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Suffering with Flash Drive And Other storage woes

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shipahoy2009

PCHF Member
Feb 9, 2022
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#1
Hi There. This is my first time on a forum.But glad to be here and im not too humble to ask for help. My problem I suspect is self inflicted. I have several storage SSD's Samsung T5 And T7. Also 4 Different Flash Drives. I used to eject one and put another in without problems. Not Now However! Every time I want to swap Flash drives or change to an SSD I have to restart my computer before it will show that newly inserted drive. I cannot access the Flash drive or SSD without restarting. This problem started recently.

I am running two computers. An AcerAspire S7 with windows 8.1, and a Dell Inspiron 15 5000 series on windows 11. I have identical problems on both computers and suspect I have done something basically wrong. Because as I said I have never had this problem until recently. I feel like a foolish old man, and I am sure I am. I feel I must have corrupted something.

Is there any kind soul out there who can give me advice. I say thank you in anticipation.
 
#3
Rustys said:
What do you mean by eject the drive and how?

Are you waiting for the system so show it is safe to remove before disconnecting the drive?
Click to expand...
Hi Rusty. I would say that I always follow the correct procedure and wait until I am told it is safe to eject. This is a problem that is new to me. I have used the same methods for storage for some years without a problem! It must be some sort of corruption i am guilty of. I have tried several fixes that ive read online but nothing works. It Doesn't stop me using the ssd's and drives but I do spend a lot of time restarting my computers. Incidently I do sync my computers, as one is upstairs and the other is downstairs. If I have corrupted my computer in error does the syncing transfer the problem to the other computer. Grateful for any help.
 
#4
shipahoy2009 said:
If I have corrupted my computer in error does the syncing transfer the problem to the other computer.
Click to expand...
There is a possibility since it does transfer over setting and configurations. Would temporarily turn off the Syncing.

Take a system and create a new user then log ii with that user and see if the same thing can be replicated.

Run System File Checker on one of the affected system users see if that helps.

Use the System File Checker tool to repair missing or corrupted system files - Microsoft Support

Describes how to use the System File Checker tool to troubleshoot missing or corrupted system files in Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7 or Windows Vista.
support.microsoft.com support.microsoft.com
 
#5
Rustys said:
There is a possibility since it does transfer over setting and configurations. Would temporarily turn off the Syncing.

Take a system and create a new user then log ii with that user and see if the same thing can be replicated.

Run System File Checker on one of the affected system users see if that helps.

Use the System File Checker tool to repair missing or corrupted system files - Microsoft Support

Describes how to use the System File Checker tool to troubleshoot missing or corrupted system files in Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7 or Windows Vista.
support.microsoft.com support.microsoft.com
Click to expand...
Thanks Rustys. I will do as you advise and come back to you. Thanks so much for your advice.
 
#7
Hi Rustys, I have tried the system File Checker through till completion. However it could not find any problems !! So I am back to square one. I guess i could reinstall windows but I wouldprefer not to in case the problems are with my drives. If you do think of something please do let me know. Meanwhile i will carry on as before. Really grateful for your help.!
 
#10
Rustys said:
Did you ever try this and if so, what were the results?

Do not set the account to sync.
Click to expand...
Hi Again Rustys, I have created a new user account. Unfortunately everything remains the same. I try aflash drive or my ssd. nothinghappens. So i restart the computer and it recognises the drive. But the moment i safely eject and try to put in another drive nothing until I restart. I will try to transfer my folders to safe storage and try reformatting. Thats my next move. Thanks Rustys
 
#12
Hi Rustys, I have managed to remove the 250gb from one of my pen drives and format the drive. Sadly when I plug it in again-nothing!. If I remove the drive and restart the computer I can plug it in and it is fine. So nothing changed. if I plug in a drive and see nothing and go to Device Manager and go to device status I get the following message.......Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware because a previous instance of the device driver is still in memory ( Code 38 ) Thats where I am Rustys. Do you think we have come to the end and I will have to grin and bear the problem/ Or is there anything left to try.?
 
#13
Unless @PeterOz has any other things, they would like to suggest.

There are a few things that can be tried to get the drives released form memory.

Download and uncompress Drive Cleanup.

Once uncompressed open the directory
Select the Windows that you have 32bit or 64bit
Right Click on DriveCleanup and select Run as Administrator.

Once it completes press any key to close.

You should not have to, may not hut to perform a Reboot leaving no USB drive attached.

Using the Drive that you just formatted see if this corrects the issue.

May also look at is here I have done Method 2 in some cases.
 
#16
Hi Rustys, Ive now tried all the solution suggested. I thank you for sticking with me even though I still have the original problem. Not the end of the world. I can still use all my drives but have to restart each time.
 
#18
Hi Shipahoy2009
Do you have a friend/neighbour/Relative who has a computer that you can test a drive on ?
We need to determine if the problem is with the computer or the drive.
Also
Can you Download and run and then post. https://www.ccleaner.com/speccy/download
To post: https://www.ccleaner.com/docs/speccy/using-speccy/publishing-a-speccy-profile-to-the-web Note you do not have to include the speccy report here just the link.
This will only give us computer data and no personel information.
It will help us to look for other things that might be an issue
 
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