Laptop USB flash drives/ sd cards not working - recognized but need to format, then u

Hi,

I have a problem using any external flash memory with my laptop. Hwnever I plug a USB stick or sd card in, I get a notification sound and then the computer says it needs formatting. If I try and format it fails every time. I have tried several usb drives and sd cards in all four ports with the same results. All of these devices work fine on other computers.

My laptop does still recognize and let me use my external usb hard drive however.

I have tried using Device manager to update and also uninstall both the Disk Drive and USB mass storage device, but this has not resolved the problem. The devices are listed in Device Manager, with no yellow error icon. It says the drivers are up to date.

I have also tried using CMD to clean and format the disk, but again the computer says it is unable to format the disk.

I have also tried the advice stated here - USB Driver Reset and USB Ports Power State Reset - Sysnative Forums

http://api.viglink.com/api/click?for...37763196233510

Could anyone help me to resolve this issue please?

Many thanks.

[Acer 7535G running Windows 7 Home Premium]