In recent years, flash drives have become very popular and almost every PC user has them. It has become the norm that almost every second person constantly carries a flash drive with all the necessary information. And this is not surprising, because a memory card is much more convenient than a previous-generation storage medium, for example, like a disk.

Compactness and accessibility are not the main advantages of a flash drive. Users appreciate it primarily for the fact that all files for work or study are always at hand and, if necessary, they can be erased or overwritten.

But no technology is absolutely perfect. Increasingly, there are problems such as the inability to read or open files. The reason may lie both in the media itself and in the computer. And this is deplorable because in an instant you can lose all files with important information. That is why it is worth knowing for what reasons the flash drive stops working and all possible methods to fix the problem.

Non-working flash drive

Let's start with the worst, namely the fact that the problem lies in the fact that the media is out of order. Indeed, in this situation, it will be almost impossible or unreasonably expensive to repair it.

Basically, flash drives break after a rough impact on the controller or chip, as well as due to the short circuit and failure of the contacts on the board. It happens that after getting into the water, the carrier remains working and users only sigh with relief. But in vain! After the flash drive got into the water and turned out to be working, it is worth immediately rewriting all the files to another medium. After all, the fact that it works correctly does not mean that after a while it will be the same. Moisture and electronics, although very small, are completely incompatible things and their contact almost never goes unnoticed.

Also, if the computer does not see the media, first of all, you need to establish the cause. It is necessary to inspect the body of the device for cracks and dents. Naturally, if the flash drive is broken into a cake, it is useless to do anything at all.

But if you still have doubts about the inoperability of the device, you need to go further. Checking if it works is easy enough. You just need to insert the flash drive into the computer. If the device lights up (it is available in the form of an LED built into the case) and the computer beeps about connecting the device, then the flash drive is working. So the problem can still be fixed.

But if the carrier itself did not react in any way, like the PC, then it is useless to do anything. You can, of course, contact an electronics repairman or a service center. They will try to solder the contacts and even replace the broken case, but it will be very expensive. It's easier to buy a new flash drive, unless, of course, there are vital files on the old one.

Is the flash drive showing signs of life? So, we are looking for a problem further.

Powerless USB port on the front of the PC

The most common reason why the computer does not see the USB flash drive is a dead USB port on the front panel. For many users, it comes to automatism to connect a USB flash drive to a computer through the front panel. It's easy and convenient. And somehow it is completely forgotten that these are not the only ports on the PC.

This problem is especially likely after the PC has been repaired or dusted, replaced with thermal paste, or any other activity that involves disassembling the system unit. Just at the time of its assembly, due to forgetfulness, you can not connect the front ports to the power supply. The problem is simple and easily solved.

If you need files right here and now, you can simply use other ports. They should be working if the problem is really hardening of the front ports. If the flash drive works and the rear ports too, then there will be access to the files. This can be called the first way to solve this problem. But after all, it’s better to spend a little time and connect them, because the habit comes with time.

But method 2 already takes time. You need to connect the power cable of the motherboard to the front panel of the PC. Connectors can be different, it all depends on the case model. But it’s almost impossible to get confused in them, since each cable has a marking and the whole structure is arranged, so you need to try hard to connect a “foreign” cable.

But still, in different models there are wires of this type, such as “VCC”, “D-”, “D +”, and also “GND”. Also, those who are afraid to confuse everything and do something wrong can look at the color coding. As a rule, this marking is the same for wires and connectors. But just in case, you need to pay attention to the inscriptions.

First you need to access the motherboard itself. To do this, carefully unscrew the bolts holding the cover and remove it. It is recommended to put the bolts in one place so as not to lose them. After this, you need to find the cable leading to the front panel and find the connector on the motherboard. Their markings must match. And so you can work on the principle of exclusion. If only one power cable is not connected, then its free connectors. But still, you need to carefully look at the color and letter marking.

After the connector of the desired color is found, you need to carefully insert the power cable into it. After that, without assembling the case, turn on the computer and check the operation of the front panel. If everything works well, then great, if not, then you should carefully check the labeling.

In the event that it is not possible to connect the cable due to fear of burning the contacts, it is recommended to call the wizard. A qualified specialist will do such work for one or two, and your equipment will work as before.

Incorrect or disabled USB port

In some cases, the problem that the computer does not see the USB flash drive is not in the media itself, but in the connector where it is connected. For example, the port may simply not work due to damage to the contacts in it. And this port will not see not only the flash drive, but also any other device connected through it.

The problem is easily solved if there is a little knowledge in circuitry. You just need to patch up the soldering iron contacts. But if such knowledge is completely absent, then the computer must be taken to a service center. There problems are quickly solved for a small fee.

But it is worth noting that if not a single port works, then the problem may be hiding much deeper. For example, this may be due to the fact that the ports are disabled in the BIOS.

To reconnect the ports in the BIOS settings, you must first go into it. To do this, you need to restart the computer and in the first three seconds of the reboot, press the F2 key. After that, the BIOS window should open. On different models, the keys for calling the BIOS may differ. As a rule, they are marked.

To connect ports, follow the instructions:

• After the BIOS is open, you need to go to the Advanced Settings menu and select the USB configuration.
• Find the line "USB Controller" and set the value "Enabled" in front of it. This will allow you to use the ports.
• After all the above manipulations, you need to save the changes by pressing the F10 key. This will not only save the changes, but also exit the BIOS.

Now that we can say with confidence that the ports are connected, you need to check them. To do this, you need to connect a USB flash drive through one of the ports and make sure that everything works as it should. If the computer still does not see the USB flash drive, then the problem lies elsewhere.

Dirt and dust in the flash drive connector

Due to the fact that the flash drive is very compact, it is always carried with you in your pocket or bag. Some even cling to it as a squirrel on the keys to an apartment or car. In addition, quite often the lid from it is lost.

It is this attitude towards the device that leads to its contamination. Small litter and dust, getting into the card slot, can disable it. This happens because the pins get dirty and don't interact properly with the port pins on the PC.

Also, a sign that the flash drive is dirty can be its freezing, slow file transfer and reading information. In order to clean the media connector, you need a match or a cotton swab. With a match, you need to shake out all the rubbish from the connector. Soak a cotton swab in alcohol and wipe everything inside. This will help eliminate debris and prevent contact oxidation.

