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Is it possible to find a flash drive? The “Insert disk” message appears even if the flash drive is already connected to the USB port

Over the past few years, flash storage media have become very popular and are used by us literally every day, due to their advantages over disk media. It is hardly possible to overestimate the usefulness of flash media, because you can quickly write or read information on it, it does not take up much space in a briefcase or bag, and the price segment is pleasantly pleasing.

Despite all positive points, sometimes there are situations when it is impossible to read the data due to the flash drive itself or the computer. After all, at the very important point you may lose access to stored files, and to quickly return everything to normal you need to have certain knowledge. In this article we will analyze all possible problem situations and find ways to solve why the computer does not see the flash drive.

The most common problems why the computer does not see the flash drive:

The flash drive itself does not work

This is the worst situation for a person whose documents are stored on a flash drive, because it is almost impossible to bring it back to life. You can disable a flash drive by mechanical impact to the device chip or its controller, by short circuit electrical circuit, damage to contacts on USB board. This is what a flash drive looks like after the electrical circuit is closed or moisture gets inside the drive.

It is quite easy to determine whether this happened to your drive. The very first thing you need to do is check the flash drive for mechanical damage, chips, cracks, etc. If it is completely broken, you can look for a replacement at a computer peripherals store. If you doubt its inoperability, you can check it using a practical method.

Connect the flash drive to the USB connector of the computer, if the LED on it lights up and you hear a sound on the computer that is typical for connecting a new device, then everything is in order, it makes sense to look for the problem further. If this does not happen, the flash drive is most likely no longer suitable for use.

You can try to take the flash drive to service center, where the technician will try to resolder the contacts or replace the controller, but it will be very expensive, and this action will be justified only if you store important documents on it. If no fatal malfunction was detected and the flash drive shows signs of life, try the methods to restore its functionality, which will be described below.

The USB port on the front panel of the computer is de-energized

This problem is very common among desktop PC users. Most computer owners are accustomed to inserting a flash drive into the front USB ports, because it is fast and convenient.

But there is a situation when, during PC assembly, for some reason the front panel is not connected to the power system, usually this happens due to forgetfulness computer technician. Accordingly, your flash drive will not be displayed, despite its full serviceability.

This problem can be solved in two ways. If you urgently need to use information on removable media, you can connect it to the back panel of your computer. The front connectors will still remain inoperative, but you will have access to documents. Such manipulations cannot be called a full-fledged solution, so let’s consider the second option.

Method No. 2 involves connecting the power cable to motherboard to the front panel of the computer. Depending on the computer case model, the connection connectors may differ. But don’t be scared, they all have markings and you won’t be able to connect the wrong connector. design features. The most common wire types are “VCC”, “D-”, “D+” and “GND”. Moreover, the color markings of the cable and the connector on the motherboard are the same, but it is better to keep a guide by the inscriptions.

The first step is to gain access to the motherboard; to do this, unscrew the mounting bolts on the case and remove the cover. Find the cable that leads to the front panel and find the same connector on the motherboard. In the image below you can see what the connector should look like.


It is not recommended to make the connection yourself; it is better to call a specialist. If you connect the cable and connector incorrectly, you can burn these contacts and even devices. If you decide to connect front USB connectors, then it is better to tell us the model of your case and motherboard, and we will tell you how to do it correctly and explain what the connector and cable look like.

The USB port on the computer is faulty or disabled

Sometimes the problem of unreadability of information on removable media is not related to the problem of the flash drive itself, but to the connector into which it is connected. A certain USB port may not be working, and this condition can be caused by simple damage to the connector contacts. Then not only the flash drive, but also other USB devices will not work in this port.

Decide this problem you can, armed with a regular soldering iron and minimal knowledge circuit engineers. If you don’t have such knowledge, skills and equipment, then it can be fixed at the nearest service center for a low fee.

However, if there is no reaction to USB connection device is not observed on all connectors, then the problem may lie deeper. Ports can be disabled in BIOS settings.

To connect ports to BIOS menu, you need to get there initially. To enter the BIOS in the first seconds of booting the computer, you need to press the corresponding key on the keyboard, which is responsible for calling up the menu. Most often, the default key is F2 or Del, but depending on the motherboard brand and BIOS version, it may be different. It is indicated in the first image that pops up when loading.

After you have entered the BIOS itself, we need to go through the following route: “”.

Find the line “USB Controller”, so that you are allowed to use the ports, the value opposite should be “Enabled”.

Once you have enabled the USB ports on your computer, press the F10 key. This will save your settings and exit the BIOS.

