Microsoft has made some changes in the way Windows Explorer displays information in the new Windows 7 operating system. One of those changes is that opening Windows Explorer may not automatically display all of your drives. Depending on the setup of your computer, you may not see your thumb drives, external hard drives, memory card readers and other devices by default.

If you want to make sure you see all of your drives, including these devices, when you open Windows Explorer, just follow these instructions.
1. Open Windows Explorer
2. Press the Alt button to display the menu
3. Choose Tools and then Folder Options
4. Click the View tab
5. Go to the Advanced Settings section
6. Uncheck the Hide Empty Drives in the Computer Folder option
7. Click OK to confirm your choices and close the window

From now on, when you open Windows Explorer, you will see all of your drives and devices, even if those devices are empty. Tweaking that feature can make it a lot easier to keep track of the drives and devices attached to your Windows 7 computer or laptop.