Greetings!
Disconnecting USB ports can be useful for a variety of purposes and scenarios. One of the most common reasons for disabling the USB port or ports can be called the prevention of "leakage" of any important and confidential data from the computer. Also worth noting is security (malicious software, viruses have not been canceled), which increases if you disable the ability to connect any removable drives (flash drives, portable HDDs and other devices with a USB interface).
We will consider many current methods that will allow you to limit the use of USB ports on a stationary computer or laptop.
USB control via BIOS
This method can effectively disable all USB ports on your computer or laptop. However, it is worth considering that this will disable the operation of the peripherals that are connected to the USB ports. And if you have a keyboard and mouse connected via a USB port, then when using this method, these will stop working.
Disable or enable USB via Group Policy
This method is good because it disables the ability to work with removable media via USB, but the peripherals are not affected. If you have a printer, keyboard, mouse, etc. connected, then these will continue to work after the performed manipulation.
However, it's worth noting that the Group Policy tool is not present on all versions of Windows. If you see when you try to open it, then go to the next method, namely through the registry. It is similar.
Disable or enable USB via registry
Like the previous method, this also does not affect the work of the periphery. Only the ability to work with removable drives is disabled.
It should be noted that if you have not previously encountered the registry, have not edited anything there, then you should make it just in case. This will provide all possible help if something is done incorrectly, and the operating system begins to show instability in its work.
USB Access Control Add-in Using Programs
There are a number of programs that restrict the work of plug-in USB storage devices.
Among these are: USB Block, USB Disabler Pro, MyUSBOnly, Gilisoft USB Lock... All of them have an English-language interface, the ability to customize the "white list" of connected drives and some other features.
These solutions are not free, but if you need to restrict access to USB on computers in the organization, then this option can be considered.
Controlling the operation of USB ports through the device manager
This method is not universal, it all depends on the hardware implementation of a particular USB controller that is installed in a computer or laptop. In some cases, even after disabling all of the above items, the operation of one or another USB port may be preserved.
And yes, disconnecting USB in this way will also disable the connected peripherals (mouse, keyboard, printer, etc.). Be careful.
USB hardware disconnect
In this case, we are talking about disconnecting the USB cable on the motherboard, which is responsible for connecting the USB ports on the front side of the system unit.
The USB ports on the back, which are directly located on the motherboard, cannot be disabled in this way, of course.
The same goes for laptops.
Uninstall USB driver to disable operation
This method is not rational. This is due to the fact that the operating system subsequently restores the deleted drivers (usually after restarting the computer). sees that a component is physically present in the system.
Moreover, if you uninstall the driver, then the operation of all connected USB devices is disrupted.
Hello! Today we will consider several questions at once on the topic of how to connect USB to a computer. First, we will learn how to connect any device to a PC or laptop. And secondly, I will tell you how you can connect additional USB ports to your computer if you do not have enough of them for all devices. So let's go!
How to connect USB cable to computer?
The USB port is by far the most common type of device connection to a computer or laptop. There are three data connectors - 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0. If the first one can now be found only on the oldest computers, then the second and third are used today. In essence, they differ in data transfer speed. And in appearance, which is more important for us now, color. USB 2.0 has a black connector and plug, USB 3.0 is blue. You can read more about the specifications and differences in standards.
Before connecting the USB cable to the computer, look at the plug of your gadget - if you connect the blue connector to the black port, the device will not use all its speed characteristics to the maximum. If you plug the black plug into the blue one, absolutely nothing will happen - just the USB 3.0 port will operate at the speed that is maximum for 2.0.
So, we look at the back panel of our computer, find the USB port of the same color as the plug, and plug it in.
After that, the device will either be detected by itself in the system, if it is a keyboard, mouse, webcam, or some other simple and widespread device for which Windows already has a driver. Or, to work, you will need to install the software that comes with the device on CD.
How do I connect additional USB ports to my computer?
Any modern motherboard already has built-in USB ports - both 2.0 and 3.0. However, we usually connect so many different peripherals that they may simply not be enough, for example, in order to connect a USB flash drive or an external drive and upload fresh photos to it.
Connecting a USB bracket to the rear panel
What to do? There are two ways. The first, preferable one, is to purchase a separate bracket with USB ports and insert it into additional slots on the rear panel of the case - into the same slots where we attach a video or sound card, a wireless adapter, and other components that are connected directly to the board. It looks like this:
In order to accomplish this task, the motherboard must support the connection of additional USB ports. This can be determined by the presence of connectors on the motherboard labeled USB or USB 3.
