Apr 11 2013

The computer does not see the flash drive - there is a solution

Hello. Your The computer does not see the flash drive, memory card or HDD and you are wondering what to do? Surely every computer user has experienced a similar situation, or even more than one.

Today I will help you with resolving issues if your computers do not see flash drives and others similar devices. I’ll tell you what problems there are with displaying usb devices and how to solve them.

Display problems

By the way, the last article was about data recovery from a flash drive. If you are interested in this, then replenish your knowledge.

Your computer does not see or detect the flash drive, hard drive and memory card. let's consider possible reasons the situation. At the end of the article, don’t forget to watch a visual video lesson on how to make a flash drive or hard drive work.

A short outline of the article

• Device Definition
• Power indicator
• Front USB ports
• Not enough food
• USB disabled in BIOS
• USB device not recognized
• Outdated drivers
• Viruses
• Different file systems
• Conclusion

Determining the device

The first step is to determine exactly how the computer does not see your USB drive. From this answer it will be clear whether it is possible or not.

To do this you need to go to the dispatcher Windows devices.

In order to enter it, you need to right-click on the my computer shortcut on the desktop or in the start menu, go to properties, click on device manager.

After that, select disk devices.

We got to the device manager and the disk devices tab. If your flash drive or memory card appears in this list, then it is highly likely that you can recover data on it. If there is no flash drive there, then the memory card controller is most likely burned out. I recommend trying to connect your USB device to other computers.

If nothing changes and the flash drive is still not visible, then the problem is probably a faulty controller. It’s unlikely that you will extract data from such a USB device; you can, of course, contact special institutions that do this (they are not in all cities), but they will charge you a tidy sum for the work. So think about whether you need it or not.

Your flash drive is visible as a device, but it does not appear in my computer or Explorer, or asks to be formatted. To do this you need to go to disk management. To get into it you need to perform the following steps. Here are screenshots for clarity:

Right-click on my computer and go to management.

Go to disk management.

The device is displayed, writes its volume and file system - it is ready for use and functions normally.

The device is displayed, shows its capacity, but does not display the file system and writes “not defined”. In order to use it, you need to right-click in the Not Defined window and select Format.

You can check the box quick formatting and click OK. After the device is formatted, it should work in normal operating mode.

Displayed as a removable device, says no media and does not show the file system. All these parameters indicate that this device is not working properly, there is internal or external damage to the controller. You can hardly read information from such a flash drive without special expensive equipment.

Power indicator

When you connect the flash drive to the computer, a small indicator on the USB device should light up. If it lights up and starts blinking, then everything is fine with the flash drive, but not with the operating system, you need to look for the reason in it. If the flash drive indicator does not light up, then the problem may be in the device itself or the connected port of the computer.

Front USB ports

There have been cases when a flash drive is connected to a computer via the front USB ports, but the flash drive does not work. Perhaps these front usbs are turned off or they forgot to connect them to the motherboard.

Not enough power

Power shortage mainly occurs when connecting hard drives through the front USB ports of the computer, hubs and hubs. It is best to connect such devices directly to usb connectors on the motherboard, that is, at the back of the computer. If you are using a USB hub or hub, then disable unnecessary devices, maybe this will help. The reason may also be a low-power computer power supply.

USB disabled in BIOS

This problem is rare. Mainly in computer clubs and similar entertainment establishments. What is it for? To prevent a person from introducing viruses and downloading different programs and necessary information on computer. This is more of a protective measure. If this home computer, then you need to go to the settings and check the box to enable the launch of usb devices in the motherboard.

USB device not recognized

The usb device is not recognized even when a flash drive is connected, operating system gives it the letter already in use (the volume label in use). This does not always happen; there are other cases. In order to fix this you need to go to the computer control panel.

I showed how to enter it above, or you can open the Run window - keyboard shortcut Win + R (checkbox between Ctrl and Alt plus the letter R) and type the command diskmgmt.msc. Go to disk management, find the desired device - a flash drive, right-click on it and select Change drive letter or drive path. In the window that appears, you can add or change this letter.

