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Do you have a specific error message or is it just "drive needs to be formatted"? You could ask the user to try again in the computer they use it with and backup the data. I have seen it where a usb drive works on only one computer and not others.

You can always get Ubuntu on a live Cd and try that? Or see if these are any good: TestDisk - CGSecurity How to Recover Data from a Corrupt Memory Card or USB Drive

Has it got one of those mini "lock" switches on that prevent data loss/overwrite? Also have you tried accessing it through a Linux distro? Sometimes I have found that Linux (or even mac) can access usb drives which Windows has trouble with. Not sure why...

Whenever I get this problem most of the time I do a disk check and right-click Explore the drive. This usually works for me. I then transfer the data off, format the drive and recommend they get a new one.

OMFG. This is really a facepalm moment. Apparently people like this really do exist and it's a shame we have to live among them!

@srochford I agree. Chances are it's all down to the script not checking it. @aerospacemango Let us know how you get on.

This year our budget is £10k and the toner alone costs £15k. Work that one out! My old school was £100k.

I started my IT career in a vanilla Microsoft environment and in a geeky way I LOVED getting into the nitty gritty of Windows Server. I use RM CC3 at the moment and it does have it's benefits but I do miss being able to play with the intricate settings of GPO and NSF and the such. I can see the argument from both sides having used both networks but personally I prefer vanilla. All down to personal preference I guess. Although we have a good support contract with RM and I have had excellent experiences.

How are you supposed to effectively troubleshoot the problem if you are not allowed a little trial and error? Maybe the script is buggy? Scripting is not my area of expertise i'm afraid.

Yeah give it a go. Worst comes to worst then the principal won't have his account for about 2 minutes until you reset it again but if that box is ticked then I don't see why it would expire. I would be interested to see how it turns out.

I have never known an email reminder to tell you to change your password on a windows network. New to me. Anyhow, I take it you ticked the "password never expires" box? Surely if this is done then regardless of the email his password should never need to be reset should it? Maybe it's me that's missing something.

Man has got some good photoshop skills.

Does a Primary teacher really need the processing power though? Surely the applications they use cannot be that CPU intensive? An Athlon X2 should be more than adequate for them. A secondary school teacher on the other hand... Our teachers are in the habit of having 5 power points, 5 words documents, outlook, 5 internet explorer pages, sims and smart notebook open by 8am. Each of their lessons ready to go! Then they complain why their laptops are slow and I complain that we don't have the money to buy better ones and blah blah blah. Same story. Sorry, il be quiet.

I have always liked HP Compaq but not used anything recently I'm afraid. EDIT: Just seen how completely useless this post is, sorry. I have always thought their build quality to be good.

Would like to upgrade but sadly, not this year.

Reset cmos?

Wow there's a way to make a few quid. Well done!

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No no no sorry I should have been more clear. As a resolution to their writing problems I have known teachers trying to combat this by teaching them to spell using computers and typing software, not by giving them a pen... or just ignoring the problem exists and when they take their exams they have a trained invigilator helping them to write it.

I was not blaming computers there, trust me I am team IT on this one!

@creese - I mean they cannot physically put pen to paper because they have never really been taught correctly. It's quite worrying really.

Each to their own. Everybody will have different opinions for example there are Year 11 kids in my school who cannot write because of over exposure to ICT yet we have Year 7's who are mini geniuses. I think ICT can be good and bad depending on how it's used in schools. Most of our ICT lessons are spent playing games unfortunately.

I don't know how they get away with charging so much! Although isn't it because the build quality is that good? I would like one don't get me wrong but there are better things I would spend my money on.

Lots of scraps of paper.

This could be a fun game!