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Hardware Forum / PC Hardware / General Topics 1 / June 2008Changing USB drive letter
Hello group Recently I was dismayed why my USB drive was not recognized anymore by window explorer. Therefore if I plug it on the USB slot it does nothing. I searched the web for some ideas and came from this fellow which states:\ 'A user of a company I know recently told me the following experience he had with a USB flash drive. The user traveled a lot and had a laptop that he used to connect to the company's network when he was in the office. And he was used to plugging his flash drive into the USB slot on his laptop so he could transfer files to another machine he used at home. But one day he came into the office, connected his laptop to the network, plugged in the flash drive and nothing happened -- normally an Explorer window would open displaying the contents of the drive. This was disconcerting, so he opened My Computer and discovered that the USB drive wasn't there. Puzzled by this, he took out another flash drive from his pocket and tried it, and this time it worked fine so he knew at least the problem wasn't with his computer. He was just about resigned to throwing out his first drive when he decided to send me a quick email detailing the problem. My immediate reaction too was that it was that the drive had failed, but then I thought about it some more. One of the key steps in troubleshooting problems is to ask what just happened. The drive failure had occurred after he connected his machine to the network, so could it be an issue with the network? I emailed back and suggested he disconnect his laptop from the network and try the flash drive again, and a short time later I received an email saying the drive now worked! Then it dawned on me. I told him to remove the drive, connect to the network and open My Computer again and look for something different. He did this and told me there was a new mapped network drive that he hadn't seen before. Aha! The network administrator must have modified their logon script to map a new drive on users' computers, and this new mapped drive probably assigned the very same drive letter that this particular user's laptop had previously assigned to his first USB drive. I told him to plug the USB drive in again, open Computer Management, and change the drive letter of the USB drive. He did this, and right away an Explorer window opened displaying the contents of his USB drive. Problem solved' Since I have never done such things these ideas sound strange to me. Meaning if the drive is malfunctioning it might have something to do with such and not a hardware fault. Although I was not using a laptop but just a desktop PC. I did found the computer management ( local) and had viewed the disk management on the right pane. Indeed there are letters that indicates one drive say for example Drive D and drive C which is easier tounderstand as well asthe Drive E and F and so forth. Previously the Flash drive was recognized as Drive G and J as well as drive H for another External hard drive. But now it does not recognized my flash drive. What I don't understand is why window explorer does not recognize my USB flash drive but still do with the other drives. Early this morning I was plugging these drives to the networked computer in the internet cafe and immediately it was not recognized and this kept me worried so when I arrived home I immediately plugged it and there the flash drive is not functioning or being recognized anymore. Could somebody offer me their advice how to sort this out What is going on? TIA Roy > Hello group > Recently I was dismayed why my USB drive was not recognized anymore [quoted text clipped - 61 lines] > TIA > Roy Uwe Sieber has a web site, with that kind of information on it. http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbtrouble_e.html From a hardware perspective, you can verify that the plugged in device is being detected (communicated with), via UVCView program from Microsoft. (Use the upper right hand link, to download an executable for Windows 32 bit OS.) This is an archived web page, as Microsoft has taken down the download page. There have been several versions of programs that look like this one, and so far, this one is the most capable. (Some of the originals, had limits on the number of ports they could handle.) http://web.archive.org/web/20070516010130/http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/s tream/vidcap/UVCViewdwn.mspx If the physical layer is working, and the USB device can be enumerated, and fill the window with data, then the problem must be at a higher level in software. (In the picture here, you can see VID/PID 0x0ECD 0xA100 device has been detected, and the presence of the Endpoint Descriptor presumably means a communications path is set up.) http://www.die.de/blog/content/binary/usbview.png For resetting the USB stack, usbman.com has a page describing a procedure to do in safe mode. But this doesn't necessarily fix everything. There are also instances where a driver cache is corrupted, or the registry is locked to updates, that might cause a procedure like this to not fix anything. But in those cases, searching on the exact error text, will likely lead you in the right direction. http://www.usbman.com/Guides/Cleanup%20Device%20Manager%20Safe%20Mode.htm HTH, Paul > > Hello group > > Recently I was dismayed why my USB drive was not recognized anymore [quoted text clipped - 100 lines] > > - Show quoted text - Thanks !. sounds complicated and Microsoft is cautious about installing hotfixes which may not be the solution to the problem I did try to follow a certain procedure