Viruses on PC or media

You should be especially careful to ensure that no virus gets on the USB flash drive. Even on a trusted site, you can get infected. And many users do not think about information security at all and download files from unverified sources.

Inserting a USB flash drive into someone else's computer, where there are viruses, is a sure sign to infect files that were already on the media. Viruses on the computer multiply quite quickly, infecting more and more files.

That is why quite often a flash drive does not work just because it is infected with a virus. As a rule, in this case, the computer recognizes the media and beeps when it is connected. But it is not possible to read the files on it, and the system tries to convince the user that the flash drive was not found.

If this happens, first of all you need to install an antivirus on your computer and check it completely. And in order to be able to view the files on the map, you need to access them. But for this you need to delete the infected document from it. To do this, you first need to do the following:

1. Open "Start";
2. Find through the search bar "Show hidden folders";
3. On the item issued on request, right-click on the computer mouse and go to "Show hidden files and folders";
4. Find the line "Hide system files" and uncheck it;
5. Find the line "Show hidden files" and tick it;
6. Press the "Apply" button;
7. Press OK.

After all these steps, you need to go to the "My Computer" folder and go to the problem device, in this case, the drive. In its folder, a file called "Autorun" will be visible. This file must be deleted, and then scan the flash drive for viruses using any antivirus software. This can be done by right-clicking on the drive's folder and selecting "Scan for viruses". As a rule, this line will be marked with the icon of your antivirus.

After the flash drive is completely safe for use, it will be easy to read information from it. But, for example, if there were no viruses on it or it didn’t work after all the manipulations, then the problem may be the lack of drivers.

Outdated drivers or their failure

It also happens that the flash drive is not displayed by the computer due to the fact that the drivers are outdated or a failure in the system. A common cause of failure is a power surge or sudden shutdown of the system. Also, older computers may simply not work with cards larger than 32 GB. Both are solved by simply updating the drivers.

To do this, go to the "Device Manager". You can get into it through the "My Computer" folder and simply find it by searching the system. After the "Device Manager" folder is opened, you need to insert the problematic USB flash drive into the computer port and open the "USB Controllers" tab. In the tab we find the line with the name "Storage Device", select it and delete it through the right-click menu. This is to remove the driver from the system for the flash drive. After removal, you need to reconnect the flash drive. This will start the automatic installation of drivers and the computer will see it as usual.

Of course, if the problem persists, then you need to try to do something else. For example, reinstalling all USB drivers may help. This can be done using the disk that came with the motherboard. If it is not, then you can download the program to update the drivers. There are many such programs on the web. They work identically. They scan the computer and issue all drivers that have updates. Also, such programs themselves update them after agreement by the user.

It is worth noting that you should not doubt your actions due to the difference in USB formats. Drivers for ports 2.0 and 3.0 are installed in the same way. Moreover, the ports differ only in the speed of writing and reading information.

Errors in the file system

Due to the fact that the computer has an error in the file system, it cannot see the drive. You can check this through the "Device Manager".

To do this, you need to insert a drive into the PC and go to the "Disk devices" tab in the manager. If the device is displayed, then the drive itself is working, and the system simply does not perceive it as necessary. The problem is fixed by simply formatting the memory card. But this is a very delicate move. It will be described in detail in the next paragraph.

If the drive is not displayed in this tab, then the flash drive itself is faulty. Her contacts could move away or the controller could burn out. In the repair of equipment, the masters will quite cope with its resurrection. But such a small job will be unreasonably expensive, it will be cheaper to buy a new device.

Conflict between file systems

It happens that the files on the media are not displayed by the computer due to the fact that there is a conflict between the file systems on the connected device and the PC. For example, this often happens when the computer has the NTFS file system, and the drive has FAT32. This is found not only in Windows operating systems, but also in "apple" products. So, for example, if the flash drive was formatted on a Macbook, then it will not be read on a PC with the Windows operating system.

So, it turns out that the only way out is to format the device. But before that, it would be wise to copy the files on a computer with a different operating system. The last PC where the drive was used is perfect. After formatting, the flash drive will be completely empty.

To properly format the drive, you need to follow the instructions:

• Open the "My Computer" folder;
• Right-click on the connected device and select "Properties";
• In the window that appears, see which file system is used on the drive and remember. Close this window;
• Right-click on the folder of the connected device and select the "Format" function;
• In the window that appears, check the box that matches the file system of the drive. This will format it to the desired file system;
• Check the "Quick" attribute and click "Start".

After a while, the PC will report that the formatting of the drive is complete. The flash drive is formatted correctly and should now work correctly.

IMPORTANT! Quick formatting is chosen not only for the reason that files will be deleted faster. If suddenly there was something important on the flash drive, only in this deletion option, these files can be returned using a special program. If you do not use a quick format, then the files will be lost forever.

Unformatted flash drive

Quite often, when a brand new flash drive is inserted into the port, the PC warns that the device needs to be formatted before use. That is, until there is formatting, there is no access to the device. If the flash drive is new and there is no information on it, then you can safely format any type. The problem will go away after that.

But if the flash drive is not new and has been used before, that is, it has the necessary files or not, then you can try connecting it to the port of another PC. Then again to the computer, which does not give access to files. Such a simple action helps to fix the problem.

If the problem persists, then it is better to copy the necessary files to another PC and format the USB flash drive. Step-by-step instructions for doing the correct formatting were provided just above.

The flash drive has been assigned a busy letter or there are problems with the partition

As already mentioned, the technique is imperfect and even a computer can make mistakes. So, the PC may incorrectly determine the type of connected device. But in appearance you can’t tell because the computer signals the connection and the flash drive is being displayed. But it cannot be used for its intended purpose.

Also, the problem itself may be that the system did not assign a letter to the partition, or did it, but it is already busy. For this reason, there is a conflict between addresses.

To fix this, you need to try to assign a letter to the partition. You need to do this manually according to the instructions:

1. Press "Win + R" at the same time in order to call the "Run" window;
2. In the line of the window, enter the command diskmgmt.msc. It will redirect to the drive management section we need;
3. In the manager for connected devices, you need to find the USB flash drive. You can just disable and enable it and see what appears;
4. On the partition defined as a connected drive, you need to right-click and click on "Change letter";
5. In the window that appears, click sequentially "Change" - "OK";

After that, an additional dialog box will open, in which you can select the letter you like for the drive. After selecting, just click on "OK" and the selected letter will correspond to the device section.

