USB devices are the best and the easiest way to store and transfer the data from one computer to another. USB devices, such as Hard Drive, Pen Drive, and Memory Card are not only portable but also very easy to handle and use. However, sometimes you might face the “USB device not detected” issue with Windows PC. Normally, this happens when the USB port is unable to recognize the external USB drives. After that, when you try to access the data from the hard drive or USB device, you see the USB Device Not Recognized error message. In this article, you will learn how to fix USB device not recognized error in Windows.
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Reasons behind USB Device not detected errors
This error can occur in the following situations:
- Unstable, outdated or corrupt USB driver.
- Due to faulty, damaged or broken USB ports.
- The error may also arise because of partition issues on your external USB device.
- If your USB device is malfunctioned or damaged, you are likely to face this issue.
- The wrong file system in an external drive is also the cause for this issue.
- Virus infected PC.
You can follow below-explained methods to resolve USB device not detected problem applied to both USB flash drives and larger external hard drives
Steps to fix USB Device not Detected and Malfunctioned in Windows
Try to fix the issue by disconnecting the computer from the power supply
Sometimes, a very simple trick can fix major issues, such as USB not detected problem. You can try to fix the issue by disconnecting the computer and rebooting it.
- First, turn off your computer by using the Windows Shut Down option.
- Then, disconnect the power cable from your computer and wait for a while.
- After that, reconnect the power cable and Start your computer.
Disconnect the USB Device and Restart your Computer or Laptop
- Disconnect all the USB devices from your computer.
- Restart your computer.
- After that, reconnect USB devices to your computer.
Now, if the current USB port is not detecting the drive then, try to connect it with another USB port. If the USB is being recognized by other port, then there could be a hardware problem with one of the USB ports. If none of the USB port recognizes the device, then try another solution. Try not to use any USB hub to connect the device to the computer.
Update USB Device Driver
If all the USB ports are working properly, then you need to check whether USB driver installed on your computer is latest or not. Because, many times old drivers can prevent the drive to connect to the PC and shows device malfunctioned message. In order to check the driver status, you can follow the below steps.
- First of all, press Windows + R key together and type devmgmt.msc in the run dialogue box, then click on OK.
- Next, expand disk drivers and right click on the connected external USB drive.
- After that, click on properties and select the Driver tab.
- At last, click on the Update Driver Software option and follow the further instructions to update driver.
Keep in mind that if this method doesn’t work, then you can try to download the updated USB drivers from the official site website PC manufacturer. This is quite useful if you are trying to install the driver for a printer, scanner and other input/output USB device.
Change Drive Letter
You need to check whether your external USB Drive is visible in Disk Management, then rename or change the drive letter. To do this follow the steps given below: –
- First of all, right-click on This PC or My Computer and click Manage.
- Next, select Disk Management.
- Then, right-click on the connected external drive and choose Change Drive Letter and Paths.
- Finally, click Add, then assign a new drive letter from the drop-down list and click OK.
Fix the USB Root Hub
Follow the steps given below to fix the USB Root Hub: –
- First, press Windows + R key together and then type devmgmt.msc and click on OK.
- Next, expand Universal Serial Bus controllers.
- Then, right-click on USB Root Hub and click Properties.
- After that, select Power Management and uncheck the Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power check box.
- At last, click OK and save changes.
Remember to repeat this process for all available USB Root Hubs. After that, Save changes for each process and then restart your PC. If still you encounter USB device not recognized issue then go back to the power management tab for each one and check the box again.
Change USB Selective Suspend Settings
In order to change USB selective suspend setting, you need to follow the below-mentioned steps: –
- First of all, go to the Control Panel and click on Hardware and Sound.
- Next, click on the Power Options.
- Then, select Change Plan Settings under preferred plans.
- Next, click on Change advanced power settings.
- After that, expand USB settings and USB selective suspend settings.
- Then, select Disable from the drop-down menu.
- Now, click “Apply” and “OK” to save the settings.
If you are using a laptop, then you will see two options: On Battery and Plugged in. So, you need to select disable for both settings respectively.
These are some solutions to fix USB not detecting issue. In case, if all the solutions mentioned above are not able to fix “Hard Drive Not detecting” problem and you are still getting the same error, then there may be a chance that your hard drive has become dead. In that case, you need to take the help of a Hard Drive Support.
After your problem is resolved, then it is recommended to take a backup of your hard drive data to avoid any data loss in future.