USB Drive not recognized - Driving me crazy!!!

[Guest]

I really hope someone out there can give me some substantive help with this.
I have just purchased a Dell 512mb Flash Drive and my system at home will not
recognize the device. I have also had the same problem with a SanDisk 512 mb
flash drive. Both of these drives have worked fine on numerous other
computers. My system is running Windows XP Pro with SP2 loaded. The USB Host
Controller drivers (Intel) have all been updated, uninstalled, reinstalled,
and updated again. I have checked everything I can think of in Device
Manager. I even went into BIOS out of desperation. Nothing I have tried works.
Another symptom I have noticed is that if I try to boot the machine with the
Flash Drive inserted, the machine will not boot and tells me it cannot find
the OS.
Please help, I've been everything from a software engineer to a network
administrator, to a programming teacherfor 17 years and I've never had a
computer problem that frustrated me this much. I've googled this to death and
it seems like i see the problem posted a lot, but no useful solutions.
HELP!!!!!

 

[Guest]

You did not mention this, so I will ask. If you have other USB devices
attached, have you tried the flash drives in those ports?

 

[Guest]

I am having the same problem with my Sandisk 512Mb Cruzer Titanuim flash
drive. If you get an answer let me know. My system won't reccognize the
flash drive. When I first plugged it in it kept asking for an installation
CD...there isn't one. Driving me crazy too!!!

 

[its_my_dime]

I am having the same problem with my Sandisk 512Mb Cruzer Titanuim flash
drive. If you get an answer let me know. My system won't reccognize the
flash drive. When I first plugged it in it kept asking for an
installation
CD...there isn't one. Driving me crazy too!!!

Re: the first post. If you check the various rating sites, you will find a
problem with the Sandisk Titanium drives. The issue is more likely with
your flash drive than with your computer.

Go to sandisk.com...support. You may have to call them.

 

[Guest]

And I thought I was the only one . My problem is with a PNY 1GB Flash
Drive. Works on my personal laptop and my PC at work but not on my Desktop
at Home. PNY sent me some non-verified by microsoft drivers that partially
corrected the problem, but I still had some bugs (I had to reinstall the
device each time). So I backed out the PNY drivers. I even copied the
drivers from my laptop to my desktop and still had the same problem. BTW, I
have XP_SP2 installed on both PCs.

As for your computer not booting properly at start-up (NO OS) you will need
to go to your BIOS setup and change the order of the devices that the system
can boot from. Typical is floopy (if installed), CD-Rom, Main Drive,
external devices.

Another thing I plan to try (I read somewhere) is to remove all
non-essential USB devices and try again. For my PC this includes an external
USB harddrive, a printer, and a wireless mouse. Only the keyboard and wired
mouse should be connected. If that works I'll let you know.

Tom

 

[thecreator]

Hi Guys,

Your problem is while Windows XP can install on your system, the
Hardware also needs replacing. I am referring to the USB Physical ports.
They may not be USB 2.0 compliant and may only be 1.1 version.

Your new devices may only work being plugged into an USB 2.0 Port and
not an USB 1.1 Port.

 

[Anna]

And I thought I was the only one . My problem is with a PNY 1GB Flash
Drive. Works on my personal laptop and my PC at work but not on my
Desktop
at Home. PNY sent me some non-verified by microsoft drivers that
partially
corrected the problem, but I still had some bugs (I had to reinstall the
device each time). So I backed out the PNY drivers. I even copied the
drivers from my laptop to my desktop and still had the same problem. BTW,
I
have XP_SP2 installed on both PCs.

As for your computer not booting properly at start-up (NO OS) you will
need
to go to your BIOS setup and change the order of the devices that the
system
can boot from. Typical is floopy (if installed), CD-Rom, Main Drive,
external devices.

Another thing I plan to try (I read somewhere) is to remove all
non-essential USB devices and try again. For my PC this includes an
external
USB harddrive, a printer, and a wireless mouse. Only the keyboard and
wired
mouse should be connected. If that works I'll let you know.

Tom

John & Tom:
This continuing irritating problem of unexplained non-recognition problems
involving USB devices in an XP environment (especially involving flash
drives and USB external hard drives) has been a source of frustration for
many of us.

