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The computer does not recognize the file system of the flash drive. The computer does not see the flash drive

Almost everyone uses USB flash drives these days. It's simple and reliable way transfer and storage of information. But the failure of these devices has become a common problem for many users. Below are all possible reasons problems and their solutions.

The simpler and effective ways solving the problem, so you should follow the recommendations in order. But do not forget that some problems, such as severe physical damage, cannot be eliminated.

Reasons why the system does not recognize the device

For the operation of a USB device, it has a built-in special controller. With a certain failure, it may block, which will prevent the computer from recognizing the USB flash drive.

The reason for the failure may be a power surge, a sharp removal of the flash drive, its incorrect formatting, etc. Violations of this type can still be corrected, but in case of mechanical or thermal damage, it is impossible to restore the operation of the flash drive.

You can understand that a flash drive is not detected by a computer by the following factors:

  • The USB device is connected, but the computer says "insert disk";
  • the message "Device connected, not detected" pops up;
  • issues a request to format the flash drive;
  • a data read error message appears;
  • the indicator on the drive is on, but it is not displayed on the computer, etc.

Also, the cause of the failure may be:

  • non-working USB ports of the computer;
  • outdated drivers;
  • viruses on the device;
  • setup failures in BIOS;
  • different file system of the USB device and computer;
  • assigning a drive letter to the connected hard drive etc.

Driver Check

First of all, you need to check if the driver is installed correctly on the computer.

To do this, go to "Disk Management":


Now try plugging in and out your USB device and see if it shows up in this window. If the flash drive is displayed and the status is "Healthy", right-click on it and select "Make Partition Active".

If there is a failure, the status will show "Not Assigned", "Not Initialized" or "Unknown", which means that the device is damaged.

The system may assign the wrong letter to the flash drive, which will also not allow it to be recognized. Right-click on the device and select "Change drive letter" and assign a different value:

The flash drive driver itself needs to be checked in the device manager:

  • start;
  • control Panel;
  • device Manager.

If the driver for the flash drive is not installed, one or more USB devices will have yellow question marks next to them.

Computer hardware errors

When a new USB flash drive is not detected in the PC, insert it into different USB ports. During normal operation in all but one slot, the cause of the problem is a problem in that port.

The same problem may occur when connecting the USB flash drive not directly, but through a USB hub or extension cable. Try plugging the device directly into the USB port. If everything worked, then the adapter is the cause.

It happens that a lot of devices are connected to the computer via USB, then the ports may not have enough power to operate the flash drive. Disconnect other devices from the ports one by one, leaving only the mouse and keyboard. If the USB drive is now working, then the cause of the malfunction is a lack of power.

Photo: USB hub transformer Apacer PH150

In this case, it is better to put more powerful block power supply or a USB hub with a separate power supply. But if the size of the flash device is very large, older laptops simply will not draw power from it. With this option, the problem is almost impossible to solve.

Another problem is heating. connected USB- devices. The fault may be in the circuit on the device board.

You can check this on another computer - if it continues to heat up, then the USB drive is faulty. And if everything is fine in other places, then the computer port itself can short-circuit.

If the flash drive and USB port are good, the indicator on the device will light up. Then the cause of the problem is systemic, not hardware.

Video: Recovering a flash drive that is not recognized by the computer

Virus check

Then why is the flash card seen by the computer, but not readable? One reason could be a virus that infects boot file USB drive. Because of this, the device either does not boot at all, or is immediately blocked by the antivirus. And if it is displayed, it gives an "Access Denied" warning when you try to open it.

First of all, you should destroy the infected boot file "autorun.inf". To do this, enter the address of the flash drive in the explorer (for example, G: /):

  • "Service";
  • "Folder properties";
  • "View";
  • "Hidden files and folders";
  • "Show hidden files and folders.

Now the download file will be displayed. It must be removed and antivirus scan data from the entire device.

If the flash drive does not open through Explorer, use the command line:


USB setup in BIOS

The flash drive may not be recognized due to the USB ports being disabled in the BIOS. This happens very rarely, but it is better to check the settings just in case. Please note that in a disabled USB port, no device will be recognized, so if others work fine, then skip this step.