ADVICE! Before choosing a letter for a drive, you should look at the ones already taken. Otherwise, the problem will remain if, out of ignorance, you assign an occupied letter to the device.

Power supply is defective or portal overcurrent

Many users noted that the computer did not see the drive due to the fact that the power supply was faulty. His job is to consume and distribute energy. Like any device, it has a limit on power values. That is why the distribution over the nodes is balanced.

For example, this situation may arise after the replacement of one node. And the new element requires more energy than the rest. Because of this, the balance in the distribution of energy is disturbed, and since the power supply cannot supply more energy to the replaced node, it simply does not reach other points.

Such an imbalance in power distribution can literally de-energize a PC's USB network. It is correct to pre-calculate the energy consumption of a particular node when replacing it. But if an important element was replaced without this calculation, then it remains only to buy a more powerful power supply.

But if there was no replacement of the node, then most likely the power supply is faulty and incorrectly gives out the potential for power. For example, after a breakdown, it began to produce power less than that declared by the manufacturers. In this case, you should not even try to fix the problem, since the fate of the entire PC is at stake. It is better to replace the power supply.

There is another explanation that the PC does not see the flash drive. Look at your computer, what is connected to it? Computer mouse, keyboard lamp, smartphone on charge and maybe some other device? And all this overloads the USB ports. It's just that multiple connection of devices already consumes the maximum current distributed to them. And there is an extra flash drive. In order for the PC to start seeing the map, you need to turn off a couple of devices and the problem will be solved.

What to do if a Windows XP PC does not recognize flash media

There are a large number of reasons why a memory card is not recognized by a PC running Windows XP. The problem can be both in the storage medium itself and in the operating system. But the hardware component of the computer itself may also be to blame.

If the operating system is the reason that the computer does not see the connected device, then you need to make changes in the OS settings. This can be done using special utilities, but it is recommended to do everything yourself.

A faulty flash drive is not worth the money that you can spend on its repair in the service. The only thing worth it is to save this one and buy a new drive. A flash drive should be chosen of good quality in a case made of strong material. This will help protect the new drive from mechanical damage.

As a rule, if the PC cannot determine the drive, then the OS informs the user about it with the following messages:

• The drive is inserted into the port of the computer and when you try to read information from it, a message like "Insert a disk drive" pops up.
• When trying to read information from the card, the OS reports that the drive should be formatted before use and does not allow reading data without it. It turns out that it is not possible to view the files, since after formatting they will be deleted.
• After the user attempts to access files on the connected device, the OS reports that access to the files on the drive is not possible.
• Immediately after connecting the device through the port, the OS hangs. It is noteworthy that when the drive is removed, everything returns to normal.

When solving the problem that the PC does not see and does not read files from the drive, it is necessary to solve it sequentially, clearly following the points:

1. The first thing you should pay attention to when connecting the drive is the indicator on the card body. It is built in there in order to determine the health of the device itself. If the LED blinks, but the flash drive is not read by the computer, this means that the problem is in the OS itself or the PC hardware.
2. Flash drive looks ok but still doesn't work? It is recommended to change the port. There is a possibility that the one in which the flash drive is inserted is malfunctioning. Quite often, when a drive is connected through an incorrectly working port, the computer freezes. This is easy to check, since there are other ports on the computer. If everything works as it should when you reconnect the device, then you need to either stop using the broken port or have it repaired at a service center. It is also recommended to check if it is dirty. Dirt and dust can interfere with the connection of the contacts and cleaning usually eliminates the problem.
3. When using hubs or extension cords to connect a USB device, it may not be recognized by the computer due to a malfunction of additional equipment. It can be easily repaired with minimal knowledge. On examination, you can easily notice the contacts that have moved away and the soldering iron can easily fix this. You can also solve everything without personal intervention and simply take the hub for repair.
4. There is a possibility that not enough current is supplied to the USB ports. This is due to their overload with various devices. This is easy to check by turning off all extraneous devices, leaving only the most necessary, namely the keyboard and computer mouse. After that, you need to connect the drive and make sure that it works. If so, the power supply is too weak and needs to be replaced. But buying a cheaper USB hub can help, as it has its own power source.
5. If the previous points did not solve the problem, then there is a possibility that the power supply does not have enough power or the USB port is outdated for your drive. In a word, old computers and laptops cannot read drives larger than 32 GB. Nothing can be done here. Either use a smaller drive, or upgrade your computer to a more modern model.
6. Well, the last possibility of a malfunctioning flash drive is that it is plugged out of habit into the front port. It may be de-energized due to the fact that the port is not connected to the motherboard. Also, the ports may not be working due to lack of power. You can connect them to the motherboard yourself. Detailed instructions for connecting them are located in the section above.

Errors in Windows XP make it difficult to see the drive

The device may not be detected due to errors in the operating system itself. For example, the OS may simply not have the necessary software packages for updating that are necessary for the correct operation of devices connected via USB ports. It is also possible that only some devices can be read on a particular port.

You can solve this problem by updating the system to SP3 and making all the updates that are available. This does not require any special knowledge. A couple of clicks and the system will do everything automatically.

Updates can be downloaded either from Windows Update or from media (flash drive, disk). But first of all, you need to check which package is installed on the system. To do this, do the following:

• Right-click on "My Computer" and select "Properties".
• In the window that opens, view the necessary information.

In order to install updates, you must let the system search for and install them on its own. This can be done in the Windows Update panel. After the system takes control, it will automatically find the necessary updates and ask the user for permission to install them. Installation can be done either selectively from all of them found, or as a whole package. Custom installation is recommended only if you have an idea of ​​what the selected update does. If there is no such knowledge, then it is better to let the system install all the updates it finds.

After the system has installed all the necessary updates, the OS will ask you to restart the computer. This is necessary for the changes to take effect. It does not take a lot of time. After the reboot, you can safely connect the USB flash drive and go about your business.

