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My Win7-64bit has suddenly stopped giving me access to external USB drives and SD cards. I can see a list when I go to Disconnect Hardware (only generic - no identification of device). I can disconnect them, but I can't explore them. I have reinstalled all USB drivers. I also have a Win8 installation (trial) in which they all work perfectly - so it's not hardware. What can it be?

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The symptoms you describe (devices present in Safely Remove and in Disk Management but hidden in Explorer, plus Code 39 on the Storage Volumes nodes and the “console view is not up to date” error) point to Windows failing to mount the volume device—i.e. the OS can see the hardware but can’t load or register the volume driver. Code 39 in Device Manager is exactly that kind of failure and the usual first step is driver/volume reinstallation. (support.microsoft.com)

Practical, ordered steps that usually fix this (start with 1 and stop when the problem is solved): 1) In Device Manager turn on View → Show hidden devices, expand Storage Volumes, right‑click any “Unknown”/error entries and choose Uninstall; then reboot or use Action → Scan for hardware changes so Windows reinstalls the volume. 2) If Disk Management still shows the partition but won’t let you Explore, try assigning a letter with diskpart: 

diskpart
list volume
select volume <n>
assign letter=Z
exit

Both the “reinstall the volume” and diskpart approaches are documented Microsoft remedies for the Disk Management/Storage Volumes errors. (learn.microsoft.com)

If that doesn’t help, rebuild the USB/mass‑storage stack: in Device Manager uninstall any USB Mass Storage Device entries and all items under Universal Serial Bus controllers, then reboot so Windows redetects them. Also verify the USB mass‑storage driver isn’t disabled by policy: check HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\USBSTOR — the Start value should normally be 3, not 4. Back up the registry before changing anything. (learn.microsoft.com)

If drivers and USB stack reinstall don’t clear Code 39, the usual root is a corrupted class filter entry. Find the affected device’s Class GUID from Device Manager (Details → Class GUID), back up the registry, then inspect HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\<that‑GUID> for UpperFilters / LowerFilters. Delete those values only if they appear for that class (and only after a backup / restore point); some filters (BitLocker, ReadyBoost, vendor drivers) may be listed and removing them can disable features, so reinstall affected software afterward if needed. If none of this helps, collect the volume/driver errors from Event Viewer and consider SFC / DISM or a Windows repair install as a last resort. (support.microsoft.com)

Notes tied to the thread: — your Win8 install working rules out hardware, so focus on the Win7 driver/registry fixes above. was right to point you toward Disk Management; use the Device Manager + diskpart sequence next.

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Member Avatar for scudzilla

By not available, do you mean they are not visible in explorer, or visible but inaccessible?

Member Avatar for mel.holmes.948

They are not visible in Explorer (my computer) but are listed in the Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media in the system tray, but only as HD and HDD and Card. No media specific data.

Edited by mel.holmes.948
Member Avatar for mel.holmes.948

Discovered that USB printer connection works fine

Member Avatar for Xlphos

Hello,

Can you see the devices under the disk manager?
click start and type disk manager and select create and format partitions.

The devices should be listed there also with partition information.

-Let us know how it goes

Member Avatar for mel.holmes.948

It seems to all mass storage devices. They are listed without error in device manger under disc drives, but all have error 39 lower down under the heading Storage Volumes. In Disk Management they are all present and correct but the Explore option is greyed out and any attemp to get Properties etc results in the message, The operation failed to complete beacsue the console view is not up to date.....

I have tried various solution realting code 39 after Googling the message, bu none has worked. It is definitely a Win7/driver problem, as they all work fine in my Win8 Consumer Preview installation on the same machine.

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