Well that's interesting starkers.  I have three external drives which are in usb docks, one 2.0 and one 3.0.  I also use CCleaner and SmartDefrag and when the docks are turned on I have access to all drives.  I don't have any SSD's installed.  I'm running Windows 10, which I know you are not.  My computer is a desktop.

All I can offer up is what has changed (i.e. new programs or updates) since the last time you ran maintenance and had access to all your drives?

No doubt this is what frustrates computer users the most..........it worked fine the last time you did maintenance so what happened?

I can say this, since I'm not in the same room with you.......have you tried turning off the computer and back on again?

Hope you find what's the problem. 

Try opening computer, and right click on the external, tools, and from there, defrag/optimize.

My optimization program opens when I do that, rather than using the windows tools. Worth a shot.

I use Advanced System Care Ultimate, and choosing the tool as if I were going to use the native windows tool, opens ASC for the job.

Mark, after checking online, it seems that you may benefit from running WinSAT. (Windows Experience Index) to force the PC into seeing each drive as what it is.

Since Windows 8 and up have no WEI scoring method, you might try the program I am linking to below.

ChrisPC WEI tool.  I use it.

Also, you could go to Disk Management, and under tools, choose to rescan disks.

http://win-experience-index.chris-pc.com/

Be sure to opt out of the one addon it'll offer. 

Philly0381

reply 1

Well that's interesting starkers.  I have three external drives which are in usb docks, one 2.0 and one 3.0.  I also use CCleaner and SmartDefrag and when the docks are turned on I have access to all drives.  I don't have any SSD's installed.  I'm running Windows 10, which I know you are not.  My computer is a desktop.

All I can offer up is what has changed (i.e. new programs or updates) since the last time you ran maintenance and had access to all your drives?

No doubt this is what frustrates computer users the most..........it worked fine the last time you did maintenance so what happened?

I can say this, since I'm not in the same room with you.......have you tried turning off the computer and back on again?

Hope you find what's the problem. 

 

 

I have no idea when this started exactly, nor how it may have been caused.  I've not made any major changes nor installed anything since I last performed maintenance tasks.  It's a complete mystery.   I tried a few System Restore Points to no avail, and even went back as far as when the machine was just days old, also without success.  

Oh well, if worse comes to worst and I can't perform the tasks on this machine, I can just unplug the drives and do them on my big beasty.  That is a hassle, though.  I'd have to unplug everything (hub, USB cables and power adapters because I don't use or need external drives for my main riig) and take it all to the other end of the house to connect it all up there.

Ancient generic troubleshooting step for USB devices which occasionally helps:

Try plugging the device directly into the USB port on the computer instead of running it through the USB hub and see if it works right.

Also, 4 hard drives and a hub plugged into a USB port, I hope the hub and/or the drives plug into the wall - you probably wouldn't have enough power coming out of that poor little computer port to make all of that work right.  Somehow I'm guessing that you have lots of power though...

Yeah, I have Smart Defrag and Advanced System Care Ultimate set as my default system tools, but they still recognise my HDDs  as SSD drives and will not perform some maintenance tasks.... same with Ccleaner, which will empty the recycle bins for both the SSD and HDDs, but will not wipe the free space due to all drives being deemed SSD andnot requiring it.  Thing is, I like to wipe the free space on platter drives every 3 months or so because it helps them to remain fresh and at optimum performance/capacity.

Well I did that and no luck tbere, either.  Ccleaner and ASC still see the drives as SSDs.  Oh well, it was worth a shot.... and I now know the WEI for this little number is 4.9, which isn't so bad for a tablet-come-laptop.  The lowest score was for gaming graphics, which is irrelevant as I don't do games on here anyhow.

That was one of the first things I tried when I opened up Administrative Tools/Disc Management.  I even went through Device Management, HDD Properties and System Configuration hoping to find an answer, all without luck and why I ended up here.

It has occurred to me that maybe a system file is either missing or corrupt, and that maybe setting the machine back to factory settings could remedy the problem.  I did perform a sfc /scannow, not that it came back with any errors to speak of, though a factory reset may just be the answer.  I really don't want to resort to that after setting everything up just as I want it, so I'm hoping there is another way  It would be somewhat time consuming and something I'd rather not have to do if it can be avoided.

Probably just an issue of using Win 8.1 ....the OS you swear by should also be the OS you swear at...

Yeah 8.1 flopped hard it's like vista in that sense.

Jafo

reply 7

Probably just an issue of using Win 8.1 ....the OS you swear by should also be the OS you swear at...