Outdated drivers

It is possible that your drivers are outdated - update them. To do this, you need to find out what manufacturer and model of your motherboard. Usually written on the packaging box, if you saved them, of course. If not, then use the Everest or Aida program.

Using them you can find out the model of your motherboard and much more. useful information about your computer. After you have found out everything, you need to go to the official website of the manufacturer and find the desired system board and download drivers for the chipset and usb device, if any.

Viruses

There have been cases where the computer does not recognize the flash drive due to viruses that have appeared in your operating system. For this I recommend using good antivirus programs and do a full virus scan at least once a month. If you don't have it, you can use free antivirus, or purchase a paid product.

Different file systems

This happens, but very rarely. Your computer does not see the flash drive due to a conflict between the computer’s file systems and USB devices. Most flash drives work in two file systems: FAT and FAT32, and hard drives work in NTFS.

You can try formatting your flash drive in a different format such as FAT32 or NTFS. Maybe after this everything will work fine.

Helpful information. On a flash drive in FAT and FAT32 format, you can upload information in one file of no more than 4 Gigabytes, and on a hard drive much more. Therefore, if you encounter such a problem, be prepared for it and keep it in mind.

And look at dessert short video lesson on how to make the computer see a flash drive and hard drive. For convenient and enjoyable viewing, I recommend watching this video in full screen, that is, in full screen mode.

The computer does not recognize the flash drive and hard drive

Conclusion

And I also have some news. Yesterday my email account was hacked. I tried to restore it, but to no avail. I filled out the form to the support service, the answer should be sent within 3 working days, I will wait for news. If everything goes well and I can restore my mail, I will definitely write a separate article about this. After all this problem Happens to many Internet users.

Perhaps you have any questions or questions - your computer does not see the flash drive. You can ask them below in the comments to this article, and also use the form with me.

Thank you for reading me on

The computer does not see the flash drive - there is a solution.

Hello. Your The computer does not see the flash drive , memory card or hard drive and you are wondering what to do? Surely every computer user has experienced a similar situation, or even more than one.

Today I will help you with this issue. I’ll tell you what problems there are with displaying usb devices and how to solve them. By the way, the last article was about data recovery from a flash drive. If you are interested in this, then replenish your knowledge.

Your computer does not see or detect the flash drive, hard drive and memory card. Let's look at the possible reasons for this situation. At the end of the article, don’t forget to watch a visual video lesson on how to make a flash drive or hard drive work.

A short outline of the article

• Device Definition


• Power indicator


• Front USB ports


• Not enough food


• USB disabled in BIOS


• USB device not recognized


• Outdated drivers


• Viruses


• Different file systems


• Conclusion

Determining the device

The first step is to determine exactly how the computer does not see your USB drive. This answer will make it clear whether it is possible to recover data from a flash drive or not.

To do this, you need to go to Windows Device Manager.

In order to enter it, you need to right-click on the my computer shortcut on the desktop or in the start menu, go to properties, click on device manager.

After that, select disk devices.

We got to the device manager and the disk devices tab. If your flash drive or memory card appears in this list, then it is highly likely that you can recover data on it. If there is no flash drive there, then the memory card controller is most likely burned out. I recommend trying to connect your USB device to other computers.

If nothing changes and the flash drive is still not visible, then the problem is probably a faulty controller. It’s unlikely that you will extract data from such a USB device; you can, of course, contact special institutions that do this (they are not in all cities), but they will charge you a tidy sum for the work. So think about whether you need it or not.

Your flash drive is visible as a device, but it does not appear in my computer or Explorer, or asks to be formatted. To do this you need to go to disk management. To get into it you need to perform the following steps. Here are screenshots for clarity:

The device is displayed, writes its volume and file system - it is ready for use and functions normally.

The device is displayed, shows its capacity, but does not display the file system and writes “not defined”. In order to use it, you need to right-click in the Not Defined window and select Format. You can check the quick formatting box and click OK. After the device is formatted, it should work in normal operating mode.

