Connecting BB pedal to laptop

Hi. New to BB so apologies!

When I connect my BB pedal to the laptop using the BB led goes out and the laptop doesnt see the BB as a drive.

If I remove the memory card from the BB and put it into laptop it sees it as I drive and I can sync the BB manager to that drive.

Q: Should I be able to connect the BB directly, and it so does anyone know if i should be doing something else to ensure the laptop can see the BB.

Thanks

Dave

Does the pedal display say anything when connected using the USB cable? D you have the power adaptor plugged into the pedal?