http://www.port-huron.k12.mi.us/tech/Handouts/How-To/usbflashdrivetroubleshooting.pdf But it when I right my computer- choose manage- Storage- disk management Then I right clicked the listed removable disk then change drive letter and paths And want to assign a new drive letter. I was given a warning that changing the drive letter might cause problem that the hardware connected might no longer run so stopped there. I also tried to create another drive letter but it says the letter was not recognized. Creating a new folder needs that you need another path, but when I browsed I only find that there are two path- the C and D drive. So I got lost here and would need some suggestion from people that are familiar with this methods. Thank You! >>> Hello group >>> Recently I was dismayed why my USB drive was not recognized anymore [quoted text clipped - 112 lines] > familiar with this methods. > Thank You! Have a look at this page. The Drive Letter Manager might be able to change a USB drive letter for you. I haven't used it, because I don't have any USB flash devices here. http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbdlm_e.html Paul > >>> Hello group > >>> Recently I was dismayed why my USB drive was not recognized anymore [quoted text clipped - 123 lines] > > - Show quoted text - Thanks, I will have to read first the literature about its use. BTW, is there anybody here have experience about USB drive overvoltage? What I mean I am not discounting the fact that the desktopPc might have fried circuitry and this is an additional worry for me. I was thinking that some computers might have higher USB voltage rating for USBs than laptops? Is there a likelihood for such to happen? I just hope that this hardware is still intact... >>>>> Hello group >>>>> Recently I was dismayed why my USB drive was not recognized anymore [quoted text clipped - 122 lines] > Is there a likelihood for such to happen? > I just hope that this hardware is still intact... The USB connector consists of +5V, GND, D+, and D-. Two power signals and two data signals. The power level is a standard, whether desktop or laptop. A high power device may draw up to 500mA of current, and the total maximum power of 2.5 watts is just enough to operate a modern 2.5" hard drive. A USB device can be damaged by handling, such as dropped and broken. Or static discharge could damage a device. But the operating voltage should be the same on each computer. And the connectors seem to be well designed, at least compared to some more problematic connectors (Firewire). The reason I wanted you to use UVCView, is to see if any low level communication was happening or not. If there are no endpoints and no enumeration data being shown, for a plugged in USB device, it could be a hardware issue. If the right hand window in UVCView has data in it, then there is hope that the USB device is not completely dead. The foreign computer could also have malware or a virus on it, and a software like that might erase the flash device. I suppose a device could be "killed" by being reconfigured, but I don't understand how those tools work. It is possible to change the declared size of a USB flash device (fraudsters on Ebay do that), so there is some kind of interface to USB flash sticks, that hackers understand. The only "frying" I've heard of, is Intel ICH5/ICH5R Southbridge chips, can have their USB ports fail. When that happens, all the USB ports on the computer, fail to operate. No plugged in device will be recognized at all. You would not see any activity in UVCView. In extreme cases, there will be a burn mark on the Southbridge chip on the motherboard. But many of the ones reported to have failed, don't have the burn mark - and that is good, because if the chip is not burned by the failure, the computer continues to be bootable. When it burns, it is finished, and won't boot again. (I get to worry about this, because I have that chip on my motherboard :-) ) Paul > >>>>> Hello group > >>>>> Recently I was dismayed why my USB drive was not recognized anymore [quoted text clipped - 164 lines] > > - Show quoted text - Hello Paul...sorry for the delay, been very busy the last several days to visit newsgroups. I did try to download the UVC view.x86.exe. but never been able to finish downloading this file as it tends to hang up when its about 65-77% of the program has been downloaded. And it cannot be refreshed either as it just start from the beginning. I have done this so many times....but failed. Therefore I can't evaluate my USB drive. Is there any mirror for these site? BTW, I was starting to think about the efffect of static electricity on some computer hardware and got worried that this particular flash drive got it. The PC that I plugged my USB ( i found out later was home built). What is your opinion on this? Thanks Roy >>>>>>> Hello group >>>>>>> Recently I was dismayed why my USB drive was not recognized anymore [quoted text clipped - 175 lines] > Thanks > Roy If the PC is home built, there is a small chance the port is miswired. But the owner would have his/her pile of dead USB devices, if that were the case. As for UVCView, the page used to be on the Microsoft site, and was probably there for a while. It could have been part of some SDK or kit that goes with a Microsoft product, so there are alternate ways to get the tool. I was surprised to find that the page was still available on web.archive.org , so I've been pointing people there to get a copy. For the download link itself, this would be the index page. The archive.org site took snapshots five times. And what usually happens, is it actually only archives one copy (as long as the other four are detected to be duplicates). So clicking any one of the five links here, should start a download. Maybe