In Ubuntu Linux I have no trouble finding drives, usb drives, usb sticks etc, I use on the top left of the desktop "Files", that shows all drives folders etc. Otherwise I use Krusader, it is like the old Norton Commander.
@ Steve, one thing that is annoying an often happens is on the bar at the top a red button appears with a white horizontal line through it indicating an error, usually updating fixes it but is there a way to stop this happening? Maybe I should have manual updates set.