Displayed as a removable device, says no media and does not show the file system. All these parameters indicate that this device is not working properly, there is internal or external damage to the controller. You can hardly read information from such a flash drive without special expensive equipment.

Power indicator

When you connect the flash drive to the computer, a small indicator on the USB device should light up. If it lights up and starts blinking, then everything is fine with the flash drive, but not with the operating system, you need to look for the reason in it. If the flash drive indicator does not light up, then the problem may be in the device itself or the connected port of the computer.

Front USB ports

There have been cases when a flash drive is connected to a computer via the front USB ports, but the flash drive does not work. Perhaps these front usbs are turned off or they forgot to connect them to the motherboard.

Not enough power

Power shortages mainly occur when connecting hard drives through the front USB ports of the computer, hubs and hubs. It is best to connect such devices directly to the USB connectors on the motherboard, that is, at the back of the computer. If you use a usb hub or hub, then disconnect unnecessary devices, this may help. The reason may also be a low-power computer power supply.

USB disabled in BIOS

This problem is rare. Mainly in computer clubs and similar entertainment establishments. What is it for? To prevent a person from introducing viruses and downloading various programs and unnecessary information onto the computer. This is more of a protective measure. If this is a home computer, then you need to go to the BIOS settings and check the box to enable the launch of USB devices in the motherboard.

USB device not recognized

The usb device is not recognized and when you connect a flash drive, the operating system gives it an already used letter (volume label in use). This does not always happen; there are other cases. In order to fix this you need to go to the computer control panel.

I showed how to enter it above, or you can open the Run window - the keyboard shortcut Win + R (the checkbox between Ctrl and Alt plus the letter R) and type the command diskmgmt.msc. Go to disk management, find the desired device - a flash drive, right-click on it and select Change drive letter or drive path. In the window that appears, you can add or change this letter.

Outdated drivers

It is possible that your drivers are outdated - update them. To do this, you need to find out what manufacturer and model of your motherboard is. Usually written on the packaging box, if you saved them, of course. If not, then use the Everest or Aida program. Using them, you can find out the model of your motherboard and a lot of other useful information about your computer. After you have found out everything, you need to go to the manufacturer’s official website, find the required motherboard and download drivers for the chipset and usb device, if any.

Viruses

There have been cases where the computer does not recognize the flash drive due to viruses that have appeared in your operating system. To do this, I recommend using good anti-virus programs and doing a full virus scan at least once a month. If you don’t have it, you can use the free Kaspersky Yandex antivirus version, or purchase a paid product.

Different file systems

This happens, but very rarely. Your computer does not see the flash drive due to a conflict between the file systems of the computer and the flash drive. Most flash drives work in two file systems: FAT and FAT32, and hard drives work in NTFS.

You can try formatting your flash drive in a different format such as FAT32 or NTFS. Maybe after this everything will work fine.

Helpful information. On a flash drive in FAT and FAT32 format, you can upload information in one file of no more than 4 Gigabytes, and on a hard drive much more. Therefore, if you encounter such a problem, be prepared for it and keep it in mind.

And for dessert, watch a short video tutorial on how to make your computer see a flash drive and hard drive. For convenient and enjoyable viewing, I recommend watching this video in full screen, that is, in full screen mode.

The computer does not recognize the flash drive and hard drive

A USB drive is a compact and convenient device for storing files. Like any equipment, it is subject to failures and breakdowns - both hardware and software. If the computer does not see the flash drive, you can usually solve the problem yourself. We list the possible reasons why a USB drive is not displayed or readable, and ways to solve them as quickly as possible.

When a flash drive is not detected, it is convenient to carry out initial diagnostics using a utility from Microsoft. All possible problems it won't solve it, but it can eliminate common errors.

Download from the official website and run if your drive is not recognized. The utility is suitable for Windows 7 – 10.

USB ports

If the utility does not find out why the computer does not see the inserted flash drive, proceed to check it yourself. Start with the USB ports - they may be faulty or not turned on. If you inserted the drive into the front panel port system unit, move it back or try the next socket. At the same time, check the contacts of the USB connector of the flash drive - if small debris gets on them, the device cannot be read on the computer. Clean the dust with a toothpick and wipe the contacts with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol.

