What does “USB Device Not Recognize” mean?

I always keep getting this notice every time I connect my USB to my netbook. I just bought my USB from a friend. I don't know if the problem was my USB or my netbook. My USB is a 4GB Kingston flash drive, and my netbook is Asus Eeepc 900HD. Can you tell me how to fix this?

Error:
USB Device Not Recognized
One of the USB devices attached to this computer has malfunctioned,and windows does not recognize it. For assistance in solving this problem click this message.