The USB flash drive connector is dirty

Flash drive is mobile device storing information and is therefore often carried in pockets, briefcases or as a keychain. Due to these operating conditions, dust may accumulate in the connector, small trash. This does not happen often, but it can cause the flash drive to malfunction. Dust and small debris accumulate on the contact and prevent connection from the contacts in the port on the computer. Such a flash drive may not only not be displayed at all, but also freeze, transfer or read information slowly and may not be detected the first time.

To clean the USB connector of a flash drive, arm yourself with a match and a cotton swab. Using a match, remove all debris from the connector, and then moisten a cotton swab with alcohol and wipe the contacts of the flash drive. This way you will rid it of debris and oxidation.

Virus infection

Nowadays, the issue of storage device security is becoming more and more urgent, because viruses are in full force. You can visit your usual site social network on the Internet and get infected, not to mention downloading files from unverified sources.

Modern computer viruses They can also reproduce, no matter how strange it may sound. They infect files located on your flash drive or computer hard drive, and their number grows exponentially.

Very often, the problem of a flash drive not working is infection with viruses. The drive is detected by the system, you can hear characteristic sound connecting the device to the system, but when you try to read the information you will see the message “” or “ Application not found».


Before solving this problem, you should install anti-virus software on your computer and full diagnostics files. To access the data on the drive, we need to delete the file with the virus and scan it. To do this, go to the “Start” menu and enter the following phrase “” in the search line.

Click on the found element with the left mouse button. It will appear in front of you open window with the name “Folder Options”, here you need to do the following:

  • Uncheck the " Hide protected system files »
  • Check the box ""

After this, be sure to press the “Apply” button and only after that “Ok”, otherwise the changes will not take effect. It should look like this.

After that, go to “My Computer” and go to the folder of the drive itself. There you will see the “Autorun” file, you need to delete it, and check the flash drive for viruses with one of the free antiviruses; the Dr.WEB Cure It utility can do this perfectly.

Now you can fully use the flash drive and no problems should arise. If nothing has changed, then the problem lies in the lack of drivers; we’ll look at it below.

Drivers failing or using outdated drivers

A very common problem is when the computer does not want to display the flash drive due to outdated drivers or their system failure. The failure may occur due to a jump electrical voltage or unexpected shutdown of the operating system. Or older computer models may not work with drives with a capacity of 32 GB or more. One thing can be said, the problem can only be solved by updating the drivers.

The first thing you need to do is go to "". You can do this in several ways, for example, through “My Computer" or find this section in the system search, which is what we will do.

Let's go to this menu, after which we connect the flash drive to the computer, after which we open the subtab “ USB controllers" Select the line " Memory device", right-click to open system menu and click “Delete”.


Such manipulations allow you to remove the drivers installed on the system for your storage device. As soon as you remove it, feel free to remove the flash drive from your computer and connect it again. Then the driver for the flash drive will be installed again and the problem will be solved.

If the problem is not solved, you may need to update the drivers for all USB chipsets; this is quite easy to do. You can use special disk, which came with motherboard, everything is written on it necessary drivers. If you don't have it, download it DriverPack program, it will automatically select all drivers for which there is an update and carry out this procedure after your agreement.

Moreover, most users have doubts about the correctness of their actions when they learn about different USB formats. Don't be scared!

Drivers for USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 are installed according to the same principle. And the only difference between the ports is maximum speed reading and writing information.

File system errors

The computer may also not recognize your flash device due to file system errors. Let’s check if this is true, go to “”, how to do this was described above. Now you need to open the subtab " Disk devices“If you see your flash drive there, it means it is working, and the file system does not perceive it as it should, and, accordingly, does not display it in Explorer. In my case, the flash drive was displayed, which means it is working.


To fix this problem, you must format your flash drive, but this action has several nuances, so we will consider this process in the next paragraph of the article.

If you don’t see your drive there, then the problem lies in the malfunction of the flash drive itself, which means either the controller is burned out or the contact has become unsoldered. Specialists at service centers can try to bring it back to life. However, this is an expensive exercise; it’s easier to buy a new one, of course, if the faulty one was not recorded important information and you need to recover the data on the flash drive.

File system conflict

Quite often, the contents of a flash drive are not displayed due to a conflict between the file systems on the computer and the removable media itself. For example, if the computer operates on a file NTFS system and the flash drive uses FAT32, a conflict situation is possible. Moreover, this problem is common not only in Windows environment, but also Mac OS. For example, if you format a flash drive on your Mac device V ExFAT system or the standard file system of a MacBook, the flash drive is unlikely to be readable on Windows devices.