I can only sympathize with your problem but I'm afraid I can offer no
concrete suggestions
that would help you although later on I'll list some troubleshooting tips
that we've been broadcasting re this issue.

The experience we've had with a variety of USB 2.0 devices, particularly
jump (flash, pen, thumb, etc.) drives parallels yours. And we know that many
other users' experiences also have run into these puzzling occurrences,
i.e., *apparently* non-defective USB 2.0 devices installed in *apparently*
working USB 2.0 ports in an *apparently* properly-configured system that
simply don't work or work erratically, or work in one machine and not in
another. It's been an aggravating problem for many of us because there
doesn't seem to be a common denominator to explain all these anomalies.

We've just about concluded that either there must be some fundamental
incompatibility inherent in the USB 2.0 specification that is causing these
types of problems as it involves the design and manufacture of these USB
devices, and/or the system protocols and devices that are employed to work
with these devices. Or perhaps it's just a matter of poor quality control in
the manufacture of these devices (even extending to the same make & model)
in that sometimes they work; sometimes they don't. Or perhaps some basic
incompatibility problem existing between the XP OS and the USB 2.0
specification that results in these puzzling occurrences.

For what it's worth here are some USB non-recognition troubleshooting tips
that may be of some help. I fully realize that many, if not most of them,
will not apply to your specific problem or you've already tried this or that
"fix", but I'll list them anyway for any possible benefit you and/or others
may possibly derive from them...

1. Access Disk Management and see if the USB device is listed. If so, and
there's no drive letter assigned, see if you can assign a drive letter to
the device.
2. If the USB device is listed in Disk Management with an assigned drive
letter, right-click on its listing and select Explore from the submenu.
Hopefully, Windows Explorer will open and the device will be listed.
3. Connect the USB device *directly* to a USB port on the computer, not via
a USB hub. Try different USB ports if your computer has more than one.
4. Do not use a USB extension cable.
5. Try alternate powering on/off methods. If the USB device contains its own
power supply, try booting up with its power on, then try powering on only
*after* the system has booted to a Desktop.
6. Try a different USB cable.
7. In the USB controllers section of Device Manager, uninstall all the USB
controllers listed and reboot.
8. If the device in question is HD which you installed in a USB enclosure,
jumper the USB external HD as Master (or Single if the HD is a Western
Digital disk). A number of users have reported that jumper configuration
corrected their non-recognition problem. In my own experience it didn't seem
to matter how a USB external HD was jumpered. But it may be worth a try.
9. If the device in question is a USB external HD, first check out the HD
with the hard drive manufacturer's diagnostic utility. If it checks out OK,
and you can remove the HD from its enclosure (without voiding any
applicable warranty), do so and install the HD as an internal HD to
determine if there are problems with the drive.
10. If the USB device is connected to a USB 2.0 PCI card, try changing the
PCI slot to which it's currently connected to another one.
11. Access the website of the manufacturer of the USB device to determine if
there's any firmware update or info re the problem you're experiencing or
there's any possibility that the USB enclosure itself might be defective.
11. Determine from the manufacturer of your motherboard whether there's a
BIOS upgrade affecting USB device recognition.

I wish you good luck.
Anna

 

[GTS]

John & Tom:
This continuing irritating problem of unexplained non-recognition problems
involving USB devices in an XP environment (especially involving flash
drives and USB external hard drives) has been a source of frustration for
many of us.

I can only sympathize with your problem but I'm afraid I can offer no
concrete suggestions
that would help you although later on I'll list some troubleshooting tips
that we've been broadcasting re this issue.

The experience we've had with a variety of USB 2.0 devices, particularly
jump (flash, pen, thumb, etc.) drives parallels yours. And we know that
many
SNIP

I wish you good luck.
Anna

--
Excellent Post!

In addition to the 10 suggestions you gave, I have also found with respect
to USB connected hard drives that if you put a different hard drive in the
same USB enclosure, Windows will often recognize it. Then if you stop that
drive and put the problem one back, it works normally.

