Windows 10: USB drive not appearing in File Manager

I've tried both USB ports - no luck.I've looked in Disk Manager - it does not appear. BTW, I had to work to find Disk Manager in v.11.BTW, I have had a similar issue with a different strive wherein I have to plug it in, and pull it out and then plug it in again in order for it to be recognized. That does not work here.Thoughts?

:)

 

My USB Backup drive does not show in My Computer window.

Hi Meran,

A few possible reason can cause your external drive to not show in File Explorer. To diagnose and fix this issue, we suggest that you check the Disk Management window. To open it, follow the steps below:

• Right-click on the Start button.
• Select Disk Management.
• Alternatively, you can search diskmgmt.msc in Cortana.

Examine the list of drives in the Disk Management window and look for your external drive. Even if it doesn’t show up in File Explorer, it should appear here. If the drive appears, it may not be appearing in File Explorer because it needs to be assigned
a drive letter. To do this, right-click the partition on the drive in Disk Management and select
Change Drive Letter and Paths.

If you don’t see the drive in the Disk Management window at all, we suggest that you try connecting the drive to a different USB port or use a different USB cable. We also recommend that you avoid using USB hubs, and connect the drive directly to your computer.

If you need further assistance, please do not hesitate to post a reply.

 

Task Manager Locks USB Drives

Hi LuizScruz,

Thank your for the quick response.

I can rule out that the problem relates in an way to Windows Explorer. There is no foreground instance of WE running, and there are no other processes accessing files on the drive as well. Even shutting down WE via the task manager does not release the device. Only closing the task manager helps.

I may reproduce the problem by the following steps:

1. Insert the memory stick (i. e. USB drive) into the USB port.
   
2. Start the task manager.
   
3. Try to eject the drive safely. The error message pops up.
   
4. Close task manager.
   
5. Try to eject the drive safely again. The device is released instantly.
   

Interestingly, you must not reverse steps 1 and 2 to reproduce the error.

I suspect that the problem relates to task manager's monitoring of disk activities.

Best regards,

DW

 

help. USB drive isn't assigned a drive letter.

Any usb flash drive I plug into my computer isn't assigned a drive letter. The physical drive shows in the "safely remove hardware" but it doesnt show up in disk management. I have tried to populate the volume thru the safely remove hardware properties window and it does pop up in the list but it doesn't stay there. This isn't a format or assign a letter problem. It's more complicated then that. Maybe one of the services needed for usb drive management was disabled? Suggestions needed. btw external usb harddrives work fine.