For those who only want to install some updates, you need to know which one does what. Here is the information you need to get started:

Conflict between drivers in Windows XP

It also happens that due to conflicting drivers, the computer cannot recognize the connected device. So, old drivers can cause errors in the system and prevent new ones from working correctly. The problem can be expressed as an error message popping up when a flash drive is inserted. The system does not see it and requires you to insert a disc to start working. Sometimes the OS freezes.

This is due to driver conflicts. For example, a user has two drives. After he inserts drive No. 1 into the PC, the system automatically installs drivers for this type of device. After finishing work with this device, the user removes it and starts working with drive No. 2. As a rule, the second flash drive is working, but still the system reports an error. This is because the OS uses the installed driver after using drive #1 to start the second one. But they are incompatible with each other.

Reinstalling drive drivers on Windows XP

Since the drivers are incompatible with each other, they need to be reinstalled. This can be done both automatically and independently.

Due to the fact that the system uses drivers from one device to another connected through the port, you must first remove all drivers for this type of drive. Then do a clean install.

As a rule, the OS, in the presence of such a conflict, issues a message stating that the inserted device cannot be recognized. Also, the system may completely freeze that it is impossible to do work on the PC.

Uninstalling Drivers Using the DRIVECLEANUP Utility

The special DRIVECLEANUP utility will help you remove drivers simply and effectively. This utility is good because before deleting it, it searches for drivers in the system. Then it deletes them.

To start fixing the problem, you need to turn on the PC and disconnect all unnecessary devices from it, leaving only the keyboard and computer mouse. This will help to avoid various conflict situations during the process.

Then you need to download the utility to remove the drivers. It is advisable to do this through a proven resource, and preferably from the official website of the program. The program itself is compatible with all OS versions. When the utility is downloaded, you need to open it using administrator rights. This can be done by right-clicking on the program icon and selecting "Open as administrator". Then the utility will do everything on its own.

1. Place the utility file for updating drivers in the system folder called System.
2. Open a command prompt and write the command drivecleanup.exe and execute it by pressing the Enter key.
3. This command will run the utility, and the command line will display information about all the drivers on the PC.

It will also delete them.

Automatic installation

Since in the previous paragraph all drivers were removed from the computer, you need to reinstall them. This is necessary for the normal operation of the system. Fortunately, they can be installed automatically. It's very easy to do.

The only thing you need is a flash drive. It just needs to be inserted into the USB port of the computer. After the PC recognizes the device, the automatic installation of drivers for it will begin.

Quite often, this will be seen from the pop-up dialog box. But in some systems, the process of automatically installing drivers for a new device goes unnoticed by the user himself.

This process is short. This can take 2-3 minutes maximum, no more. After installing the drivers, the device will start working correctly. So now the computer will not only recognize the card, but also read information from it.

Manual installation

You can also install the drivers yourself, without using a flash card. To do this, you need to download drivers from the Internet. But in this case, a conflict with the system may arise. That is why it is recommended to install using another PC.

To do this, you need to take a USB flash drive with which there were problems and insert it into a computer where it is recognized. There is a small condition for manually installing drivers, namely that the version of the operating system on the PC where the flash drive was not recognized and the one from which the installation will be performed must completely match.

Now you need to find two files with paths through the system search: %SystemRoot%\INF\usbstor.inf and %SystemRoot%\SYSTEM32\drivers\usbstor.sys

In any convenient way, you need to move these files to a PC that does not recognize the flash drive. This can be done, for example, using another flash drive or sent via the Kidney or via Contact. On a computer that has a problem recognizing the drive, the files must be placed in a folder with the same path as they were on a working PC. After moving them to the desired folder, the system will ask the user to confirm the replacement of files. When everything is ready, you need to restart the system. And you can safely use an already working flash drive, as the problem will be eliminated.

Here we have analyzed the most common reasons why a flash drive is not recognized by a computer. But as you might guess, there are many other reasons for its inoperability. Also, this error may be accompanied by other messages from the system.

"Insert disc" message

This message may appear when a disc is inserted. First of all, it is recommended to check how the flash drive is inserted and whether the device itself is responding (flashing LED). It happens that over time the flash drive bends, and in order for contact to occur, you need to insert it into the port slowly until you hear a beep.

It may also be due to the overlap of drivers from the previous media. Due to their incompatibility, it turns out that the flash drive does not seem to exist. To fix the situation, you need to remove all drivers and install (simple reconnecting the flash drive after removing the drivers).

The system requires you to format the disk before use

This may be due to the fact that the flash drive is new and has never been used. In this case, you can format it without consequences, since there are no files on it.

But this may signal a system failure in the flash drive itself or its damage. The solution to this problem is described above, and the principle of correctly formatting the disk is also given there.

A data error message pops up

This message appears when:

• Your computer has incompatible drivers. Solution: Remove and reinstall drivers.
• A file system conflict has occurred. Solution: formatting the flash drive in the desired system with preliminary data saving.
• Failure in the media itself.

System hangs after connecting device

This behavior of the PC may indicate that:

1. The port through which the media was connected is faulty.
2. The presence of incompatible drivers.

To eliminate one of the problems, it's tedious to connect the USB flash drive through a different port. If everything works, then it's in it. No, the drivers are to blame.

The computer does not see the flash drive, but it signals the connection

When the carrier is connected, an indicator lights up on it, which signals an established contact. If in this case the computer does not see the USB flash drive, a faulty contact in the media itself, which is directly responsible for the transfer of information, may be to blame.

Also, a conflict between drivers or an already occupied partition letter can also cause such a reaction.

Error 43 / Error 43

If the OS gives this error, then it is useless to even try to get through to the files on the media, since it automatically stops the process of reading information on the device. This error can be caused by the following reasons:

• Media failure. It is recommended to check its performance on a third-party PC.
• The presence of incompatible drivers in the system.
• The hardware configuration has been updated. Solution 6 roll back the driver in the Manager.

Conclusion

The article described all kinds of the most common reasons why the computer does not see the USB flash drive, and also described how to solve them. If there is such a problem, it is recommended to solve it sequentially, following the points of the article. This will help correct the situation only if the flash drive is not mechanically damaged irreversibly.

In this manual I will describe all the methods known to me to solve this problem. First, the simplest and, at the same time, the most effective methods will go first in most situations when the computer does not see the flash drive, reports that the disk is not formatted, or gives other errors. There are also separate instructions on how to.

