When I go to >my computer in the removable disk section I used to have about 7 different ones removable disk I....J....K etc. Now there is only one viewable and any usb flash drives etc plugged in can't be found.....now at this point I should point out I am a self taught computerer, so go easy!!! Thanks, Sean.

Windows Vista Home premium
Intel(R) pentium(R)D CPU 3.00 ghz
1.00 gb RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 LE

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A concise, practical follow-up that fills gaps in the thread and helps narrow hardware vs Windows causes.

Several good suggestions from and focused on driver/Device Manager checks; flagged the missing device list and later posted the two problem entries (Microsoft 6to4 and ISATAP). Useful next steps that the thread hasn’t covered are targeted isolation checks and hardware verification.

First, confirm whether the reader/hardware itself is present to the OS: open Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc) to look for disks/volumes that lack drive letters or are offline — multi-slot readers often expose slots only when a card is present, and an unlettered volume will not show in My Computer. Test the same USB stick or memory card on the rear USB ports and on another PC to rule out a bad card or port. Check BIOS/UEFI to ensure onboard USB/card-reader support is enabled.

If those checks are inconclusive, isolate OS vs hardware by booting a small live Linux USB (no install required). If the reader and cards are visible in Linux, the hardware is fine and the issue is Windows-side (system files, registry, or a corrupted mount/driver stack). If the reader does not appear in Linux, suspect a physical/cable or card-reader failure (front-panel readers often use an internal USB header that can become unplugged). When repairing Windows, consider restoring to a point before the problem or running sfc /scannow from an elevated prompt to repair corrupt system files.

Clarifying note: the Microsoft 6to4 and ISATAP entries mentioned earlier are IPv6 tunnel adapters (network-related) and normally do not affect USB flash drives or multi-card readers; focus first on Disk Management, BIOS/header connections, and the Linux-live test to separate hardware from OS problems.

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Hi,
I assume that you have a multi card reader on your machine and that is why you had all the removable drives listed. Open "devise manager" and see if there are any red/yellow marks.
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/windowsvista/f/opendmvista.htm
If you have, right click them and click update driver. Post back and tell us what happened.

in the DM, the following had yellow marks

in the DM, the following had yellow marks

you forgot to add the items that had yellow marks !

Right click them and then click, "Update drivers"
If it still will not work, find the make and model of the offending hardware, go to the manufacturers site and download new drivers for it/them and reinstall drivers (sometimes you will need to do that through DM)

sorry about that...

microsoft 6to4 adapter #2
microsoft isatap adapter #2

it says up to date but this msg in properties:-

This device is not working properly because Windows cannot load the drivers required for this device. (Code 31)

Click 'Check for solutions' to send data about this device to Microsoft and to see if there is a solution available.

when I check for solution it searches for about 10 seconds then dissapears?????

Anyone????

ok mate so I tried the first two (good joke on the third!!!) And I still have no joy. So is what's happening most probably drivers have failed and need to be re-installed?

ok mate so I tried the first two

those were the drivers .did you install them and its still not working ,if so
in device manager ,go to the usb section at the bottom and delete all thats in the usb section and reboot computer for windows to reinstall drivers

This device is not working properly because Windows cannot load the drivers required for this device. (Code 31).

Code 31
This device is not working properly because Windows cannot load the drivers required for this device. (Code 31)
Recommended resolution

Update the driver

You may be prompted to provide the path of the driver. Windows may have the driver built-in, or may still have the driver files installed from the last time that you set up the device. However, sometimes, it will open the New Hardware Wizard which may ask for the driver. If you are asked for the driver and you do not have it, you can try to download the latest driver from the hardware vendor’s Web site.

In the device Properties dialog box, click the Driver tab, and then click Update Driver to start the Hardware Update Wizard. Follow the instructions to update the driver.

copied from here .
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310123

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