USB Devices not showing up...

[BoardsOfCanada]

Hi people, new to the forum.

I've had a problem for sometime now, for about a month whenever I plug in a USB device (such as an external hard drive) it says that the device is now ready to use, but it simply won't show up on my computer.

I've tried a few other USB devices since I noticed this problem, and it does the same thing. They simply won't show up.

I've never had this problem before, I'm guessing it's perhaps because I had to reintsall power dvd 11 as it was bugging out on me, and it suddenly came up with an install shield error detector (I've read that powerdvd11 can be very buggy, so I've since purchased CorrelWinDVD11 to play my blu-rays). Or it could be because my dvd and bd rom suddenly went missing, so I followed some instructions on google on how to delete some paths, restart the computer, and sure enough, they showed up again.

I really don't know what's causing this, and if there's anything I can do to solve it.

I also must note that with my old usb devices, they still show up fine, but anything new, such as an external usb hard drive or a new memory stick, or anything new usb related, won't show up.

This is obviously becoming very annoying as I'm planning on buying a new camcorder in the future to do some editing, but these usb devices, even with a mouse, just won't show up and my computer doesn't detect it!

Is this a common problem, and if so, how can I fix it? (By the way, I tried renaming the paths in the driver device manager, but it comes up with an error message and does nothing).

I hope I don't have to reinstall windows 7 again, as I could lose everything (which is the reason I got the extra 600TB USB external hub).

Plus, it's a custom built PC, which an old friend who no longer lives locally anymore, fixed it up for me and did the partitions, installed the software for the graphics card and everything (I know nothing about these kinds of things).

Thanks in advance-

BOC.

 

[NecroticisM666]

Check it if it is showing in the Disk Management Window. Maybe a flash memory does not contain a letter. Like E or F for example at My Computer and required to identify a letter for it..

 

[BoardsOfCanada]

I tried to give it a letter, it shows up, but does nothing, it's practically useless.

This is the error message it comes up with:

 

[Britton30]

Here are several USB and Win 7 trouble shooting steps you can try, hopefully one will work for you.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/165554-usb-driver-general-fix-problems.html#post1417126

The sfc /scannow contained below may be of use.
http://www.sevenforums.com/general-...er-lags-every-couple-seconds.html#post1131640

 

[BoardsOfCanada]

Thanks for that!

I've bookmarked the page, I'll try it tomorrow as it's very late and I have to be up early for work tomorrow. Just hope that it works as it looks like it might take awhile.

One question though- is this a common issue with windows 7 64 bit on a desktop? I've always had a laptop before and never had this problem.

I really, REALLY miss having good 'ol XP. Those system restore points were pretty handy weren't they?

Regards-

BOC.

 

[sreedhav]

Britton30's first link should be of enormous help! Just in case, have you tried the Microsoft Fixit center? Microsoft Fix it Solution Center: troubleshooting software issues

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Tips-for-solving-problems-with-USB-devices

Regards,
sreedhav

 

[Britton30]

We see USB issues often but in all types of machines. sometimes a Windows update will throw a wrench and other time it's USB drivers. One more thing, try the new devices in another PC if possible.

 

[BoardsOfCanada]

Thanks.

I tried the other devices in my 32 bit laptop, I just plug and play, and they seem fine.

Regards-

BOC.

 

[sreedhav]

Britton30's first link should be of enormous help! Just in case, have you tried the Microsoft Fixit center? Microsoft Fix it Solution Center: troubleshooting software issues

Tips for solving problems with USB devices

Regards,
sreedhav

You are yet to inform the forum whether your last post was after trying Britton30,s suggestions in the links which he so kindly provided. If you have not done the remedial steps outlined in them,please do so now! Kindly let all the viewers eagerly watching the thread,the results.

regards.

 

[BoardsOfCanada]

Hi there.

I DID try the microsoft fix it program, but it was unable to solve the problem. I've attached a picture to show the error message.

As I have alot of work to do right now, I'll have to try Britton30's solution (which I'm grateful for him/her posting, and I'll try it when I have spare time as I'm taking a breaker from my web designer) and will try it when I'm free. As SOON as I've tried it, I'll let you know if it's worked or not. Fingers crossed, it will.

 

[Britton30]

Well, I have a large gray beard. Let us now the outcome when possible. That was a strange error message. I sound a broken record, one more thing to try is a restore point before the issue started, if one is available. Are the new devices USB 3?

 

[BoardsOfCanada]

Hi there, sorry to keep you waiting.

No, the the devices aren't USB 3 as they work on my laptop which have USB 2, I tried a system restore point, only problem is that on windows 7 there aren't any system restore points (which is what I miss about XP, you had loads of them!).

Looks like I may have to do a system reboot (as what was mentioned before, if I disable the usb points that are faded it may work. Problem is, none of mine are faded. I spoke with a friend about this who is an IT expert and sent him an invite to try and resolve the issue, and we tried it several times, but no matter how many times we tried, it just wouldn't work!)

Looks like I may have to reinstall windows 7. My HDD is partitioned, is it true that the stuff that is saved on your partition stays there? I have a custom built PC, so installing it is VERY time consuming.

Here is the error message I get when I open system restore. Which is quite strange, as I do seem to remember creating one.

 

[Britton30]

How about uninstalling all USB devices in device mgr? Reboot and see if Windows will install some driver that will work.
Yes what is on a partition, other than what you reinstall on, will stay there. You'll likely have to reinstall programs though, even if they are already installed on the other partition.

 

[hmazuji]

2019; problem still persists ...

Notice: The last post in this thread was 2625 days ago. If your post is not directly related to this discussion please consider making a new thread.


yes, it is still a problem in 2019. simple fix for me (as suggested by necrotic) is to check to see if it has a drive letter. mine didn't. i will be giving my usb drives letters starting with r, s, t, ... because i am multibooting and the system assigns c:, d:, e:, ... to installed hdd/ssd


ok, gave it a drive letter, right away autoplay wizard opens and asks me what i want to do


so, problem still persists, but has easy solution. i suspect original post has other issue. 2625 days later, i hope problem is resolved; op is probably on win 10, which is a resolution, of sorts