**SOLVED** Windows can't detect my HTC Vivid. My particular case seems to be different than others.

sugarshock · May 2nd, 2012, 10:18 PM

Let me start off by saying I've searched the hell out of this issue and tried a couple solutions. I'm not posting here because I'm too lazy to figure it out myself. You guys are my last hope. Here goes:

I plug my Vivid (running the latest software) in to my 64 bit Win 7 PC, but nothing happens. My phone charges, but windows does not see it. It doesn't even have the pop up that says it doesn't recognize the device.
I have USB debugging enabled (it doesn't work when disabled, either), and I've tried every connection type (including htc sync mode and Disk Drive), and I have the box checked that's supposed to ask me what connection I want whenever I plug it in. Again, nothing happens but the charge.

I downloaded some drivers, but it doesn't come with an exe. The only way I know to manually install the drivers requires me to first find the device in device manager. I don't know how to find the phone in there, as no errors pop up, and none of the names look like it could be my phone. I went to the official site and downloaded, installed, and updated HTC Sync when I found out it includes the drivers. Still no success even after a reboot.
I've tried multiple charging cables (not the cheap ones, but the ones you get when you buy the phone) in every USB port, and still no luck.

I really tried to figure this out but I've run out of ideas. I turn to you in desperation, PLEASE HELP

SOLVED!

I guess some of the cables are ONLY able to charge. I popped in a Kindle charger that I know can transfer data and plugged it into my phone and it worked perfectly!

alpha0990 · May 2nd, 2012, 10:35 PM

I'm not on my pc so can't remember exactly ... With the device manager, click on the items on the toolbar, select show hidden devices. Going by what you have stated, I doubt if that will help though.

Soundteq · May 2nd, 2012, 10:43 PM

This has happened to a lot of different devices for me, but never a phone. However I've always fixed it the same way. In your hardware manager, go up into one of the toolbar options (I forget which it is, but it should be easy to see) and select "scan for hardware changes". It will say "scanning for plug n play compliant hardware".

This usually does the trick. Sometimes it takes no time flat, and other times it takes like 5 minutes =\. Occasionally it will not recognize the device or it will freeze up, but just close out and retry.

sugarshock · May 2nd, 2012, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alpha0990

I'm not on my pc so can't remember exactly ... With the device manager, click on the items on the toolbar, select show hidden devices. Going by what you have stated, I doubt if that will help though.

The only thing that pops up is the addition of "non plug and play drivers" which doesn't have anything that can help.

sugarshock · May 2nd, 2012, 10:46 PM

Soundteq, unfortunately that hasn't helped either. I tried doing it a couple times before with no luck.

sugarshock · May 2nd, 2012, 11:01 PM

Is there another way to access my phone (maybe through wifi) that gives me access to every file and folder? I'm using the Astro app, but there are some folders that appear as empty when I know there is stuff in there.

EDIT

Wow, sorry for the triple post. I don't know why I didn't just edit this into the last one

ryancmatchett · May 2nd, 2012, 11:06 PM

Can I make a suggestion? Can you check on your phone for the following setting:
In settings-storage click the 3dot or menu button and go to the USB computer connection....the check mark should be ON for the MTP connection and the PTP connection should be off. (This may be what you referred to in the OP, but thought I would mention it anyways...)

I hope this helps, but you may have checked this already....good luck

Edit: I had to spend a lot of time finding the right drivers for each of the phones in our house...that would work with the win7 64bit machines, but once I got the phones set up properly...it was great. Also, I use airdroid for everything if I don't have a cable, so you might check that one out.

sugarshock · May 2nd, 2012, 11:16 PM

hmm. Nothing happens when I hit the menu button under storage. I'll see if I can find a way to access that another way. Some things about my phone seem to be different than others. For example, most tutorials say that developer options(where you can check usb debugging) is in the "applications menu". I don't have that. Instead "Develop option" is at the bottom of the main settings menu.

EDIT

To provide a bit more info on my phone: It's not rooted. I bought it new from AT&T only a couple months ago. I keep it in good condition and reboot it every night.

alpha0990 · May 2nd, 2012, 11:23 PM

Run a system file check. If any of the files are missing or corrupted, the Window7 DVD will be needed. If you haven't got a 7 DVD, there might be an image of it on the hard drive, and you might be able to use that.
How to use the System File Checker tool to troubleshoot missing or corrupted system files on Windows Vista or on Windows 7

If that doesn't help, run a disk check
Using Windows 7, how do I run CHKDSK? - Microsoft Answers

sugarshock · May 2nd, 2012, 11:33 PM

I'm running a file check now. How do I run the CHKDSK? It requires me to click on the drive in question, however the problem is that it doesn't show up as a drive. I can't click on what's not there.

iowabowtech · May 2nd, 2012, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sugarshock

Is there another way to access my phone (maybe through wifi) that gives me access to every file and folder?

