The new laptop does not see the flash drive. The laptop does not see the flash drive: why and what to do about this problem

Hello friends! in this article you will find out why the computer does not see the flash drive and what to do in such a situation. Today I will tell you how to deal with a common problem when the computer stops seeing the flash drive and does not display the contents.

We will also consider the option when the laptop does not see the flash drive after formatting. Let's go? I ask everyone in advance to like the article in order to help me develop this blog. Thank you!

The computer does not see the flash drive - what to do?

We have already talked about. But what can you do if the computer does not see the flash drive? We have tried to collect solutions that are really useful and will help resolve this issue for you. If you have any additional questions, be sure to mention them in the comments.

Reasons for flash drive failure

First, let's look at the causes of the described problem, because, as you know, there is no smoke without fire. In our case, there may be many of these reasons, so it is worth paying attention only to the most important ones.

Often, on personal computer disable the front panel, considering it unnecessary. And as a result, we get a number of non-working USB ports.

Not working flash drive. Everything in our world tends to break. For example, flash drives often simply burn out due to improper use or long term operation.

It's the 21st century, century high technology, without viruses there is simply nowhere. Transferring infected files from another PC can be fraught with the following things: in the first case, the flash drive itself will not be visible to the computer, and in the second, you will not see the files on the drive. Of course, your machine could also be an infected device, so I advise you to check everything for viruses.

Driver malfunction. This doesn't happen often, but it does happen.

File system conflict. It may be that the drive (flash drive) has a file system installed that is different from the computer, so they may conflict, and the flash drive is not visible on the computer.

Faulty USB port.

The computer does not see the flash drive? Solution!

The reasons why the computer does not see the USB flash drive have become more or less clear, but now let’s figure out how to solve our problem so that the computer finally starts seeing the flash drive.

Let's start with the non-working front panel. In this case, you need to know exactly where the cord is connected to the motherboard, otherwise even bigger problems cannot be avoided.

I would advise you to contact service center, where competent specialists would quickly and effectively solve the problem.

Non-working flash drive. A burnt-out flash drive will have to be replaced with a new one.

Malicious programs or utilities. As you may have guessed, the solution to this problem is to scan all disks on your PC with an antivirus program.

Driver malfunction. This problem is not solved as easily as the previous ones, but if you approach its solution headlong, then everything will turn out to be much simpler.

What do we need?

Update the USB port driver through Device Manager. You know how to find the latter from my previous articles.

When you insert a flash drive into one of them, you may notice a slight flicker in one of the list lines. This is what we need to delete by clicking on the appropriate button.

After removing the driver, you will need to install a new one. To do this, insert the flash drive into the same port to which you performed the previous manipulations. That's all, all USB port software is updated.

Point by point, we approached the problem associated with file system conflicts. It can be solved very simply. Format the flash drive, changing the type file system to a similar one installed on your computer. File system name Can find out as follows: My computer - Disk C (right-click on the icon). The properties that appear will show all the necessary information.

The last problem is the easiest to solve. If one of the ports is faulty, then try inserting the flash drive into another; if the others are faulty, there is only one way out - send the PC for repair.

So, I described the solution to our problem for a desktop PC, but users with laptops were unhappy. Don’t worry, because in your situation everything is a little simpler, since there are correspondingly fewer reasons and problems. And they are exactly like this:

• The flash drive is broken
• Malicious code
• Drivers are not working properly
• File system conflict
• Non-working USB port

Conclusions

You already know well how to deal with them, so go ahead! That's all I have for today! I hope now you know why the computer does not see the flash drive and what to do about this problem. If you found the article useful, like it. Also, don’t forget to ask your questions and suggestions in the comments. Peace and goodness to everyone!

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. Let's list possible reasons, why the 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 port on the front panel of the system unit, move it back or try the adjacent slot. 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 drive, the smartphone is being recharged - 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 the flash drive is detected but not readable, it is worth . 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.”

To ensure that the antivirus has full access to the drive, check to see 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 there is a yellow triangle with an exclamation mark next to it, 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 manufacturer’s website motherboard computer or laptop. 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 generate 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 the removable drive because the OS assigned it the wrong partition letter, which is 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 for the 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 a list of letters English alphabet specify any 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 in the OS information Service Pack 2 – allow automatic update. Run Windows Update and 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.

