Pls Help! My computer re-assigned names so the USB port is now called

[truedelphi]

Teh D drive.

I am attempting to use a new Memory stick. It is listed as being compliant with my machine (XP, WIndows)

I am putting the device into the USB port, which was once considered to be the H drive. That port is now listed as D drive.

Yet the computer itself keeps telling me that I cannot copy over my files into the memory stick until I put the stick into the D drive. It is already there.

Why is the computer confused? And yes, I have poked around with this and made sure the device is securely embedded into the USB port (Carefully avoiding the Trident symbol port)

and had the spouse help too. Still ain't working.

[Old and In the Way]

1. Did you try formating the stick first?

right Click on the D drive icon and see if there's an option to format. If so, do that, then try to transfer files to it.

[truedelphi]

2. Good tip. Thanks. I do have theoption to format but

<sigh> I still get the same message: Please insert disk into D drive.

There isn't any way to insert a disk - it is a USB port.
My husband uses the same port to operate his memory stick off of. On edit: quite successfully (Different memory stick, though)


I am stymied.

[IBEWVET]

3. Sometime if you use a usb port for a stick and.

allready have another stick in another usb port, your computer will rename the second stick with a new letter. You have to use the computer to rename the stick. Not sure where you go to do this, as its been a couple of years since I had to do it.

[Old and In the Way]

4. You might want to control for all of the variables....

I'd reboot your machine and then check the known good memory stick which I believe is your husbands. If that registers correctly - you can read and write to it...remove, making sure the 'safe to remove' is right clicked on the drive menu. Then put your stick in and see if this one also registers. If it doesn't, you should try the stick on another machine. It could be pooched.

One other thought. Some sticks have a tiny switch for write protection...try changing the switch position to see if that allows the computer to read and write to the stick.

[truedelphi]

5. I'll try what you suggest as soon as my spouse is home

With his memory stick.

And the only switch is one that allows the stick to protrude out of the case and get inserted. Doesn't seem to be any other moveable part to it.

[Old and In the Way]

6. Some have the switch, some don't.

It basically opens the write line on the circuit board so data can't be written to the memory chip. Probably isn't the root cause of your problem, anyway. Good luck!

One other thing...before you test the known good one, open My Computer so you can watch Windows recognize and put the icon in the group. When you remove it, it should disappear. See if you see anything happen when you put the questionable stick in the machine. And try jiggling it around to see if the problem might be an intermittent contact between the USB connector on the stick and the USB port in the computer...sometimes a poor connection will create the problem with not recognizing the stick.

[HopeHoops]

7. Do you have the same problem with other computers (and the same stick)?

Mine are all Toshiba or PNY, well except for a pocket knife (Swiss - really) that requires its own drivers. I've never had a problem even when crossing operating systems (including Mac and Linux). It SHOULD assign the next available letter after the last internal device. Your D drive is the factory restore partition so it shouldn't even think about installing it there (OS decision, not the stick). Formatting it on another machine is definitely an option. Also, do any OTHER memory sticks do this or is it just the one? The reason I ask is that if you can use it on another machine and not have problems, it is your machine at fault. If another stick works in your machine, that points to the "D drive" stick as the problem. If the "D drive" stick does the same thing with another machine, the stick is dead. Shit happens.

Another thing to try is taking a memory card from a camera and putting it in the SD-MS/Pro-MMC-XD multi-card slot. If you still get the "D drive" thing, then there's definitely something wrong with your machine.

[truedelphi]

8. I am clueless as to your meaning of these two sentences:

"Your D drive is the factory restore partition so it shouldn't even think about installing it there (OS decision, not the stick). Formatting it on another machine is definitely an option. Also, do any OTHER memory sticks do this or is it just the one? "

You say "it shouldn't" - do you mean the machine itself shouldn't have called the USB port "D" drive? I have to agree with you - I want the drives to have their origianal names, but when we put the new HD in (to replace the one that died) - the machine automatically assigned these damn new letter names, and the bak up drive is no longer D but something else (E or F or G)

My spouse and me both think hte memory stick itself is the problem though, as M's memory device works fine in this USB port, even though it still has the same labelled "D" .

[HopeHoops]

9. It's still the OS that determines the drive letter. D is already taken.

It would be like it assigning B for the drive - that's reserved for floppy disk 2 (meaning A and B will probably never be used again - ever). The restore partition is pretty much universally D now. The rule is that internal devices are assigned their letters first and externals take whatever follows (unless you've mapped a network drive). You can force available letters on them but transient devices will just take whatever is available next. That's why I suggested trying another memory stick. If the other stick assigns a correct letter, then the one you've got is screwed. Formatting it on a machine that can access it might help, but probably not. They aren't that expensive now so it might be time to toss it and just get a new one (look for the sales!!!)