If the laptop does not see the flash drive, the reason may be that the power supply is insufficient. When too much equipment is connected to the PC via USB - mouse, keyboard, removable hard disk, smartphone on recharge - there is not enough power for everything, and the system does not recognize the next device. In this case, simply disconnect unnecessary devices and reinsert the drive.

If the computer does not recognize the flash drive and other USB devices in any of the ports, USB is disabled in the BIOS settings. To access changing them, restart your PC and press the keys to enter the BIOS when booting.

The required combination will be written on the screen, usually F2. In the BIOS, go to the “Advanced” tab, click on “USB Configuration”. In the “USB Controller” item, set the value to “Enables”. Press F10 to save the settings and exit.

Viruses

When a flash drive is detected but cannot be read, it is worth checking it for viruses. If you recently inserted a drive into someone else's computer or laptop, it could be hosting a virus. Then the system will connect your USB device, and when you try to copy files, it will display the error “Application not found” or “Access denied.”

So that the antivirus receives full access to the drive, check if there is an autorun file on it that has been replaced by a virus. To do this, open the flash drive in Explorer; the show Hidden Items option must be enabled for all items to be visible.

The option is enabled in the top panel of Explorer or in the folder options. If you find a virus file called autorun.inf, delete it immediately, then run an antivirus scan.

Drivers

If your computer no longer sees the flash drive, but in other PCs it is detected just fine, look into the drivers. Open "Device Manager" through the properties of the "My Computer" shortcut. In the list of USB controllers, find the flash drive - if next to it there is a yellow triangle with exclamation mark, right-click on the name and select “Delete device”. Remove the drive from the computer connector and insert it, the drivers will be reinstalled.

If this did not work, download and install new USB drivers from the website of the computer or laptop motherboard manufacturer. If you don’t see the USB device in the manager, take it out and reinsert it, and the required line will disappear from the list and appear.

Sometimes a driver conflict occurs - when the system tries to use a driver for another similar storage device for your drive, so the computer does not see the flash drive. What can you do in such a situation? Information about previously connected USB devices should be removed from the OS. Programs and DriveCleanup that are compatible with Windows 7 – 10 can do this.

USBOblivion will clean the registry and remove USB mount points. After it finishes working, restart your computer and check if the system can recognize the flash drive.

Partition conflict

Sometimes the computer detects the flash drive, but incorrectly. In this case, you hear the usual sound of turning on the USB drive, an alert pops up and a tray icon appears, but you cannot use the device. The computer does not recognize removable media, because the OS assigned it the wrong partition letter, which was already occupied by other equipment. 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 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 desired device. If it says “Good”, right-click on it, in the menu click on “Make partition active” - if the item is available.

To give the partition the correct character, select "Change drive letter...". In the new window, allow access to the device and click “Change”. From the list of letters of the English alphabet, indicate any one to assign to the section. Just make sure which letters are already used for naming devices and do not use the first A, B, C, D, by default they are intended for floppy disks and partitions hard drive.

If the “Status” field says “Unknown,” then the flash drive has stopped working due to damage. Try to recover your data to save it.

Formatting

When you plug in a new removable drive into your PC, the system alerts you to the need to format it. The device volume is displayed as 0 MB, as if Windows 10 or 7 does not see the flash drive.

The formatting procedure is useful in case of file system conflicts. If your computer uses FAT32 and your USB device uses 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.

On your computer, open File Explorer. Right-click on the flash drive and go to “Format” in the menu. In a new window, install the desired file system, check the “Fast” box at the bottom - this will not only speed up the process, but will also help you later restore the data if you were unable to copy it. After formatting, reconnect and test the device.

Features of Windows XP

If Windows XP is installed on your PC, sometimes the flash drive is not recognized due to lack of updates. SP2 lacks components for USB devices to work correctly, so update your system 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 OS information, allow it automatic update. 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 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.

