hi everyone,

i can't access or save my thesis because my comp can't recognise my usbs and i can't submitmy work or format my comp with my work on it. does anyone know what i should do to solve this asap instead of taking my comp for repairs today which means not getting any work done in the weekend?

J.

Hi Jojo,

I had exactly this trouble this week. Are you using a university computer? The IT department told me that this happens if you have (even if only occasionally) removed the USB stick without closing it down first (guilty, in my case) with the green arrow at the bottom of your screen.

The USB hardware recognition on your computer will need to be uninstalled and then re-installed. If you are the computer's administrator then you can do it; otherwise, contact your IT department.

I was told it's a very common problem. It was fixed in less than 10 minutes.

its my laptop and am the administrator. and yes, i removed my usb without shutting it down. how do i do it? by the way i called the computer and they said if i took it my comp today i would get it on monday, if i took it on monday i would pick it up on tuesday.

Try this:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/816509

Oops, wrong article. Try this one:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/810400

If you type in "USB not responding" into the search box, several articles giving possible causes and solutions are displayed.

Ooops, I never click on that green arrow before I remove my USB stick. I shall from now on!

I usually did, but sometimes it said "Device cannot be stopped right now. Please try again later", and I would swear and just unplug it anyway. Bloody world-domineering Microsoft.

Juno, that happens sometimes when you have the application you're working on opened and trying to unplug your USB at the same time. if you close the application (word etc) then you should be able to unplug your USB without any qualms.

You can always set your USB to unplug without having to click the green thingy always. Thank God for newere OSs, i tried upluging ME without going through the safe protocal and the darn thing crashed.

How do you set it to unplug, Cryogenics?

1.Click the Safe to remove icon
2.Make sure the 'display device components' is ticked
Your USB device shold now appear in the box
3.Click your USB and then properties
Another windows opens with different tabs on the top
4.Click 'policies'
Then you'll see the two options: Optimize for quick removal and Optimize for performance

Choose the optimize for quick removal if you don't want the hastle of having to go through the normal protocal.

I hope this helps.

thanks juno, i'll try that.

thanks juno. you're a star! my usbs are working after following your instructions

Hooray!

And Cryogenics, thanks for your info

Hey Jojo, that annoying USB thing happened again with my PC, but this time the friendly IT people told me a quick way to get round it:

Open Internet Explorer
Type F:/ into the address bar (assuming F is the drive for your USB; it may be G)
Away you go!

It works, I just tried it.