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Dec 16, 2020 • Filed to: USB Recovery • Proven solutions
How to fix USB device not recognized in Windows 10?The error message is 'The lastUSB device you connected to this computer malfunctioned, and Windows does not recognize it.' This is the most common USB problem for many users who using Windows 10 system computer. In the following guide, we will list the best solution to solve the USB device not recognized errors. Different types of problems may arise when using drives on Windows 10 and some of them are:
Problems about USB device not recognized windows 10:
I have a Dell XPS 13 (2016) with a Dell USB-C adapter. It will not detect my NEC LCD external monitor. I have tried a Dell USB-C adapter and a D-SUB cable to the monitor. I have also tried a Monoprice USB-C adapter with a Monoprice HDMI cable. The monitor works fine with my Mac. One thing to know: Just because you don't see a printer doesn't mean it isn't there. Some IT departments hide the names of all printers by default. Although IT likely has good reasons for doing so. If Windows detects a problem, it displays another dialog box informing you of the problem and, depending on what the problem is, provides an 'Apply this fix' option and a 'Skip this fix' option.
- External hard drive not recognized by Windows 10:This problem often affects both the external hard drive and the flash drive and to resolve both issues, you can apply the same method.
- USB may not be detected by Windows 10:Another very common problem is when your Windows 10 software can't seem to detect your USB flash when plugged in.
- USB hard drive not showing:Some users complain that when they connect their drives to their computer, it doesn't display on the screen. This problem is not without a solution.
- USB drive not working:You drive may show on your screen but may not function. Such a problem is not peculiar to you alone as many other users of Windows 10 complain of the same problem.
- Windows USB port non-functional:If your USB port is not functioning, there's no way you can transfer data from one source to the other. You can resolve all the problems highlighted in this article using our tested and trusted technology solutions.
Part 1. How to fix a Windows 10 doesn't recognize USB Port
If replacing the cable doesn't cause the problem to cease, the issue where the hard disk is not detected lies elsewhere. The hard disk is not detected as the drive is not spinning up. This can arise when the drive is not receiving enough power to function and hence doesn't spin up. You can check for this issue by performing the following steps. Note: There are few cases where a newer driver doesn’t work. In that case, download an older version of the driver and install it using the same method described below. Press Windows + R to launch the Run Type “devmgmt.msc” in the dialogue box and hit Enter. This will launch your computer’s device manager.
Solution 1 – Check Power Management for USB root Hub
One way to fix a Windows 10 problem of this spec is to tweak the power management structure of your USB root hub. Here is how to go about it.
- Open yourDevice Managerand go to the section 'Universal Serial Bus Control' to find the USB Hub. For multipleUSB Root Hub, you have to repeat the procedure for each of them (Three USB Root Hub).
- Right-click the USB Root Hub/select Properties.
- Proceed to thePower Managementtab. Uncheck 'Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power'.
- Save changes and repeat these steps for all Root Hubs on your device Manager.
Solution 2 – Install drivers for Generic USB Hub
- Open yourDevice Managerand look forthe Generic USB Hub. Right-click the icon toupdate the driver.
- Select 'Browse my PC for a driver for driver software'.
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- Select 'Let me pick from a list of drivers on my PC'
- ChooseGeneric USB Huband tap the Next button.
- To get the very best results, you can conduct these same steps for all theUniversal Bus Controllers on your Device Manager.
Solution 3 – Change USB Selective Suspend Settings
Another option you can try when experiencing USB not recognized Windows 10 problems is to change the USB selection suspend settings. Here is how to go about effecting changes.
- Open Control Panel and choose Power Options.
- Click 'Change Plan Setting' on the Power Saver section
- Then click 'Change advanced power settings'
- Find theUSB Settingoption, then select 'Disable'
Solution 4 – Reconnect your USB devices
When you try to connect the USB ports to the computer and get the error message pop up, you might want to reconnect your USB devices. This action may solve your USB device not recognized problem in Windows 10.
Video Tutorial on How to Fix USB Device Not Recognized
Part 2. How to Fix Windows 10 doesn't Recognize USB Drive/Storage
If the problem you are experiencing has to do with your Windows 10 application not recognizing the USB drive or storage you used, follow these steps to rectify the problem.
Solution 1 – Turn off Fast Startup
- Go toControl Paneland selectPower options
- Then click onChoose what the power button does
- By clickChange settings that are currently unavailable
- Then uncheckTurn on fast startup(recommend)option and click onSave Changes
Solution 2 – Update your drivers / install the default driver
If you get the USB device not recognized error, you may need to uninstall your currently installed drive. You can follow the next steps to allow Windows 10 to install the default drive:
- Go toDevice Managerwindows by pressing Windows Key + X or search the keyword on the search bar.
