USB storage device problem with Windows 2000

Hello, I recently purchased a Memorex 128mb Thumbdrive USB device. I plug it into a USB drive and it operates fine. But when I remove it is when the problems start. If I hit "Eject drive", the My Computer screen locks up and becomes unusable. If I just remove the device without ejecting it, the drive still appears in My Computer, but it is blank and when I re-insert the device, it is still blank and I cannot read it.

If I restart my computer and plug the device back in, it works until I remove it. Then it does the same thing. I am using a USB TV tuner which works fine, so I am at a loss. Any help would be most appreciated. Thanks.

System specs:
Windows 2000 w/SP4
.... what else is relevant?

 

Don't use the Eject Drive from My Computer, but rather the Unplug or Eject Hardware from the system tray.

 

There is no system tray icon. It just loads silently and works until I unplug it manually.

 

That's the first problem to solve, for USB storage devices, you should have the system tray disconnect icon for 2K or XP systems. I've never seen one that it didn't appear when a USB disk was connected...

What happens if you go into Device Manager and uninstall the disk under USB Controllers and then unplug it?

 

What do you mean by "uninstall the disk"? My Device Manager has the following:

 

Can you show me a picture of the USB Controllers section with the device plugged in?

 

With the device plugged in and functional:



The only difference is that one extra "USB Mass Storage" item, but it says it's working...

 

Bump