped into my head, as it's even more tangential than usual for me ... But, under any version of Windows from XP (I believe) or later: never ever ever allow Windows to use its built-in utilities to both compress AND encrypt a file. Doing this add a unique key that links it to that specific install of Windows (and possibly the hardware, as well). If you have to nuke n pave, even if you reinstall the exact same version of Windows with the exact same install code on the exact same hardware, any such files will be rendered completely inaccessible.
                "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
                "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
                "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
                "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
                "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
                "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
                Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
                "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

                Comment


                • #9
                  Quoth EricKei View Post
                  I'm not sure why this popped into my head, as it's even more tangential than usual for me ... But, under any version of Windows from XP (I believe) or later: never ever ever allow Windows to use its built-in utilities to both compress AND encrypt a file. Doing this add a unique key that links it to that specific install of Windows (and possibly the hardware, as well). If you have to nuke n pave, even if you reinstall the exact same version of Windows with the exact same install code on the exact same hardware, any such files will be rendered completely inaccessible.
                  Unless you export the system key first - to a non-encrypted file. If I remember my Windows security correctly, that is.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Quoth CyberLurch View Post
                    If I remember my Windows security correctly, that is.
                    Windows security? Is that somehow related to Harley-Davidson mufflers?
                    Any fool can piss on the floor. It takes a talented SC to shit on the ceiling.

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