On Edit: wait - I missed the part about the factory restore drive being something else. That's weird. When you replaced the disk, did you use factory restore CDs to get back to normal, install a new version from fresh CDs, or did a shop do it for you? If D isn't used, then the stick is behaving correctly as far as letter assignment (well, the OS is behaving correctly WITH that stick). Also, a "backup drive" isn't at all the same as a "restore partition". The latter is a factory image (like the CDs if you got any). The former is where your scheduled backups end up.

On SECOND Edit: The "trident symbol" is a USB port. That's the only place it will fit. I'm not sure what you mean about "carefully avoiding" it.

[truedelphi]

10. Okay now we are following each other in terms of what we are meaning.

What you say in your first paragraph - yep, that is my take too. The Bak Up drive is supposed to be labelled "D". But in our case it is not labelled "D" but maybe "F"

However, now get into the part where you say "On edit:" - yes, we had a local computer shop take over and re-install a new HD. And the computer shop-guy told us that the HD itself selected the "USB" drive as "D" drive designation, automatically.

Now we have been using the machine for about four months since this designation ahs happened. For four months no problems. And I am now having problems with using the CD drive, and also the USB port.

The weird thing is that when I slide my new memory stick into the USB drive, the red light next to the port does come on. And when I check status at the "MY Computer" area, it shows that "D" drive does have a memory Stick being used. But then when I attempt to use the memory stick, the computer says nothing is there in the USB drive.

And my husband's memory stick is still working. So maybe the USB stick is not working. But then why aren't my CD's working on this computer, when they work on the other computer (Same machine, same formatting, etc.)

[HopeHoops]

13. The shop-guy was half right - it is the OS USB driver that decides the letter...

... so his wording was in simplified terms but technically correct. Your CD drive should be E. I'm still concerned about the "Bak Up" drive. Typically that term (with a "c&quot means the target drive for your backup software. He may not have been able to copy the original D partition (the FACTORY RESTORE) to the new drive so you may not even have one now. If he did the install from CDs or over his network, it could be completely new and not exactly what your machine originally had.

So the next question (well, a repeat actually) is does your stick work in his machine and does his stick work in your machine? Oh, man. That did NOT sound right!!! Still, that's the next thing to test and I'm not quite sure how else to word it.

As for the CDs not working, that could be a completely unrelated issue - as in the drive might have gone bad (which happens more often than most people think). Sometimes just whapping it a bit (percussive maintenance) will wake up a sluggish drive, but I doubt that's the problem here. Also, is this "shop-guy" part of a chain (like Geek Squad at Best Buy) or an independent "shop-guy". You're usually better off with the latter.

[truedelphi]

11. Oh,one other thing - my spouse upgraded both out XP WIndows computers

To be using the Windows Service Pack three, as he was told it would help our networking efforts. Don't know if that has any bearing on any of this or not.

[HopeHoops]

14. It does. That's a good thing. SP3 is what you want.

[CK_John]

12. Here is one of my (use once in a blue moon utilities) which may help. DriveClean

remove unmounted devices not needed very often.

<http://www.portablefreeware.com/?id=1543>

Download the zip file and extract to new folder and run the 32bit or 64bit cpu depending on your machine. Right click MyComputer and select properties to find cpu info or use the 32bit will work on both. This should clear old device allocations and registery entries..


Take the problem flash drive off the machine and run utility, reboot and try usb device. You should get found new hardware and be ready in a minute or so.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

15. Having read most of this thread...

...I'd guess that you no longer have the D: drive you once had and that, due to the HDD replacement, D: was now the next open in sequence. When you inserted that new USB, the OS saw D: open and mounted your new USB there.

Insert the USB drive.

Right-click the "My Computer" icon on the desktop and then left click the "Manage" selection in the context menu that appeared, the Computer Management console will be displayed.

Be very careful here.

In the tree structure on the left select "Disk Management". A list of your disks will appear on the lower right. Generally, "Disk 0" will be mounted as "C:".

(It will look like this only with a tree structure on the left.)



Right-click the block with the drive letter of your USB in it. A context menu is displayed.

Select "Change Drive Letter and Paths...". The current drive letter will be shown.

Click "Change" and pick the letter you want and 'OK' out.

Best of luck.