Airdroid will do that but I'm a little skeptical that it will work if it's not being recognized by the PC.

I know you've beat this to death already but just to be absolutely sure, you are also checking for connection by viewing your drive list at "my computer" right. Cuz being an HTC device, it should register two drives as letters. One for your internal memory and one for the sd card.

Some other thoughts. Nice job on the self troubleshooting. You really did try about everything on the list of usual suspects. Have you tried it on another computer though to rule out some odball thing with your PC? Also, how about connecting another device to that PC. Will it recognize another phone, ipod, mp3 player, digital camera, anything at all?

edit: well your post above pretty well rules out any storage showing up as a drive.

iowabowtech · May 2nd, 2012, 11:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryancmatchett

Can I make a suggestion? Can you check on your phone for the following setting:
In settings-storage click the 3dot or menu button and go to the USB computer connection....the check mark should be ON for the MTP connection and the PTP connection should be off.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sugarshock

hmm. Nothing happens when I hit the menu button under storage.

k wait a minute, that seems strange to me that you can't access the settings for MTP. Although I just changed mine to PTP and it still recognized my device so I don't necessarily think it's the straw breaking the camel's back but I'm wondering why you aren't seeing the secondary settings mentioned by Ryan. Doesn't seem normal.

Key question: Did you get your ICS update by way of OTA?

sugarshock · May 2nd, 2012, 11:51 PM

Just wanna say thanks for all the help guys. I've made three different posts over at the Droid subreddit at reddit.com and got no responses.

iowa: airdroid works, but it only gives me access to the sdcard filepath. Even Astro gives me more than that. Nothing new pops up under my computer by the way. I guess I should have included that before.

My PC recognizes every other device I connect it to except my mom's phone. I tried her Vivid as well and it has the same problem. I have a laptop I can try connecting it to. I'll update this post with the results.

Again, thanks for the help.

EDIT

"Key question: Did you get your ICS update by way of OTA?"

Mind explaining in simple terms what this means? I'm experienced with computers but pretty new to smart phones.

iowabowtech · May 2nd, 2012, 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sugarshock

My PC recognizes every other device I connect it to except my mom's phone. I tried her Vivid as well and it has the same problem.

Did her phone receive the ICS update as well?

iowabowtech · May 2nd, 2012, 11:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sugarshock

"Key question: Did you get your ICS update by way of OTA?"

Mind explaining in simple terms what this means? I'm experienced with computers but pretty new to smart phones.

Did you get the update over the air? In other words, did you get a prompt on the phone that an update was available and you chose to allow the update?

sugarshock · May 2nd, 2012, 11:56 PM

I updated my phone via "AT&T software update". If that's what you're talking about, then yes. Both have been updated this way.

"Did you get the update over the air? In other words, did you get a prompt on the phone that an update was available and you chose to allow the update?"

yes. I checked through AT&T software update and it asked if I wanted to update(which I did).

iowabowtech · May 2nd, 2012, 11:58 PM

k, interested in finding out what happens with the laptop or any other computer just to rule that out.

sugarshock · May 3rd, 2012, 12:01 AM

gonna check right now. It's a really slow one, so it might take a bit.

iowabowtech · May 3rd, 2012, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sugarshock

gonna check right now. It's a really slow one, so it might take a bit.

Is the laptop Win7 64 bit also or something else? Thing is, the HTC Sync should have provided the drivers IMO. It typically works for the matter of usb driver recognition. Although I did just notice that the last update to HTC Sync was 2/14/12 whereas the ICS update came in on 3/22/12. So I wonder if the driver needs updated. But if that were the case on a device that's being actively updated to ICS, you'd think all sorts of people would be reporting this problem. Besides, you'd think it'd at LEAST show up as an unrecognized device in device manager. You don't have any yellow ? showing up in device manager by chance?

sugarshock · May 3rd, 2012, 12:12 AM

no dice on the laptop(running the same os and 64 bit). No question marks in Device Manager on my laptop and desktop. Is there a way to undo that update without losing any other data?

iowabowtech · May 3rd, 2012, 12:15 AM

Hang on, let's try one more thing:

Download PdaNet

Download pdanet for win7 64 bit. Install it, follow any instructs. May ask you to locate your phone, not sure. If not and even if so...reboot your PC afterward with the phone still hooked up to the USB port at the time. Let us know the results after the PC boots.

alpha0990 · May 3rd, 2012, 12:16 AM

Run a disk check on the hard drive/partition/volume where Windows 7 is. It might be possible that after doing that, Windows will detect the new hardware.

sugarshock · May 3rd, 2012, 12:36 AM

The program is 3mb but it's taking it's sweet time installing...

