USB drives showing as 'Unknown device' in Device Manager

TerminalVeloCD · 8th February 2011, 7:21 PM

G'day all,

I have rebuilt my main rig with the following specifications:

* Coolermaster eXtreme Power 650W PSU
* Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3P Rev1.0 motherboard with latest BIOS (F9c)
* Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 C1
* 8GB Corsair DDR2-1066 5-5-5-15
* Inno3D GeForce 9800GTX+ 1GB
* TP-Link 802.11g PCI Wi-Fi
* Pioneer BDC-202
* 4x Seagate 1TB SATA2 HDDs
* Windows 7 Ultimate x64

After installing and updating Windows 7, I realised that if I plugged in any USB mass storage device, be it a flash drive or an external hard drive, it would show up as 'Unknown device' in Device Manager.

I have looked at hundreds of so-called 'solutions' online and haven't found a single one that works.

Has anyone experienced similar issues? If so, how did you fix them? The last thing I want to do is reformat and reinstall as I have already spent hours customising this machine.

Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

Sektion8 · 8th February 2011, 7:43 PM

Hey man, you're famous everywhere!

Gotta be rare that you're asking for help! Anywhooo, now that the grovelling is over... LOL

Got a screenshot of what's going on, what-else is showing in "Devices and Printers"?

Just one method I've been through recently, a few times (worked most, but not all)... Once there, right-click on your machine, choose "Device Installation Settings" and choose "Yes, do this automatically (recommended)".

For me, if it's not been that, it's been other storage related driver problems. Seems to happen when I don't install Intel Chipset Drivers (or similar). Once that's installed, it unlocks something magical, and all this hardware becomes recognised, installed, working

I doubt I'm gonna fix a veteran's problems that easily, but thought I'd take the time to try

TerminalVeloCD · 8th February 2011, 7:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sektion8

Got a screenshot of what's going on, what-else is showing in "Devices and Printers"?

Right. I don't have any image editing software on this bucket of bolts yet, but let me describe. In Devices and Printers, my Seagate Expansion 1TB 2.5" USB-powered hard drive is showing as 'Unknown Device' under a tab named 'Unspecified'. Tried the ol' Troubleshoot trick and Windows just tells me that 'there is a problem' but can't fix it. Well DUH!

Quote:

Just one method I've been through recently, a few times (worked most, but not all)... Once there, right-click on your machine, choose "Device Installation Settings" and choose "Yes, do this automatically (recommended)".

That was one of the first things I did after I installed Windows on this system.

Quote:

For me, if it's not been that, it's been other storage related driver problems. Seems to happen when I don't install Intel Chipset Drivers (or similar). Once that's installed, it unlocks something magical, and all this hardware becomes recognised, installed, working

Yup, did that. Also updated the BIOS on the board.

Thanks for the fast reply!

TerminalVeloCD · 9th February 2011, 12:19 AM

Bit the bullet and formatted the machine. No result. Still the same problem. I'm thinking that it may be a problem with either the Windows USB Mass Storage drivers (USBSTOR etc.) or with the Intel P45 Express chipset drivers. Either way, I'm stumped.

Strange thing is, my USB keyboard and mouse work perfectly in ANY USB port on this board so that rules out any faulty USB ports or headers...

TerminalVeloCD · 9th February 2011, 12:37 AM

A little update: both my old 1GB USB flash drive and my Seagate Expansion 1TB 2.5" USB hard drive are still not being detected, but my sister's WD Passport 500MB *IS* being detected.

Seagate claims that no drivers are required for any of their USB-powered hard drives.

I'm suspecting that my issue could be to do with power requirements of the drives, however this still doesn't explain why my old 1GB USB flash drive doesn't work on Win7 x64 but works fine on my Dell Dimension 9200 running WinVista x86...

This is getting weirder by the minute.

1shot1kill · 9th February 2011, 7:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TerminalVeloCD

Right. I don't have any image editing software on this bucket of bolts yet, but let me describe.

Use the Win 7 Snipping Tool.

Omarko · 9th February 2011, 9:17 AM

I had the same thing happen to me once. I tried absolutely everything and it made no diff until I took the mobo out of the case and ran it outside. When I put it back in everything was ok. I must have had some short somewhere.

Wierd I know ... but im happy its working as it was a new machine and I was tearing my hair out ! fingers crossed ur problem is same and easy fix.

