Question Unable to Mount USB Mass Storage Devices

[sulphateiguana]

Over the last few days, I've noticed I'm unable to mount USB sticks. This seems to be generalized to all USB mass storage devices (card readers, external hard drives) and all USB ports.

The USB ports do still work, and my keyboard and mouse work fine, my YubiKey, game controllers, etc.

This computer dual boots Linux. On the Linux side, the USB ports work completely normally, and all USB sticks and other devices mount and read properly. All devices similarly work on other Windows 11 machines that I've tried. And obviously (based on that), they're visible in the UEFI.

Windows 11 is fully updated, and I've got the most recent set of chipset drivers. I just downloaded the latest set of drivers from Gigabyte, and that made no difference. Although the UEFI is flashed to FG, and I realize there's an FH now.

The connected USB device will display in the Device Manager with a yellow bang, and the notification is “Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing. (Code 39)”. If I then uninstall the device and the USB Host Controller, rebooting the computer, the symptoms repeat identically.

What might be going on?

Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. Z790 AORUS ELITE AX
Intel® Core™ i9-14900KF × 16
GeForce RTX 4080 16GB GDDR6X PCI Express 4.0
64 GB G.SKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series (4 x 16GB)

 

[triplex1]

Over the last few days, I've noticed I'm unable to mount USB sticks. This seems to be generalized to all USB mass storage devices (card readers, external hard drives) and all USB ports.

The USB ports do still work, and my keyboard and mouse work fine, my YubiKey, game controllers, etc.

This computer dual boots Linux. On the Linux side, the USB ports work completely normally, and all USB sticks and other devices mount and read properly. All devices similarly work on other Windows 11 machines that I've tried. And obviously (based on that), they're visible in the UEFI.

Windows 11 is fully updated, and I've got the most recent set of chipset drivers. I just downloaded the latest set of drivers from Gigabyte, and that made no difference. Although the UEFI is flashed to F9, and I realize there's an F12 now.

The connected USB device will display in the Device Manager with a yellow bang, and the notification is “Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing. (Code 39)”. If I then uninstall the device and the USB Host Controller, rebooting the computer, the symptoms repeat identically.

What might be going on?

Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. Z790 AORUS ELITE AX
Intel® Core™ i9-14900KF × 16
GeForce RTX 4080 16GB GDDR6X PCI Express 4.0
64 GB G.SKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series (4 x 16GB)

Perhaps you have done mount from Linux with the result that you are presented with the specific problem

 

[sulphateiguana]

Perhaps you have done mount from Linux with the result that you are presented with the specific problem

Thank you for your response. The USB sticks themselves are all formatted FAT or exFAT, and read fine in both other Windows 11 systems and Ubuntu Linux systems. Are you implying that, while booted into Linux, I'm somehow altering the behavior of the USB controller in such a way that, when booted into Windows, it doesn't recognize mass storage devices, but does still recognize other devices?

 

[triplex1]

Thank you for your response. The USB sticks themselves are all formatted FAT or exFAT, and read fine in both other Windows 11 systems and Ubuntu Linux systems. Are you implying that, while booted into Linux, I'm somehow altering the behavior of the USB controller in such a way that, when booted into Windows, it doesn't recognize mass storage devices, but does still recognize other devices?

Yes.

 

[sulphateiguana]

Yes.

Can you please elaborate?

 

[triplex1]

Can you please elaborate?

I checked the answer to the question you asked with Bold , you didn't see it, what do you want me to tell you?
I think others see the usb you put in, yours has a problem when you exit linux and enter win, look at it

 

[sulphateiguana]

I checked the answer to the question you asked with Bold , you didn't see it, what do you want me to tell you?
I think others see the usb you put in, yours has a problem when you exit linux and enter win, look at it

Well, I think it's evident my Windows 11 instance has a problem that others don't… this is why I'm asking the question. You seem to be stating that the difficulty is as a consequence of the fact that the same hardware is used to run an instance of Linux. I don't understand either why this would be, or how I might address it.

 

[sulphateiguana]

The problem remains unchanged, despite my obsessing over it. I'll add that I've run system file checker without change. The next step is to reinstall Windows.

 

[Ralston18]

Look in Reliability History/Monitor for any error codes, warnings, or even informational events just before or at the time of the mount failures.

Also look in Event Viewer.

= = = =

Perhaps buggy or corrupted files.

In Windows run "dism" and "sfc /scannow".

FYI:

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-use-dism-command-line-utility-repair-windows-10-image

https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-use-sfc-scannow-to-repair-windows-system-files-2626161

 

[sulphateiguana]

Outputs from sfc and dism:

C:\Windows\System32> sfc /scannow

Beginning system scan. This process will take some time.

