Computer. Let's consider each breakdown in detail.
Reason 1: inactive slots and lack of power
If the computer is under warranty, feel free to complain to the seller about the poor-quality assembly. Alternatively, use the rear ports.
The second caveat is insufficient power supply to the connectors, which is why the flash drive "blinks", ie. is arbitrarily recognized / disappears.
Most likely, the assemblers are to blame, who cheated when connecting them to the motherboard, not completely sinking the cable into the corresponding groove.
In this case, again you need to visit the service center or the seller. But if you have experience with building a PC, try doing it yourself.
If after all the manipulations absolutely nothing happens, the problem lies elsewhere.
Reason 2: drivers
Each flash drive initially stores a driver in memory, which is automatically installed when the device is connected.
But Windows can periodically crash, which is why the average user suffers. To correct the situation, the following set of manipulations will be required.
First, right-click on "My Computer" and go to "properties".
A list of several tabs will be displayed, among which you need to select "Hardware" and go to "Device Manager".
Scroll through the list until we find USB controllers.
We open the list by clicking on "+" and we see a complete list of devices that are connected or once connected through the required connector.
One of the components will change its name. This is our culprit who must be eliminated.
To do this, right-click on it by selecting "Delete". Confirm your intentions and then re-insert the USB stick. The driver will pick up automatically.
In the vast majority of cases, this helps.
Reason 3: viruses and trojans
Although the system requires you to check devices for spyware, few people do it, for which they pay the price of a system malfunction.
Everything is very simple: the virus replaces the "native" autorun driver with a modified one, which is fraught with the appearance of the inscription "Access denied."
Therefore, if the flash drive does not load , do the following.
Open "My Computer" and write the letter of the device in the address bar (everything is as in the screenshot, preserving the characters). The letter code of your drive may differ.
So you got inside. But now you need to make hidden files visible in order to get to autorun.
To do this, select "Service", and from the drop-down list - "Folder options".
We are interested in the "View" tab. Scroll down the slider until we find the "Hide system files ..." setting.
We uncheck the box from this item, along the way switching the system to the ability to show hidden files.
The main work has been done. All you have to do is find an infected file named autorun.inf and mercilessly delete it.
Have you checked? Excellent. Reinsert the long-suffering device and continue working.
Reason 4: section conflict
Other incidents also happen. For example, let's say you inserted a drive into your computer. The system recognized him and issued the corresponding "tyn-dyn".
A characteristic icon appeared on the taskbar at the bottom, but Windows for some reason refuses to assign a letter to the partition. How to deal with this?
First, click "Start" and go to "Control Panel".
On the left side of the window, for ease of use, select "Switch to Category View".
Although if it is already on, no manipulation is necessary. We need to get to the "Administration".
Important: all manipulations need to be done only on behalf of the administrator. Otherwise, the system will not accept the changes.
Select "Computer Management" by double-clicking and moving on.
Before us is the “reverse side” of the system with different settings. In any case, do not engage in gag if you do not understand this. Follow only our advice.
So, on the left, there are three main categories, of which we need the second, namely "Storage Devices".
A list of all logical drives that are in the system will appear on the right. Including our nameless flash drive.
We fix this jamb by pressing the right button on the drive. Select the item "Change letter ...".
A small window will pop up, kindly offering to change the letter. Click on "Change".
A menu will appear with only one active element, which we need. Please note that not all letters are applicable to a USB flash drive, because:
1) A - floppy disc;
2) B - similarly;
3) С - system partition of the hard disk;
4) D - logical partition.
Let it be, for example, "G", on which we will stop. We save the changes and enjoy the result.
Usually, the suspects in this case are software malfunctions, incorrect operating system settings, outdated drivers, malfunctions of computer USB ports, adapters or drives themselves.
Depending on the reasons, the problem manifests itself in each case in a different way. 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 right 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 connected via a cable) or a drive. Try connecting your USB device through different ports. If it does not help and you are using the cable, try replacing it with a spare one. If unsuccessful, check if the drive opens on other computers.
If the device works on another PC or you have no way to check it
Connect a hard drive or USB flash drive to your computer and follow these steps in order. If the first does not help, move on to the next and so on.
If the other PC does not see the drive either or all of the above tips did not help
In this case, the problem is most likely in the drive itself.
If you have a flash drive, 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, JetFlash Online Recovery is for Transcend drives. And USB Flash Drive Online Recovery is for ADATA flash drives. But keep in mind that during the recovery process, these utilities erase all data from the flash drives.
