2g Voyager WriteProtected

[Joe Mathers]

I have a 2g Voyager that has recently become unusable and I believe that this same situation is affecting many other people. Cruising the net I have found that this issue doesn't only affect Corsair USB memory, but all removable USB memory sticks. I will first explain what I am experiencing, how it got that way, and what I need to fix it.

 

My Flash Voyager currently thinks that it is a read-only device that accepts removable media, such as a smart card reader. Under drive properties in Windows XP (SP2) it shows that the file system is RAW and has 0 bytes used and 0 bytes free. I am unable to format the drive using neither Windows nor the Corsair Flash Voyager Utility. If I double-click on the drives icon under windows explorer I am told that the drive is not formatted.

 

The culprit is a USB Smartcard Reader. The model that we have is a Cherry ST-1000U. The link for this particular piece of equipment is http://www.cherrycorp.com/english/advanced-line/smartcard-reader-pc-usb-st-1000u.htm

 

The way that this happened is as follows:

I had the Flash Voyager inserted into the computer and had two files open, both Word documents. Everything was running fine. I saved both documents to the Flash Voyager with no issues. About 10 seconds later I plugged in the Cherry reader. The computer that I was using had never had this USB Smartcard Reader plugged into it. Immediately after I plugged in the reader the computer became 'busy' while the new hardware was being installed. Everything appeared to be working fine. I typed a sentence into one of the word documents and attempted to save it onto the Voyager and received an error to the effect that the file could not be written to the device. I attempted to explore the Voyager via Windows explorer but could not. I then unplugged the memory stick and reinserted it and from that point on it thinks it is a USB Smartcard Reader and shows the media as not being inserted, or write-protected. This all happened in the span of less than 1 minute.

 

My theory:

The software drivers that were activated by plugging the USB Smartcard Reader for the FIRST time into my computer reprogrammed my Voyager into a smartcard reader also. As stated above, it now believes that it is a removable storage device which is write-protected. I believe that the Flash Voyager is technically fine, but the firmware has been corrupted by the installation of the card reader's software/drivers.

 

The Fix:

I believe that in order to fix this situation the PTMD (mass production tool multi-device) image for the Voyager drive needs to be reloaded. I have seen some of the other USB drive manufactures on the Internet that have been able to provide a program to their customers that does this. Please advise.

[RAM GUY]

I would test the Fash Voyeger in another system, but we will be happy to replace it if you like.

Please follow the link in my signature “I think I have a bad part! Or *New* Tech Support Express” and we will be happy to replace them or it!

[Joe Mathers]

I have tried it in over 10 different systems, ranging from ME, 2000, XP (SP1), XP (SP2), and even on a Linux system. I very much doubt that the unit has failed, but has been reconfigured. I am in the Air Force serving in Germany and returning it would cost me about a month in transiet time.

 

By my write up above you may have surmised that I am an IT person, and can not fathom that there is no software based solution to this problem. If you could provide a small program that would return the Voyager back to its original configuration I would be extreamly greatfull. If you could provide this file I have to believe that there is a possibility that it could work. Please advise.

[RAM GUY]

Joe,

I am sorry but there is no software available to us that we could give you to try. The best choice would be to just get your drive replaced. However, you can try the http://www.usbman.com/ web site. And see if there are any third party solutions.