Help ! Lost USB reader and camera support, still have USB stick and peripherals working


Recommended Posts

I need help. Badly.

 
I have a year old Cybertron PC with a Gigabyte mobo, running Windows 8.1.  I primarily use it for photo processing.
 
About a month or so ago, I updated to Windows 10. Had a bunch of issues that eventually got resolved.
 
Last Friday I went on a short trip and when I came back the computer indicated some updates were installed and it was rebooted. 
 
After this, I am no longer able to use a card reader or to read files from my camera. All other usb devices (USB drive stick, peripherals) work fine.
 
After screwing around in W10 I reset the computer back to w8.1 using Reset function (deleting everything on main drive). I still have the same problem. When I plug the camera in nothing happens regardless of whether I use a USB Mass storage or MTP protocol. When I plug the card reader in the USB Mass storage device shows up under device manager but there's no drive letters, and nothing shows up in File Explorer or partition manager. I tried deleting USB devices and reassigning drive letters to no avail. I also tried different ports and different cables.
 
Need help...

There's only one version posted on their website... Perhaps should dig deeper.

what baffles me is that it used to work with Windows 8.1 yet it doesn't work anymore even with a fresh install off the Windows disk. 

Does device manager show any of the non working devices?

Quoting for relevance only.

 So assuming you still have the installation files, uninstall your drivers for the webcam and reader, restart the pc, and re install, see if that does the trick

A very large percentage of 'device mysteriously has stopped working' problems can be fixed by just re installing the relevant device :) 

I have Windows 8.1 disk that came with machine (unlike most vendors they included Windows disk instead of recovery partition).

I did a reinstall of Windows but it doesn't work the same way I used to from my XP days, so I am not sure that it clears up everything. Perhaps I should just wipe the drive clean and start from scratch.

Well, apparently selecting an option to reset Windows and erase all settings and data and everything on the system partition does not do a clean install.

After I've manually deleted the partition, booted off Windows disk, created & formatted the new partition, and installed W8.1 from scratch, my camera can connect to computer.

So I know that the problem was definitely driver related.

I just hope it won't re-appear after another update.

After this I am very hesitant to try W10 again just yet.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • I agree, especially if it is cloud sourced, like this one is.. but I wouldn't say no to a local AI assistant similar to the Zettlab one which would be really helpful with my large Photos library, but also to perform tasks like installing Docker apps rather than me having to do it via Docker Compose, but I don't think we're quite there yet. Synology Photos is somewhat AI, you can ask it to search for certain people (if you have tagged them and it will attempt to match similar photos to the person) and if you put a search term in for "cars" for example, it will show you all photos with a car.
    • I doubt that Google will keep the same price... it may go up from that list published.
    • Sennheiser's audiophile grade HD 600 hits lowest ever price on Amazon Prime Day 2026 by Sayan Sen If you are in the market for high-quality audiophile-grade over-ear headphones then Sennheiser's HD 600 are a great choice for sure, especially today on Prime Day 2026 as the product has hit its lowest ever price (purchase link under the specs table down below). The Sennheiser HD 600 has long been regarded as a reference headphone for listeners seeking a detailed and natural listening experience. It is an open-back design that is built around the idea of acoustic transparency which is essentially said to allow sound waves to move freely for a more spacious and accurate presentation by reducing turbulence and the type of distortion that can result from it. At the heart of the product is Sennheiser’s proprietary driver system featuring a 42 mm driver paired with a lightweight diaphragm and aluminum voice coils. The company says this design helps deliver fast response times and better articulate sound across the audible frequency range. Comfort and durability are also key aspects of the HD 600 as the headphones feature soft velour ear pads designed for extended listening sessions. The HD 600 comes with a detachable 3-meter cable, a 6.3 mm stereo connector, and a 3.5 mm adapter for compatibility with a wide range of audio equipment. The technical specs of the Sennheiser HD 600 are given in the table below: Specification Value Transducer Principle Dynamic, Open-Back Ear Coupling Circumaural (Over-Ear) Frequency Response 12 Hz – 40,500 Hz Sound Pressure Level (SPL) 97 dB (1 V) Impedance 300 Ω Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) < 0.1% (1 kHz, 1 V) Cable Length 3 m (9.8 ft) Connector 3.5 mm Stereo Jack Plug Included Adapter 6.3 mm (1/4") Stereo Jack Adapter Weight 260 g Magnetic Field Strength 1.8 mT Driver Size 42 mm Dynamic Driver Diaphragm Size 38 mm Get it at the link below: Sennheiser HD 600: $237.00 (Sold by Electronics Expo, Shipped by Amazon US) (Was: $449.95) Good to know This Amazon deal is U.S. specific, and not available in other regions unless specified. We only use first-party seller links (at the time of article publishing); ensure that you purchase from a first-party seller link only. Check out Today's Deals on Amazon | or our recent tech deals. Become a Prime member (for Students or SNAP) via Neowin Get Prime Access - Prime for half price (for qualifying Medicaid, EBT, SNAP) Subscribe to Prime Video, Audible Plus, Music Unlimited or Kindle Unlimited via Neowin As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases
    • So the card is targeted at headphone users - so the review should be from someone that uses this - maybe I can review a card next time.
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Month Later
      timbobit earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Month Later
      nates earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Almohandis earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Rookie
      dorf went up a rank
      Rookie
    • First Post
      mike_rumble earned a badge
      First Post
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      476
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      170
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      104
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      88
    5. 5
      Steven P.
      70
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!