If none of the above helped, then it 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 USB flash drive or external hard drive
On Apple computers, the verification procedure is somewhat different, but it follows approximately the same algorithm. We will assume that you have already tried restarting your computer, disconnecting and connecting a 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 tool for working with disks ("Programs" → "Utilities" → "Disk Utility") and check if the problematic flash drive is displayed there. If the drive is still visible, try it by pressing the "Erase" button and reconnect. Keep in mind that all data from the flash drive will be permanently deleted.
Dedicated Mac Diagnostic Tool provides detailed information about all software and hardware components of your computer, including USB devices. Open the Apple menu, then hold down the Option key and click System Information and navigate to the USB section in the menu that appears.
If the flash drive is 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 in a physical malfunction, and you should contact a store or service center if the repair makes sense.
Every user of a computer and a flash drive at least once got into a situation when a flash drive failed. That is, it is impossible to view the information that is stored on it. The flash drive does not work, the computer does not see the flash drive, the files are either not written, or they are not discarded from the flash drive, or it shows a discrepancy in the volume of the storage device.
But first things first.
The computer does not see the USB flash drive
In fact, there are a lot of problems that affect the definition of a USB flash drive by a computer - even the version of the operating system itself.
And so, you inserted a USB flash drive into the computer, it is not detected. How does it manifest?
The computer tells you what you need " insert disc". Even when you did it.
The computer says that the disk needs to be formatted because it is not formatted;
A data error has occurred;
The computer freezes when a USB flash drive is inserted;
The device is not recognized.
Now you will read a short instruction on how to solve the problem when the computer does not see the USB flash drive. But this does not mean that this instruction will help you 100%. If one method does not help, move on to another until the problem disappears.
Go!
The first thing to do is to check if the utility sees " disk management»Your USB stick. To do this, run this very utility:
Push Start → Execute (Win + R)→ enter → diskmgmt.msc→ click Enter... OR
Control panel → Administration → Computer management → Disk management.
In the disk management window, pay attention to what happens when you connect and disconnect a flash drive to the computer - does the disk disappear and reappear, or not?
The best option is when the computer sees a USB flash drive, and all partitions on it are in the state " Good". If so, then do the following: right-click on it and select the item “ make the section active". It may be necessary to assign a letter to the section.
Well, in principle, this will be enough for the computer to see the USB flash drive.
Well, and if suddenly this utility displays the message “ Unknown" or " Not initialized", As well as one section in the state" Not allocated", This will mean that the flash drive is damaged. Therefore, the computer does not see the USB flash drive. You need to perform data recovery (more on that later).
If you are connecting your flash drive through an extension cable or USB hub, then try connecting it directly. Also try plugging into all available USB ports. Further, as an option, you can turn off and restart the computer, disconnect other devices from the computer (well, except for the keyboard and mouse, of course), and then restart the computer. In this case, if the flash drive is detected and works, then the problem is obviously in the power supply on the USB ports, there is simply not enough power. There is only one advice - replace the power supply with a more powerful one.
Option to remove old drivers
Use this option in the case when the computer does not see the USB flash drive and writes “ Insert disc", Provided that the USB stick is already inserted. This problem and not only can be caused by old drivers that are available in Windows. For example, when you connect a USB flash drive to your computer, your PC shuts down or reboots.
The reason is that Windows installs drivers for flash drives the first time you connect them to the port, and when you disconnect the flash drive, the drivers remain in the system and do not disappear anywhere. Then you connect a new flash drive, there is a conflict that is caused by the reaction of Windows when you try to use the old driver that was installed when you connected the first flash drive.
How do I uninstall old drivers?
First, turn off the computer. Disconnect all memory devices and peripherals, accessories from it.
Turn on your computer.
Download the utility DriveCleanup.
We copy, depending on your version of Windows, 32-bit or 64-bit version drivecleanup.exe to daddy C: \\ Windows \\ System32.
Run the command line as administrator (right-click on the menu " Start") And enter drivecleanup.exe . Push Enter and watch how the computer removes all drivers and records.
After the uninstallation is complete, just restart your computer, insert a new USB flash drive and Windows will install new drivers on it.
USB device not recognized
When you connect a USB flash drive, printer or any other device that connects via USB in Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, and you see an error, an unrecognized device - read this manual and we will try to figure it out.
