Memory Sticks no longer being recognised

[Chuckman]

Yesterday the PSP stopped recognising my SanDisk memory stick. Thinking the stick had corrupted, I tried the Sony 32meg stick that came with the console and had never been used. Again the console didn't recognise it.

Now could someone tell me how serious is this problem and are there any tips that people could suggest to aid me?

[SoCal]

Does your PC recognise either of the memory sticks. If yes then make sure the sticks are formatted FAT16. If the PSP still does not recognise the sticks then you have a big problem with your PSP.

If however your PC and PSP do not recognise the sticks then they are corrupted. If you have access to a Mac you can format the sticks for use in the Mac and then when you connect them back to a PC you may be able to reformat them. I had a 1GB Sandisk stick go bad on me once and had to get a warranty exchange. Hope this is not the case with yours. Good luck. :)

[Chuckman]

Hi SoCal, thanks for the reply. :)

Yes, both of them can't be recognised under Windows which is rather annoying, so it looks like they're both corrupted. :(

As the SanDisk stick came from Ebay, a warranty exchance is sadly out of the question. I will get another one from Amazon and see how it goes from there. :)

[SoCal]

Actually, I got mine from Ebay as well. When it went bad I contacted SanDisk and all I had to do was fax them a copy of the Ebay transaction and a copy of my paypal receipt to get a RMA and prepaid postage.

So if your purchase was for a new memory stick from Ebay you should be able to get it replaced for free. :D

[Chuckman]

Didn't know that about Ebay, thanks for the tip. :)

[Samstag]

If the PSP won't recognize either stick it's probably not the sticks. Did you try formatting them using the PSP (under system settings)?

[SoCal]

If the PSP won't recognize either stick it's probably not the sticks. Did you try formatting them using the PSP (under system settings)?

Think about what you just said. It would be next to impossible to format the sticks under system settings if the PSP does not see them. :rolleyes:

[Samstag]

Think about what you just said. It would be next to impossible to format the sticks under system settings if the PSP does not see them. :rolleyes:

No, after watching this thread for a while it occurred to me that you're making the assumption that the original poster has tried simple fixes like this. I'm tossing out the idea that the whole problem is either user error or that it's a USB/Windows problem rather than a problem with both memory sticks.

These sticks don't just suddenly become corrupt in an unseable way without physical damage. And to think two sticks from different manufacturers both developed the same problem at the same time for the same user is less than unlikely.

[King of the Losers]

i had the same exact problem and reformatting it with the PSP made it work again its not such a stupid suggestion

[Chuckman]

Samstag, the SanDisk stick was formatted using the PSP and the Sony stick is unformatted as the PSP won't recognise it.

Tomorrow I'm going to go to a shop and try them with a different PSP so I can see whether it's the sticks that are the problem or the PSP and then try a new memory stick in my PSP to see what happens.

[Samstag]

Samstag, the SanDisk stick was formatted using the PSP and the Sony stick is unformatted as the PSP won't recognise it.

Tomorrow I'm going to go to a shop and try them with a different PSP so I can see whether it's the sticks that are the problem or the PSP and then try a new memory stick in my PSP to see what happens.

That sounds like a good plan. Hopefully it's not the PSP itself.

Have you checked the slot for crumbs, spiders, etc?

[SoCal]

No, after watching this thread for a while it occurred to me that you're making the assumption that the original poster has tried simple fixes like this. I'm tossing out the idea that the whole problem is either user error or that it's a USB/Windows problem rather than a problem with both memory sticks.

These sticks don't just suddenly become corrupt in an unseable way without physical damage. And to think two sticks from different manufacturers both developed the same problem at the same time for the same user is less than unlikely.

LOL....You are soooooo wrong but you are entitled to your opinion. Look at the first post by Chuckman. He starts off by saying that the PSP will not recognise the sticks. Ergo my statement.

Also, You are way wrong in saying that "These sticks don't just suddenly become corrupt in an unseable way without physical damage". Don't believe me just start searching the net. It's filled with accounts of how memory sticks got corrupted while being written to. Try this out if ya don't believe me. Start writing a large file to your memory stick while it's in the PSP and remove the stick while it is being written to. Chances are you will have a corrupted stick. That is exactly what happened to my stick and why I had to get another one.

Just my opinion and I'll let it go now.

[Chuckman]

UPDATE: Tried the sticks on another PSP and they work fine, absolutely no problems there. So it means that the PSP isn't functioning correctly.

Phoned up Sony and they said it would take nine weeks for it to be repaired at a cost of £135. With that sort of quick, value for money service I'm off back to Ebay to get another one.

Surely these things are supposed to last longer then 3.5 months? Not to worry, I'll get another one and if this goes by April then Game Park is getting my business.

[Samstag]

Wow that really stinks. I don't see much point in paying £135 when you could pay a little more and get another. I think if I were you I'd buy another and sell this one on Ebay. You may be able to get a good amount for it considering it's still partially functional.

SoCal: I'm sorry I offended you by suggesting you were wrong. Please don't let the fact that you actually were wrong keep you from trying to help in the future. Just don't be an ass about it next time. Thanks.

[kurst3030]

Sorry about your memory stick chuckman.. but other than that this is thread was entertaining.

[SoCal]

Wow that really stinks. I don't see much point in paying £135 when you could pay a little more and get another. I think if I were you I'd buy another and sell this one on Ebay. You may be able to get a good amount for it considering it's still partially functional.

SoCal: I'm sorry I offended you by suggesting you were wrong. Please don't let the fact that you actually were wrong keep you from trying to help in the future. Just don't be an ass about it next time. Thanks.

Again you are mistaken. I guess if someone disagrees with you you take it that the person is offended. I was not offended at all. I have been wrong many times and although the memory sticks turned out to be OK, my logic was sound.

Lastly, if calling me an ass makes you feel better, great. We all know who was really offended here. :p

Chuckman: Have you figured out why your PC will not recognise your memory sticks? I would be interested in what you find out. Sorry about your PSP. It's possible that some pins got bent inside the PSP where the memory stick plugs into. I would open it up and check that out. You may not need to buy another PSP. :)

[Chuckman]

Thanks kurst3030, it's just one of those things that happen. :)

SoCal: The reason why the PC won't recognise it is due to the PSP not recognising it. Once I get a working PSP it will be business as usual. Did try to unscrew it but it didn't improve matters.

Samstag: I'll certainly keep the Ebay suggestion in mind.



Thanks for all your help, it has been appreciated. :)

[SoCal]

Thanks kurst3030, it's just one of those things that happen. :)

SoCal: The reason why the PC won't recognise it is due to the PSP not recognising it. Once I get a working PSP it will be business as usual. Did try to unscrew it but it didn't improve matters.

Samstag: I'll certainly keep the Ebay suggestion in mind.



Thanks for all your help, it has been appreciated. :)

Ahh.....It seems that Samstag was right! :) ....I did make an assumption. I thought you were putting the memory sticks into a card reader when you attempted to read / format them with your PC. So it's time for me to eat a little humble pie. Next time Samstag I'll try to be more open minded. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Well like they say there has only been one perfect being in all of history so I don't feel so bad. Peace. :D

[Samstag]

Ahh.....It seems that Samstag was right! :) ....I did make an assumption. I thought you were putting the memory sticks into a card reader when you attempted to read / format them with your PC. So it's time for me to eat a little humble pie. Next time Samstag I'll try to be more open minded. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Well like they say there has only been one perfect being in all of history so I don't feel so bad. Peace. :D

Hey it's no big deal we were both just trying to help. Sorry for calling you an ass, that was over the line.

In the end, it's all Chuck's fault for not providing proper information ;)