All external storage have driver errors

[Gricho27]

so i cant recall exactly when this problem started because i havent connect any external storage to my desktop pc recently. but now no matter what device, be it 2 different WD my passports or a USB stick they all show up in the device manager with driver errors.

My passport ones show as my passport 0748 driver error. both HDDs work in my laptop, all other peripherals work in the USB ports. i attempted to update the drivers, uninstall then reattach and even install drivers directly from WD.

nothing seems to help. clearly its causing me much frustration and i would love some help.. thanks

 

[Gricho27]

ive just done the registry repair with registry recycler and then used ccleaner as well, but it hasnt seemed to help.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there, Gricho27!

Very sorry to hear about your issues with the connectivity of the external storage devices. I'd suggest first to test the external WD Passports with Data LifeGuard Diagnostics tool: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=XOL7Gx
Make sure you run the extended test as well as the quick one, this utility will let us know what are the drives' health and S.M.A.R.T. status.
How long has this been going on? This might be caused by Windows updates or malware/viruses as well. You could restore your computer to a previous time when things were running smoothly. It also won't hurt to scan for malware as well.
Another way to rule out the HDD as the main cause of this is to try the drives on other computers. Can you do that and share how do they get detected there?

Keep me updated!
SuperSoph_WD

 

[Gricho27]

thanks for the reply. so currently ive done multiple malware and adware scans removed all of the threats. Both HDDs work on my laptop with no issues at all, they work perfectly. i was also able to install the driver of a webcam, so it seems limited to mass storage devices. Even a USB stick of a different brand was unable to install its drivers, i have tried all of the USB ports as well as a USB hub. it started when i was using shadowplay to record game footage and it filled up, started to add to my C drive without me realising and filled it until it crashed. since that point i havent been able to add any external HDDs, even the one already installed. No matter what i do it says the drivers are not installed.
because i am unsure of the actual start date, returning to a previous time would be extremely painful to figure out how far to go back. I've been getting help from a couple of gentleman on another forum and ive run a huge amount of tests for them including registry cleaners and malware and adware checks and cleanups. I assumed it would be a fairly simple fix to be able to get windows to install mass storage device drivers. I'm kind of amazed at how much of an issue it actually appears to be.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

thanks for the reply. so currently ive done multiple malware and adware scans removed all of the threats. Both HDDs work on my laptop with no issues at all, they work perfectly. i was also able to install the driver of a webcam, so it seems limited to mass storage devices. Even a USB stick of a different brand was unable to install its drivers, i have tried all of the USB ports as well as a USB hub. it started when i was using shadowplay to record game footage and it filled up, started to add to my C drive without me realising and filled it until it crashed. since that point i havent been able to add any external HDDs, even the one already installed. No matter what i do it says the drivers are not installed.
because i am unsure of the actual start date, returning to a previous time would be extremely painful to figure out how far to go back. I've been getting help from a couple of gentleman on another forum and ive run a huge amount of tests for them including registry cleaners and malware and adware checks and cleanups. I assumed it would be a fairly simple fix to be able to get windows to install mass storage device drivers. I'm kind of amazed at how much of an issue it actually appears to be.

I understand you perfectly. Yes, sometimes this kind of issues can cause quite the headaches.
You should keep in mind that if you have a backup of your essential data, you can simply perform a clean install of the OS.
This most probably will end the issue once and for all and let you start fresh with the system.
The bad part is that you'd have to reinstall everything again, but if I were you I'd just go for it. As you can see all the scans, checks and cleanups can be a really slow solution and you can never be certain if they'd remove the source of the problems for sure.

Hope I was helpful though! Good luck!
SuperSoph_WD