When you are working on your computer or laptop sometime or other, you must have surely come across a message that says “Flash Drive Not Recognized” or “USB Device Not Recognized Windows 10”. Thus, you might conclude that your computer is not recognizing USB. Now the first thing that strikes your mind is how this happened and how do I get my computer to recognize A USB device?
To overcome this situation, we follow some initial checks that are likely to create certain problems. We plug the device out and insert it again, checking that it is not cracked for the USB stick. Also, you might go ahead with starting your computer in case this might work. But in certain cases, these initial checks can’t assist you when the USB drive not recognized Windows 10. For such an instance, you need to proceed with several other methods that can pull you out of trouble.
Why Does “USB Device Not Recognized Windows 10” Message Pop Up?
Accessing data from an external hard drive sometimes creates trouble due to unknown reasons. You then start wondering why Windows 10 doesn’t recognize USB and try to fix it. This needs to be resolved timely to prevent any data loss or malware that might corrupt your drive. It may occur due to some corrupt or unstable device driver that has been loaded. Or it can also be because drivers are outdated and require updating. Sometimes after safely removing previous USB devices, the computer disables that port and causes this error to occur. Also, USB controllers are not up to date and create trouble. So, if USB device not recognized Windows 10 keeps popping up while working with an external drive. Here are a few solutions you can implement.
Method 1: How To Fix USB Flash Drive Not Detected by Reconnecting the External Hard Drive?
When a USB device not detected Windows 10 error occurs or when the device is not working properly or becomes corrupt, you can follow these steps to resolve it.
1. Go to the “Start” menu and type “Device Manager” in the search box. A list is opened in which to select the “Device Manager” option.
2. Scroll down to locate “Universal Serial Bus Controllers” and click on it to expand the menu.
3. A list of hardware is opened from which you need to select the desired disk drive. Right-click on that selected hard drive that is required to be fixed. Click on “Uninstall”.
4. Unplug the USB cable after hard drive uninstallation is completed. Wait for a few minutes, and then reconnect the USB cable. Now the driver automatically starts loading.
5. Now you can check for the USB drive in Windows Explorer.
Method 2: Installing Latest Windows Updates to Fix Computer Won’t Recognize USB Error
Sometimes Windows 10 Doesn’t Recognize USB devices due to obsolete or outdated device drivers. This can be fixed by installing the latest Windows updates that might be showing up.
1. Click on the “Start” menu and go to the “Settings” tab to open “Update & Security”.
2. Click on the “Windows Updates” & choose “Check for Updates” option that appears next.
3. The computer starts scanning for available updates. Once the scanning is complete, click on “View Optional Updates.”
4. Select “Install updates” after selecting the checkbox available next to updates.
5. If a license agreement prompt appears, then click on “I Accept.” Proceed further as directions appear on your screen.
Method 3: Detecting USB By Disabling Selective Suspend Setting
When the problem is still not resolved, and the Windows 10 flash drive is not showing up, this method can work out. Disabling the USB selective suspend setting helps to prevent USB external drives from powering down.
1. Open the “Start” menu, and in the search box, type “Power Options.” Else, go to the Control Panel and Click on ‘Power Options’
2. Now click on “Create a Power Plan”.
3. Adjacent to your current plan settings displayed, click on “Change Plan Settings.”
4. As the “Change settings for the plan” dialogue box appears, click on “Change advanced power settings” to proceed further.
5. Click on the box so that the “USB Settings” menu expands. Now select “USB selective suspend settings”.
6. Find “Plugged-in” and click on that. Select the drop-down menu to find “Disabled.”
7. An additional step required if you are using a laptop. Select “Battery,” and from the drop-down menu, click on “Disabled.”
8. Finally select “Apply” and click on “OK”. Now try to connect the USB drive. It should be detected now.
Method 4: Fixing USB Device By Changing The Power Management Setting For The USB Root Hub
1. Press the “Windows” key and “R” on your keyboard at the same time. On the “Run” dialogue box that opens, type “devmgmt.msc” and press “Enter.”
2. Open the “Universal Serial Bus Controller” to find the “USB Root Hub Option.” Click on it to get “Properties.”
3. When “USB Root Hub Properties” box opens, click on the “Power Management” tab.
4. Uncheck the box next to “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power” and press “OK.” For multiple USB Root Hubs, same needs to be repeated each time.
