Mobile-->Computer by USB??

[erick (Eric)]

Any suggestions to solve this problem? My mobile (LG TU550) has happily talked to my lappie and desktop (both running XP Pro) for a year or 18 months now. In the last few days, on plugging in, all looks fine, but the computer (either of them) doesn't allocate a drive letter so I cannot open folders on the phone and download images, upload music/ringtones etc.

Probably not computer, since two independent computers show the same problem (though they would both have received any recent Microsoft upgrades)

Cable looks fine and is well looked after and since the computer does detect a "USB mass storage device", I suspect it is OK. It seats well in both the phone and USB port.

Phones has had the usual bumps and knocks of recent. Everything else works - well sort of - some functionality (some aspects of profiles and changing from ring to vibrate only) went funny several months ago - but I haven't bothered and have been downloading/uploading since then.

I guess the first step is to try and find the CD that came with the phone and stick it in a computer to load drivers that I probably never did before??

Of course, the outcome is that I can no longer post crappy low-res mobile phone images - perhaps you'll all remain silent..........

[acropolite (Phil)]

I have seen a similar problem on a USB device at work. Sometimes it will read, often not, yet every time a Canon digital camera is plugged in it works perfectly. I suspect our problem is not using the "safely remove hardware" option on the camera and the port remains somehow allocated to the camera. I've also noticed that USB devices sometimes are reluctant to work when plugged in to a port differing from the one they were first installed on.

[Tandum (Robin)]

If the PC says 'MassStorage Device Detected' yet it isn't assigned a drive letter, it's possible the usb sockets can't deliver the current to activate the device. Some devices require the external power, other do not.

Plug it in and look at control panel/admin tools/computer management/Disk Management. That shows all drives on the system. If it's there but without a drive letter, assign a drive letter to it, otherwise there is a problem elsewhere, either the device itself (plug it into someone elses pc) or the usb ports.

USB ports are supposed to deliver 1/2 amp at 12volts. Sounds like the phone to me, time for an upgrade to an iPhone for xmas

[edit]
You can also try a bluetooth dongle and get rid of the frigging wires.