Why doesn't my computer recognize my flash drive?

Question

I have a PNY Attache 512 MB flash drive and my desktop is an eMachines T5026 Windows XP Home edition. Every time I plug in the flash drive into any USB port, my computer recognizes it because it comes up in the list of hardware to be removed safely, but it does not appear in My Computer or anywhere else, so I can't see my files and do anything to them. I still have to go to the tool to safely remove the flash drive.

What can I do so that my computer recognizes my flash drive? It used to recognize it perfectly fine before, but I don't know why it doesn't recognize it now. I know the flash drive works because I've tried it on another desktop that I have and it works.

Please help me figure this out.

Thank you.

Answer 1

This may happen for various reasons. They can be,
1. Drivers are corrupted in your computers
2. Some settings relevant to your Flash drive might have changed

You can try the following and see weather the problem is still there.
1. Uninstall the drivers of the flash drive and reinstall them
2. Try downloading and upgrading to the latest drivers of that flash drive. You can try the manufacturers web site for this
3. If the drive is taken but not displayed in the “My Computer” window, you can try the following method to access it
a. Say your hard disk partition 1 is drive C, and partition 2 is drive D, and the CD or DVD ROM is drive E. in this case, the flash drive will be like drive “F” or “G”. So all you have to do is just type “G:\” (without double quotes” in the “My Computer” address bar and see weather you can see the contents of that drive! Sometimes even though it is not shown in the “My Computer” panel, you still can access it in this way.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Pny Flash Drive Not Recognized

Answer 3

Pny Flash Drive Problems

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Why doesn't my computer recognize my flash drive?
I have a PNY Attache 512 MB flash drive and my desktop is an eMachines T5026 Windows XP Home edition. Every time I plug in the flash drive into any USB port, my computer recognizes it because it comes up in the list of hardware to be removed safely, but it does not appear in My Computer or anywhere...

Answer 5

be sure that your My Computer folder isn't already opened when you plug in the drive. Some programs won't display a new drive that has been added after the program has been opened.

Try closing all programs and folders, then plug in the drive. Wait for the computer to recognize the drive, then open My Computer and see if it shows in the list.

Answer 6

After you plug in your flash drive, try going into your Control Panel, then click on Add Hardware then follow the steps. I'm curious if that would work. Does it work?

Answer 7

Try "managing" your computer and assign the drive a drive letter!

Right mouse click on My Computer and choose manage. You will need to be logged in with an administrator account to do this.

After going into the Manage section, scroll down to Disk Management and click on it. Find the usb drive and right mouse click on the longer window. Choose the Change Drive letter entry and assign it a letter! That drive should now work and be seen in My Computer!

Answer 8

Try Windows Update, in order to update your windows environment. I encountered the same problem before and everything works fine after applying Windows Update.

The reason is your current windows system files does not recognize the new PNY Attache.

Answer 9

Try reinstall the USB driver bundle with you Motherboard. it will refresh all the needed fixes.