The usb storage device is not installed. The computer does not see the flash drive

Motherboard

Often the cause of the conflict in the equipment, and consequently, the unwillingness of the machine to install new Windows, is the motherboard. This is solved quite simply, we need to download SATA driver or RAID for the motherboard. To find out the model of your motherboard, you can open the case, or you can use third party applications, I recommend a simple program called EVEREST. Apart from complete information, this utility allows you to test hardware for maximum performance. But this is so, for the future.

For all sorts of firefighters, I give a screenshot of the EVEREST working window. We find the motherboard in the list of equipment, write down its marking, and then proceed to the next step.

As already mentioned, download the mass storage driver for Windows installation 7 is possible and necessary on the official website of the manufacturer. We download firewood for SATA / RAID controllers, after which we prepare a floppy disk, of course, if you want to learn history computer technology. For more modern users, any media is suitable, as long as they are working. The drivers themselves are small in size, so they can be dropped onto the same flash drive that stores the Windows image. We start the installation of Windows, in normal mode, through the BIOS, of course! As soon as it comes to choosing a hard drive, where we will see an empty list, click on the inscription "Load drivers".

We indicate the path to the driver, then we wait until the system does its “things”, then we will see how the installation program will determine the connected HDD. That's all, feel free to continue the installation as usual.

By the way, you can use alternative way. We write the driver on a separate medium, insert it into the appropriate drive (USB flash drive, disk into the drive). During the installation of the operating system, click on the F6 key. If the user does everything correctly, then Windows will see and identify the hard drive on its own. Accordingly, copying files and other "standard" procedures will take their course.

unofficial Windows builds

As a last resort, you can use old and time-tested pirated builds of Windows. There are a dime a dozen such assemblies on the network, you only need to download the one you like and write it to a storage device. Most of the repackaged images already have integrated drivers for hard drives, as well as system software for the motherboard, which we talked about a little higher. All of them are launched during the direct installation of Windows, while the user does not need to move his brains, especially his fingers!

Importantly, the content of the described Windows images also includes additional software for testing hardware, for example, the previously named EVEREST. If you want, then I recommend looking for assemblies with the name ZVER. Excellent images of Windows, tested by me personally!

Conclusion

"Mass storage driver for installation download" - the simplest search query, which will give you a lot of data on the topic described. I have described simple solutions this problem, tested by me personally. Most importantly, use Windows images with integrated firewood, as well as get a removable flash drive with SATA / RAID-firewood under the motherboard. Successful work!

Sometimes, when connecting a flash drive, printer or other devices that connect via USB, an error occurs, what USB device not recognized. This problem is relevant both in Windows 7 and Windows 8, and in Windows 10. Also, this error occurs when working with USB 2.0 and USB 3.0. Therefore, today we will write simple instructions with several methods to solve this problem. Go.

What to do if "USB device not recognized"

So, if a similar error occurs when connecting any device via USB, then first of all you need to connect it to another USB port. The problem may be just in the device itself and we need to make sure of this.

Further, if the computer does not see the device through other ports, then you need to test it on another computer or laptop. If the device is still not recognized by the computer, then the problem is most likely in the device itself. In this case, it is necessary to diagnose the device itself. By the way, if everything is as described just above, then the methods described below are unlikely to help you. V best case read on.

There is another way after which it is more likely that the USB device will work:

1. To begin, remove the device itself from USB input, then turn off the computer and remove the plug from the socket, now press the power button and HOLD for a few seconds. Thus, the remaining charge will disappear from other components.
2. Turn on the computer and try to connect the USB device. Most likely it will work.

The third method is a little faster than the previous ones. It lies in the fact that if a lot of various devices, then you should try to disable some of them, and connect the non-recognizing device to the rear USB output. If everything worked, then congratulations, otherwise let's move on to the next step.

We solve the problem through the device manager

In this method, we will use the task manager and I want to immediately notice that this method will help someone, but not someone. So, for starters, by pressing the keys Win+R, open the window Run"And enter a phrase there that will open the device manager for us: devmgmt.msc.

Since, today we are talking about problems with USB, then most likely the problematic device is in the section " USB controllers". There are also unidentified devices that you should also pay attention to.

If the device is unidentified, that is, with a yellow exclamation mark, then you can try to update it via the Internet by clicking on it PKM. Or, if that doesn't work, use online version Driver Pack Solution, which will help you find the missing driver. We wrote about her.

And here are a couple more methods, in case an unidentified device is located in the USB controllers tab.