The connectors for USB 3.0 are large, have many contacts and are designed to connect two ports at once in one plug.
USB 2.0 is smaller and each of them can be connected to 2 ports separately.
Accordingly, we look at the presence of such connectors on the motherboard, buy the corresponding strips, fix them in the back of the case and connect them to our connectors.
Connecting a block with USB ports instead of a flop
Another version of this method of increasing the number of ports is a special block with USB, which is inserted in the front of the case instead of the old floppy disk - flopik 3.5
There are many options for the execution of such a block. For example, combined for connecting USB 2.0 and 3.0
And in the following example, the USB 2.0 ports are combined with the microphone and headphone jacks
The connection of such a block occurs in the same way as the above-described bar - to the corresponding connectors on the motherboard.
External USB hub
Finally, another option for increasing the number of ports is to buy an external USB hub. However, there are a number of disadvantages because of which I would not connect any serious equipment through it, but would only use it for flash drives or, in extreme cases, mice.
Since this is a hub, all the load from several of its ports goes to one single computer to which it is itself connected. Due to this overload, certain devices may periodically fall off, which is not gut. If you connect a hard drive to a USB hub, the power supplied through it may not be enough for its operation. Therefore, we leave this method only for light fast food - flash drives.
Thanks! Did not help
I already told you how disable touchpad or a webcam on a laptop, keyboard and mouse... today we will talk about how to disable usb ports on any computer.
This can protect digital data from theft or prevent a USB flash drive from infecting your computer.
A simple and free computer program does nothing special - it only allows, without delving into the jungle of the operating system, to disable and enable the USBSTOR service, which is responsible for the operation of all USB ports on the computer, with one click of the mouse.
When you deactivate this service, the system stops seeing them - it is convenient to use for security purposes.
In this simple way, we will close the loophole for introducing viruses into the computer using external media and at the same time prevent the possibility of stealing (copying) our data from it.
What I liked most about this program is that it disables usb ports only for external storage media (flash drives, disks, third-party drives ...), and things like a USB adapter for a wireless mouse continue to be detected and work - great.
How USB Ports Disabler works
- Launch USB Ports Disabler and click on the button labeled "Disable USB" ...
- We agree to disable the usb ports (in the place of the author of the program, I would remove the second window - why this intermediate confirmation?) ...
- Ports are disabled. The manufacturer advises to reboot the system, but this is not necessary, as I have seen.
If a flash drive sticks out in one of them while disconnecting ports, then do not be surprised that it continues to be detected - remove it from the port and try to reconnect ... that's all, the computer no longer sees it.
For the computer to see the light and again be able to detect external storage media, just click on the second button in the main program window - "Enable USB".
I do not advise you to poke the rightmost button with the inscription "Hide IP Address" - it will be transferred to the browser, to the page of some VPN service.
On the official page of the USB Ports Disabler program, you will find two buttons-links for downloading the regular and portable versions ...
Now you know how to disable USB ports on a computer with one click. Until new useful computer programs and.
USEFUL VIDEO
Peripheral devices such as mouse, keyboard, webcam, printer are usually connected to the computer via USB ports. In this case, it often happens that one or more ports stop working. That is, when a USB flash drive is connected to a computer, for example, it is not recognized, the keyboard or mouse may freeze, and the printer may not respond and print pages.
There are several likely reasons why some or all of the USB ports on your computer are not working. Let's try to understand this issue and find out what should be done to restore the normal functioning of the computer.
Checking BIOS settings
The first thing to pay attention to is the BIOS settings of the computer. To enter BIOS, you need a functional keyboard. If the keyboard is connected to the computer via USB and it does not work, then you need to connect a keyboard with a PS / 2 connector. Otherwise, you simply cannot do anything.
So, we go into the BIOS, for which, when starting the computer, you must press the enter key, usually DEL. There may be another key that is displayed on the screen and is indicated in the manual for the motherboard. Once in the BIOS, find the Integrated Peripherals section or the Advanced section. Here you will find the subsection “Onboard Devices Configuration”. It is in it that the parameters responsible for the operation of USB controllers are located: USB Function or USB 2.0 Controller. These parameters must be enabled (Enabled). And if one of them is disabled (Disabled), then hover over it and press Enter, thereby enabling it. To prevent your changes from being reset, you must save them by pressing F10, and confirm the save by pressing Y or Enter.