At this point, I believe that the problem is in Windows, and not in the USB
spec. nor (usually) the hardware. Some of these problems seem to date to
SP2 which included several "fixes" for USB issues, though they do seem to
have gotten worse recently. I'm analyzing the registry changes that take
place as USB devices are enumerated and installed to see if there might be
some possibility of fixing things there (or at least forcing Windows to
re-enumerate unrecognized devices), though the key is probably bugs in the
Windows USB drivers.

Has anyone tried the hot fix in the following kb article?

A USB device that is connected to a USB 2.0 hub is not detected in Windows
XP Service Pack 2, Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1, or Windows Server
2003 x64 versions
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/892050/en-us

 

[Guest]

I have the same problem, any flash drive or ipod plugged into the usb ports
show up in the device manager but the drive does not appear in my computer.
It used to work! Please help me!

Please reply to (e-mail address removed).

Thank you,

Alan

 

[M Skabialka]

I had the same thing happen; my USB ports stopped working out of the blue,
and this worked:

Start/Administrative tools/Computer management/Device manager. Then right
click on Universal Serial Bus controllers and select 'Scan for hardware
changes'.

 

[Guest]

I had the same problem and called my manufacturer. They were not aware there
was such a HUGE problem with these devices.

There is a software problem and mine was caused by Windows Update.

Goto WINDOWS DOWNLOADS
Select .NET Framework Versin 2.0 Redistributable Package (x86 - that was my
system - you select yours)
Download or Install.

This is a 25Meg program that fixes all sorts of other problems too (COM,
SERIAL, KEYBOARD, etc.)

It containes all sorts of driver fixes that are not included in your Windows
XP, 98, etc. Why Microsoft didn't include these in their Win Update is
beyond me.

My FLASH DRIVE was IMMEDIATELY RECOGNIZED and is still working GREAT.

 

[Guest]

I am having a very similar problem installing a USB phone for a USB 2.0 port
to my Sony Vaio FS-742/w laptop wherein XP Home SP2 keeps asking for a new
driver to be installed but never finds one it is happy with although the
phone works on other machines running XP Home Sp2 without any additional
driver being installed. All my drivers appear to be up to date per Sony and
Windows Update

I have installed (re-installed actually) .NET Framework v2.0 but still am
having the same problem. Microsoft mentions the need for a hotfix for the
usbehci.sys and updspapi.dll files but isn't very clear as to where to get
these.

A very annoying little problem!

Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Guest]

vp,

Those *.sys should have come with the .NET program.

You could do a SEARCH or LOOK in your Windows>SYS directory to verifty that
you have these files.

The files should have been included in WindowsXP and others, but probably
not Win98 as there were no USB's back in them olden days of yore.

If you still have your original CD for your operating system you can do a
RESTORE from them.

If the USB's did work at one time, you could do a SYSTEM RESTORE to an
earlier date, say 3 months ago, not last week or month.

Good Luck, I know it's frustrating.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the comments Floyd, I have the Microsoft-indicated SYS and DLL
files. These were just installed from .NET framework 2.0 and are the latest
versions except for the Hotfix versions mentioned by the Microsoft
Knowledgebase reference. I note that the exact same files are on my desktop
as on my laptop but the laptop won't accept the USB phone while the desktop
has no problem with it. THE USB ports seem to work ok, just certain items not
accepted. Most frustrating!

I also have occasional problems with other people's flashdisks on both
machines where the system wants to look for a driver then can't find one.
Seems like everyone has had this problem at one time or another. Guess I
stick with headphones on my laptop for a while!

 

[v4nilla]

FYI, to obtain a hotfix from MS you must call product support. The
number can be found on their site. hotfixes are provided free of
charge, but are not regression tested, so make sure your symptoms match
what is described in the KB article for the hotfix.

 

[Jim Cladingboel]

Considering ALL of the people having problems with this USB 2.0 - WinXP
SP2
incompatibility, I'm simply amazed why Microsoft is not taking this more
seriously and providing a fully regression tested fix for this problem.
In
the article KB892050 MS themselves listed the CAUSE of this problem as :
"This problem occurs because the Microsoft USB 2.0 driver causes an
Enhanced
Host Controller Interface (EHCI) specification violation". Well that's
real
great considering that the article was dated July 24, 2006. In other
words,
MS considers this problem trivial and would rather spend their time fine
tuning VISTA so everyone having USB 2.0 problems can go out and buy the
new
Vista O/S to get their USB devices working properly. Good business plan,
right ???

