USB Flash Drive not installing completely.

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G

Guest

Hello,

I have 2 USB Flash drives that both are ReadyBoost ready. When I plug
either of them in, it prompts to find a driver but does not find one. It
installs correctly and I can read and write to the drive, but it shows "USB
DISK" in the USB device manager tab and also "Flash Drive SM_USB20 USB
Device" under the Disk Drives tab. I have tried all kinds of basic fixes. I
have a Biostar Tforce 550 SE mobo if that matters and nforce drivers
installed.

Any ideas as to how to make it ReadyBoost ready?
 
Gary,

You say that Windows can't find a driver, but that both drives install
correctly and that you then can use them. How can both conditions be true?

Take a look in Computer (formerly My Computer) and note whether the drives
appear there. If they do, choose one by right clicking it and selecting
Properties. Under the ReadyBoost tab, enable ReadyBoost. Post back on what
you determine.
 
From what I understand, having the drive listed twice in the device manager,
one being listed as "USB DISK" isn't normal. The ReadyBoost tab does not
show on either drive but if I plug them into other vista systems, it installs
right away (correctly, with just one mention in the device manager) and the
ReadyBoost tab appears.

Sorry for not being more clear in my inital posting. Hopefully this clears
it up. Thanks for your help!
 
Gary,

Thanks for the clarification. Sometimes resolving USB device recognition
issues like you seem to have can be resolved by deleting the INFCACHE.1 file,
which can get corrupted with bad data and cause issues like you appear to
have. The file is located at C:\Windows\inf. There, scroll down to the
INFCACHE.1 file and right click it and select delete. To do this, you will
likely have to give yourself permission to delete it, because of Windows
built-in Security. Just right click the file, select Properties and then
click on the security tab. Let us know whether this procedure does anything.
Sometimes it does and sometimes not. Post back on the results.
 
I just deleted the file to no avail. I do notice that even when it pops up
the "Found New Hardware" window, the drive is already listed correctly under
the disk drives and can be accessed but still no ReadyBoost. It wants to
always install software for "USB DISK" aswell. Both drives have the same
issue...
 
I should also mention that when I try to check for a solution to the USB DISK
not finding a driver, it prompts me to "Download and install the driver for
RTS5116 series USB2.0 Flash Memory Card Reader Controller", which I have done
and does nothing. I still get that "solution" even after installing the
update...
 
Gary,

Maybe I don't understand how you have these drives connected. It seems as
if you have them connected via a card reader. Is that right? Is a driver
for the card reader the problem, rather than the driver for the flash drive?

Can you connect the flash drives directly to their own USB port? Why are
you using a card reader? If you need a driver for a card reader, can you
check at the card reader manufacturer's website for a driver, since Windows
can't find one? I'm having trouble understanding the problem.

The best way to use a ReadyBoost flash device is to use one connected
directly to its own USB port. Can you try connecting whatever your using to
another USB port, preferably to one on the back of the computer? Is any of
this making any sense?
 
It's making complete sense. I am a PC tech actually, haha. Should have
mentioned that.

The drives are USB flash drives, connected to USB ports. I try them one at
a time in the back. I also have a card reader that I thought was causing a
problem and have since disconnected, without any change. It still prompts me
with that solution with the device uninstalled. This problem doesn't seem to
have any ryhme or reason. I might just try reinstalling Vista eventually to
see if that works.

Thanks for your help though. It's good to have an outside opinion to make
sure I'm not crazy, haha.
 
Gary,

You could also try using google to see what you can find out there on the
Internet. As explanation, some files in Vista sometimes get corrupted, in
C:\Windows\inf, and that fact causes problems in recognizing hardware and
drivers. That's the reason for removing that one infcashe.1, but there are
other files there that can cause issues, but removing them is more involved.
These issues are solvable, but it takes more time and effort.
 
Freddy, I have seriously done everything I could find. I even booted with
the Vista DVD and used the command prompt to delete the driver database.
There is something else wrong. I realize that every issue has an answer, but
after 4 hours on this, I give up.

I might try removing some programs to see if it's a conflict but that's
doubtful.

Again, thanks very much for your advice!
 
Hi Gary,

Looks as thought you've given it a good shot. I didn't know you deleted the
driver data base. That's a last ditch procedure, and can produce good
results. I didn't know you knew about that procedure. I, too, am out of
ideas. Good luck.
 
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