you'll get lucky. http://web.archive.org/*/http://download.microsoft.com/download/e/b/a/eba1050f-a 31d-436b-9281-92cdfeae4b45/UVCView.x86.exe I clicked on the May 9, 2006 link just now. There was a slight pause, before the dialog came up to save the file. The file downloaded in about five seconds, and file size is 167,231 bytes. I have another copy which is 167,232 bytes. Both seem to work OK. The bigger file has an extra 0x00 byte at the end of the file. The above executable will run the program immediately, without installing anything. Good luck, Paul > >>>>>>> Hello group > >>>>>>> Recently I was dismayed why my USB drive was not recognized anymore [quoted text clipped - 203 lines] > Good luck, > Paul Hello Paul I was able to downloaded the file and immediately run it but regardless if the USBflash drive plugged is suspected to be defective or intact , it does not react...Is there a special way to run this software? Thanks Roy > Hello Paul > I was able to downloaded the file and immediately run it but [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Thanks > Roy If there is no reaction, then the USB flash is dead. It could be that there is a break in where the connector meets the PCB, inside the flash packaging. You should also test, with a known to be working USB device. That will demonstrate how the program is supposed to work, and also prove there isn't a problem with the USB ports on the computer you are using for this testing. I also use a couple Linux LiveCD distributions, for hardware testing. Knoppix (knopper.net) and Ubuntu (ubuntu.com), can be booted from their respective CDs, without installing any software on the hard drive. Using programs like dmesg, lspci, and lsusb in Linux, you can list/enumerate the hardware that the OS can "see". But UVCView should be doing the same thing, with a much smaller investment in time and effort. Those Linux distributions, are a 700MB download. Any time I need to prove "it's a hardware problem", I boot one of the Linux CDs, and see if the symptoms look the same. For example, my first computer had a video (AGP) problem, and the symptoms existed in both Windows and Linux. Paul > > Hello Paul > > I was able to downloaded the file and immediately run it but [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > Paul I did try using a working USB device such as the flash drive, wireless mouse dongle, it does not react... or does it need more time for its operation? Whenever I click the close icon it states that " windows cannot close the program, it may need more time for its operation etc". Further the caption says: 16 Bit MS-DOS Subsystem D:\UVCVIE~1.EXE C:\DOCUME~\ROYBAS~1\LOCALS~1Temp\. A temporary file needed for initialization could not be created or could not be written to. Make sure that the directory path exists, and disk space is available. Click close to terminate the application This surprises me is as I never experienced this with previous command prompt application. I don't understand why would it have an issue of disk space when I still have 35 gigs of free space in my hard drive BTW Sorry I am not familiar with linux applicationeither.. Roy >>> Hello Paul >>> I was able to downloaded the file and immediately run it but [quoted text clipped - 47 lines] > I am not familiar with linux applicationeither.. > Roy UVCView.x86.exe should execute immediately when you double click it in a folder window. File size is 167,231 bytes. It is not a DOS program. When it starts, it should look very similar to this. http://www.die.de/blog/content/binary/usbview.png I don't know right off hand, what versions of Windows it supports. I'm using it on Win2K right now, and it is fine. Something else is going on with your system, would be my guess. Are you seeing any other strange problems, or is this the only one ? Paul > >>> Hello Paul > >>> I was able to downloaded the file and immediately run it but [quoted text clipped - 63 lines] > > - Show quoted text - I have never experienced such peculiarities with other programs and only with that UVCvie... My PC is run by WinXP Sp2. I could never get it to display the appearance that you showed here http://www.die.de/blog/content/binary/usbview.png >>>>> Hello Paul >>>>> I was able to downloaded the file and immediately run it but [quoted text clipped - 63 lines] > I could never get it to display the appearance that you showed here > http://www.die.de/blog/content/binary/usbview.png I've been looking for another copy, and there is one here. ftp://ftp.efo.ru/pub/ftdichip/Utilities/ File size is 167,232 bytes. MD5sum is 93244d84d79314898e62d21cecc4ca5e The MD5sum matches the download from the Microsoft site, so seems to be legitimate. Give that one a try and see if the behavior is any different. Maybe someone else understands the significance of - "16 Bit MS-DOS Subsystem" because I don't. Presumably it is an important clue. I'd almost suspect malware, or alternately, an important file on your C: drive is corrupted. I tried looking on the Microsoft site, and so far, don't see an exact match for the symptoms. Paul > >>>>> Hello Paul > >>>>> I was able to downloaded the file and immediately run it but [quoted text clipped - 88 lines] > > - Show quoted text - Thanks for that link Paul! The UVCview.x86 from that ftp really works ! It displays the activity of all the available USB ports and its conclusive, the suspect drive is really bugged or possibly fried by static electricity as its not shown in the diagram no matter how many times I refreshed it. Meanwhile a normal flash drive will indicate its connection status. Now the question is there a way to retrieve the data DIY or I just have to dispose it?. Roy >>>>>>> Hello Paul >>>>>>> I was able to downloaded the file