<Snip>>

Wholeheartedly agree, Phil. My USB 2.0 problem with a Seagate external HDD
has so far defeated the MS "Help" (?) people here in Oz, and couldn't be
resolved in this NG - helpful though it is.
I have now put this USB 2.0 problem to the Help Line experts of the leading
PC magazine in Oz. When (if ?) I have a result, I will post it back here.

Jim.

 

[Guest]

Hey Jim,

Did you have any luck giving this problem to the Help Line experts of the
leading PC magazine in Oz ??

I've pretty much given up on fixing this USB 2.0 problem under WinXP - SP2,
mainly because I don't believe MS is going to even try to find a solution to
the problem. As a last resort, I downloaded 5 Flash BIOS updates for my Dell
Dimension 8200 computer and if I STILL cannot get my computer to recognize my
Canon Pixma MP530 multifunction device (printer, scanner, fax), then I guess
the next resort is either to trash the computer or try installing Windows
Vista which should be on sale in the next couple weeks. It's my guess that
that's exactly what MS wants us to do rather than to FIX the XP-SP2 problem.

What's a little confusing to me is that the scanner drivers for the MP530
installed without a problem and I even scanned a document to make sure that
the computer could "talk to" the MP530 device. No problem there. Strange
that it's only the Printer that is not recognized by the system. The drivers
installed OK but when you attempt to print a test page, it responds back that
there is NO connection.

The second "strange" thing is that I took the MP530 over to my second
computer (also a Dell (Dimension 2400) but 2 years newer and there was NO
problem installing the device. Same Operating System, same Service Pack
installed. Riddle me that !!! This is really confusing me now because the
2400, although 2 years newer than the 8200, is a Low-end computer. Hum !
Makes me think that perhaps the older Mother Board in the 8200 has problems
handling my PCI to USB controller card.

Today Dell told me that they don't furnish updated Mainboard/Chipset drivers
because most of their customers would probably trash the Mainboard in the
process of updating the drivers. That's probably a true statement and you
can include me as one of those customers.

I hope you've had better luck than I have, Jim, and if you do get any
feedback from the Help Line experts please post it in this thread and it will
be greatly appreciated. Good luck to you and all of the thousands of others
that are having similar problems.--

Phil

 

[Jim Cladingboel]

Hi Phil,

Due to the Christmas break, I missed the current magazine issue and will
have to wait for the next, due abt 1st February. I had hoped for an email
response - but perhaps those experts are having a problem too!

I have a Canon MP800 and it works perfectly on any of my USB ports, altho
only at USB 1.0 level, which isn't really a problem for printing.
Have you tried _ fully_ deleting the printer software and reloading the
Canon Drivers? I would guess that's more likely to be your problem,
especially as the scanner section is working. It mught be a good idea to
switch off AV and firewall software when you do that.
IIRC, there's a bit of freeware which checks that your USB ports are
working. You should find it on Google and it might reassure you about the
motherboard handling your PCI to USB controller card

As to Vista I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole. (A) It will be full of
bugs and (B) Why give in and at the same time add to Bill's billions?
Good luck, I'll keep you informed of any developments.

Jim.

 

[Jim Cladingboel]

Hi Phil,
First, IIRC is an abbreviation for If I Recall Correctly, and Oz is
Australia. Sorry.
I had that USB program on my PC before I upgraded to XP in November, so I'll
try on Google myself.
As to your USB problem, you've obviously tried everything. Having an
Enhanced USB Controller in your System's Device Manager doesn't mean much.
I have one in mine, and I can't get USB 2.0 to work from the motherboard
ports or the PCI to USB Host card. You are stuck up the same dead end as I
am.