EDIT

Okay. It says it's installing. After a while it says:

1. Enable USB Debugging(I did)
2. Plug the phone in (I did)
3. If prompted with the new hardware wizard, click "install the software automatically"

Select OK to continue if driver has been installed. If a reboot is requested, please reboot and reinstall after rebooting.

-----

So I hit ok assuming the driver is installed, but it tells me a Droid isn't detected and brings me back to the previous screen. So I hit Cancel this time, but it simply uninstalls itself.

I have the worst luck...

iowabowtech · May 3rd, 2012, 12:45 AM

One other quick thought why you're waiting. How new is your PC? Are you using USB 2.0 or 3.0 ports or have you tried both. Plug into USB 2.0 if you haven't already.

sugarshock · May 3rd, 2012, 12:55 AM

My computer is a gaming rig I've been upgrading through the years. MoBo and CPU(six core 1100T) are newish, but the MoBo is USB 2.0

I gave the PC a reboot anyway with no luck.

iowabowtech · May 3rd, 2012, 01:03 AM

Alright then, I'm not sure what's up here. It's just strange that Airdroid will recognize the sd card for one thing but yet it doesn't even show up as a storage device. And it won't recognize the internal memory but it sounds like Astro MIGHT be doing so, I'm not sure that you specified. At first, I thought maybe the internal storage may not be mounting but if you can see it with a file manager, that doesn't seem plausible.

The only idea I have left it to try a factory reset on the phone. Which is a somewhat common necessity after an over the air update for some phones/updates in particular. But what bothers me about that is you have 2 phones exhibiting the same behavior on 2 machines and having used multiple usb cables and multiple driver utilities.

It's all I have left for now though. I'm gonna sleep on it and check back in tomorrow. Really pulling for you man, this is frustrating I know.

sdrawkcab25 · May 3rd, 2012, 05:38 AM

Can you boot the phone into hboot and see if it mounts to any computer? Turn the phone off, pull the battery, put the battery back in, press and hold the volume DOWN button, continue to hold and press and hold the power button until the phone turns on. Or try going into recovery too... it might help us rule out a software issue (of course there could be a problem with the hboot though, which a factory reset may not fix).

...I'm going to move this to the HTC vivid forum...

ryancmatchett · May 3rd, 2012, 09:20 AM

Just checking back in....wanted to see if there is an update? I will check with another family member running a different version of Win7 this morning and a vivid to see if there is something I am missing too....
Edit and update: win7home 32bit....with HTC sync...the software asked for an update 2 weeks ago, and still works for them. Uninstalling everything on the computer, then restart and then reinstall is recomeneded...I know its been done.

Next recommendation is to find that USB connections menu. If you can't access it inside of the storage settings by hitting the menu button...then the ota may have been flawed. If you factory reset try to replace the SD card so you don't lose anything. Also by pulling the battery, then ejecting the sim card leave out for about 5 min then reset everything.....both worked for us this morning and the comp immediately recognized the phone.
Sounds like lots of troubleshooting going on...good luck and keep us updated!!!

sugarshock · May 3rd, 2012, 11:12 AM

I just tried booting in to hboot, but it's still not seen by the PC. Re-installing Sync and rebooting didn't help either.

What stuff will be wiped out if I do a factory reset? Do I risk losing contacts, apps, save games, pictures? I'll still probably do it anyway, but just wanna know what I could lose before hand.

ryancmatchett · May 3rd, 2012, 11:29 AM

You might lose things like contacts or apps that are stored on your phone. I usually just make sure they are all loaded on my Google account on line, and they will be restored when you activate the phone again. Anything on your SD card should be fine and shouldn't be wiped....
Were you able to find the USB connection menu at all? See what the settings are anyways....?

sugarshock · May 3rd, 2012, 11:35 AM

I wasn't able to find the menu, no. Even though I don't have a MicroSD installed, I still have an sdcard folder with a bunch of stuff in it. Is that the SIM card storage? If so, is that Internal Storage (3.94GB) or Phone Storage (8.83GB)? I want to move as many things as possible to the SIM so I don't lose it in the reset.

sugarshock · May 3rd, 2012, 01:06 PM

I just did a factory reset. Still isn't recognized. WTF.
It's weird though. When I first bought the phone, the bar at the bottom screen was an arch. with three buttons (like the image at the bottom of this thread). After I updated it turned it to a bar with five buttons (the "all apps" being in the middle). After the reset, it still looks like that.

Also, I still can't access the menu in Storage.

**EDIT**

I just checked the AT&T updater and it said I was up to date, which confirms that it did NOT roll back the update. Is there ANY way to do that?

iowabowtech · May 3rd, 2012, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sugarshock

I wasn't able to find the menu, no. Even though I don't have a MicroSD installed...