The very first thing you need to do is find a computer that uses a different file system, open the flash drive and save the information that is important to you, because after formatting it will be lost.

To solve this problem, we need to carry out the process of formatting the flash drive. First you need to find out what file system is used on your computer. Go to “My Computer”, right-click on hard drive open the submenu and select “Properties” in it.


In the window that opens you will see information about free and occupied volume disk space, and also find out what file system is used. In my case, the NTFS system is used.

After you know the file system of the computer, we need to format the flash drive into the same system. To do this, click on the flash drive right key mouse and open the “Format” tab.


In the tab that opens, select the file system into which we will format, check the box next to the “Fast” attribute and click “Start”.


A few words about why we use the “Fast” attribute. Firstly, formatting a flash drive will happen much faster. But there is another side to the coin. If there were any documents on the flash drive, then only with quick formatting will you be able to recover this data using special utilities. If you do not check the box, then the information that was on the flash drive will be lost forever.

The flash drive is not formatted

A fairly common problem is when you insert a flash drive into your computer (mostly a new flash drive and its first use), and the operating system gives you a warning that says that before using, removable drive needs to be formatted. And if the flash drive has been used before and there is data recorded on it, then there is no way to access it. Moreover, the volume of the flash drive becomes 0, i.e. as if there was nothing there at all, not even a storage device.

If you have already used a flash drive and this is not the first time you have connected it, then try connecting it to another computer, perhaps the problem will go away and you will be able to save the data. But in any case, the flash drive must be formatted. How to do this was discussed in detail in the “File system conflict” section.

But I want to draw your attention to two points. To avoid problems with the file system (FS) after formatting, find out what FS is used on the computer and install the same one for the drive. And second, if the flash drive had the information you needed, then be sure to use the “Quick” attribute, so the flash drive will be formatted only according to the table of contents, and the lost information can be returned using special utilities.

There is a problem with the partition or the flash drive is automatically assigned a busy letter

There are situations when the operating system incorrectly detects your removable media. Everything seems to be fine, the device connection is displayed and a flash drive icon appears in the tray, but there is no way to use it for its intended purpose.

The problem may be that the system has not assigned the letter to the section under which it will appear. removable storage or it has been assigned, but this letter is already taken, and this results in an address conflict.

The solution to this problem will be to force the assignment of the partition letter that we choose, everything happens in manual mode. So let's get started.

First of all, you need to hold down the key combination “Win ​​+ R", a window will open in front of you with the name “Run".

In the line we need to enter a simple command diskmgmt.msc, which will take us to the disk and storage management section.


In the storage media manager that opens, we need to identify our USB device. This can be done simply, disconnect the flash drive and connect it again, the partition that first disappears and then appears is what we need.


In my case, the flash drive is a drive with the name “20151114_17”, you can also identify it by special badge. Now you need to right-click on it and select “Change letter” in the menu that opens.


Now another additional window will open in front of us, a smaller one. In it you need to click on the button “Change” and “Ok”.


Now another auxiliary window will open, where you must select any letter of the English alphabet, and after clicking on the “Ok” button, the letter will be assigned to the section.


It is worth paying attention to one important point! When choosing a letter to assign to a partition of your flash drive, look at which letters are already in use by the system. This is very important, because we may not fix the problem, but leave it. This will happen if, for example, you designate a flash drive partition with the letter “D”, which is already assigned to the local disk.

Malfunction of the power supply or excessive current overload of the USB portal

This problem is very common these days. The fact is that the computer may simply not see the flash drive due to a faulty power supply. Let's figure it out in order, the power supply consumes electrical energy from the network, and then converts and distributes it across all nodes of the computer. It has a power limit, for example, a 400W power supply will not be able to give you 600W. This means that the consumption of the entire system must be balanced.

This problem may occur if you have recently replaced some important node in the system, let it be the processor. Now it consumes much more energy compared to the past, which means it simply does not reach somewhere, and in this case this “somewhere” is USB network computer. Accordingly, the energy consumption parameter must be calculated in advance, and if such a situation has already occurred, you will have to replace the power supply with a more powerful one.

Moreover, the problem may lie in a malfunction of the power supply; it may produce much less power potential than stated, and than it produced before. You will not be able to solve this problem, since you risk the performance of the entire computer. The only solution is to replace the power supply.

