Solved: Windows Explorer Not Recognizing Drive

[snorkytheweasel]

XP-SP3

I have a 1 TB USB drive that Windows Explorer sometimes recognizes, and sometimes doesn't recognize. In this case it is the P: drive

Windows Explorer/My Computer has no listing for P: Refreshing the display and closing/reopening Windows Explorer/My Computer have no effect on the display of the drives and files.
However,

• Disk Manager sees the P: drive as P: drive and gives all of the expected information: size, free space, format type, etc.
• A command window sees the P: drive and can perform normal disk operations such as dir, copy and del files on the P: drive AND copy and del files to and from other drives AND create and remove directories on the P: drive
• Acronis True Image is, as we speak, creating an image of E: drive and saving the image to the P: drive.I assume it is saving the image file to P:\e-drive.tib since
  1. the process has been running for 20 or so minutes, and in a command window there is a directory entry for P:\e-drive.tib - 0 length, dated 20 or so minutes ago (the zero length display is SOP for Acronis during an image creation)
  2. the drive activity lights on the PC and on the P: drive are blinking steadily

It's clear that Windows acknowledges the P: drive, and only Windows Explorer has a problem displaying the P: drive, and then only sometimes ... sometimes Explorer acts as it should - meaning that it displays P: drive and can perform file operations on it.

What's wrong, and how do I fix it?

 

[Macboatmaster]

Please establish if the drive is seen in My Computer, if you connect the drive AFTER you log-on.
Then establish if it is NOT seen if connected before you log on.
If you right click on the drive in DiskManagement and then click explore, does it then open.
Is the drive powered or USB powered.
To which usb is it connected the main ports on the I/O or on a usb port of a motherboard header.
Please ensure connected to main usb ports.