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 is not displayed in the Windows file 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.

Solving the problem

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 solving 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 appear 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".

A flash drive is an information storage device that connects to any PC via a USB interface. Quite often this device stops working normally. What should I do? Below will be discussed the most effective ways flash drive treatment and corrections typical mistakes when working with the device.

Important!

Follow all the steps sequentially - if the first method does not help, move on to the next one and so on.

What to do if the flash drive stops working

In the modern IT industry, the KISS principle is relevant in a narrow circle, meaning “Keep it simple!” Without special need, there is no need to edit the registry, use complex hardware methods for troubleshooting problems, or try to implement other procedures - you should start with the simplest steps.

1. Try connecting the flash drive to another PC, laptop or other device for communication via a USB interface. If the flash drive does not work, then with 100 percent probability we can say that this is the problem - and it is necessary to immediately go to utilities for restoring and fixing a flash drive.
2. If the flash drive works on another computer or is at least detected by Windows (but “Explorer” and “This/My Computer” do not appear), then you need to Troubleshoot problems with the OS or file system using the instructions below.

1. Disconnect the drive by removing it from the USB connector.
2. Shut down your PC by selecting the “Shut down” option.
3. Disable system unit from a 220V power supply, press the power button for 5 seconds – this will remove the residual charge on individual modules of the motherboard.
4. Connect your computer to power.
5. Turn it on, wait full load and insert the flash drive.
6. Try connecting it to a different connector, especially if remote front USBs were previously used for this task. Optimal option– rear ports
7. Sometimes the cause of flash drive malfunctions is the assignment of system ID in the form of a letter, or disappearance this parameter at all, to fix an OS problem, use the Disk Management utility

Utilities for flash drive recovery

Be sure to check the flash drive through utility“USB Troubleshooter” from Microsoft – it is not included with the OS, but is available for download from the official portal here free and only works with OS W7 and higher.
It’s easy to use – run the program and click “Next”.

After which the software will try to find and fix typical problems with display of the flash drive in the system.

If you hear a characteristic sound when connecting a device, but it does not appear in Explorer, then open Device Manager.

Often reading problem USB flash drives appears after update operating system– it is provoked by incorrect registry entries left after connecting physical storage media.

Searching for them manually takes quite a long time and is better take advantage special program for searching and clearing non-working keys in the registry.

Best suited for this Vit Registry Fix utility (free and does general search and cleanup) And utility USBOblivion (free and clears all data on previously connected flash drives from regedit).
Main advantages: The interface is intuitive and has Russian localization.
Download the program, run an automatic search, after it is finished, start cleaning (after checking the boxes in the sections about saving all changed .reg keys in the archive, in order to “roll back” the operation if necessary).

Sometimes the flash drive does not work due to driver incompatibility for USB 2 and 3 versions. In this case, you need to download updated versions from the official website of the motherboard manufacturer.

If the PC does not accept any flash drives, then you need to completely reinstall all drivers for USB drives.

The easiest way to do this is through the “Device Manager” (hold Win + R and enter devmgmt.msc, click on “OK”). Find the “USB Controllers” section in the drop-down list and sequentially delete (right-click on the object, select “Delete”) the subsections USBHostController, GenericUSBHub and USB Root Hub, then update the current hardware configuration and restart the PC.

As an addition, run a full system scan.

1. Launch the registry (hold Win+R, enter regedit and confirm the action by clicking “OK”).
2. Right-click on the HKEY_CURRENT_USER section and select Find, then type Explorer in the search field. If the folder contains NoDrives, then you need to select and delete it (using the Delete button). In addition, in the same registry editor, search for the StorageDevicePolicies parameter (under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE section) and delete it (if present).

Sometimes all the above methods do not give any tangible result.

If the flash drive is identified in the system (at the level of identifying an unknown connected device), then you can try to restore normal operation of the device, formatting it in a special way using a third party HDD Low Level Format Tool utility .