and immediately run it but [quoted text clipped - 92 lines] > have to dispose it?. > Roy I understand there are outfits that will attempt recovery of data from USB flash sticks. I don't see a way to do it with software right now, unless you can coax the unit to appear in UVCView. If there is absolutely no response, then any kind of software probe will fail. (You might start with the manufacturer's web site, before searching for an independent recovery lab.) To recover the data in a hardware lab, I think there are at least two chips inside the flash stick. One is the controller, with USB interface. The other chip or chips, are the flash storage devices. By removing the flash storage chip and connecting it to another controller, a recovery lab may gain access to the data. (Or for that matter, they may even have a clip or jig, to probe the chip without removing it.) If the unit is easy to disassemble, you can look at where the USB connector solders to the PCB. If the design concentrates bending stresses all at one point, the result can be that a trace to the USB connector is broken. If that is the case, then some careful work with a soldering iron (not a Weller solder gun), might be able to fix it enough, to do data recovery. You would want a soldering iron with a grounded tip, and really old fashioned soldering irons, may deliver a small static discharge to what they are soldering. But the last small iron I bought from Radio Shack, was grounded. With regard to why the archive.org version of file failed, as I mentioned earlier, the files for download now, are a byte short. There should be a byte with 0x00 in it, on the end of the file. My copy of Win2K seems to tolerate the missing byte. I guess WinXP is being more careful. The FTP site I provided the link to, is not missing the byte, and is the full file. So perhaps that is why it worked. I've never had a complaint from other people, about the web.archive.org version of the file. I guess now I'll have to permanently switch to that new link. Paul > >>>>>>> Hello Paul > >>>>>>> I was able to downloaded the file and immediately run it but [quoted text clipped - 129 lines] > > - Show quoted text - I understand....I think cost wise, data recovery from the flash drive is not encouraging if a third party will attempt to recover it. Regarding DIY with the information you mentioned I can't do it myself as that requires some sort of considerable skill in electronics and surgical precision and I am not good in doing that. I just have to extract the bits and pieces of that important file of that busted flash drive from the hard drive of the computer where it was copied and recompose it. That s a lot of work to be done but I am certain I can recover the lost data better this way... Anyway I learned something very important To be in careful of plugging any Flash drive on any computer as there are some units that have stray static electricity. I just verified it from somebody who also plugged a flash drive it was busted also by the same PC that destroyed mine. Thank you very much for all your help Paul! Sincerely ROY BTW, Just another thing. to think about..how come larger external HDD USB connected drives is not affected by that PC and how come only the flash drives .....? Just keep me wondering Roy > BTW, > Just another thing. to think about..how come larger external HDD USB [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Roy If you want another lesson to learn from this experience, it would be that when visiting a friend, plug your USB flash stick, into a rear port on the computer. The rear ports should always be wired correctly, as they are soldered to the motherboard. I don't think I've ever read an account of a rear port being wired incorrectly. It could be, that your friend's computer has a wiring problem with the front USB port. Perhaps the D+ and D- pins are wired OK, but something is wrong with the +5V and GND signals. (There are four signals in all, on the USB interface, plus a ground for the metal shield.) What I do when I build a computer, is I verify the signal names on the wiring harness, by using a multimeter. I touch a pin on the front (using a pinout diagram from the Internet), and use the other lead on the meter, to touch the named wire inside the case. That is called "buzzing" out the wiring. I check the wiring, because I have a couple computer cases here, where the wires are not labeled correctly. So the fault may not actually be caused by your friend, but by the computer case manufacturer - and because of my experiences, I recommend verifying the wiring is correct, if someone is going to wire up their own front ports. It seems computer case makers aren't that concerned about wiring issues, and are better at bashing and cutting metal. Paul > > BTW, > > Just another thing. to think about..how come larger external HDD USB [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > > Paul The front side USB slots are not working anymore and there was only one remaining free USB PORT and that is located in the rear side or rear port and it was that place where I plugged my flash drive that ' fried ' it. the USB ports adjacent to it are connected to other peripheral devices which incidentally are working normally... I am also wondering if its the fault of the flash drive due to sloppy build? Incidentally Both of the damaged flash drives were made by transcend. Sorry I am not willing to risk another of my flash drives on that machine,,,,, Somewhere on teh intarweb "Roy" typed: > Thanks for that link Paul! The UVCview.x86 from that ftp really > works ! Thanks from me also Paul. I've grabbed that to put in my bag of tricks. :-)  SignatureShaun. 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