Cannot access My Computer

[agibsonsw]

Hello.
I used a USB adaptor but had to push my USB pen. My fault for forcing it! But since then I can't get in to (My) Computer: it hangs, doesn't respond and eventually causes me to shutdown the computer.
This happens no matter how I try to access My Computer and so I'm unable to access, and save to, a USB pen.

This shouldn't be a hardware problem as I've ditched the USB adaptor and I've got another USB pen that I can use. Is there any Vista or other downloadable application that might help me? Andy.

[StuartR]

Can you run disk management and see what shows up there.
Click the Start button and type diskmgmt.msc followed by the Enter key.

[agibsonsw]

Can you run disk management and see what shows up there.
Click the Start button and type diskmgmt.msc followed by the Enter key.

Thank you. I found Windows Memory Diagnostics as well which I'm running now.

My USB pen works fine on another computer, so it's definitely a problem with my computer.

If necessary I should be able to email my work to myself and then open it on another computer
and save to the pen. But I'll run the disk management tool in a bit - I need to fix this problem
if at all possible. Regards, Andy.

[agibsonsw]

Hi again.

The Memory Diagnostics found no problems and according to the Disk Management tool everything was "healthy".

Now everything works and I'm even able to use my USB pen. The old adage: reboot your computer 10 or 12 times and
everything will be sorted - but you'll never discover what the problem was..

And the moral is: Never force a USB device into place!

I should also consider another piece of advice: if a USB pen is playing up then get another one; USB pens are cheap but
damage to your computer is not.

Regards, Andy.

[ChrisGreaves]

I should also consider another piece of advice: if a USB pen is playing up then get another one; USB pens are cheap but damage to your computer is not.

Good One!

[agibsonsw]

I was able to use my USB pen on this computer without problem, and on other computers. But it's now triggering the same issue - I cannot access "Computer" when I plug in this pen.

So I will grab any files I need from the pen when I get a chance (on a different computer) and bin it - that is, following my own good advice

But could anyone recommend another Windows or downloadable tool that I could use to test my computer, other than the Memory Diagnostics and Disk Management tools?

I have got a Restore Point from Friday but I'm assuming it's more of a hardware issue(?). Ta, Andy.

[agibsonsw]

Hello.
As mentioned on another thread my issue has returned in that I'm unable to read any USB memory stick on my computer.

The problem originally arose after applying "slight pressure" to connect a pen to a USB adaptor. But I now realise that most of my adaptors (I have a few..), although claiming to be USB 2.0, are not!

Anyway, my question is: does someone recommend a USB 2.0 adaptor that IS actually USB 2.0 ? Particularly one that is (optionally) not powered by the laptop?

I'm still looking for a suggestion for an application that might help me with my USB pen connection issue, but I've not received any response previously so understand that perhaps no one has come across such a tool(?). (.. but there's no harm in asking again )

Andy.

[StuartR]

If you connect a USB 2 adapter to a USB 2 socket, it will still have to share the bandwidth of the single USB2 socket among all the connected devices, so it can't give the full USB 2 performance.

[agibsonsw]

@Stuart Thank you.

Think I'll play around a bit more. I'll remove the adaptor tonight and just use the two ports and see if this helps.

Andy.

[agibsonsw]

Hello.

My problem persists and I'm unable to read my USB pens even in Safe Mode - it suggests I need to format the drives (It's amazing how dependent I have become on these pens/ memory sticks, but never mind..)

I shall explore a Bluetooth option and I've ordered a Ethernet crossover cable - so that I'll be able (hopefully) to transfer needed files/work to my netbook.

But I'm also considering a (free) internet/"cloud" file-saving option. Is there a service that you would recommend? One you consider secure and straight-forward and doesn't bombard you with adverts?

Thanks, Andy.

Added: I've a gmail account - anyone have experience of Google Docs for my purpose?

[HansV]

Any of these free online storage services (Google Docs - or even Gmail -, Microsoft's Windows Live SkyDrive, ...) is fine, but I wouldn't use them for really sensitive/proprietary stuff. There have been plenty of security incidents recently...

[agibsonsw]

Any of these free online storage services (Google Docs - or even Gmail -, Microsoft's Windows Live SkyDrive, ...) is fine, but I wouldn't use them for really sensitive/proprietary stuff. There have been plenty of security incidents recently...

Thank you Hans.

I can't see the option in Gmail but I'll give Google Docs a bash. I notice that a number of services are only for files, whereas Google Docs allows me to upload entire folders.

It's mainly for work and sample files - personal files I just email to myself. It occurred to me that I already have a Gmail/Google account anyway, so the amount of advertising is not likely to increase (hopefully..). That is, unless they look at the file names or inside the files (I already see a number of ads for boilers ).

Regards, Andy.