Windows 10: External drives: Driver error,or Setup incomplete, but load on restart

Hi folks. I've got an issue that's been driving me nuts recently. I think it started after the last major Windows 10 update a few months ago. Whenever I plug in any of my external hard drives, memory sticks or my external DVD writer into any of my 4 USB sockets, they light up for a few seconds and then go off. They don't show up in file managers. They do appear in Bluetooth & Other Devices, where it says either just 'Driver error' or 'Setup incomplete. Connect to the internet'. Needless to say I am already connected to the internet, and attempting to reinstall or delete and reinstall the drivers leads only to 'Windows has determined that the best driver etc. etc.'. The thing is, if I plug the drives in and then restart, or shutdown and restart, they then appear in the file manager as normal and can be used as normal. Obviously, this means that every time I want to use any of my external drives I have to close everything I'm doing and restart, which is a real pain. I don't want to do a complete reinstall of Windows because for some of the programs I have I no longer have the installation disks. Bluetooth and wired mice/keyboards work fine, and also, strangely, my phone and my partner's phone plug in and show up without a problem. Any thoughts?

:)

 

External hard drive not recognised

Thanks for this. I've done what you suggested and been through all the steps mentioned in the article. The hard drive works fine on a Mac computer, and I've managed to copy the information on it. It must be a Surface issue so I'll try to get a chat line tomorrow.

 

External drive

Hi Richard,

There are several factors that can cause your external drive to not read DVDs even though the system is recognizing the device. This could be caused by a driver that needs to updated or corrupted files. For us to resolve your concern, kindly answer the questions
below:

• Just to confirm, the device that is not working properly is a external DVD optical drive?
• Were there any recent changes or updates installed on your computer?
• Have you tried to plug the external drive to a different port on your computer?

As a initial recommendation, we suggest that your run the built in troubleshooter in Windows 10. Kindly refer to the steps below:

• Type “Troubleshooting” in the Search bar and press Enter.
• Click on “View All” in the top left corner.
• This will display the list of troubleshooters which are built-in in the computer. You can click on
  Hardware and Devices from the list and you can run the troubleshooter.

This will check for common errors that affect hardware on your computer and attempts to correct them.

We look forward to your response after completing the steps.

 

External hard drive not recognised

Hi twynog,

The issue that you're experiencing with the external hard drive might be due to some missing Windows hardware or software updates. To help you in resolving this, you may follow the steps below:

Method 1: Uninstall and then reconnect the external hard drive - this method resolve issues where the currently loaded USB driver has become unstable or corrupt.

• Select Start, type Device Manager in the Search box.
• Select Device Manager from the returned list.
• Select Disk Drives from the list of hardware.
• Press and hold (or right-click) the USB external hard drive with the issue, and select Uninstall.
• After the hard drive is uninstalled, unplug the USB cable.
• Wait for 1 minute and then reconnect the USB cable. The driver should automatically load.
• Check for the USB drive in Windows Explorer.

If method 1 doesn't work the way it should, you may proceed to other steps provided in this
article.

Do get back to us if you need further assistance.

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