There are actually many reasons why Windows cannot recognize the USB device, respectively, there are also many solutions.
The device is not recognized. What to do?
If you encounter a problem when you inserted a USB flash drive and a message appears that you have connected an unidentified device, when you connect any device via USB, make sure that the USB itself is in good working order. This will save our time with you. To make sure that the USB plug is working, you can try connecting it to another computer or laptop. If everything also does not work, then the problem is in the device itself. If it works, read on.
This method is for those cases when the device previously worked without remarks. Everything was determined.
We disconnect our USB device, which cannot be recognized by the computer, disconnect all devices that we do not need at the moment, and connect the device that is not detected to the back of the system unit and see if the problem is solved.
Correction of the message “ Device not recognized" through USB Device Manager and Driver.
Go to device Manager (press the keys Win + R) enter devmgmt.msc what field we press Enter.
The connected device will most likely be listed USB controllers or Other devices(and be called " Unknown device»).
If it is listed with other devices, and you are connected to the Internet, you can right-click on it and press the button update driver.
If the unidentified device is still on the list USB controllers, then right-click on it, and on the Driver tab, click the button roll back or Delete.
Another option, in the USB properties in the " Power management"Uncheck the box" Allow this device to be turned off to save power».
You can also try for all devices that are in the " USB controllers»Do the following:
Click " Update driver».
Press search for drivers on this computer.
Select a driver from the list of already installed drivers.
In the list, you can see that there is a driver that is compatible with the device. Select it and click " Further". The driver will be installed, after which the computer may recognize the device.
In Windows 8.1, this problem occurs with external hard drives and flash drives that work from a USB 3.0 port.
This problem is solved in the menu for managing the parameters of the laptop power schemes.
To do this, go to the Windows control panel in the power supply section, select the power supply scheme used and click "Change advanced power settings". In the USB settings, you need to disable temporary disabling of USB ports.
Over the past few years, flash storage media have become very popular and are used by us, literally, every day, due to their advantages over disk media. It is hardly possible to overestimate its usefulness of a flash drive, because you can quickly write information or count on it, it does not take up much space in a portfolio or bag, and the price segment is pleasantly pleasing.
Despite all the positive points, sometimes there are situations when the data cannot be read due to the flash drive itself or the computer. Indeed, at the most important moment, you can lose access to the stored files, and in order to quickly return everything to normal, you need to have certain knowledge. In this article, we will analyze all possible problem situations and find ways to solve why the computer does not see the USB flash drive.
The most common problems why the computer does not see the USB flash drive:
The flash drive itself does not work
This is the worst scenario for a person whose documents are stored on a USB flash drive, because it is practically impossible to bring it back to life. It is possible to disable a USB flash drive by mechanical impact on the device chip or its controller, by closing the electrical circuit, or by damaging the contacts on the USB board. This is what a USB flash drive looks like after the electrical circuit is closed or moisture gets inside the drive.
Determining if this happened to your drive is easy enough. The very first thing you need to do is check the USB flash drive for mechanical damage, chips, cracks, etc. If it is completely broken, you can look for a replacement at a computer peripheral store. If you doubt its inoperability, you can check it with a practical method.
Connect the USB flash drive to the USB connector of the computer, if the LED on it lights up and on the computer you hear a sound that is typical for connecting a new device, then everything is in order, it makes sense to look for the problem further. If this does not happen, most likely the flash drive is no longer usable.
You can try to take the flash drive to the service center, where the wizard will try to rewire the contacts or replace the controller, but it will be very expensive, and this action will be justified only if you have important documents on it. If no fatal malfunction was found and the flash drive shows signs of life, try the methods to restore its performance, which will be described below.
The USB port on the front of the computer is de-energized
This problem is very common among desktop users. Most computer owners are accustomed to plugging a USB stick into the front USB ports because it's quick and easy.
But there is a situation when, during the assembly of the PC, for some reason, the front panel is not connected to the power system, usually this happens due to the forgetfulness of the computer wizard. Accordingly, your flash drive will not be displayed, despite its complete serviceability.
This problem can be solved in two ways. If you urgently need to use the information on removable media, you can connect it to the back of your computer. The front connectors will still be inoperative, but you will get access to the documents. It is impossible to call such manipulations a full-fledged solution, so we will consider the second option.
