I recently bought the digital version of Encyclopædia Universalis, which comes on a USB drive that I need to install and use every 45 days to verify my ownership. However, when I inserted the USB drive into my computer, it shows up as completely empty! There should be an installer.exe file, but there's nothing there. I've already tried disabling my antivirus and showing hidden files, but that didn't help. I'm not sure what else to do to get it to work. I've reached out to customer service for help or possibly a refund if the drive is defective. In the meantime, I'm struggling to believe that the drive could truly be empty. Can anyone suggest what other steps I could take or what I'm overlooking? Thanks for your help!
3 Answers
You might not be overlooking anything. If the USB shows 0 bytes used, it likely hasn't been written properly — not your fault. Here are a couple of things you could check:
1. Right-click on the USB and select Properties to see if it shows used space. If it’s showing empty space, the drive wasn’t written correctly.
2. Try plugging it into another computer. If it still appears empty, that checks off any issues with your system.
3. Look in Disk Management on Windows to see if there are any unmounted partitions.
Don’t format the drive just yet as that might complicate things with getting a refund. It’s unfortunate, but mistakes during manufacture can happen. Since you need this USB to validate your license, it’s definitely something the publisher needs to rectify. Good luck!
If your USB drive really is showing as empty, then there’s not much you can do unless the company steps in. It's unfortunate, but it sounds like you might just have a defective drive. Fingers crossed customer service can sort it out for you!
It's possible that the USB is meant only for authentication instead of actual software installation. A lot of software these days is downloaded directly online rather than through a physical drive. Where did you purchase it from?
I got it from the Encyclopædia Universalis website, which is a reputable publisher. They clearly state that the USB is required for both installation and authentication.
So it really is as foolish as it sounds? I was hoping for some solution I might have missed. How does something like this even happen?