Sektion8 · 9th February 2011, 9:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1shot1kill

Use the Win 7 Snipping Tool.

I was thinking the same, myself.

Snipping Tool + Imageshack = Win

Quote:

Originally Posted by TerminalVeloCD

Seagate claims that no drivers are required for any of their USB-powered hard drives.

Maybe no-extra drivers? I don't think I've connected a single one that didn't need drivers installed. Always auto-installed by the OS.

Quote:

I'm suspecting that my issue could be to do with power requirements of the drives

What makes ya think that? Only time I've EVER had power problems with externals, is 2.5" externals, no forked connector on OLDDDD laptops. Power will either surge the port (prompting error/complaint by OS) or won't spin-up properly. Never had it with a desktop, but I always aim for the main USB "hard" type onboard connectors.

TerminalVeloCD · 9th February 2011, 2:15 PM

Thanks for the replies fellas.

I'm somewhat hesitant to take my system apart again, because I spent HOURS on tidying it up in the first place. All the cables are very heatly laid out but more importantly, the case is simply JAM-PACKED with gear. Rebuilding this system would be a highly time-consuming and methodical process.

I'm sure the USB ports and headers are working correctly, because I have tested them with other hardware (i.e. mouse, keyboard, sister's WD Passport). I'm sure it's either a software issue or a compatibility issue with the hardware.

8th February 2011, 7:21 PM	#1
TerminalVeloCD Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: 6155 Posts: 1,543	USB drives showing as 'Unknown device' in Device Manager G'day all, I have rebuilt my main rig with the following specifications: * Coolermaster eXtreme Power 650W PSU * Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3P Rev1.0 motherboard with latest BIOS (F9c) * Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 C1 * 8GB Corsair DDR2-1066 5-5-5-15 * Inno3D GeForce 9800GTX+ 1GB * TP-Link 802.11g PCI Wi-Fi * Pioneer BDC-202 * 4x Seagate 1TB SATA2 HDDs * Windows 7 Ultimate x64 After installing and updating Windows 7, I realised that if I plugged in any USB mass storage device, be it a flash drive or an external hard drive, it would show up as 'Unknown device' in Device Manager. I have looked at hundreds of so-called 'solutions' online and haven't found a single one that works. Has anyone experienced similar issues? If so, how did you fix them? The last thing I want to do is reformat and reinstall as I have already spent hours customising this machine. Any assistance is greatly appreciated. __________________ [ TerminalVeloCD ] Antec 902v3 \| Antec EarthWatts EA-750 \| ASUS P8Z77-V Deluxe (1015) \| Intel Core i7 3770K L214C161 (46x / 1.256V) \| Corsair Hydro H80 (Noctua NF-F12 PWM x2) \| Corsair Vengeance 4x4GB PC12800 DDR3 (9-9-9-24 @ 1.5V) \| 2x EVGA nVidia GeForce GTX 680 2GB SLI \| Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic \| Dell UltraSharp U2711 \| Logitech X-530

8th February 2011, 7:43 PM	#2
Sektion8 Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: In 9,000 Metres Turn Left Posts: 101	Hey man, you're famous everywhere! Gotta be rare that you're asking for help! Anywhooo, now that the grovelling is over... LOL Got a screenshot of what's going on, what-else is showing in "Devices and Printers"? Just one method I've been through recently, a few times (worked most, but not all)... Once there, right-click on your machine, choose "Device Installation Settings" and choose "Yes, do this automatically (recommended)". For me, if it's not been that, it's been other storage related driver problems. Seems to happen when I don't install Intel Chipset Drivers (or similar). Once that's installed, it unlocks something magical, and all this hardware becomes recognised, installed, working I doubt I'm gonna fix a veteran's problems that easily, but thought I'd take the time to try __________________ MAIN: Intel i5 750 \| 2x 4GB Ripjaws DDR3-1333 \| Gigabyte P55-UD3R \| Highpoint RocketRaid 2720SGL \| RAID 10: 8x 1TB WD Cav Black \| 60GB OCZ Vert2 \| HD 4650 1GB \| 2x 22" LCD \| Win7 Pro 64Bit LAPTOP: Dell XPS M1210 \| Intel Core2 Duo 7200 \| 2x 2GB DDR2-800 \| 640GB WD Cav Blue \| 256MB GeForce Go7400 \| Win7 Pro 64Bit HTPC (Forever In Progress): Intel i3 530 @4Ghz \| 2x 2GB Team-Elite DDR3-1333 \| Gigabyte H55-USB3 \| 4x 2TB F4 Samsung \| Compro E900F \| 100" Sony PJ \| Win7 Pro 64Bit

