[Jetson]

Greetings,

I got a very strange problem with my Windows Explorer: My external devices (I have one USB-Stick and a Camera) are not to be seen in the MS Explorer when I plug them in the USB-slot of my computer.
I checked the device manager, the Stick and the Camera are visible in there, report no error and all drivers are properly installed. The only thing is, I cannot access the data, because they just do not show up in the explorer as new drives, which they normally did as soon as I plugged them in.

I suspect that this error could have something to do with the fact that I deinstalled Daemontools lately, because since then the error occured. I know that daemontools creates a virtual drive and that this could be the reason why my changeable drives are corrupted. I should mention that I was not able to remove Daemontools in a "clean" way, because the program did not work right since I installed the XP Service Pack 2, and it would not allow me to access the deinstallation-tool it came with. I therefore had to remove the program by "brute force" and deleted the files. I suspect that now the virtual drive is still active somewhere and is blocking the external drives to be shown.

I would really appreciate a helping hand here! Thanks in advance!

Best regards,
Peter

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If none of the USB devices are being recognised, go to device manager, click + next to USB controllers, right click each one then click remove and confirm, do this until all have been removed, reboot the PC

[Retired Tech]

If none of the USB devices are being recognised, go to device manager, click + next to USB controllers, right click each one then click remove and confirm, do this until all have been removed, reboot the PC

[Jetson]

I did what you proposed, but the problem is the same. The changeable drives just do not show up as a drive in the explorer. I have have one hard-drive with three partitions C:, D:, E:, a DVD called F: and a CD-Writer called I:. The changeable drives used to be H: and I:, I had to rename the CD-Writer as I:, because the letter G: is gone from the chart in the window where you can decide which drive shall be which letter - I dont know why. I addition, I will now have to reinstall my TV-card, my printer and my gamepad (devices which worked fine without any flaw before) and I am facing another problem: My Antivir Guard does not start anymore - It cannot even be reactivated manually. I'm on the verge of formatting the whole thing, cause I am getting really annoyed with this case. Do you have a proposal how I can evade formatting?

[Retired Tech]

Click start then run, type prefetch then press enter, click edit then select all, right click any file then click delete, confirm delete, then reboot

Click start, all programmes, accessories, system tools to run disc clean up, click more options then clean up restore points, click confirm, click OK. Then from system tools, run disc defragmenter.

Click start then run, type sfc /scannow then press enter, you need the XP CD and Windows File Protection will show a blue onscreen progress bar, when the bar goes, reboot

Click start then run, type chkdsk /f /r then press enter, type Y to confirm for next boot, press enter then reboot.

Windows will appear to load normally then either the monitor will show progress or the screen will go blank, do not disturb this. This will take an hour or so before it gets to the desktop.

When it gets to the desktop, the system files and the hard drive will be as they should and you can check for any improvement

This section is optional

Download and install Tune Up 2006 Trial

Run Tune Up Disc Clean Up

Run Tune Up Registry Clean Up

Click Optimize and Improve to run Reg Defrag, which will take a few minutes and need a reboot. You should disable the antivirus programme to run this and check it is running after the reboot

After the reboot, click optimize then system optimizer to optimize the computer, select computer with an internet connection from the drop down menu, this also requires a reboot

After the reboot, click optimize then system optimizer to accelerate downloads, select the speed just above your actual connection speed, this requires a reboot

After the reboot, click optimize then system optimizer to run system advisor

If no change, the next thing to do would be a repair install, this will leave data and settings intact

XP Repair

If you are unable to run XP Repair

Alternate XP Repair

Use the last one, Windows Installation CD to repair the current installation, which uses a slightly different method

After running the repair it will be necessary to install all Windows Updates

Microsoft Update

[Jetson]

Thanks for your kind and quick reply!
I executed all steps on your list, I am now at the point to start a Repair Install and wanted to report before I do this.

- I was able now to rename my CD-Writer as G:
- My Antivir "AntiVir Guard 7.0 " is deactivated on restart, I manually activate it, but after 5 minutes or so it automatically deactivates itself and wont let itself be activated again. I fear to catch a trojan (just got rid of one) if I browse without its protection.
- My USB-Stick and Camera are not recognized still. At the place where they would appear normally, the symbol for "system control" appears instead. Strange.
- The Stick and the cam are recognized properly in the "drive manager", but I cannot see them in the explorer still.

Before I do anything else, would it be wise to re-install all my other USB Hardware (Printer, Gamepad, TV-card) at this time or will it be in vain?

[Retired Tech]

The repair will remove SP2 and all the other updates so do that first, then see the result, if you suspect malware at all then deal with that because malware will affect any changes you try to make. A classic symptom of malware is incorrectly functioning anti virus programmes and online scans

Please go here:

Malware Removal Guide

Run all the programmes as advised then post a current Hijack This Log in a new topic in the Malware Forum

For the purpose of accurate malware analysis, Hijack This Logs are only dealt with in the Malware Forum. Posting them anywhere else will result in a delayed response

If you are unable to run any of the programmes, ask for advice in the Malware Forum