In this case, working with the device occurs at the level of physical sectors, and not the file system (as with standard formatting), which guarantees:

1. Wiping bad sectors
2. Elimination of any software problems
3. Permanently deletes all data from the storage device.

The program is free and available for download from the official website. After installing and launching it, select the required drive, click Continue.

Find the Low-levelFormat tab and accept the operation by clicking on Formatthisdevice.
The duration of the procedure depends on the type of flash drive and its capacity, on modern PCs the process takes on average 30-60 minutes. Once completed, you should safely remove the device and restart your computer.

Computer. Let's look at each breakdown in detail.

Reason 1: Inactive sockets and lack of power

If the computer is under warranty, feel free to complain to the seller about poor quality assembly. Alternatively, use the rear ports.

The second nuance is insufficient power supply to the connectors, which is why the flash drive “blinks”, i.e. randomly recognized/disappears.

Most likely, the assemblers are to blame for screwing up when connecting them to the system board, not completely recessing the cable into the corresponding groove.

In this case, you again need to visit the service center or seller. But if you have experience building a PC, try doing it yourself.

If after all the manipulations absolutely nothing happens, the problem lies elsewhere.

Reason 2: drivers

Each flash drive initially stores a driver in memory, which is automatically installed when the device is connected.

But Windows can periodically crash, causing the average user to suffer. To correct the situation, the following set of manipulations will be required.

To begin, right-click on “My Computer” and go to “properties”.

A list of several tabs will be displayed, from which you need to select “Hardware” and go to “Device Manager”.

Scroll through the list until we find USB controllers.

Expand the list by clicking on “+” and see full list devices that are connected or have been connected once through the required connector.

One of the components will change its name. This is our culprit and must be eliminated.

To do this, right-click on it and select “Delete”. Confirm your intentions, and then reinsert the flash drive. The driver will be picked up automatically.

In the vast majority of cases this helps.

Reason 3: viruses and trojans

Although the system requires checking devices for spyware, few people do this, for which they pay for the system to malfunction.

It’s very simple: the virus replaces the “native” autorun driver with a modified one, which can result in the message “Access denied” appearing.

Therefore, if the flash drive does not boot , we do the following.

Open “My Computer” and enter the device letter in the address bar (everything is as in the screenshot, preserving the characters). Your drive letter may vary.

So, you got inside. But now you have to do hidden files visible to get to autorun.

To do this, select “Service”, and from the list that opens, select “Folder Options”.

We are interested in the “View” tab. Scroll the slider to the very bottom until you find the “Hide” setting system files…».

We uncheck this item, simultaneously switching the system to the ability to show hidden files.

The main work has been done. All you need to do is find the infected file under the name autorun.inf and mercilessly delete it.

Have you checked? Great. Re-insert the long-suffering device and continue working.

Reason 4: Partition conflict

Other incidents also happen. For example, you inserted a drive into your computer. The system recognized him and issued the corresponding “tyn-dyn.”

A characteristic icon has appeared on the taskbar at the bottom, but for some reason Windows refuses to assign a partition letter. How to deal with this?

To begin, click Start and go to Control Panel.

On the left side of the window, for ease of use, select “Switch to category view.”

Although if it is already turned on, there is no need to perform any manipulations. We need to get into “Administration”.

Important: All manipulations must be done only on behalf of the administrator. Otherwise, the system will not accept the changes.

Select “Computer Management” by double-clicking and move on.

Before us " reverse side» systems with different settings. Do not under any circumstances engage in ad-libbing if you do not understand it. Just follow our advice.

So, on the left there are three main categories, of which we need the second, namely “Storage devices”.

A list of all logical drives that are in the system will appear on the right. Including our nameless flash drive.

We fix this bug by pressing right button by drive. Select the item “Change letter...”.

Will jump out small window, kindly offering to change the letter. Click on “Change”.

A menu will appear with just one active element, which is what we need. Please note that not all letters are applicable to the flash drive, because:

1) A – floppy disc;

2) B – similar;

3) C – system partition of the hard drive;

4) D – logical partition.

Let it be, for example, “G”, which we will stop at. Save the changes and enjoy the result.