Disappearing Drives

[shawnadam]

For the last few months I have had a very annoying problem with Windows Explorer, and other file managers too. Every time I reboot, all of my external hard drives, except one, disappear. The only way to fix it is, after I have Explorer open, I have to unplug the drives, wait a few seconds, then plug them in again. Then all is right until the next time I shut down. I have had them plugged in the front and in the back of the computer, and in an USB hub, and I still have the problem.

Anyone have any ideas?

[J_L]

Try uninstalling and re-installing (scan for hardware changes) your usb drivers. Backup beforehand.

[shawnadam]

Thanks, I'll give that a try. I'll have a look around for instructions, as I have never done that before.

Originally Posted by J_L

Try uninstalling and re-installing (scan for hardware changes) your usb drivers. Backup beforehand.

[J_L]

Open Device Manager and uninstall everything from Universal Serial Bus controllers. Then click Action > Scan for hardware changes. Windows should automatically detect and re-install them.
Make sure to at least have a system restore point (or better yet, disk image) made before doing so.

[shawnadam]

Thanks for trying to help with my problem. It did not work, but I did find an easier way to get the drives recognized, without having to unplug them. I put them all in an USB hub, and then go into the device manager, uninstall the hub and then scan for hardware changes, and then they show up in the list of drives. And that I can do if I happen to be remotely connected. Thanks for leading me in the direction of a workaround the I can handle.

Originally Posted by J_L

Open Device Manager and uninstall everything from Universal Serial Bus controllers. Then click Action > Scan for hardware changes. Windows should automatically detect and re-install them.
Make sure to at least have a system restore point (or better yet, disk image) made before doing so.