USB cannot be found on computer after scanning from HP Printer, but is still readable on printer.

[Darryl6]

I scanned an image from my HP Color LaserJet Printer to a ScanDisk 65GB USB.

Now the USB cannot be found, recognised or even seen by any of my Windows 10 computers or Mac computers.

But the Printer can still scan to/print from the same USB. This suggests that the printer has changed something in the header that is preventing the USB from being recognised on a computer.

How do I recover/rediscover my USB on my computer?

[Echo_Lake]

@Darryl6

Welcome to HP Forums,

This is a great place to get support, find answers and tips,

Thank you for posting your query, I'll be more than glad to help you out 🙂

Don’t worry if your USB drive doesn't show files and folders in your PC. You can try to unhide files from USB flash drive connecting to a computer. 

Did you make any changes to your printer?

Are you able to make a copy from your printer?

Have you tried checking using a different USB flash drive?
Do you see any icons with a yellow exclamation symbol on them?

Let's try these steps to verify hidden files shown options:

Connect your USB drive to PC.
Open>File Explorer from the taskbar. 
Select View > Options > Change folder and search options.
Select the View tab and, in Advanced settings, select Show hidden files, folders, and drives and OK.
Check Show hidden files, folders, and drives, and uncheck Hide protected operating system files (Recommended).
Click OK button.

Once you've checked the USB flash drive show or hidden options, format the USB flash drive or use a different USB flash drive to scan once again.

follow the step to format the USB flash drive: Open the Windows File Explorer and right click your drive and Click the “format” option. 

Click here to know how to Scan to a USB flash drive

Keep me posted for further assistance!

If I have helped you resolve the issue, feel free to give me a virtual high-five by clicking the 'Thumbs Up' icon below,

Followed by clicking on "Accept as solution" from the drop-down menu on the upper right corner,

Thank you for posting in the HP Support Forum.  Have a great day!

[Darryl6]

I followed the instructions, and this did not work: the affected USB is still not discoverable on any PC or Mac.

To answer your questions:

Did you make any changes to your printer? No

Are you able to make a copy from your printer? Can still print from USB and can scan to USB.

Have you tried checking using a different USB flash drive? Yes.
Do you see any icons with a yellow exclamation symbol on them? No.

It is not the files that do not show: it is the USB  flash drive that does not show.

Once I unplug it and plug in another USB, that drive appears immediately .

[sandytechy20]

@Darryl6

I see that you were interacting with @Echo_Lake. I'd like to help.

Thanks for the reply.

I appreciate your time and effort.

Eager to know, did you format the USB?

Cheers.

[Darryl6]

 Hi @Sandytech20,

The USB was already pre-formatted, and is my day-to-day USB.

I haven't formatted it, before or since.

It is about 2 months old and contains some files that I am keen to get back.

The weird thing is that I can see the files on the printer's interface, but I cannot even see the USB drive when I plug it into a computer.

[Echo_Lake]

@Darryl6
thank you for posting back. 

I appreciate your efforts to try and resolve the issue. As you've mentioned the USB drive is not recognized when its plugged into a computer its sounds like drive issue or it could be a partition issue on the external drive, In a worst-case scenario, the drive itself may be dead.

Let’s quickly check whether computer detects the drive when you plug it in.

• First, plug the USB removable drive into your computer if it isn’t already.
• Then open the Disk Management by pressing the Windows Key + X (or right-click the Start button) to open the Disk Management from the list. You can also open the Run dialog with Windows + R and enter diskmgmt.msc to open this utility.
• If you're seeing the external drive listed in the Disk Management window as "Removable"
  this means its corrupted partition/drive. You must consider using a new drive.

Hope this helps!

[Darryl6]

@Echo_Lake

Thank you for your input. However, USB drive is not visible under Disk Management.

[Echo_Lake]

@Darryl6

Thank you for posting back. 

I suspect the USB drive itself may be dead.

Have you tried with alternate or different USB drive?

Keep me posted!

[Darryl6]

It is not dead. As previously stated, I can still scan to and print from the USB using the printer.

But the USB is invisible to any Mac or PC.

So I can see all the folders (and printable files) on the USB, but I cannot access the rest of the drive's contents.

[Echo_Lake]

@Darryl6

Thank you for posting back. 

I'm sending out a Private message to assist you with the next course of action.

Please check your Private message icon on the upper right corner of your HP Forums profile

Next, to your profile Name, you should see a little blue envelope, please click on it or simply click on this link: https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/notes/privatenotespage