Probably everyone has at least once encountered a problem when, when connecting a USB device, an error pops up: 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 using our recommendations.
Perhaps this article will help you solve the problem.
Resolving the “USB device not recognized” error.
Also sometimes (rarely, but it happens) such a problem can occur if you connect a USB 2.0 device to the USB 3.0 port.
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. The second common reason 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 have never happened with this device. Disconnect the problematic USB device. Turn off the power to the computer, unplug the cord from the outlet and hold down the PC power button for a few seconds. If you have a laptop, unplug it and remove the battery. This action will remove residual charges from the computer motherboard.
Then turn on the computer and connect the problematic device. There is a chance that the device will work.
Method 3. If you have 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 note that 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 using software.
Run "Device Manager". (For Windows 7 - “Computer” - “Management” - “Device Manager”)
The unidentified device will most likely be located 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 right-click on it and select "Update drivers" and perhaps the operating system itself will install everything you need. Or select the menu "properties" unknown device and open the tab "Intelligence". Select an item from the list Equipment ID. Try to find on the Internet by ID (simply typing the ID into a search engine) what exactly this equipment is, and what driver it may require.
Method 2. Right click on the device, select "Properties", then on the tab "Driver" Click the "Roll Back" button if available, and if not, click the "Uninstall" button 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 going to the properties of all devices with names Generic USB Hub, USB Root Hub or USB Root Controller and tab "Power Management" uncheck "Allow this device to turn off 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 Windows control panel - power supply, select the power plan you are using and press "Change advanced power settings". Then, in the USB settings, disable temporary disabling of USB ports.
We hope you were able to resolve this issue. If not, most likely the problem is with the device itself.
So, we have an unpleasant situation: we have a flash drive with valuable information in our hands, we connect it and... silence. This can happen due to a problem with the flash drive or the computer (or laptop) itself. The problem with a 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.
Having connected the drive to the USB port, see if the indicator (LED) on the flash drive lights up. If so, then power is supplied to the flash drive and the drive itself (at least its basic hardware) is working. If the indicator does not light up, plug in another flash drive or printer or something else into the same USB port and check that the port is working properly. If another USB device starts working in the same port, then unfortunately the problem is in the USB drive itself and it must be taken to service. Before doing this, you need to weigh the pros and cons, because repairs are often comparable in cost to the device itself (the pro argument could be saving the information on the flash drive). If other devices behave the same way, the port may not be connected to the motherboard or is faulty (damaged wire). Trying other USB ports.
So, the flash drive is plugged into 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 whether the computer sees our flash drive as a device or not. To do this, click on Start - right-click 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 item USB storage device. If we don’t see it, right-click on USB Controllers (or Universal Serial Bus Controllers) - update the hardware configuration. If after this the “USB storage device” item does not appear, then our flash drive is faulty and needs to be taken to service.
If the USB 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 are errors in the file system of the drive itself (which are usually easy to fix). With the drive connected, click 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 described above), find the Disk devices item and look for our drive there. Typically, the name of the disk consists of the name of the flash drive manufacturer and the capacity in gigabytes. The name must end with “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 the drive letter does not appear in the Volume section, then the drive's file system is damaged. To restore it, you need to use special utilities such as EasyRecovery (by Ontrack) or similar ones. Or trust the professionals - it’s more reliable, because with inept actions you can completely erase the data (then it will no longer be possible to restore it).
If the drive letter appears, but the Removable disk item does not appear in Start-Computer (or My Computer), then the problem may be either file system errors or 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 flash drive you see an empty folder.
Remember that even in the most “neglected” cases, when when you connect a flash drive the indicator on it does not light up, often both the flash drive and the information on it can be restored. Also, do not forget about safe removal of devices. Don't neglect this procedure. In most cases, problems with the drive occur precisely when you pull out the flash drive without completing the safe removal procedure.
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It happens that when you click on the Removable disk icon, you see an invitation to format the flash drive. This indicates a file system error, and you need to abandon formatting and use recovery utilities or qualified help.
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If a flash drive or external hard drive connected to your computer is silent, but you have important data on it, don’t despair! Not 100%, but in the vast majority of cases, data can be recovered.
These days, a computer has several USB ports to which you can connect a keyboard, mouse, and other USB devices. You can also connect a flash drive or external HDD to the USB port. After connecting the flash drive/USB drive, you may receive an error message like this: “USB device not recognized.” At this time, Windows displays a message that the USB device is not recognized in the form of pop-up notifications in the Windows taskbar area. Windows is showing an error message due to an unknown fault in the Windows operating system due to which the USB is not recognized and an error is thrown. What would you do in this case?
