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How do I get Windows to re-attach a USB device without having to plug it in again?

How do I get Windows to re-attach a USB device without having to plug it in again?

After I use the 'Safely Remove Hardware' notification area widget, how do I get Windows to re-attach a USB device (i.e. a USB drive) without having to unplug and plug it in again?

Asked by: Guest | Views: 356
Total answers/comments: 1
bert [Entry]

"It was answered it on Server Fault a while ago! My answer was -

If you use eject instead of safely remove, it unmaps the drive and kills all open handles (and displays the popup saying it is safe to remove), however the device is still present. You can then go to Device Manager and disable followed by enable the flash drive, and it should remap itself.

I can not guarantee, but I assume the same should work for safely remove - however if it does actually remove the device, you should be able to readd it by going to device manager, right clicking on the computer object and click scan for new hardware.

You can also try a utility called DEVCON."