In this manual I will describe all the ways I know to solve this problem. The simplest ones will go first and, at the same time, the most effective ways in most situations, when the computer does not see the flash drive, it reports that the disk is not formatted or produces other errors. There are also separate instructions on how to.

There are many reasons why you may encounter the fact that your computer does not see the flash drive. The problem can appear in any version of the Microsoft operating system - Windows 10, 8, Windows 7 or XP. If the computer does not recognize the connected flash drive, this can manifest itself in several variations.

Start Disk Management using one of the following methods:

• Start - Run (Win + R), enter the command diskmgmt.msc, press Enter
• Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Computer Management - Disk Management

In the disk management window, pay attention to whether the flash drive appears and disappears when you connect and disconnect it from the computer.

The ideal option is if the computer sees the connected flash drive and all partitions on it (usually one) are in the “Good” state. In this case, just right-click on it and select context menu“Make the partition active”, and perhaps assign a letter to the flash drive - this will be enough for the computer to “see” USB disk. If the partition is faulty or deleted, then you will see “Not distributed” in the status. Try right-clicking on it and, if such an item appears in the menu, select “Create a simple volume” to create a partition and format the flash drive (the data will be deleted).

Further simple steps

Try going to Device Manager and see if your device is listed as unknown, or in the “Other devices” section (as in the screenshot) - the drive may be called there by its real name or as a USB mass storage device.

Right-click on the device, select Delete, and after deleting it, in the Device Manager menu, select Action - Update hardware configuration.

Perhaps this action will be enough for your flash drive to appear in Windows Explorer and was available.

Among other things, the following options are possible. If you connect the flash drive to the computer via an extension cable or USB hub, try connecting directly. Try connecting to all available USB ports. Try turning off the computer, disconnecting all extraneous devices from USB (Web cameras, external hard disks, card readers, printer), leave only the keyboard, mouse and flash drive, then turn on the computer. If after this the flash drive works, then the problem is in the power supply. USB port X computer - the PC power supply may not have enough power. A possible solution is to replace the power supply or purchase a USB hub with its own power supply.

Windows 10 does not see the flash drive after updating or installation (suitable for Windows 7, 8 and Windows 10)

Many users have encountered the problem of USB drives not being displayed after upgrading to Windows 10 from previous operating systems, or after simply installing updates on an already installed Windows 10. It often happens that flash drives only via USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 are not visible - i.e. It can be assumed that USB drivers are required. However, in fact, this behavior is often caused not by drivers, but by incorrect registry entries about previously connected USB drives.

In this case it may help free utility USBOblivion removing from Windows registry all information about previously connected flash drives and external hard drives. Before using the program, I recommend.

Disconnect all flash drives and other storage devices USB devices and from the computer, run the program, check the boxes Perform real cleaning and Save reg file undo, then click the “Cleaning” button.

After cleaning is complete, restart your computer and connect the USB flash drive - most likely, it will be detected and become accessible. If not, then try also going to the device manager (by right-clicking on the Start button) and follow the steps USB removal drive from the Other devices section and subsequent updating of the hardware configuration (described above). You can download the USBOblivion program from the official developer page: www.cherubicsoft.com/projects/usboblivion

But, in relation to Windows 10, another option is possible - actual incompatibility USB drivers 2.0 or 3.0 (usually then they show up with an exclamation mark in Device Manager). In this case, the recommendation is to check the availability of the necessary USB and chipset drivers on the official website of the laptop or PC motherboard manufacturer. At the same time, I recommend using the official websites of the device manufacturers themselves, and not the Intel or AMD websites, to search for such drivers, especially when it comes to laptops. Also, sometimes updating the motherboard BIOS helps solve the problem.

If the flash drive is not seen by Windows XP

The most common situation I encountered when making calls to set up and repair computers was when a computer with an operating system installed on it Windows system XP did not see the flash drive (even if it sees other flash drives), was caused by the fact that it was not installed necessary updates for working with USB drives. The fact is that many organizations use Windows XP, often in the SP2 version. Updates due to Internet access restrictions or bad work system administrator, were not installed.