I would install a microSD. If you don't have one, could you buy even a cheapo small one for testing purposes? And then put at least one file on it...a pic, an MP3, whatever so that it will be more readily identifiable if recognized when you plug into the pc. It would be nice to take this out of the equation.

Theoretically it should run without an sd card but will it mount to the pc? Can anybody even really answer this definitively anymore with the way the hardware and software has changed so rapidly? Used to be able to, but now you're on a new OS with 4.0.3 and perhaps this is the hangup. If not, at least we would know if the sd card is readable by the pc.

sugarshock · May 3rd, 2012, 02:29 PM

The mount SD option is grayed out. I talked with HTC support for a bit. She had me go through the usual suspects and was stumped when nothing worked. She was saying for a while that even without a MicroSD, it should still connect to my PC.

A little while later she put me on hold to talk with somebody. When she came back she was telling me that the reason why it doesn't work is because I need an SD in there. I asked her if that was introduced in the new update but she said it's always been that way.

I wanted to ask her why she was so confident that I didn't need one before, but I wasn't getting anywhere at that point. I guess it's time to find a cheap SD card then.

iowabowtech · May 3rd, 2012, 03:24 PM

Let us know how it goes with the card. Also, as sdrawkcab mentioned above, I'd be interested to see if the phone is recognized while in hboot. That's just one more variable to investigate. It should at least show up in device manager in that mode. If its working properly, it'll show up as HTC bootloader interface or similar verbiage.

sugarshock · May 3rd, 2012, 03:54 PM

I went out and bought a 16GB MicroSD (because even if it doesn't work, I'd like the extra storage), and it still can't see it. I've already tried hboot, but I'll try again with the SD card.

iowabowtech · May 3rd, 2012, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sugarshock

I went out and bought a 16GB MicroSD (because even if it doesn't work, I'd like the extra storage), and it still can't see it. I've already tried hboot, but I'll try again with the SD card.

Assuming you tried a PC reboot after installing the SD card in the phone? And after installing the card, did you go back into settings and see if you can access the check box for MTP?

sugarshock · May 3rd, 2012, 04:10 PM

Rebooted the PC and tried in hBoot on both of my machines with no success. MTP settings are still not there. I'm gonna call up HTC again, I guess.

Also, since I installed the SD and enter hboot, it flashes several lines of text.

It's really fast so it's hard to read but says something like
Checking SD
loading alskdjfi389lskfj.zip
NO IMAGE!
Loading lksjdf883kls.nbh
NO IMAGE OR WRONG IMAGE!
Loading lsfdilj83.zip
NO IMAGE!
Loading lksjdf883kls.nbh
NO IMAGE OR WRONG IMAGE!

You get the gist of it. This doesn't look like it's a good thing, could this have something to do with it?

sugarshock · May 3rd, 2012, 04:31 PM

SUCCESS! I called them up and got a different assistant who was able to immediately diagnose the problem. I guess some of the cables are ONLY able to charge. I popped in a Kindle charger that I know can transfer data and plugged it into my phone and it worked perfectly!

Thanks for all of your help, guys. I'll update the original post.

iowabowtech · May 3rd, 2012, 04:39 PM

Whew, thank goodness. I was almost ready to run out of ideas...and meds.

Congrats man. I ruled that out previously since you'd tried multiple cables. But evidently, in this case buying the stock cable just repeated the problem. Will have to file this one away in the archives of stuff that I'll always try to remember but probably never see again. Take care.

yukonsjoy · May 5th, 2012, 11:55 AM

I'll have to try a different cable for mine when I get off work. HTC Sync won't recognize my phone, but windows does, allows me to copy back and forth the sd card.

bruce73 · May 6th, 2012, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yukonsjoy

I'll have to try a different cable for mine when I get off work. HTC Sync won't recognize my phone, but windows does, allows me to copy back and forth the sd card.

HTC Sync is flakey at best, so maybe it's not the cable. I had to replug my Vivid into my PC several times before the phone could see that HTC software was installed on the PC. I'm guessing it's a driver issue, and updating to the latest version of HTC Sync didn't help.

Meanwhile, as with you, Windows could see the phone fine, so I've abandoned HTC Sync and rely on My Phone Explorer to sync.

joemarch · September 23rd, 2012, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soundteq

This has happened to a lot of different devices for me, but never a phone. However I've always fixed it the same way. In your hardware manager, go up into one of the toolbar options (I forget which it is, but it should be easy to see) and select "scan for hardware changes". It will say "scanning for plug n play compliant hardware".

This usually does the trick. Sometimes it takes no time flat, and other times it takes like 5 minutes =\. Occasionally it will not recognize the device or it will freeze up, but just close out and retry.

The computer could not see my HTC phone and ALL I had to do was go to the phone settings on the phone and click "connect to computer" its so easy!
I hope this helps!