To enter the BIOS, restart the computer, and while turning it on, press the Del or F2 button. Different PCs may have different keys, so look at what will be written on the screen (like "Press F2 to enter Setup"). If a blue table with settings opens, then everything is correct - you have entered the BIOS.

Now you should find the menu item that controls the inclusion of USB. Its name may vary, but most often it is the Advanced tab (Peripherals, Integrated Peripherals):

In it, look for the item USB Configuration / Controller, etc. There are a lot of BIOS menu options, so specifying the exact item is quite difficult. But the word USB must be present. Now make sure USB support"Enabled", if not, then toggle them:

Some BIOS versions not only regulate the inclusion of the controller, but also indicate its mode of operation - V1.1 or V1.1 + V2.0 (there is already 3.0). Choose the option that supports all directions (V1.1+V2.0). Save the settings and exit the BIOS (most often the F10 key).

Usb drive is not detected by the system due to errors

After formatting, which might not have been entirely successful, the operating system may not see the flash drive due to errors. This can be checked in the "Disk Management" item, the entrance to which was described above. If there is an inscription “Healthy” next to the flash media, but it is still not visible in the explorer, the reason may be a formatting error.

You can fix this with new formatting. Right-click on the device and select "Format". The flash drive should now display and work without errors.

Different file systems of a flash card and a computer

To restore usb work flash, which is not detected in the PC, needs to be changed file system, due to which there may be a conflict in the computer. The file system of the latter is most often NTFS, and the flash device is FAT32. In the "Disk Management" window, you can see the types of file systems of different PC media.

Correct formatting solves the problem. For this:


In the window that opens, check the correspondence between the specified capacity and the parameters of the flash drive. Specify the file system as NTFS and check the box next to "Quick (clearing the table of contents)". Now click "Start":

Confirm your actions:

After the process is completed, the system will notify you:

Photo: formatting completed message

Required OS updates to work

At installed system Windows XP may not recognize the flash drive due to outdated updates required for it to function. However, some flash drives can work in the USB ports of a PC, while others do not.

The main updates required for the normal operation of USB devices:

  • KB925196 - incorrect recognition;
  • KB817900 - Stop the port after the device is removed and re-booted;
  • KB968132 - errors during connection of several flash drives;
  • KB88740 - Rundll32.exe error;
  • KB895962 - USB device stops working after printer is turned off;
  • KB871233 - Flash card does not work after the PC wakes up from sleep or hibernation;
  • KB314634 - support for older USB devices only;
  • KB312370 (2007) - USB 2.0 support.

Recovery methods

When no problems are found with the system, you can use special programs for recovery:

  • ChipGenius - determines the manufacturer and other information about the device;
  • AlcorMP - flash controllers usb flash most manufacturers;
  • jet flash recovery tool- flashes flash drives from Transcend.

If the computer says "Please insert disc" when booting up, the problem may be with outdated drivers that should be removed.

For this:

        • when the computer is turned off, disconnect all USB devices (except for the mouse and keyboard);
        • turn on the PC;
        • download the program "DriveCleanup";
        • copy the 32-bit or 64-bit "drivecleunup.exe" to the C:\Windows\System32 folder depending on the OS version;
        • go to command line and write "drivecleunup.exe";
        • drivers will start to uninstall:

After that, restart your computer. Insert a USB flash drive and the system will find new drivers for it.

A flash drive may not be detected for many reasons, the main of which are a malfunction of the device or USB port, as well as system errors, most of which are fixed with proper formatting and driver installation. Some programs are also able to help restore usb flash, so you should follow the instructions in order.

What should I do if a message appears when connecting a USB flash drive: “Insert a disk into the device”?

This situation is one of the most common when working with usb drives. The flash drive is connected, and the Windows operating system refuses to see it at close range. Or another common option, the system offers to format the device, and then reports that it is impossible to complete the formatting.

In this article, we will try to analyze in detail why this happens and how best to fix such an error.

Partition structure errors or file system problems

Probably, you have heard more than once that a USB flash drive cannot be disconnected without first disconnecting it through the “Safely Remove Devices and Disks”.

The fact is that a connected flash drive can actively overwrite information on its file system, and a sudden power outage can lead to write errors and malfunction of the flash drive. Accordingly, such problems may arise not at all through your fault, but due to a power failure.

