Some anti-virus and anti-spyware can block certain types of changes in windows. Windows 7 also uses UAC and so it might be windows itself that is being screwy. I would say to do a search for UAC and you should see a place to change the User Access Control. Turn it down to never, then do the fix again, reboot, then turn the UAC back to where it was. Oddly, I’ve found this to fix a number of odd issues I’ve had in the past. As far as SanDisk USB drives are concerned I will say that it’s the only type of drive I’ve ever had this type of problem with. I have a kingston USB drive that has worked flawlessly in any computer I’ve used it in. Oddly, I haven’t seen any response from SanDisk when I wrote to them when I first had this problem, nor have I seen any respons from them in the forums either.
Thanks for the tip, but no, it did not work. I *WILL* try and contact SanDisk directly about this.
It only started occuring a number of weeks ago - new software I installed or Windows updates may have caused the change. I just can’t check the specific incident that set it off - assuming that a specific incident actually *did* set it off.
Like you, other USB flash drives - extremely generic ones - have no similar problem, only the SanDisk drives. As soon as I uninstall the ‘SanDisk Cruzer Switch USB Device’ driver software from the ‘Disk drives’ section of the Device Manager and then reinsert the drive, every thing is fine. However, it’s *ejecting* the driver that stops it being recognized again. It’s as if the ejecting process makes the drive invisible.
When I *do* eject the drive, the ‘SanDisk Cruzer Switch USB Device’ driver software disappears the ‘Disk drives’ section of the Device Manager, and when I reinsert the drive, the ‘SanDisk Cruzer Switch USB Device’ driver software REappears the ‘Disk drives’ section of the Device Manager, but the disk doesn’t appear in Windows Explorer. Something - I don’t know what - is preventing it’s ‘re-recognition.’
As I wrote earlier, this issue does not occur if I’m operating in Safe Mode, which suggests threre’s another process operating in Normal Mode that prevents the drive from being recognized.
It’s a tricky issue, and I’d love to get to the bottom of it.
Although this might not be a fix, it’s not always nessessary to actually eject a USB stick. When it comes to the larger full sized USB drives then yes, you would want to. The idea behind “ejecting” the device is so the operating system can make sure that all data is properly written to the USB device. If for some reason there is a write or read operation going on, then using the eject function makes sure that any read/write operations complete to prevent data corruption. I don’t think I’ve ever actually “ejected” a USB stick. I usually just pull them out and don’t worry about it. So far, I haven’t had any issues. I would be curious if NOT ejecting the USB would allow it to continue to function properly.
Most USB ports on most machines are configured for Safe Removal rather than Performance thus no caching and slower reads and writes but minimal rise to the files and structure on the USB drive. But not all machines are configured that way, and one way to increase performance is to maintain the File Allocation Table in RAM. Quick removal with the current FAT in RAM will destroy your USB drive.
Basically you can yank the flash drive out whenever you want and see whether your lucky or not. So long as you have a backup, or two, of your files the damage is nothing more than an inconvenience.
I actually reinstalled Windows 7 and now everything is working fine.
I imagine that something I’d installed (or something installed itself without my knowledge) had caused this change.
All is fine now, and I have set up my System Restore to make sure any changes can be backtracked to work out when the problem has occured.
In any respect, thanks for your advice!
Windows 7
Sandisk 16GB Cruzer
I had all the same issues - …and tried some of the more exotic fixes.
My problem was that although the drive was visible on my PC, I just could never open it, clicking just used to take an age to try to open it. I tried the uninstall, but still no joy when I reconnected the USB drive. I could not reformat it either. It was a real issue.
It worked fine on other PC’s, so I know the USB was OK.
Anyway, after 2 hours of silliness, the problem was simply fixed by this -
Uninstall the USB whilst the PC is in normal mode. (from the control panel-Device manager). This I was able to do.
Remove the stick
Reboot the PC into safe mode
Insert USB stick
It was detected fine. I was able to open the stick and use it as intended.
Eject the stick (still in safe mode)
Restart PC in normal
Put in stick.
Now its fixed.
Another 2 hours of my life wasted on a stupid PC issue.