Beginning verification phase of system scan.
Verification 100% complete.

Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.

C:\Windows\System32> DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.22621.2792

Image Version: 10.0.22631.4317

[============================100%=============================] The restore operation completed successfully.
The operation completed successfully.

Reliability History > Monitor doesn't record anything of note when removing and inserting the drive. Neither does the event viewer, when using a custom view to show all errors and warnings.

I'll add that when looking at the storage device in the Device Manager, regardless of what USB stick I use, I see the following under Properties > Events, I can see that it's loading a null driver.

Information
Driver name: null
Class Guid: {000000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}
Driver date:

Finally, when viewing hidden devices under Device Manager, I can see a large array of Unknown devices. I'm not certain why all of those are there, but they all have yellow bang marks, and the all have null drivers (as indicated above). There are probably 20 of them, and if you remove them, they return.

 

[Ralston18]

Null drivers:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/install/installing-a-null-driver

If the devices/drivers are being removed and always return then that means there is some app, utilitity, or code somewhere that is causing the return.

Are there any devices connected to the computer in question that have some installed USB storage device or a port to do so?

What does Windows "see"?

= = = =

Open Windows Powershell as admin.

Run the following cmdlets at the PS> prompt.

Get-PNPDevice -Status 'Unknown'

Get-PNPDevice -Class 'DiskDrive'

Reference:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/p...evice/get-pnpdevice?view=windowsserver2022-ps

As a Linux user you are likely comfortable working with command line code.

And you are free to alter the search criteria as you believe applicable.

Compare the results of the cmdlets to what you know and see about the devices on the Linux side of the dual boot.

There may be some difference(s) that will help identify a potential culprit.

If not then the results or lack thereof may raise other questions and troubleshooting ideas.

Post accordingly.

 

[triplex1]

Finally, when viewing hidden devices under Device Manager, I can see a large array of Unknown devices. I'm not certain why all of those are there, but they all have yellow bang marks, and the all have null drivers (as indicated above). There are probably 20 of them, and if you remove them, they return.

windows don't see linux, but the opposite happens, look for what changes you have made in one of the two, that's the problem

 

[sulphateiguana]

Thank you for those suggestions Ralston18!

I just ran those commands, and the outputs are below. Wow, that's a lot of unknown devices! The big self-regenerating pool of hidden unknown devices in the Device Manager appears to be Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900KF, and those are appearing underneath Other Devices, alongside the USB sticks and other USB storage devices.

PS C:\Users\Yukon Cornelius> Get-PNPDevice -Status 'Unknown'