There are many reasons why you may encounter the fact that the computer does not see the flash drive. The problem can manifest itself in any version of the operating system from Microsoft - Windows 10, 8, Windows 7 or XP. If the computer does not recognize the connected USB flash drive, this can manifest itself in several variations.

Launch the Disk Management utility in one of the following ways:

• Start - Run (Win + R), enter the command diskmgmt.msc, press Enter
• Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Computer Management - Disk Management

In the disk management window, pay attention to whether the flash drive appears and disappears when it is connected and disconnected from the computer.

The ideal option is if the computer sees the connected USB flash drive and all partitions on it (usually one) in the "Healthy" state. In this case, just right-click on it, select "Make partition active" in the context menu, and, possibly, assign a letter to the flash drive - this will be enough for the computer to "see" the USB drive. If the partition is faulty or deleted, then you will see "Unallocated" in the status. Try right-clicking on it and, if such an item is found in the menu, select "Create a simple volume" to create a partition and format the flash drive (the data will be deleted).

Further simple steps

Try going into device manager and see if your device is listed as unknown, or in the Other devices section (as in the screenshot) - the drive may be referred to there by its real name or as a USB mass storage device.

Right-click on the device, select Uninstall, and after removing it in Device Manager, select Action - Update hardware configuration from the menu.

Perhaps this action will already be enough for your flash drive to appear in Windows Explorer and be available.

Among other things, the following options are possible. If you are connecting the flash drive to your computer via an extension cable or USB hub, try connecting directly. Try connecting to all available USB ports. Try to turn off the computer, disconnect all extraneous devices from USB (Webcams, external hard drives, card readers, printer), leave only the keyboard, mouse and flash drive, then turn on the computer. If after that the flash drive worked, then the problem is in the power supply to the USB ports of the computer - perhaps there is not enough power from the PC power supply. A possible solution is to replace the power supply or purchase a USB hub with its own power supply.

Windows 10 does not see the USB flash drive after updating or installing (also suitable for Windows 7, 8 and Windows 10)

Many users have encountered the problem of not displaying USB drives after upgrading to Windows 10 from previous operating systems, or after simply installing updates on an already installed Windows 10. In this case, it often happens that flash drives are not visible only via USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 - i.e. it can be assumed that USB drivers are required. However, in fact, often such behavior is not caused by drivers, but by incorrect entries in the registry about previously connected USB drives.

In this case, the free USBOblivion utility can help, which removes all information about previously connected flash drives and external hard drives from the Windows registry. Before using the program, I recommend.

Disconnect all flash drives and other USB storage devices from the computer, run the program, check the items Perform a real cleanup and Save the undo reg file, then click the Cleanup button.

After the cleaning is completed, restart the computer and connect the USB flash drive - with a high probability, it will be detected and become available. If not, then also try to go to the device manager (via right-click on the Start button) and follow the steps to remove the USB drive from the Other devices section and then update the hardware configuration (described above). You can download the USBOblivion program from the developer's official page: www.cherubicsoft.com/projects/usboblivion

But, with regard to Windows 10, another option is also possible - the actual incompatibility of USB 2.0 or 3.0 drivers (as a rule, then they are displayed with an exclamation mark in Device Manager). In this case, the recommendation is to check the availability of the necessary USB and chipset drivers on the official website of the manufacturer of the laptop or PC motherboard. At the same time, I recommend using the official websites of the manufacturers of the devices themselves, and not the websites of Intel or AMD to search for such drivers, especially when it comes to laptops. Also, sometimes updating the motherboard BIOS helps to solve the problem.

If the flash drive does not see Windows XP

The most common situation I encountered when making calls to set up and repair computers, when a computer with the Windows XP operating system installed on it, did not see the flash drive (even if it sees other flash drives), was caused by the fact that the necessary updates were not installed to work with USB drives . The fact is that many organizations use Windows XP, often in the SP2 version. Updates, due to restrictions on access to the Internet or poor work of the system administrator, were not installed.

So, if you have Windows XP and the computer does not see the flash drive:

• If SP2 is installed, upgrade to SP3 (when performing the upgrade, if you have Internet Explorer 8 installed, uninstall it).
• Install all Windows XP updates, regardless of which Service Pack you are using.

Here are some of the fixes for working with USB flash drives that were released in Windows XP updates:

• KB925196 - fixed bugs when the computer does not detect the connected flash drive or iPod.
• KB968132 - fixed bugs when connecting multiple USB devices in Windows XP they stopped functioning normally
• KB817900 - USB port stopped working after removing and reinserting a flash drive
• KB895962 - USB flash drive stops working when printer is turned off
• KB314634 - The computer sees only old flash drives that were connected before and does not see new ones
• KB88740 - Rundll32.exe error when inserting or removing flash drive
• KB871233 - The computer does not see the flash drive if it was just in sleep or hibernation mode
• KB312370 (2007) - USB 2.0 support on Windows XP

By the way, despite the fact that Windows Vista is almost never used anywhere, it should be noted that installing all updates should also be the first step if a similar problem occurs.

Completely uninstall old USB drivers

This option is suitable if the computer says "Insert disk" when you insert a USB flash drive. Older USB drivers available in Windows can cause this problem, as well as errors associated with assigning a letter to a flash drive. In addition, this may also be the reason that the computer restarts or freezes when you insert a USB flash drive into a USB port.

The fact is that, by default, Windows installs drivers for USB drives at the moment when you first connect them to the appropriate port on your computer. At the same time, when the flash drive is disconnected from the port, the driver does not go anywhere and remains in the system. When you connect a new flash drive, conflicts may arise because Windows will try to use a previously installed driver that corresponds to this USB port, but to a different USB drive. I will not go into details, but will simply describe the steps required to remove these drivers (you will not see them in the Windows Device Manager).

How to uninstall drivers for all USB devices

1. Turn off the computer and disconnect all USB storage (and not only) devices (flash drives, external hard drives, card readers, webcams, etc. You can leave the mouse and keyboard provided that they do not have a built-in card reader.
2. Turn on your computer again.
3. Download the DriveCleanup utility http://uwe-sieber.de/files/drivecleanup.zip (compatible with Windows XP, Windows 7 and Windows 8)
4. Copy the 32-bit or 64-bit version of drivecleanup.exe (depending on your version of Windows) to the C:\Windows\System32 folder.
5. Run command prompt as administrator and type drivecleanup.exe
6. You will see the process of removing all drivers and their entries in the Windows registry.