So, if you have Windows XP and the computer does not see the flash drive:

• If SP2 is installed, update to version SP3 (when performing the update, if you have Internet Explorer 8, remove it).
• Install all Windows XP updates, regardless of which Service Pack you are using.

Here are some of the fixes for working with USB flash drives that were released in Windows updates XP:

• KB925196 - fixed errors that appear in the fact that the computer does not detect the connected flash drive or iPod.
• KB968132 - fixed errors where when connecting multiple USB devices in Windows XP they stopped functioning normally
• KB817900 - The USB port stopped working after removing and reinserting the flash drive
• KB895962 - USB flash drive stops working when the printer is turned off
• KB314634 - the computer sees only old flash drives that were connected before and does not see new ones
• KB88740 - Rundll32.exe error when inserting or removing a USB flash drive
• KB871233 - the computer does not see the flash drive if it has just been in sleep or hibernation mode
• KB312370 (2007) - USB 2.0 support in Windows XP

By the way, despite the fact that Windows Vista almost never used, it should be noted that installing all updates should also be the first step if a similar problem occurs.

Completely remove old USB drivers

This option is suitable if the computer says “Insert disk” when you insert a USB flash drive. Old USB drivers available in Windows can cause this problem, as well as errors associated with assigning a letter to the flash drive. In addition, this may also be the reason why the computer restarts or freezes when you insert a flash drive into a USB port.

The fact is that by default, Windows installs drivers for USB drives the moment you connect them to the corresponding port on your computer for the first time. At the same time, when the flash drive is disconnected from the port, the driver does not go anywhere and remains in the system. When connecting a new flash drive, conflicts may arise due to the fact that Windows will try to use the previous one. installed driver, corresponding this USB port, but to another USB drive. I won’t go into detail, but will simply describe the steps required to remove these drivers (you won’t see them in Windows Device Manager).

How to remove drivers for all USB devices

1. Turn off the computer and disconnect all USB storage devices (and not only) (flash drives, external hard drives, card readers, web cameras, etc. You can leave the mouse and keyboard provided that they do not have a built-in card reader.
2. Turn on your computer again.
3. Download the DriveCleanup utility http://uwe-sieber.de/files/drivecleanup.zip (compatible with Windows XP, Windows 7 and Windows 8)
4. Copy the 32-bit or 64-bit version of drivecleanup.exe (depending on your Windows versions) to the folder C:\Windows\System32.
5. Launch Command Prompt as Administrator and enter drivecleanup.exe
6. You will see the process of removing all drivers and their entries in the Windows registry.

When the program finishes running, restart your computer. Now, when you insert the USB flash drive, Windows will install new drivers for it.

Update 2016: It is easier to perform the operation to remove the mount points of USB drives using free program USBOblivion, as described above in the section about non-working flash drives in Windows 10 (the program will work for other versions of Windows).

Reinstalling USB devices in Windows Device Manager

If none of the above has helped so far, and the computer does not see any flash drives at all, and not just one specific one, you can try the following method:

1. Go to Device Manager by pressing Win+R and typing devmgmt.msc
2. In Device Manager, open the USB Controllers section
3. Delete (via right click) all devices called USB Root Hub, USB Host Controller or Generic USB Hub.
4. In Device Manager, select Actions - Update hardware configuration.

After repeated USB installation devices, check if they are working USB drives on your computer or laptop.

Additional actions

• Check your computer for viruses - they may cause inappropriate behavior of USB devices
• Check the Windows registry, namely the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\ Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Policies\ Explorer. If you see an option named NoDrives in this section, remove it and restart your computer.
• Go to the Windows registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ System\ CurrentControlSet\ Control. If the StorageDevicePolicies parameter is there, remove it.
• In some cases, completely de-energizing the computer helps. You can do this this way: unplug the flash drives, turn off the computer or laptop, unplug it (or remove the battery if it’s a laptop), and then, with the computer turned off, press and hold the power button for a few seconds. After that, release it, reconnect the power supply and turn it on. Oddly enough, this can sometimes help.