After restarting the computer, check if the USB ports are working. And if not, then you should look for the reason elsewhere.
USB ports on the front of the computer do not work
As a special case, only the front panel USB may not work for you. In such a situation, you need to check if the necessary connectors on the motherboard are connected and if the wires are not damaged. To do this, open the side cover of the system unit and pay attention to the connector at the bottom of the motherboard. On the board itself there is an inscription USB1 or USB2, as well as on the block itself. The wires from the block go to the front panel, and if they are disconnected or broken in one place, then you have found the cause of the malfunction. Damaged wires should be connected or replaced. It will not be superfluous to check the contact in the connector on the motherboard. Also pay attention to the board located on the front panel. Perhaps there is a short circuit, by the way, such a short circuit can be triggered by accumulated dust. Therefore, be sure to clean the system unit from dust.
Problems with the device itself or the cable
The next source of problems with USB can be the cable with which, for example, the printer is connected. This malfunction is easy to identify and fix. We connect the USB flash drive to the tested connector. If it works, then we try to connect other known working equipment, for example, a USB hub, using a suspicious cable. If it also refuses to work, then the reason is definitely in the cable and it should be replaced.
Power outages
There are situations when there is simply not enough power for all devices. For example, connecting an external hard drive that uses two USB ports at once may turn off the printer or keyboard. In this case, the power of the power supply unit is insufficient to provide energy to all consumers. In this case, the problem may not appear immediately, but some time after turning on the computer. There are several ways out of the situation. If you have a low-power power supply unit, for example, 300 W, then it would be logical to change it to a more powerful one, 450-600 W. You can also use an active USB hub (with external power). It will allow not only to increase the number of connected USB devices, but also to power them from a separate power supply.
Another reason affecting USB performance is a dead CMOS battery. But at the same time, every time you turn on the computer, you will observe the lost system time and date. After replacing the battery, the problem goes away. But this is not common, so you should check for other possible sources of malfunction.
Missing or incorrect installation of USB drivers
The root causes of software malfunctions in Windows 7/10 can be identified using Device Manager. If you notice that one or more devices do not work specifically, regardless of the port used, then this may indicate that the problem is in the device itself. Open Control Panel and go to Device Manager. All connected devices will be displayed there. If the list contains items that have a yellow exclamation mark or an Unknown device instead of a name, then the problem is in this device itself. There may be several options for problems.
Often the USB inputs stop working after reinstalling Windows 7/10. The reason is the incorrect installation of the drivers or the required drivers may not be found at all. We'll have to carry out the selection and installation manually.
Often, troubleshooting requires a simple driver update. So, if the automatic Windows update is disabled, and the system itself was installed a long time ago, then the relevance of the software is lost, system errors may appear. At the same time, the device starts to work incorrectly, or even stops functioning altogether. To update (reinstall) the USB controller drivers, you can use the motherboard driver CD / DVD or download the necessary drivers from the motherboard manufacturer's website.
You can also turn off Power Saving for all ports using Device Manager. Expand the list of USB devices in use hidden in the sections "USB controllers", "Mouse and other pointing devices", "Keyboards". Double-click on the desired device to open the properties window. Now switch to the Power Management tab and uncheck the Allow this device to be turned off to save power box. Thus, the device will always be active under all circumstances.
If some equipment is not recognized, then there may be both a problem with the drivers already known to us, and a hardware problem consisting in a lack of contact, cable damage or a controller malfunction. Moreover, there is often a situation when, when a faulty device is connected, the rest stop working normally. The keyboard starts to freeze, as does the mouse, and the printer stops typing. The problem is similar to a lack of power, that is, the consumption of all power goes to a faulty device, in which there may be an ordinary short circuit or other malfunction.
USB ports not working due to damaged controller
If none of the above steps helped to restore the functionality of the USB ports, then you should check the USB controller of the motherboard, which may have failed. In this case, high-quality repairs and diagnostics should be entrusted to the specialists of the service center. As a way out of the problem, try installing an expansion card, the so-called USB PC controller, installed in the PCI slot on the motherboard. Such a solution is noticeably cheaper than repairing a USB motherboard controller, and when using an additional USB hub, the problem with a lack of ports will not be relevant at all.