There is one more feature to this question. IN Lately USB devices for computers have become very common, let’s say the following devices are now powered: a mat for warming a cup, desk lamp, wireless mouse, removable HDD, and in addition, the smartphone is also charging. And you want to connect a flash drive, but bad luck, the computer sees it. The fact is that there was an overcurrent on the USB ports. Those. all your devices are already consuming maximum amount current and you cannot connect one more. Therefore, to use a flash drive, you need to disconnect several devices from the computer’s USB ports and then the problem will disappear.

If the computer does not see the flash drive in Windows XP

There are many reasons why a flash drive may not be detected in Windows system XP. Moreover, the problem may lie in the operating system itself, or in a faulty flash drive, or even in the computer hardware.

If the problem is related to the operating system, then it can only be eliminated by making additional changes in the settings; this is best done manually, despite the abundance of special utilities that can help in this matter.

However, if the drive itself is faulty, then the only thing you can do is try to save the data recorded on it. And after that, purchase a new and more reliable device.

If your computer cannot detect the flash drive, it notifies the user with the following signals:

  • Your flash drive is inserted and you try to access the data on it, the message “Insert disk” pops up.
  • The system notifies you that the drive must be formatted for further use.
  • Errors appear about the impossibility of gaining access to data.
  • The system may freeze as soon as you plug the USB flash drive into the computer's USB port.

IN this section we will look at all the most common reasons for the non-functionality of a flash drive in Windows XP and give practical recommendations by their decision. Carefully read the description of the problem, if it is not similar to yours or its solution did not help you, go to next point until the problem goes away. The first thing you need to do is try to determine whether the flash drive is working. This is indicated by a light indicator located on it. If you connect the drive and it blinks or lights up, then the flash drive is working and the problem lies either in the system or hardware of the computer.

Try changing the port into which you connect the flash drive or even the computer; perhaps only the port or the entire system is faulty, but on another PC the flash drive will work properly. For example, if, when connecting a flash drive to a port, you observe complete freeze system, this means that this port is faulty and it is better not to use it.

If you are using USB hubs or extenders and the flash drive is not displayed, perhaps the problem lies in the device itself, and not the flash drive. If this turns out to be the case, you can take the hub to a service center or try to repair it yourself. To do this you will need a soldering iron, solder and a little experience, because most often you just need to solder one or two contacts and everything will work as expected.

Perhaps the problem lies in the lack electric current V USB system ports. To check this, you need to disconnect all USB devices on the computer (camera, printer, lamp, etc.), leaving only the keyboard and mouse. If after such manipulations the flash drive appears in the system and you can access it, then the problem lies in weak block nutrition. This problem can only be solved by replacing the power supply with a more powerful one, but delaying the purchase of a power supply will help using USB hub with its own energy source.

However, if the problem is not resolved after disconnecting all other devices, it may still be actual problem with insufficient power supply and an outdated USB port. In other words, on older laptops you will not be able to open a flash drive with a capacity of 36 GB or larger. There is no way to solve the problem, you can only buy more modern laptop or computer.

A very common situation occurs when a user connects a flash drive to front port PC, but the system does not see it. This means that the ports are not connected to the power supply on the motherboard, or too little power is allocated to them. You can connect the front panel yourself using the instructions located above in the section of the same name.

Can't see the flash drive due to Windows XP errors. Troubleshooting

The flash drive may also not be detected due to operating system errors. For example, Windows XP SP2 lacks updates and software packages, which provide normal USB operation devices. Moreover, it is possible that only several USB devices can work in one port.

The solution to this issue will be to update the system to SP3 and install necessary updates. Even a new user can do this, since we only need a couple of clicks, and the system will automatically download, install and launch the update. So, let's get started, we can move in two ways - this is the official download from Windows Update or installing SP3 from a disk or flash drive. The first step is to check which package you already have installed.

Click on the “My Computer” icon with the right mouse button and select “Properties”. The following window will open in front of you, where information about your system will be indicated.


To install SP3, we need to allow the operating system to search and update the computer system. To do this, just go from the Control Panel to Windows Update.


As soon as you do this, the system will begin searching for updates, after which it will offer you to update everything at once or select only the ones you need. If you don't understand what update changes what, then it's better to let the system update completely.

After downloading all the updates, the operating system will require you to restart your computer to apply the new settings. Click “Ok” and wait patiently. That's all, now you can connect the flash drive and use it.

If you decide to choose which updates to install rather than download them all into automatic mode, then here is a guideline that will help improve the system’s perception of USB drives.

