Whenever I insert my flash drive, flash card reader or mp3 player into my USB port it shows that it is connected but I can't find the icon e.g (Removable (F ) in my computer.
any help

Welcome to PCHF, it may be that XP isn't automatically giving your USB device a drive letter. You can manually assign one, once the device is plugged in, by following these steps:

1. Log on as Administrator or as a member of the Administrators group.
2. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then click Performance and Maintenance.
Note If you do not see Performance and Maintenance, go to step 3. Performance and Maintenance appears in Control Panel only if you use Category view. If you use Classic view, Performance and Maintenance does not appear.
3. Click Administrative Tools, double-click Computer Management, and then click Disk Management in the left pane.
4. Right-click the drive, the partition, the logical drive, or the volume that you want to assign a drive letter to, and then click Change Drive Letter and Paths.
5. Click Add.
6. Click Assign the following drive letter if it is not already selected, and then either accept the default drive letter or click the drive letter that you want to use.
7. Click OK.

I gave it a letter but i still dont see it in my computer but at least i can open it now thanks.

i cant create a new folder on the drive any other suggestions

Is the drive write-protected - encrypted or have security enabled on it?