• Click on the RMB device and in " properties» select the tab « Driver where you need to click roll back. If there is no such item, then just click delete, and then update the hardware configuration and see if the unidentified device has disappeared.

• In this case, we need to go to the item " Generic USB Hub», « USB Root Controller" and " USB hub". In the properties of these devices in " power management» it is necessary to REMOVE the check mark in the item « Allow this device to turn off to save power».

The following method, which works on Windows 8.1, is that for all the devices that we have listed above, you need to properties click on the button " Update drivers”And then, in the window that appears, select the search on this computer. The most compatible ones should already be on the computer, and you will see them in the window. You need to select it and click next. If everything went well, you can try connecting a USB device that did not work. By the way, before connecting, I would advise you to restart your computer again.

Devices not recognized in Windows 8.1 - USB 3.0

For example, on laptops, this problem can be a fairly common condition. Especially if Windows 8.1 is installed, and devices such as flash drives and

So, we have an unpleasant situation: in the hands of a flash drive with valuable information, we connect and ... silence. This can happen due to a problem with the flash drive or the computer (or laptop) itself. A problem with flash drive can be either hardware (failure, device malfunction) or software (drive file system errors, viruses).

In order to find out what problem you are facing and how to proceed, try the following on your computer.

After connecting the drive to the USB port, we look to see if the indicator (LED) on the flash drive lights up. If yes, then the flash drive is getting power and the drive itself (at least its basic hardware) is working. If the indicator does not light up, plug another USB flash drive or printer or something else into the same USB port and check the port is working. If another USB device starts working in the same port, then alas, the matter is in the USB drive itself and it must be carried to the service. Before that, you need to weigh the pros and cons, because repairs are often comparable in cost to the device itself (the pros argument can be saving information on a flash drive). If other devices behave in the same way, the port may not be connected to motherboard or defective (broken wire). Trying others USB ports.

So, the flash drive is included in the computer and the indicator on it lights up. But you don’t see the usual launch of Explorer or the autorun window. We need to make sure that the computer sees our flash drive as a device or not. To do this, click on Start- right click mouse on Computer (or My Computer) - Properties - Device Manager (or Hardware - Device Manager) - USB Controllers (or USB Universal Serial Bus Controllers). We are looking for the USB mass storage device item. If not visible, right-click on USB Controllers (or Universal Serial Bus Controllers USB) - Update Hardware Configuration. If after that the "USB mass storage device" item does not appear, then our flash drive is faulty and needs to be taken to the service.

If the USB Mass Storage Device item in the Device Manager was or appeared after the update, then our flash drive (as a device) works and the computer sees it. That is, the device is working properly and the only thing that can separate us from our files is errors in the file system of the drive itself (which are usually easy to fix). With the drive connected, press Start - Computer(or My Computer) and see if there is a Removable Disk item there. If not, go to the device manager (how to get to it is written above), we find the item Disk devices and look for our drive there. Usually the name of the disk consists of the name of the manufacturer of the flash drive and the volume in gigabytes. At the end of the name must be "USB Device".

If the disk is not there, the flash drive is damaged and the service will help. If there is, right-click-Properties-Volumes-Fill. If a drive letter does not appear in the Volume section, the drive has a corrupted file system. To restore it, you need to use special utilities such as EasyRecovery (Ontrack) or similar. Or trust the professionals - it's more reliable, because by inept actions you can completely overwrite the data (then it will be impossible to restore them).

If the drive letter appears, but the Removable Disk item does not appear in Start-Computer (or My Computer), then the problem may be both in file system errors and in the actions of viruses (both on the flash drive and on the PC itself). This also includes the option when the Removable disk item is there, but when you go to the USB flash drive you see an empty folder.

Remember that even in the most "neglected" cases, when the indicator on it does not light up when the flash drive is connected, often both the flash drive and the information on it can be restored. Also, do not forget about the safe removal of devices. Do not neglect this procedure. In most cases, trouble with the drive occurs precisely when you pull out the USB flash drive without following the safe removal procedure.

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It happens that by clicking on the Removable disk icon you see an invitation to format the flash drive. This indicates a file system error, and you need to refuse formatting and use recovery utilities or qualified help.

Popular Services

If a flash drive or external hard drive connected to the computer answered in silence, and you have important data on them, do not despair! Not 100%, but in the vast majority of cases, data can be recovered.

Probably everyone at least once encountered a problem when an error pops up when connecting a USB device: USB device not recognized. A similar error occurs when using both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 devices.