Method # 2 involves connecting the power cable on the motherboard to the front of the computer. The connection connectors may differ depending on the model of the computer case. But do not be afraid they all have markings and you will not be able to connect the wrong connector due to design features. The most common wires are VCC, D-, D + and GND. Moreover, the color coding of the cable and the connector on the motherboard is the same, but it is better to keep the reference by the inscriptions.
The first step is to gain access to the motherboard, to do this, unscrew the mounting bolts on the case and remove the cover. Find the cable that leads to the bezel and locate the same connector on the motherboard. In the image below you can see how the connector should look like.
It is not recommended to make the connection yourself, it is better to call the wizard. If you connect the cable and connector incorrectly, you can burn these contacts and even devices. If you decide to connect the front USB connectors, then it is better to tell us the model of your case and motherboard, and we will show you how to do it correctly and explain what the connector and cable look like.
Faulty or disconnected USB port on the computer
Sometimes the problem of unreadable information on removable media is associated not with the problem of the flash drive itself, but with the connector into which it is connected. A certain USB port may be inoperative, and this condition can be caused by trivial damage to the connector pins. Then, not only the flash drive, but also other USB devices will not work in this port.
This problem can be solved by armed with an ordinary soldering iron and minimal knowledge of circuitry. If there is no such knowledge, skill and equipment, then this can be fixed at the nearest service center for a low fee.
However, if no reaction to the connection of a USB device is observed on all connectors, then the problem may lie deeper. Ports can be disabled in BIOS settings.
In order to connect ports in the BIOS menu, you need to get there initially. To enter the BIOS in the first seconds of booting the computer, you need to press the corresponding key on the keyboard, which is responsible for calling the menu. Most often, the default is the F2 or Del key, but depending on the motherboard firm and the BIOS version, it may be different. It is indicated in the first image that pops up when loading.
After you have entered the BIOS itself, we need to go along the following route: “”.
Find the line “USB Controller” so that you are allowed to use the ports, opposite should be the value “Enabled”.
After you have enabled the USB ports on your computer, press the F10 key. This will save the settings you made and exit the BIOS.
The USB connector of the flash drive is dirty
A flash drive is a mobile storage device and therefore is often carried in pockets, briefcases or as a key ring. Due to such operating conditions, dust and small debris can accumulate in the connector. This does not happen often, but it can cause the flash drive to malfunction. Dust and debris build up on the contact and prevent connections from the contacts in the port on the computer. Such a flash drive may not only not be displayed at all, but also freeze, slowly transmit or read information and not be detected the first time.
To clean the USB connector of a flash drive, arm yourself with a match and a cotton swab. Using a match, remove all debris from the connector, and then moisten a cotton swab with alcohol and wipe the contacts of the flash drive. This will help remove debris and oxidation.
Infection with viruses
In our time, the issue of the security of the storage device is becoming more and more urgent, because viruses are in full swing. You can visit your familiar social networking site on the Internet and get infected, not to mention downloading files from unverified sources.
Modern computer viruses can also multiply, no matter how strange it sounds. They infect files on your USB flash drive or computer hard drive, and their number grows exponentially.
Very often, the problem of the inoperability of a flash drive is a virus infection. The drive is detected by the system, you can hear the characteristic sound of connecting the device to the system, but when you try to read information, you will see the message "" or " Application not found».
Before solving this problem, it is worth installing antivirus software on your computer and conducting a complete diagnosis of the files. To access the data on the drive, we need to delete the file with the virus and scan it. To do this, go to the "Start" menu and enter the following phrase "" in the search line.
Click on the found element with the left mouse button. You will see a window with the name "Folder Options" open, here you need to do the following:
- Uncheck the " Hide protected system files»
- Check the box ""
After that, be sure to press the "Apply" button and only after that "OK", otherwise the changes will not take effect. It should look like this.
After that, go to "My Computer" and go to the folder of the drive itself. There you will see the "Autorun" file, you need to delete it, and check the USB flash drive for viruses with one of the free antiviruses, the Dr.WEB Cure It utility can handle this perfectly.
Now you can fully use the USB flash drive and no problems should arise. If nothing has changed, then the problem lies in the absence of drivers, we will analyze it below.
Driver failure or outdated drivers
A very common problem is when the computer does not want to display a USB flash drive due to outdated drivers or their system failure. Failure can occur due to a power surge or an unexpected shutdown of the operating system. Or, older computer models may not work with drives of 32 GB or more. One thing can be said, the problem is solved only by updating the drivers.
