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Community Newsletter: Q&A: 5/19/06 USB flash drive nowhere to be found on PC
- 5/17/06 2:23 PM
Finally an answer to the question I have not had time to ask
by tcatnat - 5/19/06 5:47 AM In reply to: 5/19/06 USB flash drive nowhere to be found on PC by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Thank you for asking this question. I have been having this issue for the past three months with my work laptop. It did not dawn on me at the time but my laptop was just replaced and we moved from Windows 2000 to Windows XP. My USB flash drive always worked on Win2000 and all my computers at home. This saves me a lot of headache.
USB Drive Flash issue
by agieryic - 5/19/06 5:49 AM In reply to: 5/19/06 USB flash drive nowhere to be found on PC by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I totally agree with solution. I have found the problem to be related to attached Network drives. When a USB thumb drive is inserted, it appears to look for the first available local drive letter and ignores the attached Network drive letters. By going into Disk Management and changing the drive letter cures the issue. (I have never had this issue with an external hdd.)
A Problem I found with USB Drives
by jamesgirgin - 5/19/06 5:51 AM In reply to: 5/19/06 USB flash drive nowhere to be found on PC by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have found that when using my USB Drive on many networks, that the actual drive is hidden by networked drives. If you have any network drive you just click disconnect and your drive appears in its place.
That was an excellent answer which help many!
by Cadillac84 - 5/19/06 5:53 AM In reply to: 5/19/06 USB flash drive nowhere to be found on PC by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Congratulations. That was a very fine and well-detailed approach which I sure solved the problem and will help others. (myself included!)
USB flash drive
by grandma golf golf - 5/19/06 5:53 AM In reply to: 5/19/06 USB flash drive nowhere to be found on PC by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Can someone tell me what a USB flash drive or "stick" is? Is this why my Kodak picture printer, which is plugged into a USB port, is listed under Devices with Removeable Storage as "Removable Disk (F): Removable Disk" rather than with my printers. I'm using XP home on a Dell computer.
Definition
by bestsealer - 5/19/06 6:54 AM In reply to: USB flash drive by grandma golf golfA flashdrive or thumbdrive is a portable storage media device (like a hard drive, but in this case it is not mechanical like a HD, but solid-state memory), that is usually quite compact and plugs into your USB port. See http://www.thumbdrive.com/
also, do a google search on thumbdrive or flashdrive.
Re: USB drive doesnt show up after "blong-bling" sound
by mcooperstein - 5/19/06 5:54 AM In reply to: 5/19/06 USB flash drive nowhere to be found on PC by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have a similar problem on an external IEEE-1394 (Firewire) drive and was wondering if anyone might know what's wrong and how to fix it. I plug it in, get the "blong-bling" sound, but never see the drive available under "my computer". In Device Manager under "Disk Drives" I see an entry for the drive with an "exclamation mark" near it. The description shows an IEEE 1394 drive, but then it says "drive cannot start" in the message box. I know the drive works, as it will work on all my other Windows machines at home, and will work on this computer if I dual boot to Linux which I have installed on another partition. I have tried removing the IEEE-1394 Firewire driver and then reinstalling, updated all mobo bios, applied all Microsoft patches and updates for Windows but it doesnt fix the problem. I'm totally baffled. If anyone has a suggestion on what to do to fix this I'd be gratefull. btw - since this drive only partially shows up in device manager, I cannot use the "fix" mentioned in previous thread (adding a drive letter in "Disk Management", as the drive doesnt show up anyplace else but in Device Manager. Thanks - Mark
WoW!!
by bestsealer - 5/19/06 6:46 AM In reply to: 5/19/06 USB flash drive nowhere to be found on PC by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
WoW! Just got your newsletter, and read the tip about MIA thumbdrives.. this happens to me all the time, and I always had to fart around to get the drive recognized. Did not realize that this little trick of assigning the drive letter 'stuck' with the drive and always assigned it the same letter each time it is inserted. Thanks!!!
btw.. this tip is especially useful for anyone that has multiple devices that plug into the USB port and assigns them dirve letters. This includes thumbdrives, Cameras, mp3 players, etc! Great tip! Thanks for passing it along in your newsletter!
btw2.. I always used to reassign the drive letter to the CDROM player on my computers to Z: I found that was especially useful when upgrading or adding a new HD, or partitioning a HD into more drives. This always pushed the CDROM up to another drive letter, and sort of messed of my system. So, I take the habit of moving it to Z: right away.
btw3.. if changing a drive letter, it is always a good idea to check the registry.. in my case of the CDROM, I just do a seach in the registry (with regedit) for all occurances of D: and change all key data and key names to Z: Takes a bit more time, but cures the system of any problems later when trying to find the new CDROM drive.
It worked for me
by roadbase - 5/19/06 6:47 AM In reply to: 5/19/06 USB flash drive nowhere to be found on PC by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Good solution, it worked just fine.
Check this before changing drive letters
by rdfredrick - 5/19/06 8:00 AM In reply to: 5/19/06 USB flash drive nowhere to be found on PC by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Open Windows Explorer using the "Window" & "E" key (or right click the Start button). Once it is open, go down to "Control Panel" and left click on the plus. Then go down to "Portable Media Devices" and left click on that. You should see your drive. You may have to copy the files to your hard drive to run a file. You can also try a free "light" program called "EF Commander." This program will see the drive, and run the files also.
Install flash drive (New hardware)
by 1bill - 5/20/06 10:45 PM In reply to: Check this before changing drive letters by rdfredrickThat flash stick is actually a HARDDRIVE If PnP does
not automaticly install it "the first time you insert
it" go to ADD/REMOVE HARDWARE and install it from there This will take care of drive letter associations.
When you remove it use SAFELY REMOVE HARDWARE
to remove it (the same goes for camera memory sticks)
1bill
Safely remove hardware.
by Dena Yuriga - 5/21/06 12:46 PM In reply to: Install flash drive (New hardware) by 1billSometimes if you just click on safely remove hardware, you may get a message telling you that you cannot remove at this time, try again later. You may have to disable the drive in device manager. To safely remove with no problems, go to control panel/system/hardware/ device manager. right click on your flash drive and you will be given a choice to disable it. Of course, you will have go back and right click and select & enable to get it back. If you have any problem at all, just unplugging and replugging will fix
USB is not recognized by the computer
by anievestor - 5/19/06 8:06 AM In reply to: 5/19/06 USB flash drive nowhere to be found on PC by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hello everyone,
I have had similiar problems but they were caused by another situation which I don't know is happening in this case because there were no specifics about the computer in question. In my work computer I have installed a USB hub since my computer is a laptop and it is very difficult to reach the USB ports behind the docking station. When I plug in the USB drive in the hub the drive is not recognized the reason in my case is because our computers have all the network drives letters taken. Even if you try the solution that the previous member give you will NOT have a drive letter to assign. When I pull the laptop out of the docking station and NOT logged into the network (no login scripts running) the USB drive is recognized without a problem. So if this is the case you might not have a choice.
Tony
Use a direct USB port, not a USB hub
by franknemec - 5/19/06 8:07 AM In reply to: 5/19/06 USB flash drive nowhere to be found on PC by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
It shouldn't matter but sometimes it does.
This also reduces the chances that, once you mount the memory stick and start using it, it won't just disappear.
"Safely Remove Hardware" disappears using USB PCMCIA Card
by ajnmaglasang - 5/20/06 1:11 AM In reply to: Use a direct USB port, not a USB hub by franknemecMy laptop only has USB ver 1.1, so that I use PCMCIA Card to use USB 2.0, but whenever I use the PCMCIA Card the "Safely Remove Hardware" button disappears.
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