The error says:
On Windows 8, 8.1 and Windows 10 –
The latest USB device is not connected to this computer correctly, and Windows cannot recognize it.
or, on Windows 7
The USB device is not recognized, or one of the USB devices connected to this computer is not working properly and Windows cannot recognize it. For help resolving this issue, click this message.
When the error occurs, Windows cannot show the USB storage device in the 'My Computer' section in the File Explorer area and if you can take a look at the Device Manager in Windows, then you will find a yellow triangular alert icon near this device, which is invisible in Windows. The yellow triangular logo helps you locate the device in the Device Manager list. The photo below shows if you have never seen this error.
The error is very common and has been discussed by everyone through web portals and forums for years. No matter which Windows OS and which OS version (it could be Windows 7 OS, Windows 8 OS, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10) you are using, you can certainly get the USB not recognized message more than once in your life. by inserting a USB flash drive or external USB drive into your PC. Actually, there is no exact and specific reason for getting this error message. So, we have to identify the problem of such error and try to fix it manually step by step for troubleshooting. Removing a USB device is not always safe and can cause problems; there may also be another problem related to windows drivers or similar ones that cause the device not to be recognized by the system. Most of the time, users using USB and virtual Windows operating systems receive an error message, but there are quite a few cases that I have had when I connected a USB flash drive directly in the My Computer window.
How to resolve and fix the 'USB device not recognized' error in Windows 10, Windows 8.1 and Windows 7
There are probably several reasons that cause Windows to not display the device and it is not recognized causing an error, so of course there are several possible solutions. Here, follow the guide to get rid of this error. This doesn't mean you won't get the same error soon. Since there are many reasons for causing an external drive to not recognize it, thus, you can get the same Windows errors any time you plug a USB device into a Windows USB port.
Step 1: Disconnect the USB device and plug it back into the same port
Once you receive the error notification, simply remove the USB device and reinsert it. Try the same method two or three times. If you are lucky, you may be able to get rid of the Windows error that is preventing you from accessing a specific USB device. If this remedy works for you, then it may be an issue loading the device driver in Windows at the time you introduce the external USB into your PC.
Step 2: Disconnect the USB drive and reinsert it into another USB port
Try another USB port while you keep getting the error message. There may be a problem with the USB port. The USB port can get into mischief or develop mechanical problems over time. Therefore, try to use a separate USB port to solve the problem, if this helps, then it is probably a problem with the USB port. Replace the USB port immediately so that you do not receive any errors in the near future due to the same reason.
Step 3: Restart your computer to fix the problem
When you start turning on your PC, all programs, drivers, processes, services start automatically in the background. But, if any important process or driver does not load at startup, your computer may act up and may result in a “USB device not recognized” error.
Step 4: Windows Device Manager Search Problems and USB Driver Problems
This step is the most important. Most Windows users who receive this error can fix it using Windows Device Manager. In Device Manager, you can find all the connected devices of your PC, including processors, printers, hard drives (internal and external), etc. So, how to find and fix the problem of recognizing the connected external USB device using Device Manager? Follow the steps as described below:
1. Press Windows+R and open the Run window, in the window run the following command devmgmt.msc to open the device manager in the Windows window.
When the scan is completed, the program will automatically download the usb driver. If the USB device is not recognized and fixed, then, of course, this is a problem in Windows driver synchronization.
A USB device that is not recognized by Windows is marked as ‘Unknown Device’. You can update drivers in Windows by right-clicking in the context menu. You need to select the unknown or unrecognized device from the list in Windows Device Manager and right-click on it. Select “Update Driver”.
After a successful update, you should no longer receive an error message with USB devices. If the error persists, you can disable the unknown device driver for a while and give it a chance to bypass the error. But, if the message still appears, it is better to uninstall the device driver and reinstall the latest drivers from the Internet.
Now select the USB Root Hub - Properties and under the ‘Power Management’ tab you will find the option “Allow the device to be turned off to save power”. Uncheck the box and see if it helps or not.
Step 5: Disable USB - Selectively Pause Setup
There are various power options available in your computer's control panel. Select “Change Settings Plan” of your running plans and click on the “Change advanced power settings” option. Now scroll down to USB Setting >> USB Selective Suspend >> Install and force it to shut down. Laptop users should select the battery option and then make it disable.
Step 6: Change the registry to 'enhancedpowermanagementenabled' to fix the USB device issue
Many Windows 10 PC users may encounter the same problem. In addition, when connecting a device using a USB cable, the device remains disconnected. When you connect a USB device to a PC using a USB cable, the device receives charge from the PC. In this case, for Windows 10 users, when you connect the device to the USB port, the device gets charged, but the PC does not show the device in File Explorer. Sometimes, users receive a “USB not recognized” error message. The procedure to resolve the problem is described below.
Open Device Manager and go to the properties of the USB device that shows errors.