Status Class FriendlyName InstanceId
------ ----- ------------ ----------
Unknown SoftwareComp... Intel(R) XTU Component Device SWD\DRIVEREN...
Unknown Bluetooth Microsoft Bluetooth LE Enumerator BTH\MS_BTHLE...
Unknown MEDIA Microsoft Streaming Service Proxy SW\{96E080C7...
Unknown HIDClass USB Input Device USB\VID_1B1C...
Unknown Bluetooth Peripheral Device BTHENUM\{000...
Unknown SoftwareComp... Intel(R) XTU Component Device SWD\DRIVEREN...
Unknown WPD D:\ SWD\WPDBUSEN...
Unknown HIDClass USB Input Device USB\VID_1050...
Unknown HIDClass HID-compliant vendor-defined device HID\VID_046D...
Unknown HIDClass HID-compliant fido HID\VID_1050...
Unknown USB Generic SuperSpeed USB Hub USB\VID_0BDA...
Unknown Net WAN Miniport (PPPOE) SWD\MSRRAS\M...
Unknown AudioEndpoint TOSHIBA-TV (NVIDIA High Definition Audio) SWD\MMDEVAPI...
Unknown SoftwareComp... Intel(R) XTU Component Device SWD\DRIVEREN...
Unknown WPD DEBIAN 12_4 SWD\WPDBUSEN...
Unknown Intel Tile Device {2F2B7B01-59...
Unknown SerialPort BTHENUM\{000...
Unknown Multi-Reader -1 USB Device USBSTOR\DISK...
Unknown Bluetooth Peripheral Device BTHENUM\{000...
Unknown Bluetooth Audio Source Service BTHENUM\{000...
Unknown Volume Volume STORAGE\VOLU...
Unknown CDROM Microsoft Virtual DVD-ROM SCSI\CDROM&V...
Unknown SoftwareDevice Microsoft RRAS Root Enumerator SWD\MSRRAS\{...
Unknown Bluetooth The Fitness Earbuds BTHENUM\DEV_...
Unknown Net WAN Miniport (PPTP) SWD\MSRRAS\M...
Unknown HIDClass USB Input Device USB\VID_046D...
Unknown WPD D:\ SWD\WPDBUSEN...
Unknown SoftwareComp... Intel(R) XTU Component Device SWD\DRIVEREN...
Unknown Net WAN Miniport (IKEv2) SWD\MSRRAS\M...
Unknown HIDClass USB Input Device USB\VID_046D...
Unknown HIDClass Logitech USB Input Device USB\VID_046D...
Unknown HIDClass USB Input Device USB\VID_1050...
Unknown Volume Volume STORAGE\VOLU...
Unknown HIDClass USB Input Device USB\VID_1050...
Unknown HIDClass HID-compliant vendor-defined device HID\VID_046D...
Unknown Bluetooth CR5-XBT BTHENUM\DEV_...
Unknown Mouse HID-compliant mouse HID\VID_046D...
Unknown VolumeSnapshot Generic volume shadow copy STORAGE\VOLU...
Unknown VolumeSnapshot Generic volume shadow copy STORAGE\VOLU...
Unknown Bluetooth Audio Sink Service BTHENUM\{000...
Unknown USB Generic USB Hub USB\VID_05E3...
Unknown USB Generic USB Hub USB\VID_05E3...
Unknown Bluetooth Microsoft Bluetooth Enumerator BTH\MS_BTHBR...
Unknown WPD G:\ SWD\WPDBUSEN...
Unknown WPD D:\ SWD\WPDBUSEN...
Unknown WPD D:\ SWD\WPDBUSEN...
Unknown WPD D:\ SWD\WPDBUSEN...
Unknown USB USB Mass Storage Device USB\VID_11B0...
Unknown Monitor Generic Monitor (TOSHIBA-TV) DISPLAY\TSB0...
Unknown Bluetooth Bluetooth Device (RFCOMM Protocol TDI) BTH\MS_RFCOM...
Unknown Net Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Network) BTH\MS_BTHPA...
Unknown SoftwareComp... Intel(R) XTU Component Device SWD\DRIVEREN...
Unknown HIDClass USB Input Device USB\VID_048D...
Unknown Keyboard HID Keyboard Device HID\VID_046D...
Unknown USB USB Composite Device USB\VID_1050...
Unknown Net WAN Miniport (Network Monitor) SWD\MSRRAS\M...
Unknown Net WAN Miniport (IP) SWD\MSRRAS\M...
Unknown HIDClass USB Input Device USB\VID_1050...
Unknown SoftwareComp... Intel(R) XTU Component Device SWD\DRIVEREN...
Unknown SoftwareComp... Intel(R) XTU Component Device SWD\DRIVEREN...
Unknown SmartCardReader Microsoft Usbccid Smartcard Reader (UMDF2) USB\VID_1050...
Unknown Generic Monitor (U32J59x) DISPLAY\SAM0...
Unknown HIDClass HID-compliant device HID\VID_046D...
Unknown WPD D:\ SWD\WPDBUSEN...
Unknown HIDClass HID-compliant vendor-defined device HID\VID_1B1C...
Unknown Multi-Reader -2 USB Device USBSTOR\DISK...
Unknown WPD E:\ SWD\WPDBUSEN...
Unknown Volume Volume STORAGE\VOLU...
Unknown Net WAN Miniport (SSTP) SWD\MSRRAS\M...
Unknown Keyboard HID Keyboard Device HID\VID_1050...
Unknown SoftwareComp... Intel(R) XTU Component Device SWD\DRIVEREN...
Unknown Bluetooth Peripheral Device BTHENUM\{000...
Unknown Bluetooth Audio Sink Service BTHENUM\{000...
Unknown SmartCardReader Microsoft Usbccid Smartcard Reader (UMDF2) USB\VID_1050...
Unknown Volume Volume STORAGE\VOLU...
Unknown HIDClass HID-compliant vendor-defined device HID\VID_048D...
Unknown A/V Remote Control BTHENUM\{000...
Unknown Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900KF ACPI\GENUINE...
Unknown Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900KF ACPI\GENUINE...
Unknown Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900KF ACPI\GENUINE...
Unknown Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900KF ACPI\GENUINE...
Unknown Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900KF ACPI\GENUINE...
Unknown Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900KF ACPI\GENUINE...
Unknown Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900KF ACPI\GENUINE...
Unknown Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900KF ACPI\GENUINE...
Unknown Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900KF ACPI\GENUINE...
Unknown Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900KF ACPI\GENUINE...
Unknown Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900KF ACPI\GENUINE...
Unknown Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900KF ACPI\GENUINE...
Unknown Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900KF ACPI\GENUINE...
Unknown Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900KF ACPI\GENUINE...
Unknown Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900KF ACPI\GENUINE...
Unknown Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900KF ACPI\GENUINE...
Unknown HIDClass HID-compliant system controller HID\VID_046D...
Unknown WPD F:\ SWD\WPDBUSEN...
Unknown Bluetooth StealthBar BTHENUM\DEV_...
Unknown SoftwareComp... Intel(R) XTU Component Device SWD\DRIVEREN...
Unknown SoftwareComp... Intel(R) XTU Component Device SWD\DRIVEREN...
Unknown Volume Volume STORAGE\VOLU...
Unknown SoftwareDevice Smart Card Device Enumeration Bus SWD\SCDEVICE...
Unknown SoftwareDevice Microsoft Passport Container Enumeration Bus SWD\SCDEVICE...
Unknown Bluetooth Handsfree Handsfree Service BTHENUM\{000...
Unknown SoftwareComp... Intel(R) XTU Component Device SWD\DRIVEREN...
Unknown Multi-Reader -0 USB Device USBSTOR\DISK...
Unknown WPD SLAX SWD\WPDBUSEN...
Unknown SoftwareComp... Intel(R) XTU Component Device SWD\DRIVEREN...
Unknown SoftwareComp... Intel(R) XTU Component Device SWD\DRIVEREN...
Unknown Volume Volume STORAGE\VOLU...
Unknown SCSIAdapter Microsoft VHD Loopback Controller {8E7BD593-6E...
Unknown SoftwareComp... Intel(R) XTU Component Device SWD\DRIVEREN...
Unknown Bluetooth Audio Sink Service BTHENUM\{000...
Unknown WPD D:\ SWD\WPDBUSEN...
Unknown HIDClass HID-compliant vendor-defined device HID\VID_048D...
Unknown AudioEndpoint TOSHIBA-TV (NVIDIA High Definition Audio) SWD\MMDEVAPI...
Unknown Keyboard HID Keyboard Device HID\VID_1050...
Unknown HIDClass HID-compliant vendor-defined device HID\VID_046D...
Unknown SoftwareComp... Intel(R) XTU Component Device SWD\DRIVEREN...
Unknown Multi-Reader -3 USB Device USBSTOR\DISK...
Unknown HIDClass HID-compliant vendor-defined device HID\VID_046D...
Unknown Volume Volume STORAGE\VOLU...
Unknown SoftwareComp... Intel(R) XTU Component Device SWD\DRIVEREN...
Unknown Net WAN Miniport (IPv6) SWD\MSRRAS\M...
Unknown Bluetooth Peripheral Device BTHENUM\{000...
Unknown Bluetooth Intel(R) Wireless Bluetooth(R) USB\VID_8087...
Unknown WPD I:\ SWD\WPDBUSEN...
Unknown Net WAN Miniport (L2TP) SWD\MSRRAS\M...

