Fix Android phone USB drive issue

I have a Motorola Defy Android based smartphone. Previously, I used to sync photos, music, etc. by connecting my phone to my PC. After experimenting with custom ROMs (unofficial android operating systems ), one day I found myself unable to sync my phone to my PC. Read on to find out how I resolved this issue.

Currently, I am on a Gingerbread based ROM (WhiteRabbitNextGen Edition 2.1.1) and when I connect to my PC via USB, the SD card does not appear as an external drive in My Computer on Windows 7 though it appears in "Devices and Printers". After trying several esoteric solutions which did not work, I solved it today by fluke. After connecting to my PC and facing the same issue, I tried turning off "USB debugging" and voila! my SD card appeared as an external drive in Windows!

I have no clue why turning off this option solves the issue should be so but it's working perfectly now. You will find this option in: Settings->Applications->Development. Also, if this does not solve your, you can use AirDroid (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sand.airdroid) to sync your phone and PC using Wi-Fi.

For those who are looking for a fast ROM, I cannot recommend WhiteRabbit enough (at least until Kitkat is stable ;-) ) but seriously it is ripping fast! Check it out here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1510063

Overcoming Windows 7 keyboard issues

Background

Of late, I have been encountering an issue with my Windows 7 based laptop keyboard. The keyboard does not work intermittently at the Windows login screen and afterwards. This is very frustrating  and a Google search revealed that there are many people who are facing the same issue which has something to do with updated USB port drivers. Since I was unable to fix the issue using any of the proposed solutions, I have come up with a solution which is easy and is working for me from the past few months. I hope that it helps you too.

My PC configuration : Lenovo Z580, Windows 7
Issue : Integrated keyboard and external wireless keyboard do not work in Windows but work in other operating systems like Linux

Solution

Windows Login screen

Here, one needs to enable login either without a typed password so that you can just click your username to login or use an alternative authentication method. I use Lenovo VeriFace to login on the basis of facial recognition.

Windows Desktop

Launch the "On-Screen Keyboard" utility bundled with Windows. Go to START menu-> All Programs -> Accessories -> Ease of Access to find it. If Ctrl or Shift keys are highlighted in white, then just press the corresponding keys to remove the highlighting. Press some random keys and then CLOSE the on-screen keyboard. Now your keyboard should be fully functional.

You need to repeat the above steps whenever you login to Windows.