Let's try to figure out the reasons.
There can be many reasons for such an error. And there are many solutions too. Therefore, we do not guarantee that you will be able to solve this problem with our recommendations.
Perhaps this article will help you solve the problem.

Troubleshoot "USB device not recognized" error.

Also sometimes (rarely, but it happens) such a problem can occur if to USB port 3.0 connect a USB 2.0 device.

Method 1. This error often occurs when using a USB extension cable. In this case, try connecting a USB device without an extension cable. Or replace the extension cord. Second common cause- This is a malfunction of the device itself or the USB port. Try testing USB devices on known working USB ports.

Method 2. This method can help if everything worked fine before and such failures never happened with this device. Disconnect the problematic USB device. Turn off the power to the computer, unplug the power cord from the outlet and hold down the power button on the PC for a few seconds. If you have a laptop, unplug it and remove the battery. this action removes residual charges from the computer motherboard.
Then turn on the computer and connect the problem device. There is a chance that the device will work.

Method 3. If there are too many USB devices connected to your computer, and moreover, some through a splitter, try disconnecting some of the equipment, restarting the computer and turning on the required USB device. Also pay attention if the USB device has an external power source (for example, some removable hard drives) connect it.

Software solution to the problem

Now let's try to solve the problem programmatically.
Run "Device Manager". (For Windows 7 - "Computer" - "Management" - "Device Manager")

Unidentified device will most likely be in the following sections device manager:

USB controllers
-Other devices (and be called "Unknown device")

Method 1. If the unknown device is in partition d other devices, you can click on it with the right mouse button and select the item "Update Drivers" and, perhaps, the operating system itself will install everything that is needed. Or select menu "properties" unknown device and open the tab "Intelligence". Select an item from the list Hardware ID. Try to search the Internet by ID (simply by typing the ID in search engine) what kind of hardware it is, and what kind of driver it may require.

Method 2. Right click on the device, select "Properties", then on the tab "Driver" click the "Roll Back" button if it is available, and if not - "Uninstall" to remove the driver. After that, in Device Manager, click "Action" - "Update hardware configuration" and see what happened to the unknown USB device.

Method 3. Try to go to the properties of all devices with names Generic USB Hub, USB Root Hub or USB Root Controller, and on the "Power Management" uncheck "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power."

Another option is that a USB 3.0 flash drive or external hard drive is not recognized in Windows 8.1.

This problem is solved like this:
Go to panel Windows controls - power supply, select the power plan you are using and press "Change advanced power settings". Then, in the USB settings, disable the temporary shutdown of USB ports.

We hope you were able to fix this issue. If not, it's most likely the device itself.

Over the past few years, flash media have become very popular and are used by us, literally, daily, due to its advantages over disk media. It is hardly possible to overestimate its usefulness of a flash drive, because you can quickly write information on it or count it, it does not take up much space in a briefcase or bag, and the price segment is pleasantly pleasing.

Despite all the positive points, sometimes there are situations when it is impossible to read the data due to the flash drive itself or the computer. After all, at the very important point you may lose access to 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 solutions to why the computer does not see the USB flash drive.

The most common problems why the computer does not see the flash drive:

Flash drive not working

This is the worst scenario for a person whose documents are stored on a flash drive, because it is almost impossible to bring it back to life. You can disable a flash drive by mechanical action on the device chip or its controller, by shorting electrical circuit, damage to the contacts on the USB board. This is what a flash drive looks like after an 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 flash drive for mechanical damage, chipping cracks, etc. If it is completely broken, you can look for a replacement in a computer peripherals store. If you doubt its inoperability, you can check it with a practical method.

Connect the flash drive to the USB connector of the computer, if the LED on it lights up and you hear a sound on the computer 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 suitable for use.

You can try to take the flash drive to service center, where the master will try to solder the contacts or replace the controller, but it will be very expensive, and this action will be justified only if you have important documents stored 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 not powered.

This issue is very common among desktop users. Most computer owners are accustomed to plugging a flash drive into the front USB ports because it's fast and convenient.

But there is a situation when, for some reason, during the assembly of a PC, 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 full serviceability.

This problem can be solved in two ways. If you urgently need to use information on removable media, you can plug it into the back of your computer. The front connectors will still remain inoperative, but you will get access to documents. It is impossible to call such manipulations a full-fledged solution, so we will consider the second option.

Method number 2 involves connecting the power cable on the motherboard to the front panel of the computer. Depending on the model of the computer case, the connectors for connection may differ. 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 wire types are "VCC", "D-", "D+" and "GND". Moreover, color coding cable and connector on the motherboard are the same, but it is better to keep a guide on 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. Locate the cable that leads to the front panel and find the same connector on the motherboard. In the image below you can see what the connector should look like.