Driver conflicts in Windows XP

There is also the problem of driver conflict. The fact is that some have already outdated drivers may cause errors at the system level, moreover, they may prevent normal operation new drivers. A striking example This problem occurs when a user inserts a flash drive into the computer, tries to access the data on it, and the system immediately displays an error message asking to insert the disk. Or, the system simply freezes, and even the assignment is already existing letter partition of the flash drive really.

The reason for such errors is as follows. Let's say you have two flash drives, you connected one of them to the system. In automatic mode, all necessary drivers for this device are immediately installed. You have made the necessary manipulations to write or read files and removed the drive. After that, you insert a second flash drive, which is completely working, and one of the above errors pops up. This means that the system is trying to use the already installed driver from the first flash drive to launch the second, but they are not compatible.

Reinstalling Windows XP drivers for USB devices

This problem can be easily resolved in several ways. Reinstalling drivers automatically or manually. Let's look at a little theory: a driver from one USB device can be mistakenly used by the system to launch another USB device. To eliminate these problems, we need to first remove all existing drivers for USB drives, and then reinstall them.

Such a problem may display the message “USB device not recognized,” or unexplained processes occur at the system level that block access to data or cause the system to freeze.

Remove via DriveCleanup

You can effectively remove all existing drivers for USB devices using DriveCleanup utilities. Its advantage is that it searches the entire system for installed drivers and only after that deletes them.

First of all, turn off the computer, disconnect all USB devices from it in order to avoid conflict situations while the program is running. Turn on the PC, go to the official website of the program and download the executable file. The utility is compatible with any version of Windows, including different bitmaps. When downloading, pay attention to the file version.

Automatic installation

You have removed all drivers from your computer. In order for a device to function normally, the operating system must have drivers for it. Process automatic installation The driver is incredibly simple, you just need to connect the USB flash drive to the USB port, after which the installation will begin immediately. A window will pop up that will display the installation progress; on some systems this may occur in a mode invisible to the user. Within one to two minutes, the installation will be completed and you will be able to use the device.

Manual installation

Under manual installation This means installing drivers not directly from the storage medium itself. We can also install drivers for a flash drive from third-party Internet resources, but to avoid conflict situations, we will install drivers for a flash drive using another computer.

So, we take our problematic flash drive and insert it into another computer, where it is recognized. A necessary condition for this process is coincidence Windows versions on both computers. We use the system search and find two files.

By any means we transfer them to problem computer, whether by mail or using other removable media. You need to place these files in a folder with the same path that was on the first computer and confirm the replacement when the corresponding window pops up. We reboot the computer and enjoy its performance with FLASH disks.

We looked at only the most common reasons why a flash drive is not visible on the computer. In fact, there are many more of them. Moreover, there are problems that are expressed by others system messages, and their solution is already described in the paragraphs of the article.

The “Insert disk” message appears even if the flash drive is already connected to the USB port

This system error occurs when drivers overlap each other and interfere with the normal functioning of USB devices. In order to fix this error, you need to remove all drivers for USB devices and install them again. This process described step by step in this article.

Message about the need to format the disk

This message appears if you are using a flash drive for the first time or if there is a problem with it. system failure. In addition to the message, you can verify that it is not suitable for use, because it does not display any free space, neither busy. The solution to this issue is described in detail in paragraphs 8 and 9.

Data error message

This problem occurs in 3 cases. This is a driver conflict, a file system conflict, and a failure of the flash drive itself. Solved by reinstalling the drivers, if that doesn’t help, then quick formatting to preserve the ability to recover data on a flash drive. Step-by-step instructions are above.

Complete system freeze immediately after connecting the flash drive to the computer

This issue has already been discussed in the article, but I would like to point out that this error can occur for two reasons:

  1. Driver conflict.
  2. Faulty port.

It’s easy to check what problem you have, insert the flash drive into another port, if the freeze continues, it means there’s a problem with the drivers. Instructions and tips for reinstalling them were given as part of this article.

Why does the computer not see the flash drive when the indicator on it is lit?

The contact on the flash drive, which is responsible for transmitting information, may be damaged. A conflict between drivers and purpose cannot be ruled out occupied letter for the section. If the problem does not go away after connecting the flash drive to another computer, try checking the availability of the partition. If everything is fine here, then reinstall the drivers and the flash drive will work.

Error 43 / Error 43

This error immediately stops reading information from a removable device, which means we won’t be able to immediately access the data. There are several problems that can cause Error 43.