In this case, the operating system does not see suitable partitions on the usb drive, so it gives an error.

The USB stick is missing important information.

If the information on the flash drive is of no importance, the easiest way is to subject it to the formatting process. To do this, right-click on the flash drive itself in Explorer, and select the "format" item of the same name.

Note that the capacity of the drive may not be known, you should ignore this message and leave the settings unchanged.

helped you this method? Great, congratulations! You can not waste time in vain and read this article, from which you will learn how to make a Windows installation USB flash drive

What to do if Windows is unable to complete formatting?

In this case, deleting all partitions via standard utility Windows operating system called DISKPART.

To do this, type in the start menu search cmd or " Command line", find the program of the same name and right-click on the item" Run as administrator”.

And voila, our flash drive is ready to go again!

How to recover important files from a flash drive?

First of all, we will use the DISKPART utility again.
Run the command prompt as an administrator, enter diskpart, followed by the command chkdsk e: /f, where e: is your drive letter and may be different.

In the case when a failure caused the flash drive to be unreadable, after checking with a larger one, you will most likely see your disk intact and with the necessary data.

But if the message “CHKDSK is not valid for RAW disks” appears on the command line, then everything is much more serious.

To correct this situation, you should contact the service, or, for example, use special paid or free utilities.

We hope that you managed to restore the usb-drive to working capacity using standard programs operating system.

In this manual I will describe all the methods known to me to solve this problem. First, the simplest and, at the same time, the most effective methods will go first in most situations when the computer does not see the USB flash drive, reports that the disk is not formatted, or gives other errors. There are also separate instructions on how to.

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

Launch the Disk Management utility in one of the following ways:

  • 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 it is connected and disconnected from the computer.

The ideal option is if the computer sees the connected USB flash drive and all partitions on it (usually one) in the "Healthy" state. In this case, just click on it with the right mouse button, select in context menu“Make the partition active”, and, possibly, 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 "Unallocated" in the status. Try right-clicking on it and, if such an item is found 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 into device manager and see if your device shows up as unknown, or under Other Devices (as in the screenshot) - the drive may be referred to there by its real name or as a USB mass storage device.

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

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

Among other things, it is possible the following options. If you are connecting the flash drive to your computer via an extension cable or USB hub, try connecting directly. Try connecting to all available USB ports. Try to turn off the computer, disconnect all extraneous devices from USB (Webcams, external hard drives, card readers, printer), leave only the keyboard, mouse and flash drive, then turn on the computer. If after that the flash drive worked, then the problem is in the power supply to the USB ports of the computer - perhaps there is not enough power from the PC power supply. Possible Solution- replace the power supply or purchase a USB hub with its own power supply.

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

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

In this case it may help free utility USBOblivion, which removes 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 USB storage devices from the computer, run the program, check the items Perform a real cleanup and Save the undo reg file, then click the Cleanup button.

After the cleaning is completed, restart the computer and connect the USB flash drive - with a high probability, it will be detected and become available. If not, then also try to go to the device manager (via right-click on the Start button) and follow the steps to remove the USB drive from the Other devices section and then update the hardware configuration (described above). You can download the USBOblivion program from official page developer: www.cherubicsoft.com/projects/usboblivion

But, in relation to Windows 10, another option is also possible - real incompatibility USB drivers 2.0 or 3.0 (as a rule, then they are displayed with an exclamation point in the device manager). In this case, the recommendation is to check the availability the right drivers USB and chipset on the official website of the laptop or PC motherboard manufacturer. At the same time, I recommend using the official websites of the manufacturers of the devices themselves, and not the websites of Intel or AMD to search for such drivers, especially when it comes to laptops. Also, sometimes updating the motherboard BIOS helps to solve the problem.

If the flash drive does not see Windows XP

The most common situation I encountered when calling to set up and repair computers, when the computer with the 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 the necessary updates were not installed to work with USB drives. The fact is that many organizations use Windows XP, often in the SP2 version. Updates due to internet access restrictions or poor performance system administrator, have not been installed.