As you can see, finding and fixing problems with USB ports is quite a hassle, and all because there can be a lot of reasons. Sequential search and elimination of deliberately incorrect paths will allow you to identify and fix the problem.
Sometimes it becomes necessary to disable USB ports on a computer or laptop in order to restrict access for connecting flash drives, hard drives and other USB devices. Disabling USB ports will help prevent any storage devices from being connected that could be used to steal sensitive information or cause a virus to infect your computer and spread malicious software over your local network.
Restricting access to USB ports
Consider 7 wayswith which you can block USB ports:
- Disable USB through BIOS settings
- Change registry settings for USB devices
- Disable USB ports in device manager
- Uninstalling USB Controller Drivers
- Using Microsoft Fix It 50061
- Using additional programs
- Disable USB ports physically
1. Disable USB ports through BIOS settings
- Enter BIOS settings.
- Disable all USB controller related items (e.g. USB Controller or Legacy USB Support).
- After you have made these changes, you need to save the settings and exit the BIOS. This is usually done with the key F10.
- Restart your computer and make sure the USB ports are disabled.
2. Enabling and Disabling USB Drives Using Registry Editor
If disabling via BIOS does not suit you, you can close access directly in Windows itself using the registry.
The instructions below allow you to close access for various USB storage devices (for example, flash drives), but other devices such as keyboards, mice, printers, scanners will still work.
- Open the Start menu -\u003e Run, enter the command " regedit”And click OK to open the Registry Editor.
- Proceed to the next section
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \\ SYSTEM \\ CurrentControlSet \\ Services \\ USBSTOR
- In the right part of the window, find the item " Start”And double click on it to edit. Enter value " 4 »To block access to USB drives. Accordingly, if you enter again the value " 3 ”, Access will be re-opened.
Click OK, close Registry Editor and restart your computer.
The above method works only when the USB controller driver is installed. If for security reasons the driver has not been installed, the "Start" setting may be automatically reset to "3" when the user plugs in the USB storage device and Windows installs the driver.
3. Disable USB ports in device manager
- Right-click on the " A computer"And select" Properties "from the context menu. A window will open on the left side of which you need to click on the link " device Manager».
- In the device manager tree, find the item " USB controllers”And open it.
- Disable controllers by right-clicking and selecting Disable from the menu.
This method does not always work. In the example shown in the figure above, disabling the controllers (the first 2 points) did not lead to the desired result. Disabling item 3 (USB Mass Storage) worked, but it only gives you the option to disconnect a single instance of the USB drive.
4. Removing USB controller drivers
Alternatively, to disable the ports, you can simply uninstall the USB controller driver. But the disadvantage of this method is that when the user connects a USB drive, Windows will check for drivers and, if they are absent, will offer to install the driver. This in turn will open access to the USB device.
5. Prevent users from connecting USB storage devices using an application from Microsoft
Another way to prevent access to USB drives is to use Microsoft Fix It 50061 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/823732/ru - the link may open near mituta). The essence of this method is that 2 conditions for solving the problem are considered:
- The USB drive has not yet been installed on the computer
- USB device is already connected to the computer
Within the framework of this article, we will not consider this method in detail, especially since you can study it in detail on the Microsoft website using the link given above.
It should also be noted that this method is not suitable for all versions of Windows.
6. Using programs to disable / enable access to USB storage devices
There are many programs for setting the prohibition of access to USB ports. Let's consider one of them - the program USB Drive Disabler.
The program has a simple set of settings that allow you to deny / allow access to certain drives. Also USB Drive Disabler allows you to configure alerts and access levels.
7. Disconnecting USB from the motherboard
While physically disconnecting the USB ports on your motherboard is nearly impossible, you can disable the ports on the front or top of your computer case by disconnecting the cable that goes to the motherboard. This method will not completely close access to USB ports, but will reduce the likelihood of using drives by inexperienced users and those who are simply too lazy to connect devices to the back of the system unit.
! Addition
Deny access to removable media through the Group Policy Editor
In modern versions of Windows, it is possible to restrict access to removable storage devices (including USB drives) using the Local Group Policy Editor.
- Run gpedit.mscthrough the Run window (Win + R).
- Continue to the next branch " Computer Configuration -\u003e Administrative Templates -\u003e System -\u003e Access to Removable Storage Devices»
- On the right side of the screen, find the item "Removable drives: Deny reading".
- Activate this option (position "Enable").
This section of local group policy allows you to configure read, write and execute access for different classes of removable media.
