Windows 10: Irritating Change of Drive Behaviour - USB 3.0 Multi-Card Reader Drive

Maybe it's my age, but this seemingly trivial problem is just driving me crazy!!

Despite all of my troubleshooting efforts I have so far been unable to identify any solution to making each of the 5 integral drives within a recently installed internal (3.5") USB 3.0 Multi-Card Reader display alongside the other SSD/HDD drives (even when empty) within Windows Explorer (Windows 10, 2004) - this was their initial default behaviour.

Upon the initial installation of this Silverstone SST-FP59B USB 3.0 Multi-Card Reader everything performed as expected with each of the 5 integral drives displayed alongside my other other SDD/HDD's operating in exactly the manner I have been familiar with for many years and also as happens my preferred choice. As this was a new build X299 system new devices were progressively added and their accompanying drivers installed using the excellent Snappy Driver Installer (SDI) to bring everything up to date. At some point (regrettably missed by me) the card reader drive behaviour reverted to displaying ONLY the 'in-use' multi-card reader drives S & U with drives T, V & W now completely absent (see the attached X299 screenshot).

OK, at this point you're likely thinking that's simple enough ....from Settings>File Explorer Options and then from the 'View' tab and remove the check mark from 'Hide Empty Drives'. Nah, not that simple!! See it's already been unchecked...

Neither does any amount of Driver roll-backs/re-installs cause these pesky drives to revert to their earlier behaviour nor do any basic troubleshooting steps succeed in identifying the mysterious cause which brought about the change and as a result I now have a kind of obsessive compulsion driving me to find the answer to this irritating issue!

I was beginning to think maybe I'd imagined the whole thing when it occurred to me that I should try connecting it to my spare (now largely redundant) aging X58 system (which is also running 2004) and see what happens.

As if by magic, there they all are again!! This time as Drives E to I, showing both in-use and empty drives, ALL 5 of them displayed alongside the other SSD/HDD's (C & D) and the somewhat older MBox USB 2.0 Internal Multi-Card Reader it has replaced (Drives T to W - displaying the familiar behaviour I am accustomed to - see the attached X58 screenshot). How can such an insignificant change in behaviour be so difficult to diagnose and ultimately resolve??

Quick comparison of both systems has gleaned no obvious differences and whilst it is likely that this issue will at best be seen as trivial to you good folks, I remain (obsessively?) compelled to seek the answer. Perhaps the solution lies in an obscure hidden setting or maybe a registry hack?

Can anybody lend their kind assistance and shed some light as to:

1) How I might rectify the problem and restore the original (preferred) behaviour.

2) What was responsible for changing the behaviour in the first place.

Many thanks in advance of your help and advice.

:)

 

USB SATA Hard Drive Dock And Card Reader - £17.99

Hey,

Play has this for £17.99 delivered. Looks decent.

CnM USB SATA Hard Drive Dock And Card Reader

Supports: 3.5" Desktop SATA Drives / 2.5" Laptop SATA Drives
Features: USB 2.0 connection / LED indicator for working status / Front facing multi card reader
Card Reader: SD / MMC / MS / CF / MD / XD and 2 port USB 2.0 HUB

 

Buffalo Revamps Nail-Sized USB Drive with Card Reader

I like it*Smile It wont get lost because I would just leave it in the usd port 24/7. They way I do it now is a lame 3 step process. MiniSD - SD adapter - SD card reader- then to the usb port.

 

Drive Bay Card Reader that doesn't suck?

This Orico memory card reader doesn't work for CF cards any more. Orico ignored my support emails, so I need to replace it.*Mad

I thought it would be simple to locate an internal card reader that doesn't suck. *sarc But just about all the card readers I found on Amazon, Newegg, and B&H Photo have serious issues, according to the reviewers.

Can someone recommend a card reader that:

• Connects to the motherboard via internal USB 3
• CF and SD card readers
• micro SD nice to have
• Held up well in use
• 3 1/2" or 5 1/4" format OK
• black finish
• customer support that actually responded (if you had a support issue)

I don't need additional USB or eSATA front ports, a headphone jacks, SSD drive mounts, or any other doodads. *Rolleyes

I want to buy something just once and use it for a long time.

Thanks.