Desktop can't see 3 external hard drives; Explorer crashes

mediumplate

Commendable
May 18, 2016
1
0
1,510
Hi,

Overview:

1) My desktop, Desktop_1, has suddenly stopped seeing 3 external USB drives.
2) All 3 drives are visible by and operable on other machines.
3) When I use workarounds (e.g., DiskMgmt, DevMgr) to find the drives on the desktop, they have no volume data, and attempting to open them crashes Window Explorer (and sometimes Disk Management).

Details:

As of about a week ago...

*on the desktop in question, Desktop_1, can't see/operate external hard drives (testing with three different drives)
--drives were visible until a week ago
*drives are visible and operable on other computers

on Desktop_1...
*sometimes letters are assigned to external drives, sometimes not
--when letters are assigned, clicking on external drive crashes Windows Explorer

*even after finding disks via Disk Management, no volume data visible
*drives usually show as Hidden Devices

*malwarebytes, kaspersky, sfc /scannow, and perfmon all report that the desktop is fine.
*they also report that the externals are fine... though sometimes without scanning any files on them

---other data:
-- one USB port on desktop seems completely dead
-- previous desktop, Desktop_0, showed similar behavior before dying
-- connected hard drive from dead desktop to current desktop, via external hard drive enclosure (again, no virus/malware found)
-- USB wi-fi started operating very badly two weeks ago; will "connect", while sending little to no data (problem is intermittent)
-- Desktop_1 is 64-bit; Desktop_0 was 32-bit; one of the user profiles on Desktop 1 and Desktop 0 had the same name and used the same programs
-- Desktop_1 is a used Win 7 desktop that I bought in early April; it just started failing Win 7 activation about two weeks ago, and I used a reg hack to extend activation period for another 30 days.

Questions:

How do I get my external drives visible/operable on Desktop_1 again?

Is this likely a
--Win 7 problem?
--USB problem?
-- virus/malware problem?
-- a hard drive problem affecting 3 different drives that all work with other computers? (Seems unlikely...)

Thanks! :)


 
Solution
Welcome to the community, mediumplate!

It's most likely an OS issue, a USB driver issue or a virus. The quickest way to rule to fix this would be to reinstall the OS from scratch, however, make sure you backup all your data from your Desktop somewhere else before doing so. The clean install will reinstall the drivers and it would also format your drives, so it will rid your system of any potential malware.

You could try fixing the issue by reinstalling the USB hub controller drivers for your desktop from the computer/motherboard manufacturer's official website. Once you find your model there and select Windows 7, you should be able to see all the available drivers. How do the drivers look in Device Manager?

Keep us posted...

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
Any known updates or other software installation changes?

Take a look at your Event Viewer logs. Look for errors or warnings at the time of or just before the crashes.

See if there are any error codes or other explanations of events that have taken place.

Do a physical inspection inside of Desktop_1. Make sure that all cables, connections etc. are tight and snug. Likewise for all seated cards and memory.

See if you can narrow down the problem by eliminating possibilities.



 
Welcome to the community, mediumplate!

It's most likely an OS issue, a USB driver issue or a virus. The quickest way to rule to fix this would be to reinstall the OS from scratch, however, make sure you backup all your data from your Desktop somewhere else before doing so. The clean install will reinstall the drivers and it would also format your drives, so it will rid your system of any potential malware.

You could try fixing the issue by reinstalling the USB hub controller drivers for your desktop from the computer/motherboard manufacturer's official website. Once you find your model there and select Windows 7, you should be able to see all the available drivers. How do the drivers look in Device Manager?

Keep us posted!
SuperSoph_WD
 
Solution