Recovering data from a flash drive that the computer cannot see

In case the management Windows disks the computer displays the flash drive, but in the state “Not recognized”, “Not initialized”, and the partition on the flash drive is “Not distributed”, then most likely the data on the flash drive is damaged and you will need to use data recovery.

There are a few things to keep in mind that will increase the likelihood of successful data recovery:

• Do not write anything to the flash drive you want to recover.
• Do not try to save recovered files to the same media from which they are recovered

If nothing helps, and your computer still does not see the flash drive, and the files and data stored on it are very important, then latest recommendation will contact a company professionally engaged in file and data recovery.

Read, what to do if Windows does not display the connected device. How to restore functionality to such a device if this is the reason. A flash drive or any other USB drive should be automatically detected by the computer and displayed in Explorer and the “This PC” folder after connecting to the USB port.

Content:

Diagnosis of the problem

The first thing you need to do if the connected USB drive does not appear in the file Windows Manager, you need to check the tool Disk management.

To open Disk management in Windows 8/10, right-click on the menu Start and select "Disk Management". In Windows 7, press the combination Windows keys+ R to open dialog box "Run" and enter the command in it diskmgmt.msc.

Check the list of drives in the window Disk management and find the USB drive that is not detected. It should appear here even if it is not in the folder "This computer", and match in size. Sometimes it is defined as "Removable device", but not always.

If you do not see your disk or flash drive even in Disk Management, then try the following:

• Turn on the disk, if there is such a function. Some external hard drives have a separate power cable or are turned on using a separate key dedicated to this.
• Connect the device to another USB port. Disconnect the flash drive from this USB port and connect it to another. Perhaps one of the USB ports on your computer has failed.
• Connect the device to your computer without a USB hub. If the flash drive is connected to the computer via an extension cord or USB hub, try disconnecting it from it and connecting it directly to the computer. Perhaps the reason is in the hub.
• Try another computer. Connect the flash drive to the USB port of another computer and see if it is recognized by it. If the device is also not detected by another computer, then most likely the problem lies with it.

Solution

If the problem options described above do not apply to your case, then your problem can most likely be solved using one of the methods described below. Depending on what you find in Disk Management, there are options for solutions to the problem that has arisen with identifying an external storage medium.

If Windows sees the disk, but cannot read it, then this means that it has a file system that it does not support. In this case, the operating system will prompt you to format the disk before using it. But don't rush to do it! This will destroy all your data.

If other computers see the flash drive, but yours doesn’t

If other computers detect your USB drive, but yours does not, then most likely there is a problem with the device drivers.

To check this, open Device Manager and look for Disk devices And USB controllers. Look to see if these sections contain devices marked with a yellow exclamation mark. If there is such a device, right-click on it and select Properties. The properties will contain information about the error and driver status.

To fix the driver problem, right-click on the device, select Properties / Driver / Update.

If the disk is visible in Disk Management

If the disc is visible in Disk Management, but it does not have a letter, then it is for this reason that it may not be displayed in Windows Explorer. In order for the system to start displaying it in Explorer, such a drive must be assigned a letter.

To do this, right-click on it and select "Change drive letter or drive path". If there is no such item in the pop-up menu, this may be due to the absence or unsupported file system type of the storage medium.

In the menu that opens, you will see that the drive does not have a letter assigned - assign it. To do this, select Add / / Ok.

If the disk is visible in Disk Management, but it is not allocated

If the disc is visible in Disk Management, but it is not distributed, which means that it is not formatted. In order for such a disk to become operational, right-click on it and select "Create Simple Volume".

Select the maximum suggested partition size and assign a drive letter suggested by the system. After this, the disk will be normally detected by the system and ready for use.

If the disk is visible in Disk Management but cannot be formatted

If for some reason the disk cannot be formatted, then to restore its functionality, you can completely erase it and then re-create the partition.

Note. As a result of such manipulation, all data from the disk (as well as flash drives or memory cards) will be permanently deleted. Therefore, worry about their safety in advance - scan the disk or flash drive using Hetman Partition Recovery, and save your data in a convenient place.

To clean the disk, open Command line as administrator and clean it up using the command diskpart – "clean".