It is not recommended to connect on your own, 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’s 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 disabled USB port on the computer

Sometimes the problem of unreadable information on removable media is not related to the problem of the flash drive itself, but to the connector into which it is connected. A certain USB port may be inoperative, and this condition can be caused by simple damage to the connector pins. Then not only the flash drive, but also other USB devices will not work in this port.

You can solve this problem by armed with a conventional 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 there is no reaction to connecting a USB device on all connectors, then the problem may lie deeper. Ports can be disabled in BIOS settings.

To connect ports to BIOS menu you need to get there in the first place. 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 brand and BIOS version, it may be different. On the first image that pops up when loading, it is indicated.

Once you have entered the BIOS itself, we need to follow 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 your settings and exit the BIOS.

USB port dirty

The flash drive is mobile device storage of information and therefore is often worn in pockets, briefcases or as a keychain. 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 fail. Dust and small debris collects on the contact and prevents connection 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 transfer or read information and be determined not the first time.

To clean the USB connector of a flash drive, arm yourself with a match and a cotton swab. Wielding a match, remove all debris from the connector, and then moisten a cotton swab with alcohol and wipe the contacts of the flash drive. So you save it from debris and oxidation.

Virus infection

Nowadays, the issue of storage device security is becoming more and more urgent, because viruses are in full swing. You can visit your site social network on the Internet and get infected, not to mention downloading files from unverified sources.

Modern computer viruses can also reproduce, no matter how strange it may sound. They infect files on your flash drive or computer hard drive, and their number grows exponentially.

Very often, the problem of the inoperability of a flash drive is virus infection. The drive is detected by the system, you can hear the characteristic sound of the device connecting 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 file diagnosis. To access the data on the drive, we need to delete the virus file and scan it. To do this, go to the Start menu and enter the following phrase "" in the search box.

Click on the found element with the left mouse button. Before you will be open window with the name " Folder Options", here you need to do the following:

• Uncheck the " Hide protected system files»
• Check the box ""

After that, be sure to press the key " Apply"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 free antiviruses, the Dr.WEB Cure It utility can handle this perfectly.

Now you can fully use the flash drive and no problems should arise. If nothing has changed, then the problem is the lack of drivers, we will analyze it below.

Crashing drivers or using outdated drivers

A very common problem is when a computer does not want to display a USB flash drive due to outdated drivers or their system failure. Failure may occur due to a jump electrical voltage or unexpected shutdown of the operating system. Or, older computer models may not work with 32 GB or larger drives. We can say one thing, the problem is solved only by updating the drivers.

First of all, you need to go to "". You can do this in several ways, for example, through " My Computer", Or you can 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 sub-tab "USB controllers". Select the line " Memory device", By right-clicking the mouse opens the system menu and click" Delete".

Such manipulations allow you to remove the driver installed in the system for your storage device. As soon as you remove it, feel free to remove the USB flash drive from the computer and connect it again. Then the driver on the flash drive will be installed again and the problem will be solved.

If the problem persists, you may need to update the driver for all USB chipsets, this is quite easy to do. You can use the special disk that came with motherboard, it contains all required drivers. If you do not have it, download the DriverPack program, it will automatically select all drivers for which there is an update and 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 ports is maximum speed reading and writing information.

File system errors

The computer may also not recognize your flash device due to file system errors. Let's check if this is so, go to "", how to do this was described above. Now you need to open the sub-tab " Disk devices", if you see your flash drive there, then it is working, and the file system does not perceive it as it should, and, accordingly, does not display it in 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 burned out or the contact soldered off. Specialists in service centers can try to bring it back to life. However, this is an expensive exercise, it is easier to buy a new one, of course, if the faulty one was not recorded important information and you need to restore the data on the flash drive.

File system conflict

Quite often, the contents of the flash drive are not displayed due to a conflict file systems on the computer and the removable media itself. For example, if the computer is running on a file NTFS system and the flash drive uses FAT32, a conflict situation is not ruled out. Moreover, this problem is widespread not only in Windows environment but also Mac OS. For example, if you format a flash drive on your Mac device to ExFAT or the standard Macbook file system, then the flash drive is unlikely to be readable on Windows devices.

The very first thing to do is find a computer that uses a different file system, open the 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 the item " Properties".

In the window that opens, you will see information about the free and used disk space, as well as find out what 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 into 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 attribute " Fast"And click" Start".

