SillyDog701

[Fulvio]

Ever since I started using an USB hub, I have had some odd problems. I can understand one problem, when I lost all the contents of one USB drive, which I plugged in the same location of another. In other words both had the letter H, and could not find a way to change the letter.
Today something odder, and unexplainable, to me happened. With the computer off, I removed one thumb drive, in position H, and plugged in another one. I did not do anything else, leaving the other three drives unchanged. After starting my computer, I noticed that the external backup drive, which had the letter F, all along, and the description of Maxtor drive, it had lost the description. Since no drive after the letter G shows up in the My Computer array, I typed H, and found it to have the same contents, previously, found in the F drive.
I can understand some oddity with trying to use one plug for two different thumb drive, but why would a drive change a letter spontaneously. It is bad enough to lose the contents of one thumb drive (8 GB), but to find that the external backup drive jump to another letter, it is another question.
By the way, the 8GB tumb drive, seems to have lost everything, including its capacity (i.e. all zeros).

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[Antony]

Fulvio,

Each time when you plug a USB drive, it might be assigned to different drive, this is quite likely to happen when you plug in more than one external storage. Each external storage device (regardless of the USB port you plugged into the USB hub) are not guaranteed to stay the letter.

I don't think your external storage would suddenly lost all its data, but more likely, being assigned to a different letter, or the device was not being detected correctly by the computer or Windows

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[Fulvio]

in the My Computer array, I typed H, and found it to have the same contents, previously, found in the F drive.

. The external drive was the F drive, but I found all contents when I typed H:/. The F drive became labelled "removable drive, and was inaccessible. As for the USB drive, I have not found any contents in the Verbatim 8 GB drive, which was nearly full, at one time.
Although some of the drives are not listed in My Computer, I can find everything about them using the Lavylis|Everest program. The OneTouchMini Maxtor Local Disk is now in the H position, while the defective thumb drive has switched positions, ending up as the F drive. Another thumb drive which I had renamed S drive (for Sony) is nowhere to be seen.

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[PaulD]

Do you use the "Safely Remove Hardware" (system tray) before disconnecting any USB device that has storage?

On the zero-capacity: It appears that the Master Boot Record for the drive has been corrupted. I don't know the recovery.
Do an internet search for [ USB storage and additional keywords ].

This may or may not be of any help:
1. "Safely Remove" every USB storage device.
2. Shutdown, not just Restart.
3. Wait a minute or so.
4. Boot.
5. As an Administrator, go to Device Manager:
- Universal Serial Bus controllers
- On every device (both Controller and Hub): right-click > Properties > Troubleshoot
- IF any error, try to clear problem
6. Plug in your USB storage drives, one at a time. Check each one for validity as it comes online.

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[Fulvio]

Paul,
my problem may have been due, in part, to the fact that I did not have USB ports. I unplug one thumb drive, and replaced it with another one, all in the same position. It is puzzling, however, that I had, never, disconnected the external backup drive, which was the F drive. I found it as H drive, which was the drive name used by the thumb drive which had disappeared. But, I renamed it to I, and was able to replace the contents, which were in the external drive. I am concerned to return the external drive to the F position, and lose everything which I had.
There is another thumb drive, the S drive ( for Sony), which I connected at another position, and can't find it anywhere. I am using the Everest software to track down the drives.
Are you saying that I should use the "Safely Remove Hardware" every time I unplug a thumb drive, and this will keep its contents?

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[PaulD]

" ... I did not have USB ports."
Is your emphasis on ports? - plural?
I take it then that there is only one USB port on the computer, and a hub is plugged into it.

Is the hub powered or unpowered?
Have you gotten any error messages? See this Microsoft item.
I suppose there is the possibility that the hub is faulty.

Re: "Safely Remove Hardware" every time ---
A) With the thumb plugged in, in Explorer:
Right-click on any drive > Properties > (tab) Hardware > select a drive of interest >
(button) Properties > (tab) Policies.

