Question : Problem: Jump drive showing as hard drive

Yesterday I began using a Lexar SecureII 2GB jump drive.  All was working well, until I went to update the security software on it.  After I formatted the drive, it began showing up as a hard drive on Windows XP.  It's not my computer, because I tested it on 2 other computers, and each time it shows up as a hard drive instead of a removable storage device, and because of that, it is not detected by the Lexar software and I can't update it.  Other people in my office have the same model jump drive, and theirs works just fine.  How can I fix this thing so it shows up as a removable storage device like it's supposed to.

Answer : Problem: Jump drive showing as hard drive

These jump drives that come with their own security mechanism are pre-installed from the manufacturer.  When you plug them in the first time, they usually have an autorun section to install their particular drivers, etc.  I've seen this in the form of an actual autorun.inf, up to a separate 'partition' used to manage the device.  When you reformatted it, chances are you wiped the necessary apps/drivers from the device.

The suggestion from mach- may work, but since the drivers/autorun are usually installed on the device itself this may not help you too much.  I would recommend checking the manufacturer's website for FAQs or support.  They will have encountered this issue before and be able to tell you what to do for a remedy, if any is available.