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

  • If SP2 is installed, upgrade to SP3 (when performing an upgrade, in case 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 bugs when the computer does not detect the connected flash drive or iPod.
  • KB968132 - fixed bugs when connecting multiple USB devices in Windows XP they stopped functioning normally
  • KB817900 - USB port stopped working after removing and reinserting a flash drive
  • KB895962 - USB flash drive stops working when 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 flash drive
  • KB871233 - The computer does not see the flash drive if it was just in sleep or hibernation mode
  • KB312370 (2007) - USB 2.0 support on 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 when a similar problem occurs.

Completely uninstall old USB drivers

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

The point is that by Windows default installs drivers for USB drives the moment you plug them into the appropriate 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 USB flash drive, conflicts may arise due to the fact that Windows tries to use an earlier installed driver, corresponding given USB port but a different USB drive. I will not go into details, but I will simply describe the steps necessary to remove these drivers (in the manager Windows devices You won't see them.)

How to uninstall drivers for all USB devices

  1. Turn off the computer and disconnect all USB storage (and not only) devices (flash drives, external hard drives, card readers, webcams, 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 C:\Windows\System32 folder.
  5. Run command prompt as administrator and type drivecleanup.exe
  6. You will see the process of removing all drivers and their entries in the Windows registry.

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

Update 2016: It's easier to perform the operation to remove USB mount points 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, while 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 keys and typing devmgmt.msc
  2. Open the USB Controllers section in Device Manager
  3. Remove (via right click) all devices named USB Root Hub, USB Host Controller or Generic USB Hub.
  4. In Device Manager, select Actions - Update Hardware Configuration from the menu.

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

Additional actions

  • Check your computer for viruses - they can 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 in this section called NoDrives, remove it and restart your computer.
  • Go to the Windows registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control. If the StorageDevicePolicies parameter is present, remove it.
  • In some cases, a complete blackout of the computer helps. You can do this this way: turn off the flash drives, turn off the computer or laptop, unplug it from the outlet (or remove the battery if it is 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 does not see

In case the management Windows disks the computer displays the flash drive, but in the “Not recognized”, “Not initialized” state, and the partition on the flash drive is “Unallocated”, 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 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 all else fails, and your computer still does not see the flash drive, and the files and data stored on it are very important, then the last recommendation would be to contact a company that is professionally engaged in file and data recovery.

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 wonder what to do? Surely every computer user has a similar situation, or even more than one.

Today I will help you with solving issues if your computers do not see flash drives and other similar devices. I'll tell you what are the problems 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, then replenish the baggage of your knowledge.

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

A small outline of the article

  • Device definition
  • Power indicator
  • front usb ports
  • Lack of nutrition
  • usb disabled in bios
  • usb device not recognized
  • Outdated drivers
  • Viruses
  • Different file systems
  • Conclusion

We define 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 Windows Device Manager.

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

Then select disk devices.

We got into the device manager and the disk devices tab. If your flash drive or memory card is displayed in this list, then with a high probability you can recover data on them. If the flash drive is not there, then most likely the memory card controller has burned out. I recommend trying to connect your usb device to other computers.

If nothing changes and the flash drive is also not visible, then the problem is probably a faulty controller. From such a usb device, you can hardly pull out data, you can, of course, contact special institutions that deal with this (they are not available in all cities), but they will charge you a tidy sum for 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 it asks to be formatted. To do this, you need to go to disk management. To access it, you need to follow these steps. Here are screenshots for clarity:

Right click on my computer, go to manage.

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 volume, but does not display the file system and writes "not defined". In order to use it, you need to right-click in the undefined box and select format.

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

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

Power indicator

When the flash drive is connected to the computer, a small indicator on the usb device should light up. If it caught fire and started 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 on the computer.

Front USB ports

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

Not enough food

The lack of power 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, behind the computer. If you are using a usb hub or hub, then disconnect unnecessary devices, maybe this will help. Also, the reason may be in the low-powered power supply of the computer.

usb disabled in bios

This problem rarely happens. Mostly in computer clubs and similar entertainment venues. What is it for? In order for a person not to bring viruses and download different programs and not necessary information on computer. It's more of a protection 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 and when a USB flash drive is connected, the operating system gives it an already used letter (used volume label). 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 call 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 device you need - a USB 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 you have outdated drivers - update them. To do this, you need to find out which company is the manufacturer and model of your motherboard. Usually written on the box with the packaging, if you saved them of course. If not, then use the Everest or Aida program.