When the program is finished, restart your computer. Now, when you insert the flash drive, Windows will install new drivers for it.

Update 2016: An easier way to remove USB mount points is to use the freeware USBOblivion, as described above in the section about flash drives not working in Windows 10 (the program will work for other versions of Windows as well).

Reinstalling USB Devices in Windows Device Manager

If none of the above has helped so far, while the computer does not see any flash drives at all, and not just one specific one, you can try the following method:

1. Go to device manager by pressing Win+R keys and typing devmgmt.msc
2. Open the USB Controllers section in Device Manager
3. Remove (via right click) all devices named USB Root Hub, USB Host Controller or Generic USB Hub.
4. In Device Manager, select Actions - Update Hardware Configuration from the menu.

After re-installing the USB devices, check if the USB drives are working on your computer or laptop.

Additional actions

• Check your computer for viruses - they can cause inappropriate behavior of USB devices
• Check the Windows registry, namely the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\ Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Policies\ Explorer. If you see an option in this section called NoDrives, remove it and restart your computer.
• Go to the Windows registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control. If the StorageDevicePolicies parameter is present, remove it.
• In some cases, a complete blackout of the computer helps. You can do this this way: turn off the flash drives, turn off the computer or laptop, unplug it from the outlet (or remove the battery if it is a laptop), and then, with the computer turned off, press and hold the power button for a few seconds. After that, release it, reconnect the power supply and turn it on. Oddly enough, this can sometimes help.

Recovering data from a flash drive that the computer does not see

If the computer displays a USB flash drive in Windows Disk Management, but in the state “Not recognized”, “Not initialized”, and the partition on the flash drive is “Not allocated”, then most likely the data on the flash drive is damaged and you will need to use data recovery.

There are a few things to keep in mind that increase the likelihood of successful data recovery:

• Do not write anything to the flash drive you want to recover
• Do not try to save recovered files to the same media from which they are recovered

If all else fails, and your computer still does not see the flash drive, and the files and data stored on it are very important, then the last recommendation would be to contact a company that is professionally engaged in file and data recovery.

USB flash drive is a compact and convenient device for storing files. Like any equipment, it is prone to failures and breakdowns - both hardware and software. If the computer does not see the flash drive, you can usually deal with the problem yourself. We list the possible reasons why the USB drive is not displayed or not readable, and the ways to solve them as soon as possible.

When a flash drive is not detected, it is convenient to carry out primary diagnostics with a utility from Microsoft. It will not solve all possible problems, but it can eliminate common errors.

Download from the official site and run if your drive is not recognized. The utility is suitable for Windows 7 - 10.

USB ports

If the utility does not find out why the computer does not see the inserted USB flash drive, proceed to self-test. Start with the USB ports - they may be faulty or not enabled. If you inserted the drive into the port on the front of the system unit, move it back or try the adjacent slot. Along the way, check the contacts of the USB connector of the flash drive - if small debris gets on them, the device is not readable on the computer. Clean the dust with a toothpick, wipe the contacts with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol.

If the laptop does not see the USB flash drive, the reason may be the insufficient power of the power supply. When too much equipment is connected via USB to a PC - a mouse, a keyboard, a removable hard drive, a smartphone on recharging - there is not enough power for everything, and the system does not recognize the next device. In this case, just unplug the extra devices and re-insert the drive.

If the computer does not recognize the flash drive and other USB devices in any of the ports, USB is disabled in the BIOS settings. To access to change them, restart the PC, at the beginning of the boot, press the keys to enter the BIOS.

The desired combination will be written on the screen, usually F2. In the BIOS, go to the "Advanced" tab, click on "USB Configuration". In the "USB Controller" item, set the value to "Enables". Press F10 to save settings and exit.

Viruses

When a flash drive is detected, but not readable, it is worth checking it for viruses. If you recently inserted the drive into someone else's computer or laptop, it could host a virus. Then the system will connect your USB device, and when you try to copy files, it will give an error "Application not found" or "Access denied".

In order for the antivirus to gain full access to the drive, check if it has an autorun file replaced by a virus. To do this, open the flash drive in "Explorer", the option to show "Hidden Items" must be enabled so that all items are visible.

The option is enabled on the top panel of the "Explorer" or in the folder options. If you find a virus autorun.inf file, delete it immediately, then run an antivirus scan.

Drivers

If your computer has stopped seeing the USB flash drive, and in other PCs it is perfectly detected, deal with the drivers. Open the "Device Manager" through the properties of the "My Computer" shortcut. In the list of USB controllers, find the flash drive - if there is a yellow triangle with an exclamation mark next to it, right-click on the name and select "Remove device". Remove the drive from the computer connector and insert, the drivers will be installed again.

If that couldn't, download and install new USB drivers from the computer or laptop motherboard manufacturer's website. If you do not see a USB device in the manager, remove it and insert it again, while the list will disappear and the desired line will appear.

Sometimes a driver conflict occurs - when the system tries to use a driver for another similar storage device for your drive, so the computer does not see the flash drive in any way. What can be done in such a situation? You should remove information about previously connected USB devices from the OS. Programs and DriveCleanup compatible with Windows 7 - 10 can do this.

USBOblivion will clean up the registry and remove the USB mount points. After the end of its work, restart the computer and check if the system can recognize the flash drive.

Partition conflict

Sometimes the computer detects a flash drive, but incorrectly. When you do this, you hear the normal sound of turning on the USB drive, an alert pops up, and a tray icon appears, but you can't use the device. The computer does not recognize removable media because the OS assigned it the wrong partition letter already occupied by other hardware. There is an address conflict, and the flash drive does not work.

What to do in such a situation? If the computer does not see the flash drive, open the Disk Management utility. To quickly find it, hold down Win + R and type diskmgmt.msc. In the list of disks, pay attention to the "Status" parameter for the desired device. If there is “Healthy”, right-click on it, in the menu, click on “Make Partition Active” - if the item is available.