What do you think of a new posting addressed to all MSVPs asking for some of
their research/knowledge of this problem? Perhaps there is a new Vista USB
2.0 driver which XP will actually recognise - just for a change. As you say,
it's affecting a whole lot of people out there.
My ideal O/S is the one you describe, but it might never happen.

Looking on Google just now, I came across this Question & Aswer :
Q: How do I ensure that my USB 2.0 devices work on Windows XP?
A: QFE 4 for HCT 10.0 includes tests to ensure that USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
devices and USB EHCI host controllers work properly with Windows XP.

Does this mean anything to you? Perhaps an MSVP could explain it.

Best wishes, Jim.

 

[Anna]

Jim & Phil:
I'm afraid the following won't be of much or even any practical help to you
re these USB non-recognition problems that we've all been experiencing and
have reached epidemic proportions since the advent of the XP operating
system, but for the little that it may be worth, here are some of my
thoughts on this issue...

These USB non-recognition problems have been vexing all of us for some time
now. We've become increasingly convinced that the relatively large number of
problems in this area involving the non-recognition of USB devices that
we've all been experiencing is an indication that there is something
seriously flawed with respect to either the USB 2.0 specifications, possibly
involving quality control issues affecting the manufacturer of these USB
devices as well as supporting components such as motherboards and other
USB-related components. Then too, we've become increasingly suspicious of
the XP OS as it relates to its recognition of and interaction with these USB
2.0 devices.

We have encountered far too many unexplained problems affecting
detection/recognition of these devices and their erratic functioning not to
believe that something is seriously amiss in this area.

We continually encounter situations where a USB 2.0 device - generally
involving a flash drive or USB external hard drive, will work perfectly fine
in one machine and not in another. And, in far too many cases, we're unable
to determine why this is so since we're unable to detect any
hardware/software problem in the balking machine that would cause this
non-recognition effect.

We've put together a more-or-less checklist for troubleshooting these rather
common USB non-recognition problems that (hopefully) may be of some value to
users encountering this type of problem...

1. Access Disk Management and see if the USB device is listed. If so, and
there's no drive letter assigned, see if you can assign a drive letter to
the device.
2. If the USB device is listed in Disk Management with an assigned drive
letter, right-click on its listing and select Explore from the submenu.
Hopefully, Windows Explorer will open and the device will be listed.
3. Connect the USB device *directly* to a USB port on the computer, not via
a USB hub. Try different USB ports should your computer have multiple ports.
4. Avoid using a USB extension cable.
5. Try connecting a USB device (that does not contain an auxiliary power
supply) to a USB port both before and after the boot operation.
6. Where a USB (or Firewire) external HDD is involved, access Device
Manager, highlight the Disk drives listing and click on the Action menu item
and then the "Scan for hardware changes" sub-menu item. Do the same in Disk
Management > Action > Rescan disks.
7. Try alternate powering on/off methods. If the USB device contains its own
power supply, try booting up with its power on, then try powering on only
*after* the system has booted to a Desktop.
8. Try a different USB cable.
9. In the USB controllers section of Device Manager, uninstall all the USB
controllers listed and reboot.
10. If the device in question is not a commercial USB external HDD but
rather one in which you installed a HDD in a USB enclosure, jumper the HDD
as Master (or Single if the HDD is a Western Digital disk). A number of
users have reported that jumper configuration corrected their
non-recognition problem. In my own experience it didn't seem to matter how a
USB external HDD was jumpered. But it may be worth a try.
11. If the device in question is a USB external HDD, first check out the HDD
with the hard drive manufacturer's diagnostic utility. If it checks out OK,
and you can remove the HDD from its enclosure (without voiding any
applicable warranty), do so and install the HDD as an internal HDD to
determine if there are problems with the drive.
12. If the USB device is connected to a USB 2.0 PCI card, try changing the
PCI slot to which it's currently connected to another one.
13. Access the website of the manufacturer of the USB device to determine if
there's any firmware update or info re the problem you're experiencing or
there's any possibility that the USB enclosure itself might be defective.
14. Determine from the manufacturer of your motherboard whether there's a
BIOS upgrade affecting USB device recognition.

A number of posters have reported they've found useful information re
troubleshooting USB devices on this
site...http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbtrouble_e.html
Anna