Need Computer Help! on Humzoo

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Monday, July 28th, 2008
Need Computer Help!

Ok, all you computer nerds out there… I need help!

As you know, I do a lot of Humzooing from work. Probably way too much, but that is not what this blog is about.

I have been experiencing a problem on my office PC for a while now, and it’s really frustrating. Especially when I am trying to transfer photos and video and such from my home PC to my office PC.

My work computer is a DELL with Windows XP. It is pretty stupid and slow most of the time, but at least it works.

So here’s the problem:

When I plug in an external storage device (i.e. camera, flash drive, etc.), what’s supposed to happen is the auto play feature when it asks me what I want to do with this device I have just plugged in.

Well, none of that happens. I plug the device in, and the little yellow bubble pops up at the bottom of the screen saying “new device detected” and “your device is ready to use.” But still no dice.

It doesn’t show up as a drive in My Computer, and I have tried everything I know to open it up, and nothing works. Device Manager says it’s working properly, new drivers don’t help.

I am at a loss…

Can anyone help me?

21 Comments

1) http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyI...

Russ Monday, July 28, 2008

2) Hey Russ... I tried that, but when I ran the wizard, it said "select the drive from the list that is not working properly." Well, my flash drive was plugged in, but of course, it wasn't on the list, which was the original problem.
It's not the AutoStart that's the problem, my computer just doesn't recognize it as a drive.

Betsy Monday, July 28, 2008

3) Have you rebooted?

shoo Monday, July 28, 2008

4) After you try Shoo's suggestion, try rebooting. Then restart. Then shut down, unplug, wait 30 seconds, plug back in, and boot. Then restart.

Dave Heinzel Monday, July 28, 2008

5) Betsy,

A.) Is the computer on?

2.) Do you see Rick Astley in your device manager?

niki Monday, July 28, 2008

6) Have you tried smacking the side of it? I used to do that when I had a Windows PC.

Spike Monday, July 28, 2008

7) Mock rebooting, but you don't know how many times that fixed problems for me. Including servers.

shoo Monday, July 28, 2008

8) I had a monitor once that caused me problems. Out of frustration, one time, I reached up and gave it a good smack. Presto, fixo!! Worked like a new monitor for a few days, then it acted up again, and I "fixed" it once more. It is amazing just how hard you can smack one of those without knocking it off the desk!!!

stheinz Monday, July 28, 2008

9) Thanks for all the helpful and well-informed suggestions.

Betsy Tuesday, July 29, 2008

10) stheinz, I used to fix my dashboard lights that way in my car. What are the odds of THREE cars in a row that I owned having bulbs in the dash burn or short out??
Well, it happened to me. And it was always while I was on the phone with Carrie M. I would smack the dashboard, and the lights came back on.
Ha.
I think I will try to drop the PC out the second floor window this afternoon.

Betsy Tuesday, July 29, 2008

11) I'm assuming you're on a network. Depending on the level of security set by the system admin, you may need to be a administrator on the PC in order to install any hardware, software, etc. Have you been able to do this in the past?

soundchick Tuesday, July 29, 2008

12) Yep. Other devices work fine, ie, my mp3 player, and other models of cameras...

Betsy Tuesday, July 29, 2008

13) What specifically doesn't show up? The camera or the flash drive? Oh, and are you on IM?

soundchick Tuesday, July 29, 2008

14) I am not on IM.
Neither the camera or the flash drive shows up. It's like the computer doesn't know they're there, yet the device manager says it's working properly.

Betsy Tuesday, July 29, 2008

15) I keep monitoring this and hoping someone comes up with a solution because this happens with various items that we use on the computer at home - iPods, mp3 players and camera - sometimes they are there and the computer recognizes them and other times it just won't work

justmeg Tuesday, July 29, 2008

16) I have no tips for you, but I can totally sympathize as the same thing happened to me at my old job. I had a Dell with XP. One day it just stopped recognizing the camera I use for work. I brought in my personal camera (the same exact model) and it recognized it right away and I had no problem transferring files. Then one day I tried to transfer some files onto a USB drive, and the system saw that there was a device plugged in, but I couldn't transfer files onto it. No problems when I tried it on a few other computers. But if I plugged in a different card reader, it worked fine. I think there was just something squirrely with the drive because some things worked and others didn't. I never bothered to have it fixed. The company was closing and I was going to a different job, so there was no pressing reason for anyone to do anything about it.

Good luck.

sandy Tuesday, July 29, 2008

17) Sometimes when things should work and don't there is a firewall blocking access to the files and you have to approve that access. Sometimes the hardware or software is there, set up, but you don't have admin access to the program files for it to function properly. Might check the firewall (if turned on) and also your permissions to the program files for that device.

I had a similar problem with the Shuffle and a Dell (ICK!) laptop at home. Sometimes it would work and sometimes iTunes didn't see it at all. I never got it to work. Just tossed it in a drawer for when I get my MAC. If it doesn't work then, I know a train-track to place it on to make a nice flat square of squished iPod. Either that or give it to someone else. :)

LGrant Tuesday, July 29, 2008

18) From your initial post, you made it sound like you installed new drivers. Did you try uninstalling the devices at all? I have a few ideas, but the fix for each is different.

soundchick Tuesday, July 29, 2008

19) LGrant, when there is a firewall, does it make sense that some devices will work and some won't?
soundchick - Yeah I tried uninstalling the devices, and updating drivers, and still nothing.

Betsy Wednesday, July 30, 2008

20) Betsy, if something is blocked until you indicate it is allowed, it is possible. I've seen some strange things with computers over the years. I'm a Lotus Notes Administrator and it's always having some minor problem with user permissions or firewalls blocking it. A user can open the app, access a home server and all works fine. He tries to access a remote server and it indicates "server not responding". The server is fine, the user is being blocked from accessing a different program file to access a remote server instead of a home server. Subtle and tough to troubleshoot. Just a thought to try turning that off and testing things or opening it up and making sure a needed program isn't being blocked so you look like it should work but you can't access the file to make it work.

LGrant Wednesday, July 30, 2008

21) Have you tried moving it to another USB port, like one in the back? Sometimes that will make it think it is a "new" piece of hardware. Also, some more sophisticated networks have policies that block USB drives so employees can't steal all of their secrets. Since you said it worked before, the admin folks may have changed a policy recently. If they haven't watched any good spy movies recently, they may not know that trick. If that's the case, I would take Dave's advice. A couple dozen reboots (along with some 4-letter words and a rubber mallet) never hurt.

Merrick Wednesday, July 30, 2008