Uninstall the USB whilethe PC is in normal mode. (from the control panel-Device manager). This I was able to do.
Remove the stick
Reboot the PC into safe mode
Insert USB stick
It was detected fine. I was able to open the stick and use it as intended.
Eject the stick (still in safe mode)
Restart PC in normal
Put in stick.
Now its fixed.
thanks for help… it will help me this way… 
SMD
Try this simple tip. I bought a batch of these and only two worked. I had a small (24") male/female extension lead which I used and they all work fine. My guess is the contacts aren’t connecting properly. My first thoughts were aroused because they were difficult/tight to insert into some pc slots. I would suggest a good quality extension lead in case a cheap one creates the same problem. I hope you find this cheap, cheerful and above all else, simple.
I have had this problem for at least two years. Tried everything. Some USB sticks work, some don’t . Most all work on Windows XP. Windows 7 Pro is the issue for me. Whatever is causing it has to do with Windows 7 Pro.
Does anyone have any more ideas about what to do with getting the stick recognized in Windows Explorer? I can get it showing up in Device Manager under “Other Devices” and shows what type of stick it is by name. It will not show up anywhere else. I can take that same USB stick on my Windows XP computer and it works perfectly. All USB external hard drives work fine. All USB devices I have plugged into this windows 7 laptop work fine. It only has to do with the sticks. It seems that Sandisk tech is still beating the same drum on this. No new help yet for a problem that is so widespread? Hard to believe but my Sandisk days are just about over unless I can get these up and running. I do believe a new install of Windows will fix this, but my God, what a fix and still don’t know if it will actually work and for how long.
Very interesting responses to all that have posted. If it works for you then it works. Unfortunately none have worked for me. Can someone offer any help for me without a new install process? "Any more ideas? I would appreciate any since I do have this showing up in Device Manager under “Other devices.” When first put this new Glide stick in, it tried to installl drivers but after a few minutes came up unsuccessful. Can there be too many USB drivers installed? If so, is there any way to “clean out” these USB drivers so that a “new install” can be completed? I realize these don’t actually install drivers, but they install something.
If my sticks are showing up in Device Manager, should they be in other devices heading or in another group?
Hi Bently,
Dear member of SanDisk Community, welcome.
[ Can there be too many USB drivers installed? If so, is there any way to “clean out” these USB drivers so that a “new install” can be completed?
I realize these don’t actually install drivers, but they install something. ]
Friend, please:
1- See if it helps this tool, for general cleaning (portable app, free): Link Removed
2- Maybe what happens, is that there a corrupt line in the registry/USB_,_ that detects an UFD as “problematic”.
Then, try with the tool (portable app, free): Link Removed
3- Also, the intensive use of USB ports, generates “USB junk” in the registry.
Then, to clean easier the “USB junk”, you can use the tool (wXP, Vista, w7), (portable app, free): Link Removed
Luck, and then you tell us, what happened, please.
Regards, Alfred. (Google translated)
Hello Cacho,
I have removed the links provided as they were not official software provider download links. Third party tools can be linked on this forum but they must be linked from the software providers official website.
Regards,
Forum Admin
slotmonsta
Note: Ahh, well (this, I had not seen before…), then, I rewrite the message with replacement of links, thanks.
Hi Bently,
Dear member of SanDisk Community, welcome.
[ Can there be too many USB drivers installed? If so, is there any way to “clean out” these USB drivers so that a “new install” can be completed?
I realize these don’t actually install drivers, but they install something. ]
Friend, please:
1- See if it helps this tool, for general cleaning (portable app, free): CCleaner, http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download/portable
2- Maybe what happens, is that there a corrupt line in the registry/USB, that detects an UFD as “problematic”.
Then, try with the tool (portable app, free): USB Deview, http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_devices_view.html
3- Also, the intensive use of USB ports, generates “USB junk” in the registry.
Then, to clean easier the “USB junk”, you can use the tool (wXP, Vista, w7), (portable app, free):
USB Scrub Cleans, http://www.getusb.info/review-usb-scrub-cleans-your-registry-of-old-usb-sticks/
Luck, and then you tell us, what happened, please.
Regards, Alfred. (Google translated)
