Windows 10: USB external drive question

I have several computers both laptop and desktop all running Windows 10. My last build has USB 3.1. I have an issue where drives that I have utilized as external drives both flash drives and old hdds in external bays via USB stopped showing up in windows explorer. All other computers will give the recognition sound then display the contents. The new computer gives the recognition sound that windows plays when it recognizes a new device, and then nothing. NO popup display no drives showing up in windows explorer. I have plugged them in 2.0 ports and 3.1 ports and only the new computer doesnt di

:)

 

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.

 

What has happened to the additional drives that appeared in the Windows Explorer for external USB devices

Hi Alan,

Welcome to Microsoft Community. Your interest in Windows 10 is much appreciated.

For better understanding please answer the below questions:

• Does the USB drive shows in the Device Manager?
• Is the computer detecting the connected USB devices?
• Have you checked the USB drives on the different computers?

I would suggest you to try the below methods and check if that helps:

Method 1:

Check if you are able to see the USB External DVD drive in Disk Management. If you are able to see the USB External DVD drive in Disk Management, follow the steps to assign the drive letter:

• Press Windows key + X.
• Select Disk Management.
• Right-click the drive that you want to change, and then click Change Drive Letter and Paths.
  

Do one of the following:

• To assign a drive letter if one has not already been assigned, click
  Add, click the letter that you want to use, and then click OK.
• To change a drive letter, click Change, click Assign the following drive letter, click the letter that you want to use, and then click
  OK.

Method 2: I would suggest you to un-install and reinstall USB controllers and check. This method resolves steps where the currently loaded USB driver has become unstable or corrupted.

• Press Windows key + X.
• Select Device Manager.
• Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers.
• Right click a device and click Uninstall.
• Repeat for each device. Once complete, restart your computer.
• Your USB controllers will automatically install.

Keep us posted if you face any issues on windows in future. We will be glad to help you.

 

Toshiba External USB drives not showing in Explorer or Disk Management Plug-in

Thank you for the update.

Looks like your system is unable to detect your external hard drive. Let's see if scanning for new hardware will fix the issue. Follow these steps:

• Press the Windows key to launch the Start menu.
• Type in Device Manager and press Enter.
• Under Device Manager, select Action tab > Scan for hardware changes.
• Wait for your system to install the generic driver for your device and follow the on-screen instructions.

If the issue still persists, we suggest that you perform the following recommendations below:

• Plug in your external USB drives to other USB device port of your system.
• Use other USB cables for your external device to connect to your system.

Keep us updated and we will be glad to assist you further.