With the help of them you can find out the model of your motherboard and much more. useful information about your computer. After everyone knows, you need to go to the official website of the manufacturer, find the right motherboard and download the drivers for the chipset and usb device, if there are any.

Viruses

There have been times when the computer does not recognize the USB flash drive due to viruses that have appeared in your computer. operating system. To do this, I recommend using good antivirus programs and do full check for viruses 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 file systems of the computer and USB devices. Most flash drives work in two file systems FAT and FAT32, and hard drives in NTFS.

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

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

And for dessert, watch a short video tutorial on how to make the computer see a USB 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 see the flash drive and hard drive

Conclusion

And I also have a little news. Yesterday my mailbox was hacked. 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 the news. If everything goes well and I can restore my mail, I will definitely write a separate article about it. After all this problem happens to many internet users.

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

Thank you for reading me

Hello!

Flash drive on this moment, this is one of the most popular types of storage media (except for the ability to share files over a network).

In fact, a USB flash drive has a lot of advantages: mobile (you can put it in any pocket), universal (connects to any PC, laptop, gadget), it is quite fast to copy / read information from it, etc.

But it happens to them one small " problem"- sometimes the computer refuses to recognize and see it. There are quite a few reasons for the invisibility of a flash drive, in the same article I want to give the most basic ones that I most often encounter in my work.

Also from the article you will learn what can be done to restore the working capacity of your device (do not always immediately throw it away and run to buy a new one?! 👣).

To help!

If you want to buy flash drives at bargain prices, I recommend using Chinese online stores:

Reasons for the invisibility of a flash drive

Top 10 Causes and Solutions...

Problem number 1: the flash drive is not formatted

This reason is the most common! The fact is that after buying a flash drive - it needs to be formatted (very often new flash drives and disks are not formatted at all and therefore they are not visible in "My Computer/This Computer"...).

Solution

It is most likely pointless to go into "My Computer"; in some cases, you will not see a flash drive there.

So you need to open "Disk Management" . To do this, press the button combination Win+R (The Run window should appear.) , enter the command diskmgmt.msc and press Enter (screen below).

Remarque! If your flash drive is not visible in Disk Management, go to the 3rd problem.

Find your flash drive in the list (refer to its size and name, for example, "Kingston...8 GB") , then click on it right mouse button and in the context menu that appears, select - " Format... " (example in the screenshot below) .

Actually, that's all. By the way, I recommend choosing NTFS as the file system (because on FAT 32, which is often the default on flash drives, it is impossible to copy and place files larger than 4 GB).

Problem #2: Incorrect auto-set drive/flash drive letter

When you connect any disk drive, flash drive, floppy disk, etc. to your computer - it automatically assigns a unique letter to your drive, for example, "System disk C:\" or " local disk F:\", etc.

Everything would be fine, but sometimes the auto-installation of the letter fails, and assigns a non-unique letter to your connected drive. As a result, the drive is not visible ...

To solve this, you just need to try to change the letter (this is done quickly and very often solves the lion's share of problems).

Solution

You also need to go to "Disk Management" (how it's done - described above), then select your "invisible" drive, click on it right mouse button and select the function Change Drive Letter or Drive Path ".

To help!

By the way, in some cases, Windows may not assign a drive letter to all connected drives at all. To fix this, use the following tips:

Problem #3: Outdated or broken drivers

A very, very common problem is outdated drivers (also sometimes drivers can crash and conflict with each other). It is worth noting that on older computers, another problem is possible - the inability to see a flash drive, the size of which is more than 32 GB.

This is solved as follows: first remove the old drivers, then install the new ones.

Solution

First of all, open the device manager, it is in it that you can see all the devices connected to the computer. To do this, open , then translate the view into " Large icons" and in the list select " Device Manager (example in the screenshot below).

To help! Alternative ways to open Device Manager -

Note!

Devices that do not have drivers will display a yellow exclamation mark . In general, it is undesirable that you have such devices marked with exclamation marks (or red crosses).

After uninstalling, click the "" button - it is located at the top of the Device Manager window. After that, the dispatcher window will blink a couple of times, and the drivers will be reinstalled ...

