USB flash drive help


  1. Posts : 1
    windows 10
       #1

    USB flash drive help


    Hi, its my first post. My problem is that my 128gb flash drive wont appear in windows 10 or any programs. It showed up in the Devices section of the control panel, but said there was a problem with the USB mass storage device driver. I reinstalled the mass storage, and it says its working properly, but the drive still wont show anywhere else. Disk management, fresh windows install, fresh linux install, boot repair cd, recovery programs, different ports and hubs, etc nothing. No problems with any other drives. Windows makes the 'device connected' sound every time its plugged in too.

    The only place it appears is in my pc bios, if i press f9 to get the boot options, and select 'boot from EFI file'. Then, I can see all of the folders and select them, but thats all I can do. My pc is a HP 2740p with windows 10.

    What happened was I have a lot of files on the drive, but also had some free space, enough for a system backup, but while i was making the backup, there was an error and i dont think it completed. And the drive has been invisible ever since, except in the bios.

    If I could find something that will read the drive like the bios does and let me copy the files to another drive, that'd be great. Either with windows or pre-boot. I need to get my files. I found 'Hirens boot cd' which has a bunch of drive tools on it but its not working for me.

    The only other thing i know to try really is to try it in a Mac, hope it shows up and can at least recover the files with a program if it doesnt just appear in the finder. I dont have a Mac, and was interested in installing OS X, but the instructions i found say that another mac is needed.

    I thought I had bitlocker on it, but i guess it was off if i can browse the drive in the bios..i turned it off on the c drive to make a linux partition to see if it showed up there, but it didn't, same thing.

    any other ideas?
    Last edited by joeypitatwinkes; 10 Jun 2018 at 07:07. Reason: additional info
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 16,325
    W10Prox64
       #2

    Hi joeypitatwinkes and welcome to Tenforums.

    Have you tried uninstalling any problem USB Mass Storage Devices after showing hidden items? View>Show hidden devices in Device Manager

    Another thing you could try is MiniTool Power Data Recovery. Their free version will recovery up to 1GB data.

    Also, booting to a live Linux distro may help you access the drive.

    What program were you using when making the system backup?
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 1
    windows 10
       #3

    its possible windows is not automatically assigning a drive letter to the usb when it is inserted.
    Try this: Open up a Command Prompt (Run as Administrator) and type the following and press Enter after each line:

    diskpart
    automount enable
    exit
    You should get the message: Automatic mounting of new volumes enabled. Then try again.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 31,398
    10 Home x64 (22H2) (10 Pro on 2nd pc)
       #4

    joeypitatwinkes said:
    ...the drive still wont show anywhere else. Disk management, fresh windows install, fresh linux install, boot repair cd, recovery programs, different ports and hubs, etc nothing. No problems with any other drives. Windows makes the 'device connected' sound every time its plugged in too.

    The only place it appears is in my pc bios, if i press f9 to get the boot options, and select 'boot from EFI file'.
    Welcome to Tenforums @joeypitatwinkes

    Those symptoms strongly suggest @simrick's first solution is the fix you need. If a usb memory stick gets assigned an incorrect driver on first use that driver gets loaded every time that particular usb is plugged in again. The only solution is to uninstall that particular usb in Device Manager. Usually the correct driver gets installed the next time you plug it in.

    It has happened to me once or twice. As simrick says, if you don't currently have the usb plugged in you'll have to 'show hidden devices' to find and uninstall it. It may be easier to just plug it in so you can see which one to uninstall, you can still uninstall it while it's plugged in. Then just unplug it then plug it back in.
      My Computers


  5. Posts : 11,609
    Windows11 Home 64bit v:23H2 b:22631.2861
       #5

    Hi @joeypitatwinkes

    Your 128GB Flash drive - Is it a genuine branded Flash drive with warranty ? Manufacturer, Model, date of purchase, vendor, cost price???????

    By the way it stopped saving your backup, I would suspect that it may be a fake drive bought cheap. Refute if I am wrong.

    "
    What program were you using when making the system backup?" - simrick

    No answer!!!!!!!
    Last edited by jumanji; 12 Jun 2018 at 01:44.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 1,366
    Windows 10 Pro x64
       #6

    USB Flash Drive issues are generally easy to diagnose. Plug the drive into another computer. If it reads it fine, then the problem is withing your Windows install/drivers. If you have the same issue on another computer, then the issue is likely the drive itself. Flash drives are unreliable and shouldn't be used for storing important data, as they can just simply die. Assuming you can recover the data off of the drive, try formatting it. If it still doesn't work after that, I usually end up tossing them.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 13,848
    Win10 Version 22H2 Pro and Home, Win11 Pro and Home
       #7

    Since you mentioned Linux look for GPARTED in the list of apps and check the Thumb drive. Most come from the factory formatted as FAT32 but Windows cannot format more than 32GB as FAT32, GPARTED can do better. Windows can read and write to at least 500GB FAT32 if formatted by non-Windows means [I've done it, have such a drive for use on a Macintosh when needed]. For those without a Linux machine there's a number of LiveDVD versions of Linux .iso files available that can create the Bootable DVD and do most of what the installed version can. I have a Desktop and a Notebook with Linux Mint 18.3, haven't had a need for dual-booting or VMs.
      My Computers


 

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