I'm having problem using my flash drive on Surface RT. recently, 95% of the time, when I plug my Extreme USB 3.0 flash drive into Surface RT, I get no response from the system, the indicator on the flash drive does not illuminate, there is no sound (the sound that plays out of speaks when a USB device is connected), and no drive appears in "my computer". I have been using this USB 3.0 flash drive on my Surface RT for over a month, and it was OK before, and i don't really know when exactly it started to act up. this is the only USB 3.0 flash drive I have now, all my other flash drives which are USB 2.0 work perfectly on Surface RT, and all my external HDDs work fine as well. the problematic USB 3.0 flash drive works fine with my Lenovo T420 and T500 with no problem at all if I leave the Extreme USB 3.0 flash drive in the USB port while I restart Surface, 100% of the time the flash drive is detected and recognized and working fine after reboot, but when I reject the drive and plug it back in, no response again. I have tried to change drive letter, reformat the flash drive, even reinstalled Surface RT in case it was a registry problem. doesn't change anything. I have contacted Sandisk and the only response I got was "we didn't test it on ARM based system"... any help?

I wonder if this is related. http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/forum/surfwinrt-surfusing/i-have-to-restart-to-get-my-usb-keyflash-or-jump/a25421fc-644b-4ce2-ab19-6f4d5be24b16

Hi, thanks for checking! Now that you mentioned it, I remembered that I still have an old usb Extension cable, which seems to work with the sandisk. Not the ideal solution, but it works..

I was able to get the device to work using an male-to-female adapter - similar to the ones shown in the pages linked below. http://www.meritline.com/usb-3-0-male-to-female-adapter---p-75337.aspx?source=bghdac&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=Computer%2BHardware http://www.bing.com/shopping/usb-a-male-to-usb-a-female-adapter-converter/p/AABCAD607F61EADA5020?q=usb+male+to+female+adapter&lpf=0&lpq=usb%2bmale%2bto%2bfemale%2badapter&FORM=CMSMEE It appears to be connector compatibility issue. Please try it out and post you feedback. Thanks, Eliyas

Thanks for confirming. I got one such device today and experienced the same issue. So it definitely a power issue - either the device is asking more power than allowed or the port is not able to provide power beyond a certain threshold. I will find out which one it is and get back to you. If you could, please also report this issue to Sandisk. I have several other USB3 storage devices and they all work. So this appears to be specific to Sandisk. Thanks.

Can you try plugging the device behind a self-powered HUB (2.0 or 3.0) and see it works? I'm wondering whether it's drawing excessive current on plug-in (inrush) and leads to enumeration failure? Thanks, Eliyas Hi, I have the same problem with my sandisk Extreme 64gb and my Surface RT. It only works when it is already plugged in before booting the tablet. It does not work when I put in the sandisk during desktop mode. I tried it on a powered USB 2.0 hub today, and this seems to work. The Sandisk Stick gets recognized while in desktop mode. I hope this will not be the solution forever, because I cant always carry this Hub with me ;]

Surface RT and Sandisk Extreme USB 3.0 Flash Drive

Anonymous

I'm having problem using my flash drive on Surface RT.

recently, 95% of the time, when I plug my Extreme USB 3.0 flash drive into Surface RT, I get no response from the system, the indicator on the flash drive does not illuminate, there is no sound (the sound that plays out of speaks when a USB device is connected), and no drive appears in "my computer".

I have been using this USB 3.0 flash drive on my Surface RT for over a month, and it was OK before, and i don't really know when exactly it started to act up.
this is the only USB 3.0 flash drive I have now, all my other flash drives which are USB 2.0 work perfectly on Surface RT, and all my external HDDs work fine as well.
the problematic USB 3.0 flash drive works fine with my Lenovo T420 and T500 with no problem at all
if I leave the Extreme USB 3.0 flash drive in the USB port while I restart Surface, 100% of the time the flash drive is detected and recognized and working fine after reboot, but when I reject the drive and plug it back in, no response again.
I have tried to change drive letter, reformat the flash drive, even reinstalled Surface RT in case it was a registry problem. doesn't change anything.

I have contacted Sandisk and the only response I got was "we didn't test it on ARM based system"...

any help?

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42 answers

Anonymous

2013-03-26T06:00:29+00:00

I wonder if this is related.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/forum/surfwinrt-surfusing/i-have-to-restart-to-get-my-usb-keyflash-or-jump/a25421fc-644b-4ce2-ab19-6f4d5be24b16
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Anonymous

2013-03-21T20:16:43+00:00

Hi,

thanks for checking! Now that you mentioned it, I remembered that I still have an old usb Extension cable, which seems to work with the sandisk. Not the ideal solution, but it works..
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Anonymous

2013-03-21T19:45:48+00:00

I was able to get the device to work using an male-to-female adapter - similar to the ones shown in the pages linked below.

http://www.meritline.com/usb-3-0-male-to-female-adapter---p-75337.aspx?source=bghdac&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=Computer%2BHardware

http://www.bing.com/shopping/usb-a-male-to-usb-a-female-adapter-converter/p/AABCAD607F61EADA5020?q=usb+male+to+female+adapter&lpf=0&lpq=usb%2bmale%2bto%2bfemale%2badapter&FORM=CMSMEE

It appears to be connector compatibility issue.

Please try it out and post you feedback.

Thanks,

Eliyas
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Anonymous

2013-03-20T21:13:10+00:00

Thanks for confirming. I got one such device today and experienced the same issue. So it definitely a power issue - either the device is asking more power than allowed or the port is not able to provide power beyond a certain threshold. I will find out which one it is and get back to you. If you could, please also report this issue to Sandisk.

I have several other USB3 storage devices and they all work. So this appears to be specific to Sandisk.

Thanks.
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Anonymous

2013-03-20T08:23:01+00:00

Can you try plugging the device behind a self-powered HUB (2.0 or 3.0) and see it works? I'm wondering whether it's drawing excessive current on plug-in (inrush) and leads to enumeration failure?

Thanks,

Eliyas

Hi, I have the same problem with my sandisk Extreme 64gb and my Surface RT. It only works when it is already plugged in before booting the tablet. It does not work when I put in the sandisk during desktop mode.

I tried it on a powered USB 2.0 hub today, and this seems to work. The Sandisk Stick gets recognized while in desktop mode. I hope this will not be the solution forever, because I cant always carry this Hub with me ;]
Was this answer helpful?

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