USB flash drive not recognized

Hi,

My USB port works because I can use a USB mouse in it.

But, it won't recognize any flash drive I insert.

I can't even see any drive in Windows Explorer than my C (hard drive) and R (CD burner).

I'm running XP Pro Service Pack 2 and someone mentioned it might be with the registry.

I'm not that expert to know what to look for in the registry.

I have full administrator access to the laptop.

Would anyone have any clues about what's causing this or how to fix it?

Thanks so much.

 

Hi Evan,

Thank you for your help.

I don't see any yellow exclamation points under Control Panel>System>Hardware>Device Manager>USB

I don't see anything listed as Drives except C (hard drive) and R (CD-RW).

I do get that new Hardware found when I plug the flash drive in. It just never finds it afterwards.

Thank you again for all your help.

 

Hi Pete,

A Drive Letter never appears. XP recognizes the hardware but never assigns it a drive letter.

The mystery ensues.

Thanks.

 

Hi Pete,

It refuses to assign any letter to the jump drive.

XP recognizes the hardware but won't assign a drive letter.

Thanks

 

Hey if it recognize the USB drive and don't assign the drive letter then try to assign Drive Name through diskmgmt.msc; Hope this will work.

Sourabh

 

Either the USB key is pooched (which you'd find out quick enough on the other machine) or your USB ports aren't giving enough current, which I've seen as well, including on laptops. They're supposed to dish out 500 mA or so. Any less, the USB drive will not be recognized.

Another possibility is registry settings. If you do a Google search you should come across them.

 

Hi All,

Not sure what this is diskmgmt.msc - or how to reach it.

Is it the same thing as Disk Management? I looked in Control Panel but didn't see it listed.

RE: Regsitry settings - that's what I posted originally but what exactly do I do in the registry settings?

Thank you.

 

http://www.google.com/search?q=usb+...t:*&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1

 

Hi eager to learn,

May I suggest you go back to Evan's post and click on the link he provided and review it. All of your questions thusfar and the suggestions provided after, have been provided (with pictures) in that link. Added bonus is the other members threads, within that post, that follow up on the results with the suggested fix, any problems they had plus additional steps they took to try fix their usb drive problem. Take your time and read all (within Evans link) carefully.

Here's another couple of links that you may wish to check out:
These are easy to do:
USB port may stop working after you remove or insert a USB device

Why doesn't my computer detect my new USB device when I'm running Windows XP or Windows Server 2003?

Advanced troubleshooting tips for general USB problems in Windows XP

As a beginner I don't expect you to understand or feel comfortable with all you see or read in the above but it will give you an idea and a base foundation of knowledge on which to post any further questions or a howto on any steps needed to accomplish any suggestion that may be coming up here.

Inevitably, I suspect future threads added to this post, from a fellow member, are going to suggest some of the steps that are included in the above posted link to microsofts "advanced USB troubleshooters" article. The links may help you better understand what you may be asked to do and may include instructions on how to do it.

The members of this board tend to suggest 1 or 2 fixes a time, starting with a common known fix or the easiest safest methods/fixes first, in an effort not to over whelm you. Should you see something in a link and decide to try it, please update this post with what you did and results after doing it. This will help all in deciding what to suggest next and keep redundant posts at a minimum.

Should you see something in a link and would like to try it but have any questions about whether you should try it or need further help on how to do it, don't hesitate to ask. We are always happy and willing to provide help in this manner.

Hope this helps and my fingers are crossed for you...