Sandisk Cruzer not recognized by Windows 7

Worked for me with windows 8. Thnak you VERY much.

This solve my issue with 32GB stick - and worked for my other 64GB stick, too! :smileyvery-happy:

Thanks! 

Chances are you have Kies installed which is interfering with the drive–try this:  http://forums.sandisk.com/t5/All-SanDisk-USB-Flash-Drives/Windows-7-Explorer-not-showing-drive-while-it-shows-in-computer/m-p/286716#M3656

usbstor.inf contains information about your USB devices. For some reason information about USB flash drives stored in the usbstor.inf file causes some USB drives to not be correctly recognized by windows. This is probably because other USB flash drives from other companies have been used and windows is stupid. (I’m making an educated guess here.) Windows stores a back up copy of this file with default information in another directory. So what I did was delete the file that windows was using and replace it with a “backup” copy. I will note, however, that just deleting the file caused other issues so this is why I’m replacing the file with another copy.

The short version is we are deleting usbstor.inf file that is located inside C:\Windows\inf  and then copying a file from a different directory back into C:\Windows\inf

This usbstor.inf file is located in several different locations on a computer and each copy of this file contains different information.

Anyone who has been dealing with computers for a long time expects that file extensions always come after a period. (autoexec.bat command.com explorer.exe usbstor.inf etc…) However, in windows some directories will now use periods as part of the directory name. In this case it can be particularly confusing because the name of the file we want is also represented as part of the name of the directory we want to open. This directory is one that is dynamically created by windows so the exact directory name where this “backup” file is stored will vary depending on the hardware a computer has.

My processor inside my computer is a 64bit AMD processor so windows dynamically created a directory that contained, as part of the directory name, _amd64_ . If someone has an Intel processor, windows may use _intel_ as part of the directory name.

For anyone that only has experience with Windows 7, they may not be aware of how to directly access the file system. So thanks to microsoft thinking that people are really dumb, they have tried to make the windows interface so user friendly that you can’t really easily get to what you want. In most cases the “My Computer” icon may not be on the desktop but it can usually be found in the windows start menu listed simply as “Computer”.

Now, I hope I have clarified the directory issue.

So we are deleting (or copying to the desktop and then deleting) usbstor.inf file from C:\Windows\inf

Then we are going to copy the file from C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\usbstor.inf_amd64_neutral_xxxxxxxx (or whatever the subdirectory is on your own computer) into C:\Windows\inf

Hope that clears things up.

Thanks for the update Myth024. :smiley:

How does one determine which backup file to restore from?  On my system I have several.

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601] Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\>dir usbstor\*.\* Volume in drive C is Windows 7 Volume Serial Number is 1CB7-B854 Directory of C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository 07/14/2009 12:51 AM \<DIR\> usbstor.inf\_x86\_neutral\_83027f5d5b2468d3 04/28/2011 05:34 PM \<DIR\> usbstor.inf\_x86\_neutral\_9d88b35623781f49 04/30/2011 12:52 PM \<DIR\> usbstor.inf\_x86\_neutral\_c77d41a490bdc63d 04/30/2011 12:52 PM \<DIR\> usbstor.inf\_x86\_neutral\_e6d53e776821c5b8 0 File(s) 0 bytes 4 Dir(s) 5,199,818,752 bytes free

This worked for me with a slight modification:

1. I removed the ‘usbstor.inf’ from the C:/Windows/inf (keeping a copy in a temorary folder)

  1. I restarted my computer

  2. I went to Device Manager and saw the USB Mass Storage Device, but it was not showing up in My Computer as a drive.

I checked the Device Properties and it mentioned “This device is disaled (code 22)”

  1. in Device Manager I Uninstalled the device

  2. I put the ‘usbstor.inf’ file back in C:/Windows/inf

  3. In Device Manager I scanned for new hardware

  4. everything works now (-:

Hi:

I’ve tried a variety of your suggestions, but solution is only intermittent.

Yes, following instructions such as those give (immediately above) by Ed_P (above) *do* work.

However, as soon as I use the ‘Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media’ icon (as one is told they are supposed to do!) the flash drive disappears and upon reinserting the flash drive it is not recognized. Upon reinserting the flash drive, the Device Manager states that I have a ‘SanDisk Cruzer Switch USB Device’ (under ‘DIsk Drives’) but the drive does not show up in Windows Explorer, and I’m back to square one again.

I have TWO SanDisk Cruzer USB flash drives (16GB & 32GB) and this applies to both of them. Other flash drivers inserted into the same port

As I use the larger of these two SanDisk Cruzer USB flash drives for all-important work files (transporting the drive between home and work) makes me wonder if I should change to new company seeing that it is ONLY the SandDisk drives this is happening to.

BTW, I am *not* having this problem at work where I am also running Win 7 (Professional) - the problem seems to exist only with the Win 7 (Ultimate) computer at home.

Any suggestions…please???

I just wanted to add to my post immediately above with some extra information.

Today I started in Safe Mode with the the two flash drives (16GB & 32GB) inserted. Both showed up. I also used the ‘Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media’ icons, and one-by-one, ejected them both. While still in Safe Mode I re-inserted the drives, and they were both recognized again.

I restarted the computer in _ Normal Mode, _ once again with the drives inserted. When the computer started up the drives were present and recognizedd.

HOWEVER , when I disconnected them by using the I tried using the ‘Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media’ icons, and then tried to reinsert them they WEREN’T recognized.

So, in _ Safe Mode _ they are recognized and using the ‘Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media’ method means that they can be reinserted and recognized, but when running in  Normal Mode , using the ‘Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media’ method means that they ARE NOT recognized when reinserted.

I hope this extra infromation helps with possible solutions for my problem.

I look forward to any replies!

Something is running in normal mode that is conflicting with them would be my guess. A mouse, printer, CD drive, etc.   But Windows is notorius about assigning drive letters to removable drives.  Frequently the same drive letter to different brands of devices. 

Try inserting the drives one by one and when a drive is recognized change it’s drive letter.  Repeat until each drive has been recognized and reassigned.  That may work for awhile but won’t be cast in stone, the drive letters may revert at some point.

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… :slight_smile: 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? 

:smiley:   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.

:smiley:   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)