5. Try connecting to the USB device after the process is done for all visible devices.
Method 5: Turn Off Fast Startup To Fix the Undetected USB Drive
Sometimes if the fast startup feature is enabled, it creates certain problems due to which you can’t access USB drive Windows 10. Fixing this might help to resolve the issue.
1. In the search bar, type “Control Panel,” and from the panel that opens up, select the “Control Panel” menu.
2. From several options that appear on your screen, click on “Power Options.”
3. In the left pane, select “Choose what the power button does.”
4. From the tab that opens up select “Change settings that are currently unavailable.”
5. Under the shutdown, settings look for the “Turn on fast startup” option and disable it. Click on “Save changes” and restart your PC.
Method 6: Uninstalling Hidden Devices From The Device Manager
Even after several methods, if you are still trying to figure out how to open a flash drive on Windows 10, this might help you out. The USB devices that are not recognized may sometimes be hidden in the Device Manager. So you need to follow these steps to fix it.
1. Press the “windows key” and “R” on your keyboard and type “cmd” followed by “Enter.”
2. When the Command Prompt starts, type these lines and press the “Enter” key after each command.
set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1
cd
cd windowssystem32
start devmgmt.ms
3. “Device Manager” window opens up. In that, click on the “View” option and select “Show hidden devices.”
4. Now expand all sections and clear away the entries that greyed out. Restart your PC and then connect the USB drive.
Method 7: Assign A Letter To Your USB Storage
In some cases, USB devices need to be partitioned, and a letter has to be assigned to them. This helps in detecting devices as the disk management system fixes problems with the drive.
1. Press “Windows Key” and “S” together on your keyboard and type “Computer Management.” Open the “Computer Management” from the list generated.
2. In the “Computer Management” tab, open “Disk Management.”
3. To partition USB, click on “Unallocated Space” and open “New Simple Volume.” Follow prompts that come up to create partitions.
4. Even after partitioning, if the USB is not visible, then check for the drive letter. Look for your USB drive and right-click on it. Click on “Change Drive Letter and Paths.”
5. If no letter assigned to it, click on “Add” and assign a letter. If it already has some letter, then change that letter by clicking on “Change.”
6. Now connect your USB to see if it is detected or not.
Method 8: Reinstalling USB Controllers to Fix the USB Driver
When the currently loaded USB drivers get corrupted or damaged, it constantly creates an issue of USB drive not showing up. To reinstall the USB drivers, adopt these steps
1. From the “Start” menu, open “Device Manager” by typing in the search box.
2. Go downwards to find “Universal Serial Bus Controller.” Click on it to expand the menu.
3. Right click on a particular device to select “Uninstall.” Do it for all devices that are showing up.
4. Restart your computer after it is done. It installs the USB Controllers automatically.
Apart from all the above USB fixing methods mentioned above, you can try certain other ways. These methods are easy to implement and won’t take much time. They also do not involve much of the complexities, and no technical issues persist.
Method 9: Plug Out Other USB Devices
You are often struggling with Windows 10 Setup Not Finding USB error and trying various methods to fix it. But you do not notice that it can be due to too many USB devices plugged in together on the same system. When multiple devices connected to the same laptop or computer, one or other devices may stop running. To avoid such conflicts, we suggest you to remove or plug out other unused devices. Doing this will allow your device to run smoothly without any interruptions.
Method 10: Connect your USB hard drive to the USB ports in the back
For some hard drives like Seagate, connecting drives in front ports do not work well. Try connecting USB in the backports of your computer and check whether the issue is resolved or not. Sometimes, the front port does not produce enough power and needs to be inserted in the backport.
Method 11: Installing Motherboard’s Latest Chipset Drivers
When you are done with numerous methods, and still USB did not recognize Windows 10, looking into the motherboard’s chipset sometimes works. Review all documents of your computer to find the manufacturer of a motherboard in your system. By visiting a computer manufacturer’s website, you can find appropriate drivers that would be a perfect match for your motherboard. You can also contact your computer manufacturer in case you require any assistance. This can help to get you out of trouble and would let your USB device be detected.
Conclusion
If you encountered with a USB flash drive not showing up Windows 10, it could be due to several reasons. To overcome it, try fixing it by employing one of the multiple methods mentioned above. These methods to resolve USB not detecting issues are simple to implement and can be followed easily by adopting it step by step. It could be due to faulty hardware or outdated software. Try figuring out issues by going through these methods that can be worked upon without any complexity.