Joined May 2004
L6: Expert
Forum Thread
USB Drive recognized by HP Printer/Scanner but not W11 Desktop?
July 24, 2025 at
12:24 PM
Hi
I have a 128 GB PNY USB 3.0 drive. I stuck it into an HP 6970 Printer/Scanner and it was recognized fine and I was able to scan some docs onto it.
I think tried to use it on my PC. Well, technically my Dell Ultrasharp U2715H with USB port. It is not recognized. I rebooted the machine, but still no. I tried a 8 GB PNY USB drive and it was instantly recognized.
Anyone know why this is? At first I thought maybe the USB 3.0 is the problem, since the monitor is fairly old. But USB 3.0 is supposed to be backwards compatible...
Any suggestions on how to resolve would be greatly appreciated.
I have a 128 GB PNY USB 3.0 drive. I stuck it into an HP 6970 Printer/Scanner and it was recognized fine and I was able to scan some docs onto it.
I think tried to use it on my PC. Well, technically my Dell Ultrasharp U2715H with USB port. It is not recognized. I rebooted the machine, but still no. I tried a 8 GB PNY USB drive and it was instantly recognized.
Anyone know why this is? At first I thought maybe the USB 3.0 is the problem, since the monitor is fairly old. But USB 3.0 is supposed to be backwards compatible...
Any suggestions on how to resolve would be greatly appreciated.
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Monitor USB Ports / Hubs can be finicky. It may want more power than the monitor will supply.
You should be able to scan over the network without the need for a usb drive.
That said, sounds like you confirmed the USB port works fine with a different drive. If you were using something other than a flash drive it might be power requirements but I doubt that's the issue.
If you leave it plugged in do you see it in File Explorer or does it not show up at all?
For some reason, my PC (connected via wifi) and my scanner (connected to same wifi network) seem to lose track of each other.
When I try to scan to PC... it sees BRPC (Bedroom PC, which is what I "named" my PC) but when I select it, the HP scanner says something about connecting PC to network and downloading scanning software.
The PC is always on. And connected. I do leave lots of tabs open... currently... 73 open on Chrome. Another 32 on Edge. Plus 5 Excel sheets. Is it a memory problem? Or that I only reboot the PC about once a month?
ANYWAY...
Yes, the scanner recognized both the 8gb and the 128gb thumb drives no problems. I ended up scanning the docs to both drives, cuz I needed to send out the docs via email.
I tried plugging in the 128 to the monitor USB port and restarting the PC, but it still did not recognize the drive.
The PC is under a desk and honestly... its dusty, dark and difficult to access the back of it LOL. The only time I touch the case is to do a hard restart if everything freezes up... LOL
Hahahaha. smdh. So the usb drive is one of those retractable ones. While I was typing the above, I was looking at it and noticed a small gap. I pushed and it clicked. It had not been retracted all the way!!!! DOH. With it fully retracted, the desktop was able to recognize the drive (in the Dell monitor USB port) right away.
Yeeeesh. Sorry! Thanks for the time and advice! This reminds me of when I worked at a tech support desk (in the 1980s) and the FIRST question I was always supposed to ask.. Is the PC plugged in? OMG I feel silly.
When I try to scan to PC... it sees BRPC (Bedroom PC, which is what I "named" my PC) but when I select it, the HP scanner says something about connecting PC to network and downloading scanning software.
I generally have had better results initiating the scan from a PC / Mac and like the additional control I get over the output doing it this way.