  • Malfunction of the device itself is the first of them. Check on another computer to see if this situation happens again.
  • Driver conflict - solution described above.
  • Updating the hardware configuration - simply roll back the driver version in the Task Manager.

conclusions

We have reviewed in detail the reasons that may prevent a computer from reading a flash drive and the information on it. Described solutions with step by step instructions They will definitely help you get rid of this problem. An unreadable flash drive can be a death sentence only if the flash drive is faulty. In other situations, this is an easily reversible process. If you have any questions or couldn’t find a solution to your problem in the article, leave a comment and we’ll try to clarify the situation together.

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 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. 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 click right click on the shortcut of my computer 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 do the following actions. 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 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 hub or usb hub, then turn it off 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 not necessary information on computer. This is more of a protective measure. If this home computer, then you need to go to the BIOS settings and check the box to enable launch usb devices on 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 desired device- 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 Everest program or Aida. 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 manufacturer’s official website, find the required motherboard and download drivers for the chipset and usb device, if there are 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 full check for viruses at least once a month. If you don't have it, you can use free antivirus Kaspersky Yandex 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 FAT systems and FAT32, and hard disks to 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

Flash drives are now the main means for transferring and storing information, surpassing previously popular ones. optical discs And external hard drives. Some users, however, have problems viewing the contents of USB media, particularly on laptops. Our material today is intended to help such users.

First of all, we note that the procedure for opening a flash drive for further viewing of files on it is the same for both laptops and desktop PCs. There are 2 options to view the data recorded on the flash drive: using third-party file managers and Windows system tools.

Method 1: Total Commander

One of the most popular file managers for Windows, of course, has all the necessary functionality for working with flash drives.


As you can see, there is nothing complicated - the procedure takes just a few mouse clicks.

Method 2: FAR Manager

Another outsider "Conductor", this time from the creator of the archivist Evgeniy Roshal. Despite its somewhat archaic appearance, it is also perfect for working with removable drives.


There are no difficulties in this method either, except for the unusual to the modern user interface.

Method 3: Windows System Tools

On operating systems from Microsoft official support for flash drives appeared in Windows XP (on previous versions it is necessary to install additional updates and drivers). Consequently, on current Windows operating systems (7, 8 and 10) there is everything necessary for opening and viewing flash drives.

This method is suitable for users who are accustomed to standard "To the conductor" Windows doesn't want to install additional software on their laptops.

Possible problems and methods for eliminating them

Sometimes when connecting a flash drive or trying to open it for viewing, various types of failures occur. Let's look at the most common of them.

  • The flash drive is not recognized by the laptop
    The most common problem. It is discussed in detail in the corresponding article, so we will not dwell on it in detail.
  • When connecting, an error message appears: “The folder name is incorrectly specified.”
    An infrequent but unpleasant problem. Its appearance can be caused by: software glitch, and hardware failure. Check out the article below for more details.
  • The connected flash drive requires formatting
    You probably removed the flash drive incorrectly during previous use, which caused its file system to fail. One way or another, you will have to format the drive, but it is possible to extract at least some of the files.
  • The drive is connected correctly, but the inside is empty, although there should be files there
    This problem also arises for several reasons. Most likely, the USB drive is infected with a virus, but don't worry, there is a way to get your data back.
  • Instead of files on the flash drive there are shortcuts
    This is definitely the work of a virus. It is not too dangerous for a computer, but it can still cause trouble. However, you can protect yourself and return files without much difficulty.

To summarize, we note that, subject to use safe removal drives, after working with them, the likelihood of any problems arising tends to zero.

The computer does not see the flash drive. Technology cannot work forever. There may be several reasons:

1) the front connectors on the PC are not connected to the motherboard;

2) there is not enough food;

3) system driver failure;

4) viruses;

5) file system conflict;

6) hardware failure of the drive.

Almost all problems can be “treated” with improvised means, namely system utilities computer. Let's look at each breakdown in detail.

Reason 1: Inactive sockets and lack of power

If your flash drive does not open on your computer when connected to the front connectors system unit, check additionally the jacks for connecting a headset (headphones).

If they are silent, it means that the manufacturers did not bother to connect the socket block to the motherboard when assembling the PC. 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 cheating when connecting them to 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.

Next, you will have to play the so-called attentiveness test. We connect the drive and wait until the list of drivers blinks. 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, and they pay for it by causing 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 address bar We write down the letter of the device (everything is as in the screenshot, preserving the characters). Letter index your drive may differ.

So, you got inside. But now you need to make hidden files visible in order 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 system files...” setting. We remove the checkbox from this item, simultaneously switching the system to the ability to show hidden files.

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" double click mouse and move on.

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