Problem number 4: the front panel of the system unit is not connected

Very often, the USB ports on the front panel of the system unit are not connected to the motherboard (apparently, they forget to connect this socket when assembling the PC). In this case, you simply insert the USB flash drive into a port to nowhere...

Solution

  1. Quite simple: connect a flash drive to the back of the system unit - it always has 2÷4 USB ports. At the very least, it is recommended to do this just for testing - to confirm that the USB ports on the front panel are not working.
  2. Try connecting the front panel to the mat. board. If you have never had such an experience before, climb into system unit I do not recommend, it is better to use the services of service centers.

Problem number 5: viruses on a PC or flash drive

The settings for enabling USB ports are usually located on the "Advanced" tab. On against paragraph USB Controller need to convert the value to Enabled(i.e. included, see the screen below). Then save the settings and exit (usually the F10 key).

You can also just drop BIOS settings to the optimal ones (they always have USB ports enabled. At least I have not seen the opposite yet ...).

Problem #8: File System Error

In cases of file system failure - when you connect a flash drive, you will most likely see a message stating that the flash drive is not formatted, that it has a file RAW system and Windows will prompt you to do something with it 😊.

In some cases, the formatting of the flash drive cannot be completed due to some errors...

In general, the problem with the file system is quite "big", and its solution is not always simple and fast (especially if there is the necessary data on the flash drive).

Solution

If you need data on a flash drive I don't recommend formatting it. In general, I advise you not to do anything with it, but to give it to a service center. If you want to do everything on your own, then first try to remove your data from it using recovery utilities: Recuva, R.Saver, Easy Recovery Professional, etc.

To help!

How to recover photos from microSD cards memory or USB flash drive

If the data on the flash drive is not needed (or you have already copied it): I recommend trying to format the flash drive using one special. utilities - HDD LLF Low Level Format Tool.

HDD LLF Low Level Format Tool

A simple utility for low-level formatting of disks and flash drives. In some cases, it helps to bring back "to life" drives, for which there was practically no hope left. By the way, it even formats those disks - which Windows does not see or gives reading / formatting errors.

The utility works quite simply: after launch, it will present you with a list of all drives connected to the system, you select the one you need and format it. After formatting - the disk (or flash drive) starts working as it should!

Formatting a flash drive

To help!

How to format a flash drive (FAT32, exFAT, NTFS) -

Problem #9: USB port failure

It also happens that the USB port becomes unusable. Most often this comes from its frequent and inaccurate use: for example, many people sharply pull on a USB flash drive (or USB cable), over time, the USB port begins to fit poorly to the inserted USB flash drive (i.e., there is no contact between the flash drive and the port). As a result, the flash drive is invisible.

Note. By the way, the USB port may not work stably: i.e. you will first see the flash drive, and after you start copying information to it (or reading it) - you may see an error, or the connection will simply be lost ...

Solution

  1. Try connecting the flash drive to another USB port, or to another computer / laptop. If the problem is with the USB port, you will immediately notice the difference...
  2. I also recommend paying attention to the dirt in the USB port. Often, over time, a layer of dust, plaque, etc. accumulates, which leads to poor contact. If there is a lot of dirt, try to remove it with an old toothbrush dipped in alcohol. (perform the operation with the PC turned off!) , and then reinsert the flash drive.

Problem #10: USB flash drive malfunction (for example, after being dropped)

This is perhaps the worst thing that could happen to the drive, especially if it contains important data. The fact that the flash drive could become unusable, most often, the user guesses, because. before that:

  • the drive fell to the floor;
  • was dropped into the water;
  • accidentally hit or hit by any object;
  • The drive shows deep scratches, chips, or cracks.

In general, when you insert a USB flash drive into a USB port, an LED should light up on it (most flash drives have one). On the PC, the characteristic sound of connecting the device should "ring out". If all this is not there, especially when connecting a flash drive to different devices- then this is a bad sign, most likely there is a problem with the flash drive itself.

Solution

  1. Buy a new flash drive(banal and simple 😉, especially since the prices for them are now quite democratic (and they generally cost "penny"));
  2. Try to take it to a service center, perhaps the master will be able to re-solder the contacts, and it will work again (but I would recommend this method, only for). After repairing the drive: using it for important data is not justified!
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