USB drive doesnt show in My Computer but does in Device Manager

  • Thread starter Thread starter vwoz
  • Start date Start date
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vwoz

I plug in a 120GB USB drive and it goes through the new hardware wizard and
says its ready to use but doesnt appear in my computer but shows as a drive
and as a USB mass storage device in device manager. I tried it on another
system and it shows up just fine, how can I get it to show in my computer?
 
vwoz wrote:

> I plug in a 120GB USB drive and it goes through the new hardware wizard and
> says its ready to use but doesnt appear in my computer but shows as a drive
> and as a USB mass storage device in device manager. I tried it on another
> system and it shows up just fine, how can I get it to show in my computer?

Assuming that the 120 GB USB drive has been properly partitioned and
formatted, evidenced by being seen in another computer, then this USB
drive probably still needs to be enumerated for this computer. Open
Control Panel. Go through Administrative Tools to Computer Management.
Under Storage, click on Disk Management. Locate the USB drive and it
probably needs to have a drive letter assigned to it. Do so. Should
take care of the problem.
 
Re: USB drive doesnt show in My Computer but does in Device Manage

The drive doesnt show up disk management under drives or in the removable
storage libraries. It still shows in device manager under disk drives, in the
USB as a mass storage device, and under the USB root hub. I did an uninstall
and re-installed the drive and the hardware wizard detects it and says it is
installed and ready to use but it still doesnt show up anywhere. It even
shows up on the taskbar to stop and safely remove the device. I'm banging my
head against the wall here !!!!!

"GHalleck" wrote:

>
> vwoz wrote:
>
> > I plug in a 120GB USB drive and it goes through the new hardware wizard and
> > says its ready to use but doesnt appear in my computer but shows as a drive
> > and as a USB mass storage device in device manager. I tried it on another
> > system and it shows up just fine, how can I get it to show in my computer?
>
> Assuming that the 120 GB USB drive has been properly partitioned and
> formatted, evidenced by being seen in another computer, then this USB
> drive probably still needs to be enumerated for this computer. Open
> Control Panel. Go through Administrative Tools to Computer Management.
> Under Storage, click on Disk Management. Locate the USB drive and it
> probably needs to have a drive letter assigned to it. Do so. Should
> take care of the problem.
>
 
Re: USB drive doesnt show in My Computer but does in Device Manage

vwoz wrote:

> The drive doesnt show up disk management under drives or in the removable
> storage libraries. It still shows in device manager under disk drives, in the
> USB as a mass storage device, and under the USB root hub. I did an uninstall
> and re-installed the drive and the hardware wizard detects it and says it is
> installed and ready to use but it still doesnt show up anywhere. It even
> shows up on the taskbar to stop and safely remove the device. I'm banging my
> head against the wall here !!!!!
>

Was this 120-GB USB Drive factory-built or was the hard drive inserted
into a drive enclosure? For the latter, one needs to verify that the
hard drive has been jumpered properly, such as "single" or "master".
What is being detected and reported in this particular computer is the
electronics part of the USB drive.
 
Re: USB drive doesnt show in My Computer but does in Device Manage

Its been factory installed in the enclosure, and it shows up fine when
plugged into another computer.

"GHalleck" wrote:

>
> vwoz wrote:
>
> > The drive doesnt show up disk management under drives or in the removable
> > storage libraries. It still shows in device manager under disk drives, in the
> > USB as a mass storage device, and under the USB root hub. I did an uninstall
> > and re-installed the drive and the hardware wizard detects it and says it is
> > installed and ready to use but it still doesnt show up anywhere. It even
> > shows up on the taskbar to stop and safely remove the device. I'm banging my
> > head against the wall here !!!!!
> >
>
> Was this 120-GB USB Drive factory-built or was the hard drive inserted
> into a drive enclosure? For the latter, one needs to verify that the
> hard drive has been jumpered properly, such as "single" or "master".
> What is being detected and reported in this particular computer is the
> electronics part of the USB drive.
>
 
Re: USB drive doesnt show in My Computer but does in Device Manage

vwoz wrote:

> Its been factory installed in the enclosure, and it shows up fine when
> plugged into another computer.
>

There is a new breed of large USB drives that draws its power from
the USB connection. But this power might be insufficient to actually
operate the entire device with the electronics portion showing up in
the computer. There are USB power supply variances between different
computers.