Switch to the ‘Details’ tab and select the path to the device instance from the drop-down menu.
Be aware of the corresponding instance ID.
Now open Registry Editor and navigate to the following path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USB\(Device Instance Path)\Device Parameters
On the right side of the device parameter, change the value of ‘EnhancedPowerManagementEnabled’ to ‘0’.
Restart your computer to receive the error message has been fixed.
Step 7: Remove existing hidden devices
Windows Device Manager does not show all devices in the list. It only shows devices connected to the PC. Devices that were previously installed and not connected to the PC right now do not appear in the Device Manager list. For example, a USB scanner after installation on a PC and if it is no longer turned on, it will not appear in the device manager list. However, some hidden devices may cause problems for modern USB devices and will result in an error message.
Now, let's see how to show hidden devices and remove them to avoid any conflict between them.
Open a command prompt as an administrator and run the following commands:
Set DEVMGR_SHOW_DETAILS=1 set DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES=1 start devmgmt.msc 
Once Device Manager has loaded successfully, in the top navigation pane, select View >> Show hidden devices.
Now, find and manually identify the list of unused drivers and remove them. You can check unknown devices, Universal Serial Bus controllers, etc.
New devices can now work perfectly after removing old devices and drivers. Thus, we hope that you will find a solution to fix “USB not recognized” in Windows.
Step 8: Try the USB port to troubleshoot the application
If the above methods did not work and your device still does not work for you, you should try the ‘fix’ apps from Microsoft. There is also another useful tool from Microsoft to do this kind of work. The instrument known as ‘ Fix It‘. Download links are given below.
DriverFinder is another third-party application that can fix Windows devices that are not recognized and are throwing errors on your PC. Simply install DriverFinder software and scan all applications installed on your computer. This useful application finds all the new drivers for your PC. This way, all USB devices including printers will be correctly recognized by your PC, laptop, etc.
Step 9: Other Possible Remedies
In the above steps, I have mentioned all the possible solutions to the “USB device not recognized” problem for Windows 10, 8.1, 7 users. If the problem occurs due to software or operating system issue, then of course, by following the above methods, you can solve the problem of.
If the problem persists, then there will most likely be a hardware problem. Either the USB devices are damaged or the USB port may not be working properly. So, first connect another USB device to this port to make sure there is nothing wrong with the port. Then connect the USB device to another computer and check whether it works or not. If you still get the same error again, then there is a serious problem in the USB drive. You can try a different USB connector.
Connect the USB flash drive to another PC and remove it if the problem occurs as a result of the disk being suddenly ejected.
Turn off your PC and unplug the power cable completely for 5 minutes. This motherboard USB hub reset may help resolve the driver issue. In case you are a laptop user, then remove the battery for at least a few minutes to reset the USB hub on the motherboard.
Update your BIOS and try to fix problems in Windows.
Hopefully this article will help you fix the USB device not recognized error in Windows and now you should be able to work normally with your USB device. Most USB device not recognized errors can be resolved by one of the above solutions. If you have any other solutions, or a USB problem that isn't solved by these tips, please leave a comment!
If, when connecting a flash drive, external hard drive, printer or other device connected via USB in Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 (I think this also applies to Windows 10), you see an error saying that the USB device is not recognized, these instructions should help solve the problem . The error may occur with USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 devices.
In this part we will talk about how to fix the error USB device is not recognized in the device manager in Windows 7, 8 or Windows 10. I note that these are several methods at once and, as I wrote above, they may or may not work specifically for your situation.
So, first of all, go to Device Manager. One quick way to do this is to press the Windows key (with logo) + R, enter devmgmt.msc and press Enter.
Your unidentified device will most likely be located in the following sections of the manager:
- USB controllers
- Other devices (and called "Unknown device")
In the case where an unknown USB device with an exclamation mark appears in the "USB Controllers" list, try the following two things:
Another method, the functionality of which I happened to see in Windows 8.1 (when the system writes error code 43 in the description of the problem: USB device is not recognized): for all the devices listed in the previous paragraph in order, try the following: right-click - “Update drivers”. Then - search for drivers on this computer - select the driver from the list of already installed drivers. In the list you will see a compatible driver (which is already installed). Select it and click “Next” - after reinstalling the driver for the USB controller to which the unidentified device is connected, it can work.
USB 3.0 devices (flash drive or external hard drive) are not recognized in Windows 8.1
On laptops with the Windows 8.1 operating system, the USB device not recognized error is quite common for external hard drives and flash drives running via USB 3.0.
Changing the parameters of the laptop's power supply circuit helps solve this problem. Go to Windows Control Panel - Power Options, select the power plan you are using and click "Change advanced power settings." Then, in the USB settings, disable temporary disabling of USB ports.