- SelectDisk drivesoption, then right-click on your USB device and selectUninstall device
- Restart your computer after the driver has been uninstalled
- Reconnect your USB drive when your PC starts.
Solution 3 – Partition your USB storage and assign a letter to it
While you connect the USB device to the Windows 10 computer, the device needs to partition and assign a letter to it. Follow these steps to do that:
- Hold down the Windows + S key, type in the word 'Computer management' and pick computer management from the options provided.
- Once computer management comes up, click onDisk management.
- Find your hard drive (To do so, check through the sizes of drives in your drive management system)
If your drive is not partitioned, you will see at least one drive in particular with an unallocated space to it. Right-click the icon and pick the item 'New simple volume'. Now follow these steps to partition it.
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- On theDisk Managementwindow and find your USB hard drive, right-click on the drive and selectChange Drive Letter and Paths
- Click onAddand make sure you assign a particular letter to the partition.
*Do note that your Windows 10 only works with NTFS & FAT32 systems so during the process of partitioning, only use an NTFS system file.
*Also note that you can also partition your hard drive using any third-party app.
Solution 4 – Uninstall hidden devices from Device Manager
If your USB device did not recognize Windows 10 problems can be caused by devices that were hidden in your Device Manager. To get it working again you may need to uninstall them. Follow these instructions to do that.
- Press your keyboardWindows key + Rand input the letters 'cmd' and press OK.
- Once the command prompt comes up, paste these lines below and click ok after each line to run them through.
- set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1
- cd
- cd windowssystem32
- start devmgmt.msc
After doing this, your Device Manager will be able to fully display hidden devices in your drive
- Expand all the sections and make sure you delete all gray entries
- Restart your computer and reconnect your hard drive.
Solution 5 – Delete Unrecognized device from Device Manager and assign a different letter to your USB hard drive
To delete unrecognizable devices from your Device Manager and assign a letter to it, follow these steps.
- Go to theUniversal Serial controllerafter opening your system'Device Manager.
- Expand the Controller section and locate all Unrecognized devices. On the Unrecognized devices, Right-click to pick the item 'uninstall device'.
- Press the scan button to scan for available hardware changes.
- Close yourDevice Manager
- Select your computer management portal and navigate to Disk management by pressingWindows key + S
- Locate your USB hard drive storage and right-click to pick 'Change system's hard Drive Letter and Paths'
- Press the Change button and assign a letter to the USB drive.
- Should you not see any unrecognized devices in your Manager, skip the last step and just try replacing the old letter with a new one.
Solution 6 – Connect your USB hard drive to the USB ports in the back
If you are having issues with a USB drive such as the Seagate modeled USB drive it may be as a result of the fact that you connect yours to the front port rather than the back. You may also experience the same problem of an unrecognizable hard drive even if you don't make use of a hard drive that is like Seagate's. There are claims that some ports don't have enough power are the front of computer systems. If this claim is true, you may want to consider connecting your hard drive to the backport to see if it works. Also, avoid using a hub for connection. It is better when you connect directly.
Solution 7 – Replace the hard drive letter using the Diskpart tool
Another way to replace the hard drive letter is to use aDiskpart tool. Here is how to use it to correct a USB device not recognized Windows 10 problem.
- Typedisparton the run box by pressingWindows Key + R.
- Once the command prompt opens up, type the list volume than tap the Enter key to run command.
- Identify your exact USB storage file amongst the list.
- We advise you to choose 'Select Volume 2' because it is much easier to use this prompt. Tap Enter to proceed.
- Close the command prompt and see if your hard drive is recognizable
USB device not recognized Windows 10may be as a result of undetected external hard drives, your drive not showing or may not even work at all. These problems can be resolved however with any of the 7 solutions listed above. One solution may work but in some cases, you may have to use more than one solution to resolve issues. The more suggestion that you should back up your USB data to a safety device or it will cause your data files to get lost. Once data loss happens, you need aUSB data recoveryprogram to help you retrieve all data back easily.
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- Recover lost data files from USB drive on Windows 10 easily.
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Jan 25, 2021 • Filed to: Answer Hard Drive Problems • Proven solutions
We know that the CPU is the brain of a computer. However, not everyone knows that while the CPU is the brain to functioning a computer, the hard disk is the body of it. The mind can't be useful without the body, and this is what this article deals with. What if your internal hard disk is not detected? Some of you might simply restart the system, while some would care to reinstall the software. Here, we take a look at the factors that are behind the scene where the hard disk is not detected and how to solve this issue.