A few words about why we use the Fast attribute. Firstly, formatting a flash drive will happen much faster. But there is another side of the coin. If there were any documents on the flash drive, then only with a quick format you can restore this data using special utilities. If you did not check the box, then the information that was on the flash drive for you will be lost forever.

Flash drive is not formatted

A fairly common problem is when you insert a flash drive into a computer (mostly a new flash drive and its first use), and the operating system gives you a warning that says that before using, removable drive needs to be formatted. And if the flash drive was used earlier and data is recorded on it, then it will not be possible 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 flash drive and this is not its first connection, then try connecting it to another computer, the problem may 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 "File system conflict" section.

But I would like to draw your attention to two points. To avoid problems with the file system (FS) after formatting, find out which FS is used on the computer and install the same for the drive. And secondly, if the flash drive had the information you needed, then be sure to use the “Quick” 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 flash drive is automatically assigned a busy letter

There are situations when the operating system incorrectly detects your removable media. Everything seems to be fine, the device connection is displayed and the flash drive icon appears in the tray, but it cannot be used for its intended purpose.

The problem may be that the system has not assigned a letter to the partition, under which it will appear removable storage or appropriated, but this letter is already taken, and because of this, an address conflict is obtained.

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 key combination " Win + R", 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 take us to the disk and storage management section.

In the storage media manager that opens, we need to define our USB device. You can do this 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 called "20151114_17", you can also identify it by a special icon. Now you need to right-click on it, and in the menu that opens, select the item " Change letter».

Now another additional window will open before us, a smaller one. In it, you must click on the button " Change"And" Ok».

Now another auxiliary window will open, where you must select any letter of the English alphabet, and after clicking on the button " OK"The letter will be assigned to the section.

It is worth paying attention to one important point! When choosing a letter to assign to a partition on your flash drive, look at what letters are already in use by the system. This is very important, because we may not fix the problem, but leave it. This will happen if you, for example, designate a partition of a flash drive through the letter “D”, which is already assigned to a local disk.

Faulty power supply or excessive current overload of the USB portal

This problem is very common nowadays. The fact is that the computer may simply not see the USB flash drive due to a malfunction of the 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 computer nodes. 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 the processor. Now it consumes much more energy compared to the past, which means that it simply does not reach somewhere, and in this case this “somewhere” is USB network computer. Accordingly, the energy consumption parameter must be calculated in advance, and if such a situation has already occurred, you will have to replace the PSU with a more powerful one.

Moreover, the problem may lie in a malfunction of the power supply, it can produce much less power potential than stated and than it gave out before. You will not be able to solve such a problem, since you risk the performance of the entire computer. The only solution is to replace the power supply.

There is another feature of this issue. Recently, USB devices for computers have become very common, for example, now the following devices are powered: a mat for heating a cup, desk lamp, wireless mouse, removable hard disk, and in addition, the smartphone is also on charge. And you still want to connect a USB flash drive, but that's bad luck, the computer sees it. The fact is that there was an overload on the current on the USB ports. Those. all your devices are already consuming maximum amount current and one more you will not be able to connect. Therefore, in order to use a 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

Has a variety of reasons why a flash drive may not be detected in Windows system xp. Moreover, the problem may lie both in the operating system, and in the malfunction of the flash, and even in the hardware of the computer.

If the problem is related to the operating system, then you can fix it only by making additional changes in the settings, it is best to do this manually, despite the abundance of special utilities that can help in this matter.

However, if the drive itself is faulty, then the only thing left for you is to try to save the data recorded on it. And after that, purchase a new and more reliable device.

If your computer cannot detect the 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 disk" pops up.
• The system notifies you that the drive must be formatted for further use.
• Errors pop up about the impossibility of obtaining access to data.
• The system may freeze as soon as you plug the flash drive into the computer's USB port.

V this section we will look at all the most common reasons for the non-functionality of a flash drive in Windows XP and give practical advice by their decision. Carefully read the description of the problem, if it is not similar to yours or its solution did not help you, go to the next paragraph until the problem goes away. The first thing to do is to try to determine if the flash drive is working. This is signaled by a light indicator located on it. If you connected the drive, and it blinks or lights up, then the flash drive is working and the problem lies either in the system or hardware of the computer.

Try changing the port into which you connect the flash drive or even the computer, perhaps only the port or the entire system is faulty, and on another PC the flash drive will work properly. For example, if you see a complete system freeze when connecting a flash drive to a port, this means that this port is faulty and it is better not to use it.