I had a feeling somebody 'd say that.... and that somebody would be you.  And it's not like Win 10 hasn't had more teething problems than a high demand baby clinic, is it.

Anyway, nah, cos I had a very similar issue with Win 7 when SSDs were just babes.  All connected drives also appeared as SSDs, so it's not peculiar to Win 8/8.1.  I just don't recall what the fix was, whether it was an OS update or the relevant developers implemented fixesnto the affected apps.  In any event, it's not of much use to me now.

Oh, and wot are you doing getting up before the crack of dawn.... pee the bed????

Me, this is my 3rd day in a row that I've been awake for 22-23 hours and managed with 40 winks or less.  Went to sleep around 11.00pm last night and was wide awake before midnight....  pain, discomfort, insomnia, it's something I've had to deäl with on and off for the past 30 years or more.

I usually hit the hay between 1 and 2 AM ....then am up at 7 when Terry gets up to go to work.  I then put an hour or 2 in before going back and catching a few more hours.

'Normal' uptime is about 10 or 11.

Looking after sites that are 16 hours out of whack means my life isn't normal normal...

Oh ...first suggestion would be to try an alternate USB port.... not 'just' another front one...try back...

DaveRI

reply 5

Ancient generic troubleshooting step for USB devices which occasionally helps:

Try plugging the device directly into the USB port on the computer instead of running it through the USB hub and see if it works right.

Also, 4 hard drives and a hub plugged into a USB port, I hope the hub and/or the drives plug into the wall - you probably wouldn't have enough power coming out of that poor little computer port to make all of that work right.  Somehow I'm guessing that you have lots of power though...

Sorry, Dave, I missed your post while replying to Philly and RND.... and then Jafo had to chime in with yet another swipe at Win 8.

Anyway, yeah, I did try the drives plugged directly into the USB port.... no difference, they still showed as SSDs.   And yes, all external dives have their own individual power supply.... though occasionally I do plug in a USB powered portable when necessary.

Jafo

reply 11

Oh ...first suggestion would be to try an alternate USB port.... not 'just' another front one...try back...

Yep. And try connecting the drives one by one too. I've had USB external drive controllers (in the HDD casing itself!) going flaky before (without failing totally until later) and affecting the rest of the system.

Jafo

reply 10

I usually hit the hay between 1 and 2 AM ....then am up at 7 when Terry gets up to go to work.  I then put an hour or 2 in before going back and catching a few more hours.

'Normal' uptime is about 10 or 11.

Looking after sites that are 16 hours out of whack means my life isn't normal normal...

Oh the luxury... going back for a few more hours.  Some people get all the breaks.

As for you not being "normal normal", that's been pretty evident since your love affair with Win 10.

Jafo

reply 11

Oh ...first suggestion would be to try an alternate USB port.... not 'just' another front one...try back...

I have tried using different ports, not that there's many on offer.... as in just 2, both of which are on the sides.  Thing is, I don't think it's a USB issue somehow.  I tend to feel it's more a system thing, a missing or corrupt file, and that replacing it will fix the issue.  It's just a matter of kowing whih one.  A factory reset may be the solution there, though I'd prefer not to have to do that if an easier way can be found.

JcRabbit

reply 13

Quoting Jafo,

reply 11

Oh ...first suggestion would be to try an alternate USB port.... not 'just' another front one...try back...

Yep. And try connecting the drives one by one too. I've had USB external drive controllers (in the HDD casing itself!) going flaky before (without failing totally until later) and affecting the rest of the system.

I've tried connecting the drives directly into a port one at a time and there's no change, they still show as SSDs.  I also tried plugging each HDD into different Windows 8.1 machines and performing heath checks to see if there any errors or anomlies.  None were discovered, and given each drive behaved normally on these other mahines, and were read as HDDs , not SSDs, it would suggest they are fault free and in good health.  

It has me beat.

Well then how about running  sfc /scannow, if you haven't all ready, on the computer that is having the problem.  Oops, just read that you had done that, sorry. 

Maybe re-download / re-install any motherboard drivers?

Bottom line....throw out any HP and never buy another...

[I'll stop short at the suggestion that the upgrade to Win 10 will fix it... you might have a fit of apoplexy] ....

Might try going into CMOS and disabling "Enable legacy support" on the usb ports.  If you do that though and use a usb keyboard or mouse those probably won't work anymore - be prepared for that before you disable it (and discover you can no longer enter any bios or Windows passwords  ).

Pretty sure it's a driver/mini-port problem then.