External USB drive not showing

[tourquemada999]

Hi,
Hope someone can help me. I've been using a WD passport usb drive for the last 8 months or so without any problems. Recently it started acting funny and my laptop was treating the drive as if it was the first time i'd plugged it in. Now it's gone weird.
The laptop registers it as a new hardware and installs and then tells me it is ready to use but when i look in "My Computer" its not there.
I checked on disk management and its not there either.
checked on device manager and it shows as a usb mass storage device installed and working correctly but it doesn;t hold any other detail of the device (ie capacity etc).
The device itself seems to be working fine, no unusual noises or vibrations.
Ichecked it on another computer and exactly the same thing happens.
I tried it with a different cables as well
someone suggested it might be virus
Can anyone help please?

 

[DelJo63]

leave the device plugged in. go to the device mgr and uninstall the USB driver(s).

reboot the system.

autoconfig should find the right drivers and reinstall them for you

 

[tourquemada999]

Thanks for the suggestion jobeard
I tried it but same thing happens. The computer registers the new hardware, recognises it as a "WD" drive, installs the driver and then tells me it has successfully installed it and it is ready for use. But as before it doesn't show on "My Computer" or in the disk manager. It does how in the "Safely Remove Device" programme however.

 

[rickyis]

hi
reset the bios.plz.take outside the cell from motherboard and after one minut put inside the motherboard.restart ur computer.

 

[CCT]

If you are using XP, connect that drive and have a look in HKeyLocalmachine, System, Mounted Devices.

Do you have 2 entries with the same drive letter?

 

[tourquemada999]

Thanks for reply CC but i'm not sure where HKeylocalmachine is found, can you be a bit more basic for me.
I'm not too bad with computers but I'm no techy.
Thanks

 

[DelJo63]

leave the bios alone.

the HKeyLocalmachine is a registry key and unless you've been there, suggest you not fuss with it either.

 

[tourquemada999]

This is a screenshot of disckmanager with the usb drive plugged in.


View attachment 28736

 

[tourquemada999]

Dvd (F is a virtual drive

 

[tourquemada999]

Went into regedit and found HKeyloacalmachine, here is printscreen. Just don't know how to interpret.


View attachment 28737

 

[CCT]

I don't open .doc files - anyway, change the drive letter for the virtual drive using Disk Manager to 'V'.

Reboot and then try connecting that external drive.

 

[tourquemada999]

Changed virtual drive to "V"
No change I'm afraid.
Any other ideas?
Thanks for the suggestions up to now