The first step is to go to "". This can be done in several ways, for example, through "My Computer" or find this section in the system search, as we will do.
We go into this menu, after which we connect the flash drive to the computer, after which we open the "USB Controllers" sub-tab. Select the line “ Memory device", By clicking the right mouse button opens the system menu and press" Delete ".
Such manipulations allow you to remove the driver installed on the system for your storage device. As soon as you remove it, feel free to remove the USB flash drive from the computer and reconnect it. Then the driver will be reinstalled on the flash drive and the problem will be solved.
If the problem persists, it may be necessary to update the driver of all USB chipsets, this is quite easy to do. You can use a special disk that came with the motherboard, it contains all the necessary drivers. If you do not have it, download the DriverPack program, it will automatically select all drivers for which there is an update and will carry out this procedure after your agreement.
Moreover, most users have doubts about the correctness of their actions when they learn about different USB formats. Don't be scared!
Drivers for USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 are installed according to the same principle. And the only difference between the ports is the maximum read and write speed.
Filesystem errors
The computer may also not recognize your flash device due to file system errors. Let's check if this is so, go to "", as described above. Now you need to open the sub-tab “ Disk devices", If you see your USB flash drive there, it means that it is working properly, and the file system does not perceive it as it should, and, accordingly, does not display it in the explorer. In my case, the flash drive was displayed, which means it is working.
To fix this problem, you must format your flash drive, but this action has several nuances, so we will consider this process in the next paragraph of the article.
If you do not see your drive there, then the problem lies in the malfunction of the flash drive itself, which means that either the controller has burned out, or the contact is unsoldered. Experts in service centers can try to bring it back to life. However, this is an expensive task, it is easier to buy a new one, of course, if important information was not recorded on the faulty one and you need to restore the data on the USB flash drive.
File system conflict
Quite often, the contents of a flash drive are not displayed due to a conflict between file systems on the computer and the removable media itself. For example, if the computer operates on the NTFS file system and FAT32 is used on the flash drive, a conflict situation is possible. Moreover, this problem is common not only in Windows, but also in Mac OS. For example, if you format a USB flash drive on your Mac device to ExFAT or the standard MacBook file system, then the USB flash drive is unlikely to be read on Windows devices.
The very first thing to do is to find a computer that uses a different file system, open the USB flash drive and save the information that is important to you, because after formatting it will be lost.
To solve this problem, we need to carry out the process of formatting the flash drive. First you need to find out what file system is used on your computer. Go to "My Computer", right-click on the hard drive, open the submenu and select "Properties" in it.
In the window that opens, you will see information about the free and used amount of disk space, as well as find out which file system is used. In my case, the NTFS system is used.
After you know the file system of the computer, we need to format the flash drive to the same system. To do this, right-click on the flash drive and open the "Format" tab.
In the tab that opens, select the file system into which we will format, put a checkmark in front of the "Fast" attribute and click "Start".
A few words about why we are using the Fast attribute. First, the formatting of the flash drive will be much faster. But there is another side to the coin. If there were any documents on the flash drive, then only with a quick format can you recover this data using special utilities. If you have not checked the box, then the information that was on the flash drive will be lost for you forever.
The flash drive is not formatted
A fairly common problem is when you insert a USB flash drive into a computer (basically this is a new USB flash drive and its first use), and the operating system gives you a warning, which says that the removable drive needs to be formatted before use. And if the flash drive was used earlier and data is recorded on it, then you will not be able to access them. Moreover, the volume of the flash drive becomes 0, i.e. as if there is nothing at all, not even a drive.
If you have already used a USB flash drive and this is not its first connection, then try connecting it to another computer, perhaps the problem will go away and you can save the data. But in any case, the flash drive must be formatted. How to do this was discussed in detail in the section "Conflict of file systems".
But I want to draw your attention to two points. So that after formatting there are no problems with the file system (FS), find out which FS is used on the computer and install the same for the drive. And second, if the flash drive had the information you need, then be sure to use the "Fast" attribute, so the formatting of the flash drive will only go through the table of contents, and the lost information can be returned using special utilities.
A problem with a partition or a USB flash drive is automatically assigned a busy letter
There are situations when the operating system incorrectly detects your removable media. It seems that everything is fine, the device connection is highlighted and the flash drive icon appears in the tray, but you cannot use it for its intended purpose.
The problem may be that the system did not assign the partition a letter under which the removable drive will appear, or it assigned it, but this letter is already taken, and this results in an address conflict.
