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Spark
Anti-Static Strap
Joined: 11 Jan 2007
Posts: 481
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 Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 12:54 pm Post subject: Thumb Drive Orphans |
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This concerns a desktop PC with XP Home SP3:
A friend of mine's PC has 3 or 4 orphans showing (drive F, drive G, drive H) on his "My Computer" page that was left behind when he removed his thumb drive a few times incorrectly with out ejecting it properly through the right click drop down? How can these orphans be deleted?
Thanks............
Last edited by Spark on Mon Jan 23, 2012 5:30 am; edited 1 time in total |
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evasive
Mobo-fu Master
Joined: 06 May 2001
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Location: Netherlands, Breda
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 2:51 am Post subject: |
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Normally rebooting should take care of that. If there's a card reader thingy in there it can cause stuff like that. Drive letters for network drives &
removable storage in XP is messy at best anyway, that's why someone wrote a service handler to clean things up a bit:
http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbdlm_e.html
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Storm
Pilgrim
Joined: 18 Jan 2012
Posts: 13
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| Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 11:46 pm Post subject: |
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Evasive is correct, restarting should fix the problem. but if that doesnt work, there's a few more options for you
To Remove Drive Letter:
1. Click on the "Start" menu and select "Control Panel." Select the "Administrative Tools" icon. You may need to select "Performance and Maintenance," or switch to Classic View or Icon View in the left pane before making the selection.
2. Double-click on "Computer Management." Expand the "Storage" options in the left pane and select "Disk Management."
3. Scroll down to the non-existent drive. Right-click on it and choose "Change Drive Letter and Paths."
4. Select the drive's letter and click the "Remove" button. Click "Yes" to confirm the operation.
To Disable Drive:
1. Click "Start," open the "Control Panel" and select "Administrative Tools" from Classic View or Icon View, or select "Performance and Maintenance" and then click "Administrative Tools."
2. Double-click on "Computer Management" and expand the "System Tools" options. Select "Device Manager."
3. Expand the "Disk drives" or "DVD/CD-ROM drives" section depending on which type of drive the non-existent device claims to be.
4. Right-click on the non-existent drive and select "Disable" to turn the device off. This will remove it from view, and you can enable it again from the same menu. To completely delete the drive, right-click on it and choose "Uninstall." Only choose this option if you are certain the drive appeared in error, or if you do not plan on using the disconnected hardware associated with the drive again. |
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Spark
Anti-Static Strap
Joined: 11 Jan 2007
Posts: 481
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| Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 5:50 am Post subject: |
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| Storm wrote: | Evasive is correct, restarting should fix the problem. but if that doesnt work, there's a few more options for you
To Remove Drive Letter:
1. Click on the "Start" menu and select "Control Panel." Select the "Administrative Tools" icon. You may need to select "Performance and Maintenance," or switch to Classic View or Icon View in the left pane before making the selection.
2. Double-click on "Computer Management." Expand the "Storage" options in the left pane and select "Disk Management."
3. Scroll down to the non-existent drive. Right-click on it and choose "Change Drive Letter and Paths."
4. Select the drive's letter and click the "Remove" button. Click "Yes" to confirm the operation.
To Disable Drive:
1. Click "Start," open the "Control Panel" and select "Administrative Tools" from Classic View or Icon View, or select "Performance and Maintenance" and then click "Administrative Tools."
2. Double-click on "Computer Management" and expand the "System Tools" options. Select "Device Manager."
3. Expand the "Disk drives" or "DVD/CD-ROM drives" section depending on which type of drive the non-existent device claims to be.
4. Right-click on the non-existent drive and select "Disable" to turn the device off. This will remove it from view, and you can enable it again from the same menu. To completely delete the drive, right-click on it and choose "Uninstall." Only choose this option if you are certain the drive appeared in error, or if you do not plan on using the disconnected hardware associated with the drive again. |
Thank you for your reply.
A question though. If the orphaned drive icon is deleted as you say, can that drive letter be used again at a later date should a removable USB flash drive be inserted back into the PC again or is the deleted drive letter icon gone for ever?
Thanks all........... |
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evasive
Mobo-fu Master
Joined: 06 May 2001
Posts: 36385
Location: Netherlands, Breda
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| Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 6:28 am Post subject: |
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"Only choose this option if you are certain the drive appeared in error, or if you do not plan on using the disconnected hardware associated with the drive again."
Basically, when you connect the drive again you'll need to install the driver for it again. Usually this is handled by windows automatically.
I am a bit confused by the behaviour of the system, all I know is USBDLM will hide all empty card reader slots as long as no memory card is inserted, if you tell it to do so.
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Spark
Anti-Static Strap
Joined: 11 Jan 2007
Posts: 481
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| Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 2:02 am Post subject: |
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| evasive wrote: | "Only choose this option if you are certain the drive appeared in error, or if you do not plan on using the disconnected hardware associated with the drive again."
Basically, when you connect the drive again you'll need to install the driver for it again. Usually this is handled by windows automatically.
I am a bit confused by the behaviour of the system, all I know is USBDLM will hide all empty card reader slots as long as no memory card is inserted, if you tell it to do so. |
Apparently this person removed the USB thumb drive with out ejecting it through My Computer, and after he did so the drive letter that was assigned to the thumb drive while he was using it remained. He did this 3 times and there are 3 orphans I believe. |
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evasive
Mobo-fu Master
Joined: 06 May 2001
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Location: Netherlands, Breda
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| Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 3:45 am Post subject: |
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even after a restart of the machine?
tried drivecleanup from this guy?
http://www.uwe-sieber.de/drivetools_e.html
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Spark
Anti-Static Strap
Joined: 11 Jan 2007
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| Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 4:37 am Post subject: |
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Yes. I went over this entire PC cleaning it up for him (a few hours work) but these drive orphans will not go away. |
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evasive
Mobo-fu Master
Joined: 06 May 2001
Posts: 36385
Location: Netherlands, Breda
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| Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 6:37 am Post subject: |
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you are already using USBDLM even? With the option set not to show the drive letters for empty card reader slots?
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youlemeia
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