If you are using USB hubs or extension cables and the flash drive is not displayed, the problem may lie in the device itself, and not the flash drive. If this turned out to be the case, you can take the hub to a service center or try to repair it yourself. To do this, you 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 electric current in USB system ports. 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 is displayed in the system and you can access it, then the problem lies in a weak power supply. You can solve this problem only by replacing the power supply with a more powerful one, but it will help to postpone the purchase of a PSU USB usage hub with its own power source.

However, if the problem persists after disconnecting all other devices, it may still be actual problem with a lack of power supply and an outdated USB port. In other words, on older laptops, you won't be able to open a flash drive of 36 GB or more. It will not work here to 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 being allocated to them. You can connect the front panel yourself using the instructions located above in the section of the same name.

Does not see the 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 that provide normal USB operation devices. Moreover, it is possible that only a few USB devices can work in one port.

The solution to this issue will be updating the system to SP3 and installing 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 icon " My computer"Right-click 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 for and update the computer's system. To do this, just go from the control panel to Windows Update.

As soon as you do this, the system will start searching for updates, after which you will be prompted to update all at once or select only the ones you need. If you do not understand which update changes what, then it is better to let the system be updated 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 the 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's a guideline that will help you improve your experience. USB drives system.

Driver conflicts in Windows XP

There is also the issue of driver conflicts. 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 the situation when a user inserts a USB flash drive into a computer, tries to access the data on it, and the system immediately knocks out an error message asking to insert a disk. Or, the system just freezes, and even assigning an existing letter to a flash drive partition is real.

The reason for such 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 flash drive, which is fully 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 start the second one, but they are not compatible.

Reinstalling Windows XP Drivers for USB Devices

This problem can be easily fixed in several ways. Reinstalling drivers automatically or manually. Let's analyze a little theory, the 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 remove all available drivers for USB drives, and then reinstall them.

Such a problem may display the message “USB device not recognized”, or inexplicable processes occur at the system level that block access to data or cause the system to freeze.

Remove via DriveCleanup

You can effectively remove all available drivers for USB devices 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 uploading, pay attention to the file version.

Automatic installation

You have removed all drivers from your computer. In order for the device to function normally, the operating system must have drivers for it. Process automatic installation the driver is incredibly simple, you just need to plug the USB flash drive into the USB port, after which the installation will immediately begin. 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. Within one or two minutes, the installation will complete and you will be able to use the device.

Manual installation

Under manual installation the installation of drivers is implied not directly from the storage medium itself. We can also install drivers for a flash drive from third-party Internet resources, but in order to avoid conflict situations, we will install drivers for a 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 a coincidence Windows versions on both computers. We use system searches and find two files.

By any means, we transfer them to the problem computer, whether it be 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 restart the computer and enjoy its performance with FLASH disks.

We have considered only the most common reasons why a flash drive is not displayed on a computer. In fact, there are many more. 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 disk" appears even if the USB flash drive is already connected to the USB port

This system error takes place if the drivers overlap each other and prevent normal functioning USB devices. In order to fix this error, you need to uninstall all USB device drivers and reinstall them. This process described step by step in this article.

Disk formatting message

Such a message appears if you are using a USB flash drive for the first time or if something has happened in it. system failure. In addition to the message, you can make sure that it is not usable, because it does not display any free space, nor busy. 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 conflict of drivers, a conflict of file systems and a failure of the flash drive itself. It is solved by reinstalling the drivers, if it didn’t help, then a quick format to save the possibility of recovering data on a flash drive. Step by step instructions are above.

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:

1. Driver conflict.
2. Bad port.

It is easy to check what problem you have, insert the USB flash drive into another port, if the freeze repeats, then it means a problem with the drivers. Instructions and tips for reinstalling them were given as part of this article.

Why does the computer not see the flash drive when the indicator on it is lit

Possible damage to the contact on the flash drive, which is responsible for the transfer of information. A driver conflict and the assignment of an occupied letter to the partition are not ruled out. If the problem persists, after connecting the flash drive to another computer, try checking the accessibility 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 immediately access the data. There are several problems that can cause Error 43.

• A malfunction of the device itself is the first of them. Check on another computer if this situation happens again.
• Driver conflict - the solution is described above.
• Updating the hardware configuration - just roll back the driver version in the Task Manager.

conclusions

We have studied in detail the reasons that may prevent the computer from reading the flash drive and the information on it. Described solutions with step by step instructions will definitely help you to get rid of this problem. The unreadability of a flash drive can only be a sentence 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.