Removable drives not recognized

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Once again, another annoying computer problem rears its ugly head! I have an HP Pavilion p7-1010 running Windows 7 SP1 (version 6.1.7601 Build 7601) that I use here in Maine in the summer and suddenly only one (F:) of the six or so removable drives is recognized. The DVD drive IS recognized as well as the F: drive. The SD/MMC card plug-in on the front of the tower is non-functional and my Kodak 6-in-1 card reader does not work either. If anyone can shed any light on this problem, it would be greatly appreciated!

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Downloading the drivers comes to mind on this http://www8.hp.com/uk/en/support-search.html?tab=1#qryterm=HP%20Pavilion%20P7-1010&search_searchtype=s-002 but you can also try your restore points back to when you remember them being recognized.

Just a tip when you are typing a drive letter in brackets, put a space after the colon (F: ) as a colon followed by an end bracket gives

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Sudo15-

Thanks for the reply. There is no driver error showing anywhere in Device Manager and, BTW, only the F: drive shows in Portable Devices. I can try System Restore later if I can’t come up with another fix but, to be honest, I only rarely use the removable devices, mainly to download .jpeg files from a memory card, and consequently have no idea when this problem started.

Thanks for the tip on the drive letter in brackets- I wondered what in the world was going on there!

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There doesn’t necessarily have to be any errors in Device Manager and refreshing the drivers can often help.

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Sudo15-

As I said before, the drives (other than F: ) do not appear in My Computer (in the Devices with Removable Storage section) and only F: shows in Device Manager under Portable Devices. Given that situation I am at a loss as to how to refresh the drivers for the devices I cannot see. BTW, I did try a device driver update to the F: in Device Manager and the result was that the latest/correct driver was installed.

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Has the Kodak 6 in 1 Card Reader ever worked on that computer as I can only find drivers that go up to XP.

http://support.en.kodak.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/15671/related/1/session/L2F2LzEvdGltZS8xNDM2MzA4Mzg2L3NpZC9ZUkFGa09xbQ%3D%3D%2Fselected%2Ftrue/selected/true

It’s very rare that when using Device Manager to update drivers that it finds a newer one than you have installed.

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Sudo15-

Yes, the Kodak card reader has worked on many occasions on this computer. However, the built-in SD/MMC card reader has rarely, if ever, worked properly which is why I keep the Kodak reader on hand.

I still have no clue how to go about refreshing the device drivers for the drives missing/not shown in “Devices with Removable Storage”.

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…I still have no clue how to go about refreshing the device drivers for the drives missing/not shown in “Devices with Removable Storage”.

Sometimes, particularly with USB devices, devices are not shown in Device Manager even if “View/Show hidden devices” is selected.

Run the following commands in an elevated command prompt (Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools, right-click “Command Prompt” then click “Run as Administrator”):

SET DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES=1
(enter)

START DEVMGMT.MSC
(enter)

A “Device Manager” window will open, click “Show Hidden Devices” in the View menu.

You can now uninstall any invalid/disconnected devices.

Once you have finished uninstalling devices restart the computer; Windows should re-install any devices as necessary (but might prompt for driver software).

WARNING: exercise caution, particularly with removal of sound, network, and non-plug’n’play devices; devices in these categories might be shown dimmed as if not present but are nevertheless needed for the parent device to function correctly.

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If the built in card reader is flakey, try disabling it in the BIOS as well as removing it as a hidden drive in DM. The Kodak is a nice little unit, the only thing besides a battery I have bought in Radio Shack in years!

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

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Have you tried Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Storage > Disk Management. With one or more of your drives mounted, see if the machine acknowledges their presence but does not assign a drive letter. Right click on the unrecognized drive and choose Change Drive Letters and Paths.
I have had this problem with external drives. The machine gets confused (and sulks) because several drives have used the same USB port.

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I am also running Win 7 SP1 and use a number of different devices on the same USB ports. The PC often gets confused by this and does not recognise them. However, in Disk Management the drive is listed but without a name or number and the allocation of a new drive letter works every time.

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Coochin gave the correct procedure above. However, there may be a slightly easier method. First, shutdown the computer. Then unplug all of the external/portable drives as well as the Kodak card reader and, if possible, the built-in card reader, too. Next, boot up the computer and wait for Windows to settle down. Now, plug in just one of the external drives and wait 15 or 20 seconds. Does Windows recognize the drive and give it a drive letter? If so, go ahead and try plugging in another drive, and so on. (If not recognized, try shutting down and plug in the external drive while the computer is off, then boot up again.) Add the drives back one at a time. This sounds tedious but only takes a few minutes to check if this process will work.

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