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 closing the electrical circuit or getting moisture 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 master. 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 your 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 get 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 connect by 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 a USB 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 F2 or Del key is set by default, but depending on the motherboard company 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 the 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 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. The crash 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. We can say one thing, 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 detect 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 USB 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 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 tick 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 your 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 disk 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, since 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 has not assigned the partition a letter under which the removable drive will appear, or it has 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 item "Change letter".
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 may not fix the problem, but leave it. This will happen if, for example, you designate a flash drive partition 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 the malfunction of the power supply, it can produce much less 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, now such devices are 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 cannot 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 to 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 the USB port of your computer.
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 to 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 changing 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 persists 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 which updates should be installed, rather than downloading them all automatically, then here is a guideline for you that will help 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 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 the 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, be it sending by mail or using other 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 in order to preserve the possibility of data recovery on the 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 an occupied 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.
In the article: I described how to open a flash drive. Here I will describe in more detail how to properly connect a USB flash drive and open files that are recorded on the storage medium. So, if yours didn't open right away, don't panic. Take a deep breath in and out. Get together and work on the connection errors. Your mistakes and your actions:
You have connected via USB hubs, there may be problems with recognition. The “Disk is not formatted” window may appear with the message: “The disk in the device is not formatted. Format it? Well no". Don't click Yes. Formatting will delete all of your information. Connect the USB stick to the USB root hub located on the back of the processor. If the message “The disk in the device is not formatted. Format it? Yes / No ”appears even after connecting the flash drive to the USB root hub, you need to restart the PC or check the disk.
If, when accessing the USB flash drive, we do not see our files, but the properties of the removable disk indicate that the system type is unknown and the flash drive is empty, disconnect and reconnect the USB flash drive via the Safely Remove Hardware icon and restart the system.
You connected more than one flash drive to the PC at the same time, the second may not appear. We get access to it through My computer. If the OS "sees" the USB flash drive, it can be disabled via the Safely Remove Hardware icon. In order not to restart the OS, start Windows Explorer not through My Computer, but through the button Start -\u003e Programs -\u003e Accessories -\u003e Explorer -\u003e My Documents -\u003e press the Up button -\u003e Desktop -\u003e My Computer -\u003e Removable Disk... You can also try to "open" the USB flash drive through an alternative file manager, for example, Total Commander.
If, after correctly removing one flash drive, you cannot connect another. Windows Explorer retains a "phantom" of the previous flash drive: its icon has a red circle with a white question mark inside, and when you click on the icon, an error message appears that the removable disk icon refers to an inaccessible location. Restart your computer.
Yours is infected with a special virus. These viruses on the infected PC are constantly loaded into RAM and monitor USB ports for removable devices. If you copy information from your flash drive to an external PC, turn on the write lock. If your flash drive does not have a write lock, then disable questionable processes in Task managerWindow s... To launch Windows Task Manager, click Ctrl + Alt + Delete or Start -\u003e Run ... -\u003e Start the program -\u003e taskmgr -\u003e OK. Open Processes, left-click the process to end, click the End Process button, in the Task Manager Warning window that appears, click the Yes button.
Due to a virus, when you try to open a USB flash drive by clicking the left mouse button, an error message appears that it is impossible to open the USB flash drive. any file is missing, usually autorun.inf. Open the USB flash drive by right-clicking the context menu - Explorer or Open. This virus prescribes autorun to the USB flash drive for its further distribution. We treat the flash drive with an antivirus or delete the file manually. The record about the autorun of the flash drive remains in the Windows Registry.
When accessing files, the messages "Cannot find file<Имя_файла>... Create a new file with that name? " or "Unable to create file<Имя_файла>... Check the correctness of the path and file name ", because there was a failure in the file system of the flash drive. In the properties of the flash drive, information appears that the type of the file system is unknown, the capacity is 0 bytes, 0 bytes are occupied, 0 bytes are free. Check and fix errors in the removable disk file system as soon as possible.
A USB stick is a compact and convenient file storage device. Like any equipment, it is susceptible to failures and breakdowns - both hardware and software. If the computer does not see the USB flash drive, you can usually cope with the problem yourself. Let's 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 the flash drive is not detected, it is convenient to carry out the initial diagnostics using a utility from Microsoft. It will not solve all possible problems, but it can eliminate common mistakes.
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 has not found out why the computer does not see the inserted USB flash drive, proceed to self-check. Start with 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 an adjacent slot. Along the way, check the contacts of the USB-connector of the flash drive - small debris gets on them, the device cannot be read 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 insufficient power supply. When too much equipment is connected via USB to the PC - a mouse, keyboard, removable hard disk, smartphone on recharging - there is not enough power for everything, and the system does not recognize the next device. In this case, just disconnect unnecessary devices and reinsert the drive.
If the computer does not recognize the USB flash drive and other USB devices in any of the ports, USB is disabled in the BIOS settings. To access their change, restart the PC, at the beginning of the boot press the keys to enter the BIOS.
The required combination will be written on the screen, usually F2. In the BIOS go to the “Advanced” tab, click on “USB Configuration”. Set the "USB Controller" item to "Enables". Press F10 to save settings and exit.
Viruses
When the flash drive is detected but not readable, it's worth it. If you recently inserted the drive into someone else's computer or laptop, a virus could host it. Then the system will connect your USB device, and when you try to copy the files, it will display the error "Application not found" or "Access denied".
In order for the antivirus to gain full access to the drive, check if there is 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 for all items to be visible.
The option is enabled on the top panel of the "Explorer" or in the folder options. If you find a viral autorun.inf file, delete it immediately, then run an antivirus scan.
Drivers
If your computer has stopped seeing the USB flash drive, but in other PCs it is perfectly detected - deal with the drivers. Open "Device Manager" through the properties of the shortcut "My Computer". In the list of USB controllers, find the USB 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 reinstalled.