To set the partition to the correct symbol, select "Change Drive Letter...". In the new window, allow access to the device and click "Edit". From the list of letters of the English alphabet, specify any to assign to the section. Just make sure which letters are already used for naming devices and don't use the first A, B, C, D, by default they are for floppy disks and hard disk partitions.

If the "Status" field is "Unknown", then the flash drive has stopped working due to damage. Try to recover data to save it.

Formatting

When you turn on a new removable drive in your PC, the system will prompt you to format it. The volume of the device is displayed as 0 MB, as if Windows 10 or 7 does not see the flash drive.

The formatting procedure is useful in case of a file system conflict. If the computer is using FAT32 and the USB device is using NTFS, it will be difficult to read the files. If the drive already contains data, find a PC with a similar file system and copy all the information to it.

On your computer, open File Explorer. Right-click on the flash drive, in the menu go to "Format". In a new window, install the desired file system, check the “Quick” checkbox below - this will not only speed up the process, but will also help you recover data later if you could not copy it. After formatting, reconnect and check the device.

Features of Windows XP

If Windows XP is installed on the PC, sometimes the flash drive is not recognized due to lack of updates. SP2 lacks components for USB devices to work properly, so please upgrade to SP3 and install the latest patches from Microsoft.

Open the properties of the "My Computer" icon, if you see Service Pack 2 in the OS information, allow automatic updates. Run Windows Update, wait for the installation of new system components.

Conclusion

We figured out what to do if your computer or laptop does not see the flash drive. There can be several reasons for the problem, check the most common ones from our list in order to eliminate them and use the drive.

Microsoft's Windows operating systems often fail to recognize USB devices, and there can be many reasons for this.
How this manifests itself and whether there is a way out of the situation is the topic of our article. We will dwell on the reasons in more detail and try to consider each case separately. If your laptop or personal computer does not see the USB flash drive, this manifests itself as follows:

• You have connected a flash drive, but the computer displays the message "insert USB device".
• The flash drive is connected, as evidenced by the icon and sound, but it is not in the file manager.
• A warning about formatting the USB device appears.
• A data error warning appears.

Before trying various ways to fix the flash drive invisibility problem, make sure that the drive is not physically damaged, and also use one of the special applications that diagnose and fix USB device errors. For example, special utilities developed by Kingston, Sandisk corporations.

Check if the computer sees the connected USB flash drive in Disk Management

To run a special utility that manages USB devices, do the following:

After opening the "Disk Management" tab, turn on and off the flash drive several times. If a connected USB device appears, the computer will notify that each of its sections (there is only one in the flash drive) is working. In this situation, it is easiest to fix the error in which the PC does not see the USB flash drive. Right-click on a section, making this section active. You can also assign the letter E or D to the flash drive. After that, you will see that the computer saw the USB device.

And if, after reconnecting the device, the status of the partition is displayed in "Disk Management" as "Not allocated", then it either does not exist, or it works with errors. Right click and create partition. But this can only be used if the menu contains the item "Create a simple volume". If you create a partition, the flash drive will be formatted, however, with the loss of all data stored on it.

If you find the label "uninitialized" USB device in the utility, then it is damaged. You can try to restore the memory of the drive. How to do this, we will tell later. If you have previously created such partitions on a USB device that are not supported by the Microsoft operating system, then you need to delete them. How to do this, will tell step by step instructions.

Further simple steps

Using the OS Device Manager, you can view all installed USB devices and check if they work correctly. See how your USB flash drive is displayed in the manager. The flash drive connected to the computer may be unknown, referred to by its own name, or a USB mass storage device.

This flash drive must be removed. Then "update USB storage configuration".

Very often, after these steps, an updated USB device is displayed in the OS file manager.

There are also other situations that lead to an error in which the computer does not see the flash drive. Are you connecting your USB device with an extension cable or a USB hub? Then try directly connecting the device in turn to each of the USB ports. Perhaps one of the ports is not working, but you do not know about it.

Use another option. Turn off the computer and remove everything that was connected to it (printers, cameras, external media, card readers and other devices connected via USB), leaving only the bare minimum and the drive. After that turn on the computer. If the PC saw the connected storage device, you have found the problem. It lies in the fact that little power is supplied to the USB ports of the computer. In this case, replacing the power supply or buying a USB hub will help you.

Windows 10 does not see the flash drive after updating or installing (also suitable for Windows 7, 8)

If you have updated your operating system, it is highly likely that you will encounter such a problem. In this case, the problem lies either in the absence of the latest version of USB drivers, or in the fact that the registry entries for USB devices are outdated.

If this is the second option, you can use the USBOblivion program. It can be downloaded for free by the author and remove all obsolete entries. Be careful! Before deleting, it is better to create a restore point, so that in case of incorrect operation of USBOblivion, you can undo the erroneous actions by returning to the previous parameters.

Before starting the utility, disconnect all flash drives connected to the USB ports. Only after that, run it and clean the registry, after saving the old entries to a file.

After cleaning the registry, reboot and reconnect the drive. If the computer does not see it again, follow all the steps we wrote about above step by step: delete it, update the configuration and reconnect it.

If you have an operating system version 10, then the error may occur when the drivers are incompatible. If so, there will be a mark next to the driver - an exclamation point. In this case, download updated versions on the official developer pages. Do not use third-party sites to find drivers, especially if you need to update them for a mobile computer. In some cases, it is recommended to update the "Basic Input/Output System" (BIOS) as well.

If the flash drive does not see Windows XP

Owners of Windows XP, especially SP2 builds, often encounter a problem in which the computer does not see flash media. This problem is due to the lack of updates in the operating system that would allow working with USB-devices.

If you have this operating system and are experiencing a problem, follow these steps:

1. Update the build to SP3 and remove the IE browser.
2. Update your operating system even if you have a new build.
3. If the problem occurs on Win Vista, also update the software first.

Windows XP of the new build came out with updates that allowed USB drives to work correctly. The following errors have been fixed by Microsoft in the new version of Windows XP:

• KB967132 - In the previous version, it was not possible to connect multiple flash drives or other devices. When interacting with each other, they caused crashes, freezes and critical reboots of the system.
• KB898962 - when the printer is turned off, the flash media also stops working correctly.
• KB315634 - Unable to connect new USB flash drives, although old ones used before work without problems.
• KB924196 - This error indicated that the personal/mobile computer did not see the connected flash drive or portable media player.
• KB88840 - When connecting / disconnecting a USB device, a computer or laptop issues a warning about a common Rundll32.exe error.
• KB362370 - USB version 2 is now supported in the new build of Windows XP.
• KB881233 - Flash drive does not appear in Device Manager after waking the computer from sleep. Similar to the previous case, the problem occurs after the computer comes out of hibernation.
• KB857900 - After turning flash devices on/off again, the port did not work correctly.