B) One hit on a (Google) search for [ safe to remove usb ] is this one. If all one is doing is reading from a drive, then hypothetically this step isn't necessary. (I also have a hazy recollection of reading somewhere that on VIsta it isn't necessary. But those whom I help, I still instruct to do so 'for safety'.)

Can you check your problem thumbs on another computer?
Or, disconnecting the hub, directly on the one port that you have?

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[Fulvio]

may have been due, in part, to the fact that I did not have USB ports.

. My bad! So much about proofreading!
I meant enough, without having to unplug one, and replace it with another. I did ok when I got my very first thumb drive. The tech fellow from Sony told me to rename the drive, and, although I could not see the icon, I could remove it, put another thumb drive in the same position on the hub, without any problem. I could go back and forth, several times. The problem started when I got another thumb drive, and did not rename the existing one, before removing it. But, then, the rearrangement took place for no good reason. Why did my F drive (external drive) decided to become H drive. I was able to track down the former H drive, renamed I, with no damage. These drives were in a single hub, but my S drive was plugged in directly in the computer, and, after the "revolution", it vanished.
I have four USB ports, and one of them has a hub, for a total of seven available positions.

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[PaulD]

Repeated:
Is the hub powered or unpowered?
Have you gotten any error messages?
Can you check your problem thumbs on another computer?
(revised) Or, disconnecting all non-essential USB devices, directly on one port?

Suggested sequence before unplugging the hub:
- In Device Manager, Uninstall each of the four ports of the hub
- Unplug the hub
- Reboot
- In Device Manager, verify that the ports on the hub are absent

Now, test each thumb on one of the native ports.
Be sure to 'Safely Remove' each drive before unplugging it.

When all is confirmed OK, replug in the hub.

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[Fulvio]

Paul,
I spent all this time, off and on, checking my system, and found out the following. My S drive, which I could not find, turned up, unscathed, when I plugged in the same hub position, as I had previously, used for the H drive, which had to be reloaded, after reformatting. After changing the drive letter to I, it has behaved. Except for the fact that there had been an uncalled switching of drive letters, all is well. Now, the three thumb drives which had been plugged, at different times, in the former hub H positions, are F, I and S. My external drive has become the H drive.
My sequence of events, to keep this situation, has been to unplug the drive with the computer off, and plug in the same position another one. Since I have had enough of a mess, I did not take into consideration the idea of uninstalling.
As for the hub being powered or not, I have no idea what it means. I have one direct connection to my computer, and the hub is plugged into it.

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[iJohnE]

Paul,
I spent all this time, off and on, checking my system, and found out the following. My S drive, which I could not find, turned up, unscathed, when I plugged in the same hub position, as I had previously, used for the H drive, which had to be reloaded, after reformatting. After changing the drive letter to I, it has behaved. Except for the fact that there had been an uncalled switching of drive letters, all is well. Now, the three thumb drives which had been plugged, at different times, in the former hub H positions, are F, I and S. My external drive has become the H drive.
My sequence of events, to keep this situation, has been to unplug the drive with the computer off, and plug in the same position another one. Since I have had enough of a mess, I did not take into consideration the idea of uninstalling.
As for the hub being powered or not, I have no idea what it means. I have one direct connection to my computer, and the hub is plugged into it.

A powered hub has a separate power adapter, that helps deliver power to the connected devices. An un-powered one draws power from the motherboard, and most times cannot power many devices.

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[Fulvio]

I guess that my hub is unpowered. And, things work ok the way I do it, i.e. unplugging and replugging the drives with the computer off.

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[iJohnE]

I guess that my hub is unpowered. And, things work ok the way I do it, i.e. unplugging and replugging the drives with the computer off.

Yeah, they should. For flash drives unpowered hubs work quite well. External hard drives will function fine as long as they have their own power adapters. External had drives that require a lot of power from the motherboard, will most likely not work correctly.

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