The solution to this problem will be the forced assignment of the partition letter that we choose, everything happens in manual mode. So let's get started.
First of all, you need to hold down the "Win + R" key combination, a window with the name "Run" will open in front of you.
In the line we need to enter a simple command diskmgmt.msc , which will transfer us to the section for managing disks and drives.
In the opened storage media manager, we need to define our USB device. This can be done simply, disconnect the USB flash drive and reconnect it, the partition that first disappears and then appears is what we need.
In my case, the flash drive is a drive named "20151114_17", you can also identify it by a special icon. Now you need to click on it with the right mouse button, and in the menu that opens, select the "Change letter" item.
Now another additional window, smaller, will open in front of us. In it you need to click on the "Change" and "OK" button.
Now another auxiliary window will open, where you must select any letter of the English alphabet, and after clicking on the "Ok" button, the letter will be assigned to the section.
It is worth paying attention to one important point! When choosing the letter assigned to the partition of your flash drive, look at which letters are already used by the system. This is very important, because we can not fix the problem, but leave it. This will happen if, for example, you designate the partition of a flash drive through the letter “D”, which is already assigned to the local disk.
Power supply malfunction or excessive overcurrent of the USB port
This problem is very common nowadays. The fact is that the computer may simply not see the USB flash drive due to a faulty power supply. Let's figure it out in order, the power supply consumes electrical energy from the network, and then converts and distributes it to all nodes of the computer. It has a power limit, for example, a 400W power supply will not be able to give you 600W. This means that the consumption of the entire system must be balanced.
Such a problem may appear if you have recently replaced some important node in the system, let it be a processor. Now it consumes much more energy, in comparison with the past, which means that it simply does not reach somewhere, and in this case this “somewhere” is the USB network of the computer. Accordingly, the power consumption parameter must be calculated in advance, and if such a situation has already occurred, you will have to replace the power supply unit with a more powerful one.
Moreover, the problem may lie in a malfunction of the power supply, it can produce much lower power potential than it was stated and than it did before. You will not be able to solve such a problem, since you risk the performance of the entire computer. The only solution would be to replace the power supply.
There is one more feature of this issue. Recently, USB devices for computers have become very common, for example, such devices are now powered: a mat for heating a cup, a table lamp, a wireless mouse, a removable hard drive, and in addition, a smartphone is also charging. And you still want to connect a USB flash drive, but bad luck, the computer sees it. The fact is that there was an overcurrent on the USB ports. Those. all your devices already consume the maximum amount of current and you will not be able to connect another one. Therefore, in order to use a USB flash drive, you need to disconnect several devices from the USB ports of the computer and then the problem will disappear.
If the computer does not see the USB flash drive in Windows XP
There are many reasons why a flash drive may not be detected in Windows XP. Moreover, the problem may lie both in the operating system itself, and in the malfunction of the flash, and even in the computer hardware.
If the problem is related to the operating system, then it can be eliminated only by making additional changes in the settings; it is best to do this in manual mode, despite the abundance of special utilities that can help in this matter.
However, if the drive itself is faulty, then the only thing that is left for you is to try to save the data written on it. And then purchase a new and more reliable device.
If your computer cannot identify the USB flash drive, then it notifies the user with the following signals:
- Your flash drive is inserted, and you are trying to access the data on it, the message "Insert disc" pops up.
- The system notifies about the mandatory formatting of the drive for further use.
- Errors about the impossibility of accessing the data pop up.
- The system may freeze as soon as you plug the USB flash drive into your computer's USB port.
In this section, we will consider all the most common reasons for the non-functionality of a flash drive in Windows XP and give practical recommendations for solving them. Carefully read the description of the problem, if it is not similar to yours or its solution did not help you, proceed to the next step until the problem goes away. The first thing to do is try to determine if the flash drive is working properly. This is indicated by a light indicator located on it. If you connected a drive and it blinks or is on, then the flash drive is working and the problem lies either in the system or in the hardware of the computer.
Try to change the port to which you connect the flash drive or even the computer, perhaps only the port or the entire system is faulty, and the flash drive will work properly on another PC. For example, if, when you connect a flash drive to a port, you observe a complete system freeze, this means that this port is faulty and it is better not to use it.
