Making a USB drive visible in Windows Explorer again.

I burned an ISO to a USB drive.

How do I make the USB drive usable now? I tried formatting it with Partition Manager as a FAT 32.

But Windows 10 still can't recognize it in Windows Explorer. I hear the noise when I insert the drive, but it doesn't come up in Explorer.

Windows does detect it if I go to Manage-->Computer-->Disk Management.

But I want to be able to see it in Explorer, so I can use it in the future.

I also tried formatting it as a NTFS.

I tried following these steps, I still can't make it visible in Windows Explorer anymore.

I tried using both Disk Partition, and Partition Manager.

How to Delete a Partition on a USB Drive in Windows 10? - EaseUS

Try3 said:

Does it show up in Disk mgmt? C:\Windows\System32\diskmgmt.msc

If it does show up then does Disk mgmt show it as formatted?
- If so then you can right-click on it & set a drive letter for it so it appears in File explorer
- If not then post a screenshot of Disk mgmt [taking care to drag the column dividers around first so all the text can be seen]

Denis

Yes, it was showing up on Disk Management as formatted.

Setting the drive letter fixed it.

I followed these steps (before I read your post):

How to Assign and Remove Drive Letter with Diskpart?

One more issue.

Now that the drive comes up in Windows Explorer, if I try ejecting it directly from Windows explorer, it doesn't remove it. I have to use the "Eject Device" icon that comes up in the system tray.

How can I make it so that it ejects from Windows Explorer, like it used to?

It seems like any device I now connect via USB, doesn't get ejected from Windows Explorer properly anymore. I have to use that aforementioned system tray icon.

I used to be able to eject anything from the Windows Explorer, and have it visibly removed from there after ejecting it. Now it doesn't get visibly removed.

dalchina said:

Just wondering- what did you actually do? Please note that simply copying an iso file to a USB drive only makes it a data drive.

You have to do something quite different if you wish to create a bootable drive.

I used Rufus to create a bootable ISO. I ended up not using it though, as I had also burned the ISO to a CD, and decided to use the CD method instead.

Rufus

Try3 said:

What do you mean by "it doesn't remove it" "doesn't get ejected"

If you have left the drive's settings at their defaults then you do not need to use any eject routine at all anyway - you can just pull it out when you want to. See
Device manager,
Disk drives,
{select each one in turn for checks},
double-click [or right-click, Properties],
Policies tab,
Removal policy,
default is Quick removal except for SD cards.

Denis

Thanks. I checked the policy, it is set to Quick Removal.

What I mean is that I used to right click in Windows Explorer next to the removable drive, whether it was a USB flash drive, or a memory card reader.

I would then select Eject Device.

After ejecting, the drive would then disappear from Windows Explorer. Once I saw that it disappeared from Windows Explorer, I would then physically remove it from the USB port.

Something happened within the past day, as that's no longer the case.

After I click Eject Device now, the drive doesn't disappear from Windows Explorer, until I physically remove it.

However, if I click on the USB icon in the system tray, then click on Eject Device from there, then the drive does disappear in Windows Explorer, before I physically remove it. I will then physically remove it.

Try3 said:

When I eject a USB device from File explorer, the drive name disappears {and is replaced by "Removeable disk"} as do its size & free space parameters.

When I eject a USB device from the System tray [the "Notification area"], it disappears completely from File explorer.

So I think that is Windows' normal behaviour nowadays.

I am on Windows 10 Home x64 Version 1909 Build 18363.592

Denis

Thanks.

I just checked, when I eject a device from File Explorer, the drive name does not disappear, nor do its size and free space parameters.

It seems like an issue I've noticed since yesterday.

It behaved like you described, up until yesterday.

I am on Windows 10 Pro Version 10.0.17763 Build 17763

I got this from the System Information.

Try3 said:

Version 1809 is quite old. It drops out of support in four months. Perhaps updating will fix the problem you are having.

You could also consider
- SFC-DISM
- Repair install***

*** If you use the old ISO / installation disk for your version 1809 this would just mean your having to repeat a Cumulative update afterwards. If you use a current ISO / installation disk then this will also achieve updating to the latest version for you.

Denis

I ran the SFC scan.

It said it found some corrupt files and to look at the logs.

I looked at the log file in C:\Windows\Logs\CBS, but I don't know what to look for. Or if it's related to this issue.

Can you explain again how I can update my version of Windows? The ISO I had was from a little over a year ago.

Can I just download a new one for free? Is there an easier way to update?