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USB drive stops working in XP

E

excalibur3

Member
I have a computer running windows xp and for some reason it only recognizes usb drives immediately after it is restarted but then over time it just stops recognizing them. What could I do to try and fix this? Thanks for your help!
 
Make sure it's being detected physically by the Device Manager and if so try and change the drive letter to make sure it's not conflicting with any other drives or network shares.

Right click on the My Computer icon and select "Manage". Under the "Storage" section on the left click on "Disk Management" and on the right of the screen you should be able to see your USB drive (should say something like "Removable Drive D:" or whatever) so right click on its section and select "change drive letter and paths" then follow the yes/ok/next until you get to choose it from a drop down list. Choose something like K: that won't be reached so easily by adding another hard drive and DVD drive, for example, and assign that letter to it. Click ok on the box warning you your programs and data will self-combust if you dare change a drive letter and you're all set. It should remember that drive letter every time it's added to that PC.
 
Then perhaps the USB port on your PC or the connector on the drive are screwed. Try it in another port in your PC, and also try it in another computer.
 
So it doesn't work with any of the ports on the computer, but like I said, if I restart the computer then it works fine. The drive works on other computers.
 
90 % of the time, USB external drives will not maintain contact unless they are powered by the case or a powered USB hub. 3.5" drives require 12 vdc, and all that USB ports provide is 5 vdc. That is why most external drive cases have their own power source.
 
I didn't see any mention of the OS you are running. Windows98 has no native USB support and drivers must be installed.

What OS is the troublesome computer running?
 
I think that I mentioned in the first post that I am running windows xp but it is sp1. I have limitations upgrading to sp3 because the computer is running an instrument that is incompatible. That shouldn't matter though right? I did not change anything in the bios recently. The usb drive is plugged directly into the case. In the first instance I plugged it in the front but even if I plug it into the back directly in the motherboard it still doesn't work. Thanks for your help!
 
Originally posted by: excalibur3
The usb drive is plugged directly into the case. In the first instance I plugged it in the front but even if I plug it into the back directly in the motherboard it still doesn't work. Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...

That is a non-starter for an external USB HDD. It MUST have its own power source. What kind of case is it in?

 
What type of USB drive is this?

Try disconnecting all oth USB devices. You may have a driver conflict that occaures after you use one of the other devices. A mouse/keyboard should be OK.

Let us know.
 
USB ports are not powered sufficiently for a external HDD. They only provide 5 vdc. 12 vdc is required. Even this el cheapo case has its own power cord. Sheesh!

Case
 
The only usb device that I have is a usb dongle for using a particular program. Even when it is disconnected, the drive doesn't work.
 
I would say that you definately have a driver conflict of some type. To sum up: you can use the drive when you first start up, but lose it after you run for a while. This is very odd.

The last thing to try would be an external USB hub as someone had suggested. If that works and it uses the drivers properly, then possibly your USB drive will work.

Gremlins like this are hard to resolve!

As far as SP1 goes, that's all that I use and I have several USB drives that work just fine. You might try running the SP1 update again to see if that helps.
 
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