Generally, an ATA or SATA port is set to auto-detect. If one finds that their hard disk is not detected by the system BIOS, the following steps (not in any particular order), can be used to isolate the issue.
Hard Drive Is Not Enable in the BIOS
To access the BIOS of your system, you should be aware of the settings of your device. Different systems have different methods of accessing the BIOS. Every system displays a brief message about entering the system setup soon after the power has been turned on. System Setup is often called the' System BIOS' or 'CMOS Setup'.
If the hard disk is not detected, it could be because it is turned off in the system setup. There are mother manufacturers that tend to disable the unused ports in the BIOS by default. One has to enter the BIOS to verify their current status.
If a second hard disk is not detected after being connected, it could require to be enabled by turning it ON in the BIOS.
Accessing BIOS in Windows 10:
The latest versions of Windows come with greater processing speed, and therefore pressing a key on boot cannot prove to be helpful. Therefore, you can't enter BIOS; we recommend you follow the given steps to access the BIOS if the hard disk is not detected.
- Start with navigating to the settings. Click on the start menu icon can help you get there.
- You then have to select Update and Security.
- Move to 'Recovery' from the left menu.
- You then have to click on 'Restart' under the advanced startup. This reboots your computer to a special menu.
- Choose Troubleshoot.
- Move to the advanced options.
- Select UEFI Firmware settings and finally click on Restart.
Faulty Cables Within The Motherboard
There is a chance that the cables within the motherboard have become faulty. Therefore your hard disk is not detected. You can start by inspecting the motherboard and hard disk connections for misaligned or bent pins. Please note that the folding, crimping, pinching, or creasing data cables are often responsible for the wires breaking inside the insulation. However, in the same scenario, the exterior of the cable would appear normal. If you are unsure about the condition of your data cable, we recommend that you replace it.
Often, certain SATA cables can fall out of their connection. One can check the condition of their SATA cables and ensure they are tightly connected to the SATA port connection.
If replacing the cable doesn't cause the problem to cease, the issue where the hard disk is not detected lies elsewhere.
The hard disk is not detected as the drive is not spinning up
This can arise when the drive is not receiving enough power to function and hence doesn't spin up. You can check for this issue by performing the following steps:
- Power Off the computer
- Access the computer case and remove the data cable from the hard drive. This will ensure that any of the power saving commands that are being sent out is ceased.
- Turn back on the system, and check if the hard disk is spinning. One can feel a slight vibration upon touching the hard drive, and if the vibration is not there, the hard disk is not detected or did not start.
How to confirm whether the hard drive is spinning up or not?
If you cannot determine whether the drive is spinning or not while fixing the scenario where the hard disk is not detected, here are a few steps:
- Boot the computer and try to catch some noise.
- Power off the system.
- Disconnect the power cord from the system.
- Remove the power cable when the hard disk is not detected, or the hard disk you are trying to fix.
- Reconnect the power cord to the system itself.
- You then have to boot the system to check if the hard disk sound is audible.
- Reconnecting the hard disk should help you catch some noise.
- Switching power cables with a device like an external CD or DVD to ensure that the cable is not faulty.
- Check the power supply on the computer. This helps you to determine if there is enough electrical power to operate the drives and devices that are being used within the system.
- You then have to connect your drive to a different system.
- Please ensure that you connect the drive in a SATA-USB enclosure if possible, and check if the scenario where the hard disk is not detected is fixed.
If this doesn't fix the problem, you might have to get in touch with the manufacturer.
How to Recover Data from Undetected Hard Drive?
Some users have lost their important files and folders due to the unrecognized hard drive. And they are anxious about retrieving the data. Here if you have met the same problem, you can download Wondershare Recoverit data recovery software to your Windows or Mac computer. Only if your data has not to be overwritten, can you regain the photos, videos, audios, emails, and documents immediately.
Here are the features of Recoverit Advanced:
- Recover 1000+ file formats without any pressure.
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- Repair corrupted fragmented or damaged videos.
Download the application and follow the steps to get back your data
Step 1 Select the Hard Drive
Step 2 Scan the Disk
Step 3 Preview And Recover The Files
Video Tutorial on How to Fix Hard Drive Not Showing Up
Conclusion
The case where the hard disk is not detected is a hardware issue and requires you to have an understanding of BIOS. While using Windows 10, accessibility of BIOS might seem difficult and for that very reason, I have attached the steps that one can follow to reach the BIOS when the hard disk is not detected. Windows 10 has been causing a few troubles for the hard disk owners and therefore, we have listed out a series of methods to get you going.
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