mine would only show up for a second if the power cable wasnt plugged in. make sure its not running on batteries and the powercable is plugged in whenever you plug it on you computer.
I don't use batteries, I'm using straight AC, but like, it recognizes it, and it says that it's inserted, but it doesn't show me the removable drive in My Computer.
1. Have you selected the usb option in the load / save mode selector prior to hooking up the usb? (or alternatively scroll to it while you're plugged in)
2. What operating system are you using? My 500 works with vista and xp, not tried with others.