Solved Ghost USB drive that I can't get rid of


LINYBob

LINYBob

New member
Local time
2:55 AM
Posts
2
OS
Windows 11 Home
Every time I boot up my Win 11 Home and go to Explorer -> This PC I have OS (C:) USB Drive (D:) and two external HDDs that I have plugged into the USB dock.
I do not have a USB drive plugged in! Also the D: drive Properties shows type is USB drive, File system is Unknown, space is 0 bytes. There is no actual device!!!
How do I get rid of it in Explorer?

If I go to Disk Management, I have disk 0, disk 1, disk2 and disk 3 Removable (D:) No Media
Disk 0-2 are all partitioned and healthy.

In Disk Management, Disk 3 I can right click and change the drive letter if I want. For now it is D: but I can delete the drive letter if I want.
It says it is a Generic STORAGE DEVICE USB Device. But there is no physical device connected to the laptop.

In Device Manager, I have selected "show hidden devices" and uninstalled grayed out devices in USB controllers and USB devices, and rebooted, but that didn't help either.

I just want a clean system. Any ideas what more I can do?
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Home
OS
Windows 11 Home
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Dell
This may be fixed. I found another Drive D in Disk management that I uninstalled. We will see if this did it.....
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Home
OS
Windows 11 Home
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Dell
Hello @LINYBob and welcome to Eleven Forum. :-)





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My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26200.8737 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦25H2AMD Ryzen 7 3700XG.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26200.8737 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦25H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 5302)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Total Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1

  • At a glance

    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 15 years?
LINYBob said:
In Device Manager, I have selected "show hidden devices" and uninstalled grayed out devices in USB controllers and USB devices, and rebooted, but that didn't help either.

I just want a clean system. Any ideas what more I can do?
Click to expand...
re: a clean system
There's a great maintenance tool to clean up all the stale storage class devices left behind. Download the DriveCleanup tool. Unzip. You likely want the x64 version. Run in an admin command prompt.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProIntel Core Ultra 7 26532GBIntel Arrow Lake-S/HX - Integrated Graphics
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 7 265
    Motherboard
    LENOVO 12YUCTO1WW
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Arrow Lake-S/HX - Integrated Graphics
    Sound Card
    Intel Arrow Lake-S PCH - ACE (Audio Context Engine)
    Hard Drives
    512GB NVme Micron MTFDKBA512TGD-2BK15ABLT
    1TB NVme Micron MTFDKBA1T0TGD-2BK15ABLT

  • At a glance

    Windows 10 ProIntel Core i7-670016GBIntel HD Graphics 530 (Skylake-S GT2)
    Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-6700
    Motherboard
    DELL 0HD5W2 Chipset Intel Q170 (Skylake PCH-H)
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 530 (Skylake-S GT2)
Did you ever connected a card reader? Usually multiple USB storage devices with zero capacity are card reader slots without a card inside.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (5699), 25H2 (8737)Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz4GBMobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (5699), 25H2 (8737)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Extensa 5630EZ
    CPU
    Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz
    Motherboard
    Acer Extensa 5630
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC268 @ Intel 82801IB ICH9 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB SATA Device (250 GB, SATA-III)
    Internet Speed
    VDSL 50 Mbps
    Browser
    MICROSOFT EDGE
    Antivirus
    WINDOWS DEFENDER
    Other Info
    Legacy MBR installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, no WDDM 2.0 graphics drivers, no SSE4.2, cannot get more unsupported ;) This is only my test laptop. I had installed Windows 11 here before upgrading my main PC. For my main PC I use everyday see my 2nd system specs.

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro v25H2 (build 26200.8737)Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generat...2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3050 WINDFORCE OC V2 6GB...
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro v25H2 (build 26200.8737)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom-built PC
    CPU
    Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generation)
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 s1155 ATX
    Memory
    2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600
    Graphics card(s)
    GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3050 WINDFORCE OC V2 6GB (GV-N3050WF2OCV2-6GD)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio (ALC887)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia KDL-19L4000 19" LCD TV via VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 32-bit 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    WD Blue SA510 2.5 1000GB SSD as system disk, Western Digital Caviar Purple 4TB SATA III (WD40PURZ) as second
    PSU
    Thermaltake Litepower RGB 550W Full Wired
    Case
    SUPERCASE MIDI-TOWER
    Cooling
    Deepcool Gamma Archer CPU cooler, 1x 8cm fan at the back
    Keyboard
    Mitsumi 101-key PS/2
    Mouse
    Sunnyline OptiEye PS/2
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Legacy BIOS (MBR) installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, WDDM 3.0 graphics drivers, WEI score 7.4
I have a desktop microphone that shows up as Drive (x) / [unknown] when I plug it in.
Bugged me as windows "defrag" would throw error's under Event Viewer.
So I got another one and voila, no "extra" drive!
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Win11 24H2 IOT LTSC / Win11 Pro 25H2AMD Ryzen 7 8700G / AMD Ryzen 7 8700GF5-6000J3636F16GX2-FX5 32GB / Lexar Ares RGB ...internal
OS
Win11 24H2 IOT LTSC / Win11 Pro 25H2
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Gigabyte / Asus Home build
CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 8700G / AMD Ryzen 7 8700G
Motherboard
Gigabyte B650 AORUS ELITE AX V2 / ASUS TUF GAMING B650-PLUS
Memory
F5-6000J3636F16GX2-FX5 32GB / Lexar Ares RGB LD5BU016G-R6000GDLA 32GB
Graphics Card(s)
internal
Sound Card
Realtek
Monitor(s) Displays
BenQ 27 L EW2780
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
Many M.2's
Internet Speed
400 mbs
Browser
Vivaldi
Antivirus
Eset
Probably something happened to the desktop microphone and wasn't detected properly. Maybe some power surge damaged it?
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (5699), 25H2 (8737)Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz4GBMobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (5699), 25H2 (8737)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Extensa 5630EZ
    CPU
    Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz
    Motherboard
    Acer Extensa 5630
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC268 @ Intel 82801IB ICH9 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB SATA Device (250 GB, SATA-III)
    Internet Speed
    VDSL 50 Mbps
    Browser
    MICROSOFT EDGE
    Antivirus
    WINDOWS DEFENDER
    Other Info
    Legacy MBR installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, no WDDM 2.0 graphics drivers, no SSE4.2, cannot get more unsupported ;) This is only my test laptop. I had installed Windows 11 here before upgrading my main PC. For my main PC I use everyday see my 2nd system specs.

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro v25H2 (build 26200.8737)Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generat...2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3050 WINDFORCE OC V2 6GB...
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro v25H2 (build 26200.8737)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom-built PC
    CPU
    Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generation)
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 s1155 ATX
    Memory
    2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600
    Graphics card(s)
    GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3050 WINDFORCE OC V2 6GB (GV-N3050WF2OCV2-6GD)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio (ALC887)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia KDL-19L4000 19" LCD TV via VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 32-bit 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    WD Blue SA510 2.5 1000GB SSD as system disk, Western Digital Caviar Purple 4TB SATA III (WD40PURZ) as second
    PSU
    Thermaltake Litepower RGB 550W Full Wired
    Case
    SUPERCASE MIDI-TOWER
    Cooling
    Deepcool Gamma Archer CPU cooler, 1x 8cm fan at the back
    Keyboard
    Mitsumi 101-key PS/2
    Mouse
    Sunnyline OptiEye PS/2
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Legacy BIOS (MBR) installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, WDDM 3.0 graphics drivers, WEI score 7.4
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