If you are using USB hubs or extension cords and the flash drive is not displayed, perhaps the problem lies in the device itself, and not the flash drive. If this turns out to be the case, you can take the hub to a service center or try to repair it yourself. To do this, you will need a soldering iron, solder and a little experience, because most often you just need to solder one or two contacts and everything will work as expected.
Perhaps the problem lies in the lack of electrical current in the USB port system. To check this, you need to disconnect all USB devices on the computer (camera, printer, lamp, etc.), leave only the keyboard and mouse. If after such manipulations the flash drive appears in the system and you can access it, then the problem lies in a weak power supply. This problem can be solved only by replacing the power supply with a more powerful one, but the use of a USB hub with its own power source will help to delay the purchase of a power supply.
However, if the problem has not been resolved after disconnecting all other devices, the problem with a lack of power supply and an outdated USB port may still be relevant. In other words, on older laptops, you won't be able to open a 36GB or larger flash drive. It won't solve the problem, you can only buy a more modern laptop or computer.
A very common situation is when a user plugs a USB flash drive into the front port of a PC, but the system does not see it. This means that either the ports are not connected to the power supply on the motherboard, or too little power is allocated to them. You can connect the front panel yourself, using the instructions located above in the section of the same name.
Doesn't see the USB flash drive due to Windows XP errors. Troubleshooting
The flash drive may also not be detected due to operating system errors. For example, Windows XP SP2 lacks updates and software packages to keep USB devices working properly. Moreover, a situation is possible when only a few USB devices can work in one port.
The solution to this issue will be to upgrade the system to SP3 and install the necessary updates. Even a new user can do this, since we only need a couple of clicks, and the system will automatically download, install and launch the update. So, let's get started, we can move in two ways - this is the official download from Windows Update or installing SP3 from a disk or flash drive. The first step is to check which package you already have installed.
Click on the "My Computer" icon with the right mouse button and select "Properties". The following window will open in front of you, where information about your system will be indicated.
To install SP3, we need to allow the operating system to search and update the computer system. To do this, just go from Control Panel to Windows Update.
As soon as you do this, the system will start searching for updates, after which it will offer you to update everything at once or select only the ones you need. If you do not understand what update, what changes, then it is better to let the system update completely.
After downloading all the updates, the operating system will require you to restart your computer in order to apply the new settings. Click "OK" and wait patiently. That's all, now you can connect a USB flash drive and use it.
If you decide to choose the updates that should be installed, and not download them all automatically, then here is a guideline that will help you improve the perception of USB drives by the system.
Driver conflicts in Windows XP
There is also a driver conflict problem. The fact is that some already outdated drivers can cause errors at the system level, moreover, they can interfere with the normal operation of new drivers. A striking example of such a problem is a situation when a user inserts a USB flash drive into a computer, tries to access data on it, and the system immediately knocks out an error message asking to insert a disc. Or, the system simply freezes, and even assigning an already existing letter to a flash drive partition is real.
The reason for these errors is as follows. Let's say you have two flash drives, you connected one of them to the system. In automatic mode, all the necessary drivers for this device are immediately installed. You have done the necessary manipulations for writing or reading files and pulled out the drive. After that, you insert a second USB flash drive, which is completely functional, and one of the above errors pops up. This means that the system is trying to use the already installed driver from the first flash drive to run the second, but they are not compatible.
Reinstalling Windows XP USB Drivers
This problem can be easily fixed in several ways. Reinstalling drivers in automatic mode or manual. Let's analyze a little theory, a driver from one USB device can be mistakenly used by the system to start another USB device. To eliminate these problems, we need to first uninstall all existing drivers for USB drives, and then reinstall them.
Such a problem may display the message "USB device not recognized", or unexplained processes occur at the system level that block access to data or cause the system to freeze.
Delete via DriveCleanup
You can effectively remove all existing USB device drivers using the DriveCleanup utility. Its advantage is that it searches the entire system for installed drivers and only then removes them.
First of all, turn off the computer, disconnect all USB devices from it in order to avoid conflict situations while the program is running. We turn on the PC, go to the official website of the program and download the executable file. The utility is compatible with any version of Windows, including different bitness. When downloading, pay attention to the file version.
Automatic installation
You have removed all drivers from your computer. For the device to function normally, the operating system must have drivers for it. The automatic driver installation process is incredibly simple, you just need to plug a USB flash drive into the USB port, and then the installation will start immediately. A window will pop up that will display the progress of the installation; on some systems this may occur in a mode invisible to the user. Installation is complete within one to two minutes and you can use your device.