PS C:\Users\Yukon Cornelius> Get-PNPDevice -Class 'DiskDrive'

Status Class FriendlyName InstanceId
------ ----- ------------ ----------
OK DiskDrive Samsung SSD 870 EVO 2TB SCSI\DISK&VE...
OK DiskDrive CT2000BX500SSD1 SCSI\DISK&VE...

PS C:\Users\Yukon Cornelius> Get-PNPDevice -Class 'USB'

Status Class FriendlyName InstanceId
------ ----- ------------ ----------
Unknown USB Generic SuperSpeed USB Hub USB\VID_0BDA...
OK USB USB Composite Device USB\VID_046D...
Unknown USB Generic USB Hub USB\VID_05E3...
Unknown USB Generic USB Hub USB\VID_05E3...
Unknown USB USB Mass Storage Device USB\VID_11B0...
Unknown USB USB Composite Device USB\VID_1050...
OK USB USB Composite Device USB\VID_1050...
OK USB Generic SuperSpeed USB Hub USB\VID_2109...
OK USB USB Mass Storage Device USB\VID_0781...
OK USB USB Mass Storage Device USB\VID_2537...
OK USB Generic SuperSpeed USB Hub USB\VID_2109...
OK USB Intel(R) USB 3.20 eXtensible Host Controller - 1.20 (Microsoft) PCI\VEN_8086...
OK USB Generic USB Hub USB\VID_2109...
OK USB Generic USB Hub USB\VID_05E3...
OK USB Generic USB Hub USB\VID_05E3...
OK USB USB Root Hub (USB 3.0) USB\ROOT_HUB...
OK USB Generic USB Hub USB\VID_2109...

