My USB Flash Drive gives a message "You need to format the disk in drive J: before you can use it"

Hi,

Did you make any changes to the computer prior to the issue?

Method 1

First, Run the Fixit

Hardware devices are not working or are not detected in Windows

http://support.microsoft.com/mats/hardware_device_problems/

Method 2

Check if the external hard drive gets recognized in Disk Management.

To open disk management:

• Click Start, type Disk Management in the Start search box and hit Enter.

If the drive gets detected in disk management, I’d suggest you to assign a drive letter and see if that does the trick.

For instructions, see Change, add, or remove a drive letter

Also see:

Tips for solving problems with USB devices

Note: Information provided in the article mentioned above is applicable to Window 7 too.

Method 3

As all the hardware devices have drivers associated similarly USB devices also have it. Sometimes proper drivers do not get detected after the initial installation so reinstallation of the drivers helps resolve the issues.

You may check after uninstalling and reinstalling the USB drivers if you are able to connect. You may disconnect all USB devices and then perform the following steps:

a. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.

b. Click System and Maintenance, click System, and then click Device Manager.

Note:

If Control Panel is in Classic View, double-click System, and then click Device Manager.

If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Allow.

c. In Device Manager, double click to expand "Universal Serial Bus controllers", right click on the Host Controller, click "Uninstall" and click "OK".

Check if at all there is an exclamation mark along the driver, it suggests issues with the driver installed.

d. Repeat the step 2 to uninstall all items under "Universal Serial Bus controllers".

Then, restart your computer and Windows 7 will reinstall all USB controllers automatically.

If you still face the same issue then you may check for the updated USB device drivers using windows update.

Refer to the below link for assistance–

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/Update-a-driver-for-hardware-that-isnt-working-properly

If the issue sill persists I would request you to check for chipset driver updates which you can get at the manufacturer website. The chipset drivers normally incorporate USB controller drivers as well.