Help with Vista, I cant find my removable storage drives

[BDPF15]

Just what seemed to be out of nowhere when I go to "my computer" on my Vista 32bit OS, i stopped seeing any removable storage devices. All i see in "my computer" is the option to click on my hard disk. I can't access my usb thumb drive or any disk that I put in the Optical drive as well. Their Auto play function don't seem to be working as well. It seems that the hardware is working because i am able to use my printer and mouse which are plugged into the usb port. So it seems to be a software problem. I would try and reformat and re-install my OS but because i cant access any removable mass storage, i can't back up large files. I really could use some help, thanks

I run ASUS M50VMseries laptop with Windows Vista Premium 32 bit
I have a Duo T9400 CPU with 4GB of Memory

[DeaconFrost]

Do the devices show up in Disk Management? If you do happen to eventually reinstall, you have 4 GB of system memory, which begs for Vista x64.

[BDPF15]

The USB and Optical Drives are listed in device manager, and it says it is working properly. I have tried alredy microsofts help were it told me to do regedit...but that didnt work.

Yah, my system came w/ 4 gb installed and vista x32, so i don't know if it is really worth the money to upgrade to x64.

[TGA]

Have you applied any “tweaks” to or installed any software to tweak the OS?

I would also suggest you go to www.trendmicro.com and run housecall.

[DeaconFrost]

The USB and Optical Drives are listed in device manager, and it says it is working properly.
I asked if they were showing in the Disk management section of the MMC. It is possible that you may just have to assign drive letters to them.
Yah, my system came w/ 4 gb installed and vista x32, so i don't know if it is really worth the money to upgrade to x64.
Depending on what type of license you have, it would only cost you $10 for the Vista x64 disc. If you have a friend with an x64 disc, you could just use their disc and your key. Or, if it is an OEM license, you could try requesting the media from the seller of your computer.

[BDPF15]

I think i figured out what is wrong. I definitely see the drives and they do work, but i have trouble assigning them a letter. When i go under Disk management, they are there but when i assign a letter, the letter appears and then within a few seconds disappears. I find though i can access the drive if i mount it to a empty NTFS folder, so it creates a shortcut to it. So it seems this seems like a way i can back up my system to reformat, because my guess is something is corrupted.

Thanks for heads up on x64, i will look into upgrading a little more, espescially since reformating my drive seems to be the only option to fix the problem. Although i could just stick to keeping the cd/rom and usb port mounted to a folder, 'cause it does seem to work.

Thanks