If this could not, download and install new USB drivers from the website of the manufacturer of the computer or laptop motherboard. If you do not see a USB device in the manager, take it out and reinsert it, while the list will disappear and the desired line will appear.
Sometimes there is a driver conflict - when the system tries to use a driver for another similar storage device for your drive, so the computer does not see the USB flash drive in any way. What can you do in such a situation? Remove information about previously connected USB devices from the OS. Programs and DriveCleanup that are compatible with Windows 7 - 10 can do this.
USBOblivion will generate and remove USB mount points. After it finishes working, restart your computer and check if the system can recognize the flash drive.
Section conflict
Sometimes the computer detects the USB stick, but it is wrong. At the same time, you hear the usual sound of turning on the USB drive, an alert pops up and an icon appears in the tray, but you cannot 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 USB flash drive, open the Disk Management utility. To quickly find it, hold down Win + R and enter diskmgmt.msc. In the list of disks, pay attention to the "Status" parameter for the required device. If there is "Good", right-click on it, in the menu click on "Make the partition active" - \u200b\u200bif the item is available.
To give the partition the correct character, select Change Drive Letter .... In a new window, allow access to the device and click "Change". From the list of letters of the English alphabet, specify any one to assign to a section. Just make sure what letters are already used for naming devices and do not use the first A, B, C, D, by default they are for floppy disks and hard disk partitions.
If the "Status" field reads "Unknown", then the flash drive stopped working due to damage. Try to recover the data to save it.
Formatting
When you turn on a new removable media in your PC, the system prompts you to format it. The volume of the device is displayed at 0 MB, as if Windows 10 or 7 does not see the USB flash drive.
The formatting procedure comes in handy in case of file system conflicts. If the computer is using FAT32 and the USB device is 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.
Open File Explorer on your computer. Right-click on the flash drive, go to "Format" in the menu. In the new window, set the desired file system, check the "Fast" checkbox at the bottom - this will not only speed up the process, but also help then restore data if you could not copy it. Reconnect and check the device after formatting.
Features of Windows XP
If Windows XP is installed on the PC, sometimes the flash drive is not recognized due to the lack of updates. SP2 lacks components for USB devices to work correctly, 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 information about the OS - enable 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 USB flash drive. There may be several reasons for the problem, sequentially check the most common ones from our list in order to eliminate them and use the drive.
More and more users do not use CDs and DVDs to store and transfer information, but small and convenient flash drives. The advantages are obvious: compactness, reusable recording, not afraid of scratches, like optical media. But on the other hand, it is just a device that cannot last forever.
So, if you connected a USB flash drive to a computer, and it cannot be read, try using the following methods in order to revive it.
Check for integrity
First, check if the USB interface is normally attached to the body of the flash drive. If it comes off more on one side than on the other, it is most likely a contact problem. If you know how, you can solder them yourself, but it's better to take the flash drive for repair.
Also check the device for mechanical damage: cracks, deep scratches, dents. Because of them, the elements of the board could be damaged, then data recovery will be impossible. If water or moisture gets into the flash drive, wait until it dries, and then connect it to the computer.
Choose another port
Another reason why the flash drive won't open on the computer is the computer's USB ports. It may just be faulty - plug it into a different port. If you connect a USB flash drive to the ports located on the front of the system unit, try to do it from the back. The fact is that when assembling the system unit, the front USB ports could simply not be connected to the motherboard.
Lack of food
This option is also possible - the flash drive does not have enough power from the USB port for operation. Disconnect all connected USB devices that you are not using from your computer: webcam, printer, scanner, etc. This may be due to the fact that a low-power power supply is installed in the system unit. For further use of the flash drive, it is better to purchase a USB hub with additional power.
Change drive letter
If the flash drive is still not readable on the computer, then go to the "Start" menu. There we right-click on the "Computer" item and select "Management" from the context menu.
In the computer control window on the left side, click "Storage devices" – "Disk Management"... Here we are looking for a USB flash drive, if it is not determined, then it can be thrown away.
If you have created virtual disks earlier, then it is possible that the already used letter was assigned to the USB flash drive. Right-click on the flash drive and select the item "Change drive letter or drive path", in the next window, click "Change" and select a letter that is not yet used.
Reinstall the drivers
Problems opening a flash drive can also arise due to drivers. Go to the tab "Device Manager" and double-click to expand the list "USB Controllers"... Find the USB stick here and right-click on it. In the list you can choose or "Update drivers" or "Delete". Remove the USB stick and insert it back into the computer - the drivers will be installed automatically.
If the automatic installation of the drivers did not happen, then you can independently find the drivers by the device instance code. If you have a Windows 7 operating system, then look in the list "Equipment ID".
Format the device
Another method that can be used if the flash drive does not open on the computer is formatting. To do this, go to the "My Computer" folder and right-click on the flash drive. From the context menu, select "Format…".
In the formatting window, click the button "Restore default options"... Then check the box "Fast" and click "Start". Please note that after this procedure, all data from the flash drive will be erased. But after a quick formatting, you can try to restore them, for example, using the Recuva program.
If everything went well, then the flash drive should work. If the formatting has not been completed, try performing low-level formatting for the flash drive using the hard disk low lewel format tool.
Removing viruses
A flash drive can also not be read on a computer due to viruses. Check it with an antivirus program. If after deleting all malicious files, the flash drive still does not open, go to "Start" - "Control Panel" – "Folders settings".
On the "View" tab, mark with a marker "Show hidden files, folders and drives", click "OK".
Now in the folder "My Computer" open the USB flash drive, find the file "autorun.exe" there and delete it.
These are all methods known to me, because of which the flash drive may not open on the computer. I think at least one of them will help you.
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