Manual installation
Manual installation means installing drivers not directly from the media itself. We can also install drivers for the flash drive from third-party Internet resources, but to avoid conflicts, we will install the drivers for the flash drive using another computer.
So, we take our problematic flash drive, insert it into another computer, where it is recognized. A prerequisite for this process is the coincidence of Windows versions on both computers. We use the search system and find two files.
By any means we transfer them to the problem computer, whether it is sending by mail or using another removable media. You need to place these files in a folder with the same path that was on the first computer and confirm the replacement when the corresponding window pops up. We reboot the computer and enjoy its performance with FLASH disks.
We have considered only the most common reasons why the flash drive is not displayed on the computer. In fact, there are many more of them. Moreover, there are problems that are expressed by other system messages, and their solution is already described in the paragraphs of the article.
The message "Insert disc" appears, even if the flash drive is already connected to the USB port
This system error occurs when drivers overlap and interfere with the normal functioning of USB devices. In order to fix this error, you need to remove all drivers for USB devices and reinstall them. This process is described step by step in this article.
Disk formatting message
This message appears if you are using a USB flash drive for the first time or a system failure has occurred in it. In addition to the message, you can make sure that it is not usable, because it does not display either free space or occupied space. The solution to this issue is described in detail in paragraphs 8 and 9.
Data error message
This problem pops up in 3 cases. This is a driver conflict, a file system conflict and a failure of the flash drive itself. It is solved by reinstalling the drivers, if it did not help, then quick formatting to preserve the ability to recover data on a USB flash drive. See above for step-by-step instructions.
Complete system freeze immediately after connecting the flash drive to the computer
This issue has already been discussed in the article, but I would like to draw your attention to the fact that this error can occur for two reasons:
- Driver conflict.
- Bad port.
It is easy to check what problem you have, insert the USB flash drive into another port, if the hang continues, then there is a problem with the drivers. Instructions and tips for reinstalling them have been given within this article.
Why the computer does not see the USB flash drive when the indicator on it is on
The contact on the flash drive, which is responsible for the transfer of information, may be damaged. It is possible that there is a conflict of drivers and the assignment of a busy letter for a partition If the problem persists, after connecting the flash drive to another computer, try to check the availability of the partition. If everything is in order here, then reinstall the drivers and the flash drive will work.
Error 43 / Error 43
This error immediately stops reading information from a removable device, which means that we will not be able to access the data immediately. There are several problems that Error 43 can cause.
- The failure of the device itself is the first of them. Check on another computer to see if this situation occurs again.
- Driver Conflict - Solution described above.
- Updating the hardware configuration - you just need to roll back the driver version in the Task Manager.
conclusions
We got acquainted in detail with the reasons that can prevent the computer from reading the flash drive and the information on it. The described solutions with step-by-step instructions will definitely help you get rid of this problem. The unreadable flash drive can be a verdict only if the flash drive is faulty. In other situations, this is an easily reversible process. If you have any questions or you could not find a solution to your problem in the article - leave comments, we will try to clarify the situation together.
When you connect an external USB drive or flash drive, it will immediately appear in Explorer (my computer) and will be displayed as a local drive. However, sometimes when you connect a USB flash drive to your computer, the drive may not appear in "my computer", this also applies to SD and microSD memory cards. If your flash drive is not showing up in File Explorer, you can try the solutions below to re-enable your external drive in File Explorer. Before testing these solutions, I recommend unplugging your USB flash drive, restarting your computer once, and reconnecting the USB flash drive to see if it appears in This PC.
Adding a drive letter to an external drive
- Press the button combination Win + R and enter diskmgmt.msc to enter disk management.
- In the "Disk Management" section, check if your external drive (flash drive) has a letter. If there is a drive letter, it will appear next to the drive name, as shown in the image below. If there is no letter, you will need to follow these steps.
- Right click on the flash drive that you want to see in my computer explorer, and then click " Change drive letter or path".
- Click the button Add to... Clicking the Add button will open the " Add drive letter" or"Way". As you can see in the picture below, Windows 10 automatically assigns a drive letter to the selected stick, but you can choose your own by clicking the down arrow next to the drive letter. Click OK to complete the process.
Display blank drives in My Computer
The parameter in the properties of the folder can restore the display of the flash drive to "my computer". This option is used to hide empty disks in the explorer.
- Open "My Computer". Click on File, then Options.