9th February 2011, 12:19 AM	#4
TerminalVeloCD Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: 6155 Posts: 1,543	Bit the bullet and formatted the machine. No result. Still the same problem. I'm thinking that it may be a problem with either the Windows USB Mass Storage drivers (USBSTOR etc.) or with the Intel P45 Express chipset drivers. Either way, I'm stumped. Strange thing is, my USB keyboard and mouse work perfectly in ANY USB port on this board so that rules out any faulty USB ports or headers... __________________ [ TerminalVeloCD ] Antec 902v3 \| Antec EarthWatts EA-750 \| ASUS P8Z77-V Deluxe (1015) \| Intel Core i7 3770K L214C161 (46x / 1.256V) \| Corsair Hydro H80 (Noctua NF-F12 PWM x2) \| Corsair Vengeance 4x4GB PC12800 DDR3 (9-9-9-24 @ 1.5V) \| 2x EVGA nVidia GeForce GTX 680 2GB SLI \| Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic \| Dell UltraSharp U2711 \| Logitech X-530

9th February 2011, 12:37 AM	#5
TerminalVeloCD Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: 6155 Posts: 1,543	A little update: both my old 1GB USB flash drive and my Seagate Expansion 1TB 2.5" USB hard drive are still not being detected, but my sister's WD Passport 500MB IS being detected. Seagate claims that no drivers are required for any of their USB-powered hard drives. I'm suspecting that my issue could be to do with power requirements of the drives, however this still doesn't explain why my old 1GB USB flash drive doesn't work on Win7 x64 but works fine on my Dell Dimension 9200 running WinVista x86... This is getting weirder by the minute. __________________ [ TerminalVeloCD ] Antec 902v3 \| Antec EarthWatts EA-750 \| ASUS P8Z77-V Deluxe (1015) \| Intel Core i7 3770K L214C161 (46x / 1.256V) \| Corsair Hydro H80 (Noctua NF-F12 PWM x2) \| Corsair Vengeance 4x4GB PC12800 DDR3 (9-9-9-24 @ 1.5V) \| 2x EVGA nVidia GeForce GTX 680 2GB SLI \| Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic \| Dell UltraSharp U2711 \| Logitech X-530

9th February 2011, 9:17 AM	#7
Omarko Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Baulkham Hills Posts: 3,826	I had the same thing happen to me once. I tried absolutely everything and it made no diff until I took the mobo out of the case and ran it outside. When I put it back in everything was ok. I must have had some short somewhere. Wierd I know ... but im happy its working as it was a new machine and I was tearing my hair out ! fingers crossed ur problem is same and easy fix. __________________ i7 2600K, ASUS P8P67 WS Revolution, 8GB Ripjaws X CL8 , 2 x VTX3D 6970 @940Mhz, 120GB OCZ Agility 3, 2x1TB RAID1, 1TB WD Black, X-Fi Titanium HD, Enermax Revolution 85+ 1250W, Obsidian 800D – everything watercooled, 3 x Dell 2408wfp, G7, G19

9th February 2011, 2:15 PM	#9
TerminalVeloCD Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: 6155 Posts: 1,543	Thanks for the replies fellas. I'm somewhat hesitant to take my system apart again, because I spent HOURS on tidying it up in the first place. All the cables are very heatly laid out but more importantly, the case is simply JAM-PACKED with gear. Rebuilding this system would be a highly time-consuming and methodical process. I'm sure the USB ports and headers are working correctly, because I have tested them with other hardware (i.e. mouse, keyboard, sister's WD Passport). I'm sure it's either a software issue or a compatibility issue with the hardware. __________________ [ TerminalVeloCD ] Antec 902v3 \| Antec EarthWatts EA-750 \| ASUS P8Z77-V Deluxe (1015) \| Intel Core i7 3770K L214C161 (46x / 1.256V) \| Corsair Hydro H80 (Noctua NF-F12 PWM x2) \| Corsair Vengeance 4x4GB PC12800 DDR3 (9-9-9-24 @ 1.5V) \| 2x EVGA nVidia GeForce GTX 680 2GB SLI \| Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic \| Dell UltraSharp U2711 \| Logitech X-530