Flash Disk doesn't appear as a removable device

[JD]

I have a USB Flash Disk (SanDisk Cruzer Mini 128mb USB
2.0 - compatible with USB 1.1) that does not appear in
the list of removable devices when connected to the PC.
My Windows XP Pro has been updated for the latest drivers
(windowsupdate.com). When I insert the device,
the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon appears in the system
tray, so Windows does recognize the flash drive. It just
won't let me use it since it won't appear as a usable
device. Anyone have any clue what is wrong here?

Thanks

 

[skip]

See if this helps. Right on My Computer , then click on manage, then
I think it is either "Storage Device" or the Removebal Device. What
you want to do is make sure that the drive letter for the Flash Disk
is correct. You can actually set it by right clicking on the device
in the right panel and then change the drive letter to what you want.
Also you can go to the help and enter drive letters and that will also
tell you how to change the letter. My reason for being a little hazy
is I am on a Win 98 right now and doing this from the gray matter.
Let us know how you make out.



Dan (Still going in circles)

 

[Guest]

Dan,

Thank you, that's the ticket. For whatever reason, the
computer was assigning the flash disk the same drive
letter as an existing (network) drive.

Right click on My Computer, select Manage. Click on Disk
Management in the left panel. When the right panel re-
freshes, right click on the appropriate drive, select
Change Drive Letter and Paths. Click on Change, then
from the drop-down list choose an unused drive letter and
click OK. Windows picks up the change immediately, and
the flash drive appears in the My Computer listing for
removable devices.

Still need to experiment with different brands of flash
drives to see if they all are recognized correctly, and
test to see if the recognition is maintained after re-
booting (or if the procedure will have to be done again),
but at least it is up and running atm.

Thanks again for your suggestion!