PS C:\Users\Yukon Cornelius> Get-PNPDevice -Class 'WPD'

Status Class FriendlyName InstanceId
------ ----- ------------ ----------
Unknown WPD D:\ SWD\WPDBUSEN...
Unknown WPD DEBIAN 12_4 SWD\WPDBUSEN...
Unknown WPD D:\ SWD\WPDBUSEN...
Unknown WPD G:\ SWD\WPDBUSEN...
Unknown WPD D:\ SWD\WPDBUSEN...
Unknown WPD D:\ SWD\WPDBUSEN...
Unknown WPD D:\ SWD\WPDBUSEN...
Unknown WPD D:\ SWD\WPDBUSEN...
Unknown WPD E:\ SWD\WPDBUSEN...
Unknown WPD F:\ SWD\WPDBUSEN...
Unknown WPD SLAX SWD\WPDBUSEN...
Unknown WPD D:\ SWD\WPDBUSEN...
Unknown WPD I:\ SWD\WPDBUSEN...

Above, both the DEBIAN and SLAX devices are USB sticks I created for other devices. Those are not the other operating system on this computer, which is Pop!_OS.

Currently connected is the SanDisk Glide Cruzer USB Device. Just for reference, here's it's entry in the Device Manager:

Device USBSTOR\Disk&Ven_SanDisk&Prod_Cruzer_Glide&Rev_1.00\4C530001321123102534&0 was configured.
Driver Name: null
Class Guid: {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000})

And for comparison, here is one of those Unknown devices referenced above:

Device ACPI\GenuineIntel_-_Intel64_Family_6_Model_183_-_Intel(R)_Core(TM)_i9-14900KF\9 was configured.
Driver Name: null
Class Guid: {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}

Of course, that might be a red herring.

I'll have to look over these and think on it. I wasn't expecting such a long list. And thank you for your assistance!

 

[sulphateiguana]

I reinstalled Intel's Chipset drivers, since those appear to be what the above Unknown devices mostly are.
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005533/software/chipset-software.html

I shut off Bluetooth, just because so many of those unknown devices were Bluetooth, but Bluetooth seems to work as expected.

I once more reinstalled all the drivers from the motherboard manufacturer.
(https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/Z790-AORUS-ELITE-AX-rev-1x/support

I reinstalled Gigabyte Control Center and allowed it to do its hardware updates. Gigabyte CC looks incomplete to me, with only options for controlling the RGB of the memory sticks, and nothing else. Looking at screenshots online, it looks like it should have all sorts of performance tools, but mine does not. Presumably because there's some kind of underlying issue.

All of those devices and their respective bangs and null drivers still exist, and there have been no changes or improvements.

It's bewildering and frustrating.

 

[stonecarver]

If I then uninstall the device and the USB Host Controller, rebooting the computer, the symptoms repeat identically.

While in Device Manager under USB start at the bottom and uninstall device let finish than move to the next from the bottom and keep going up the list.

Just uninstall device don't remove driver.

At some point YES you will loose mouse and keyboard.

Hard restart and Windows will reinstall fresh drivers.

See if your USB drives now work.

 

[sulphateiguana]

While in Device Manager under USB start at the bottom and uninstall device let finish than move to the next from the bottom and keep going up the list.

Just uninstall device don't remove driver.

At some point YES you will loose mouse and keyboard.

Hard restart and Windows will reinstall fresh drivers.

See if your USB drives now work.

So I've done this in every possible combination and permutation. I do eventually lose my keyboard and mouse, and this is immediate if I start from the bottom, which is Data Root Hub (3.0). But if I start from the other side I can delete more devices before losing the keyboard and mouse. With practice and through trial and error, I can now delete MOST of the USB devices. Nonetheless, there's no change in any of the above symptoms on reboot.

I can see other people have encountered this problem through DuckDuckGo searches, but nobody seems to have come up with any solution other than nuking from space and reinstalling Windows. For my fallen brethren, I'd love to be able to come up with a concrete way of actually fixing this.

 

[stonecarver]

Yeah you seem to have one of those weird glitch in the matrix issues.

I would take a spare SSD/hard drive and unplug your current OS drive and do a test of a fresh install of windows.

Does the USB issue follow or does the fresh install plays nice?

If it plays nice with maybe a week of normal use and the USB issue does not return than you have at least the path moving forward.

At that point later if this is the fix re installing windows on your original SSD than it is what it is.

If you have to end up doing a full install of windows as you have said to Nuke it, make sure you save all your personal items. While that's going to be tough as you can't use your USB's you should be able to get to your Windows while your on Linux and save that way.