Is this one of these new USB drives? It should have come with an USB
Y-Connector to utilize 2 USB ports of the computer to draw its power.
 
Re: USB drive doesnt show in My Computer but does in Device Manage

Yes it has a USB Y adapter and I tried to plug both in, with no difference.
In device manager is shows the drive @ 100ma and the available for the port
is 500ma. Even with both plugged in it wont show in my computer or disk
management, but shows the drive under drives in device manager and under the
USB devices as a mass storage device.

"Mistoffolees" wrote:

>
> vwoz wrote:
>
> > Its been factory installed in the enclosure, and it shows up fine when
> > plugged into another computer.
> >
>
> There is a new breed of large USB drives that draws its power from
> the USB connection. But this power might be insufficient to actually
> operate the entire device with the electronics portion showing up in
> the computer. There are USB power supply variances between different
> computers.
>
> Is this one of these new USB drives? It should have come with an USB
> Y-Connector to utilize 2 USB ports of the computer to draw its power.
>
 
Re: USB drive doesnt show in My Computer but does in Device Manage

"vwoz" <vwoz@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:1667FB21-AD28-4ED2-A2B3-D0078D65D218@microsoft.com...
> Yes it has a USB Y adapter and I tried to plug both in, with no
> difference.
> In device manager is shows the drive @ 100ma and the available for the
> port
> is 500ma. Even with both plugged in it wont show in my computer or disk
> management, but shows the drive under drives in device manager and under
> the
> USB devices as a mass storage device.
>

You don't say what PC you are using or how the USB ports are connected.
Some laptops are known to restrict the available current from the USB ports
to 100 mA. Bus powered hubs do the same thing. Try connecting your drive
via a self powered hub (one with a separate power supply). This should make
your drive work.


> "Mistoffolees" wrote:
>
>>
>> vwoz wrote:
>>
>> > Its been factory installed in the enclosure, and it shows up fine when
>> > plugged into another computer.
>> >
>>
>> There is a new breed of large USB drives that draws its power from
>> the USB connection. But this power might be insufficient to actually
>> operate the entire device with the electronics portion showing up in
>> the computer. There are USB power supply variances between different
>> computers.
>>
>> Is this one of these new USB drives? It should have come with an USB
>> Y-Connector to utilize 2 USB ports of the computer to draw its power.
>>
 
vwoz wrote:
> I plug in a 120GB USB drive and it goes through the new hardware wizard and
> says its ready to use but doesnt appear in my computer but shows as a drive
> and as a USB mass storage device in device manager. I tried it on another
> system and it shows up just fine, how can I get it to show in my computer?

I've put together some known issues:
http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbtrouble_e.html


Uwe
 
Re: USB drive doesnt show in My Computer but does in Device Manage

"GHalleck" wrote:

>
> vwoz wrote:
>
> > I plug in a 120GB USB drive and it goes through the new hardware wizard and
> > says its ready to use but doesnt appear in my computer but shows as a drive
> > and as a USB mass storage device in device manager. I tried it on another
> > system and it shows up just fine, how can I get it to show in my computer?
>
> Assuming that the 120 GB USB drive has been properly partitioned and
> formatted, evidenced by being seen in another computer, then this USB
> drive probably still needs to be enumerated for this computer. Open
> Control Panel. Go through Administrative Tools to Computer Management.
> Under Storage, click on Disk Management. Locate the USB drive and it
> probably needs to have a drive letter assigned to it. Do so. Should
> take care of the problem.
>


can u run thru these steps for windows 98 se cuz im having the same problem
 

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