Completely uninstall old USB drivers

You connect a flash drive, but the computer does not see it and issues a warning about its absence. The problem may be that your old drivers do not work correctly and, therefore, the USB device cannot be assigned a letter. Also, old drivers can also cause problems with rebooting, freezing, or incorrect operation of the computer when a flash device is connected.

The Microsoft operating system driver is installed by default, immediately after you connect an external drive for the first time. Then this installed driver remains in the OS. But when you connect another device, the driver may not be suitable, causing crashes and other problems. In a word, to solve all kinds of problems associated with the incorrect operation of drivers, they must be removed and reinstalled with new ones.

How to uninstall drivers for all USB devices

Step one After turning off the computer, remove everything: printers, cameras, external media, card readers, and other devices connected via USB.

Step two Boot the operating system.

Step Three Download the free DriveCleanup program from the author's official page, which is compatible with all versions of Windows.

Step Four The drivecleanup.exe file must be copied to

C:\Windows\System32\
Step Five At the command prompt, type drivecleanup.exe.

Step Six The program will clean up all drivers and entries.

After the computer restarts, insert the flash drive and wait while the utility installs the updated drivers.

Reinstalling USB Devices in Windows Device Manager

If you have tried all of the above methods and none of them worked, follow these four steps:

1. In Device Manager, enter devmgmt.msc.
2. From Device Manager, open the USB Controllers tab.
3. Delete everything where the names will be USB hub, Hub, Host Controller.
4. Update the USB device configuration from the manager.

After completing all four of these steps, reconnect your flash drive. Perhaps the problem will be solved, and your personal or mobile computer will already see all external devices.

Additional actions

It is also useful to perform the following four steps in sequence:

1. A possible reason that a computer or laptop does not see flash media is the presence of viruses. Download if you don't have it installed and check all disks.
2. A possible cause may also be an incorrect entry in the registry. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\ Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Policies\ Explorer. NoDrives must be uninstalled and then restarted PC or laptop.
3. in registry entries HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control you also need to remove the StorageDevicePolicies.
4. If all else fails, power off your computer completely. Unplug the cord from the outlet, after turning off the PC, or the battery from the laptop, and hold the power button for a while. After that, you can turn on the computer and try the flash drive.

Recovering data from a flash drive that the computer does not see

If the computer sees your flash drive, but it is listed as "uninitialized" with an "unallocated" partition, then the device's memory is corrupted. Do not despair prematurely: in some cases, all information stored on a removable drive can be restored.

When using flash drives, remember two simple things that, in case of unforeseen situations, will help you recover everything that was stored on them:

First, if you want to restore a flash drive, do not copy additional information to it.

SecondIf you are restoring the device's memory, save the information from it to another flash drive.

We recommend that you use the best utility - . The program is free, effective, has a Russian-language user-friendly interface and two versions - installation and portable - therefore it is very popular among different categories of users. With this software, you can recover absolutely all information from all media, not just flash drives.

The utility works both in manual and automatic mode, and even beginners who have never dealt with such software can use it. Recuva itself will offer the best way to recover all information from a damaged flash drive, you just have to agree by clicking the confirm button.

If, after all the manipulations, you still cannot connect the USB device to a computer or laptop, the recovery program cannot be used, and the information stored in its memory is very important, we recommend professional help from specialists dealing with these problems. They will restore both files and all content stored on a damaged device.

Usually, the suspects in this case are software failures, incorrect operating system settings, outdated drivers, malfunctions of the computer's USB ports, adapters, or the drives themselves.

Depending on the causes in each case, the problem manifests itself in different ways. It happens that the computer does not react at all to a USB flash drive or hard drive. In other situations, the sound of connecting a new device is heard, but the drive icon does not appear in the explorer. And sometimes the computer just freezes immediately after contact with the USB device.

What to do if a Windows computer does not see a USB flash drive or external hard drive

First, figure out what exactly the problem is: with a computer, an adapter (if the connection is via a cable), or a drive. Try connecting the USB device through other ports. If that doesn't help and you're using a cable, try replacing it with a spare one. If unsuccessful, check if the drive can be opened on other computers.

If the device works on another PC or you do not have the opportunity to check it

Connect your hard drive or flash drive to your computer and follow these steps in order. If the first fails, move on to the next, and so on.

If another PC also does not see the drive or all of the above tips did not help

In this case, most likely, the problem is in the drive itself.

If you have a flash drive and not a hard drive, you can use special utilities to fix software errors. Such software can usually be found on the manufacturer's website. For example, the JetFlash Online Recovery program is for Transcend drives. And USB Flash Drive Online Recovery is for flash drives of the ADATA brand. But keep in mind that during the recovery process, these utilities erase all data from flash drives.

If none of the above helped, then the problem is probably a physical malfunction of the hard drive or flash drive. Then it is better to show the device to a specialist or return it to the store under warranty.

What to do if Mac does not see a flash drive or external hard drive

On Apple computers, the verification procedure is somewhat different, but follows approximately the same algorithm. We will assume that you have already tried restarting the computer, disconnecting and connecting the USB flash drive, and also made sure that the connection is reliable. If this does not help, you need to do the following:

Open the built-in disk tool ("Programs" → "Utilities" → "Disk Utility") and check if the problematic flash drive is displayed there. If the drive is still visible, try it by clicking the "Erase" button and reconnect it. Keep in mind that all data from the flash drive will be permanently deleted.

A dedicated Mac diagnostic program provides detailed information about all software and hardware components of your computer, including USB devices. Open the Apple menu, then, while holding down the Option key, click "System Information" and go to the USB section in the menu that opens.

If there is a flash drive there, then the problem lies in the software and you can try to restore the disk by referring to the manufacturer's recommendations. If there is no information about the flash drive, then the matter is a physical malfunction, and you should contact the store or service center if the repair makes sense.