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 connected USB disk not shown in file manager Windows, you need to check the tool Disk Management.
To open Disk Management in Windows 8/10, click right click mouse on 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 disks have a separate power cable or are turned on using a separate key designed for this.
- Connect the device to another USB port. Disconnect the flash drive from this USB port and connect to another. Perhaps one of the USB ports on your computer has failed.
- Connect the device to your computer without a USB hub. If the flash drive is connected to the computer via an extension cord or USB hub, try disconnecting it from it and connecting it directly to the computer. Perhaps the reason is in the hub.
- Try another computer. Connect the flash drive to the USB port of another computer and see if it is recognized by it. If the device is also not detected by another computer, then most likely the problem lies with it.
Solution
If the problem options described above do not apply to your case, then your problem can most likely be solved using one of the methods described below. Depending on what you find in Disk Management, there are options for solutions to the problem that has arisen with identifying an external storage medium.
If Windows sees the disk, but cannot read it, then this means that it has a file system that it does not support. In this case 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 . See if there are any devices marked in yellow in these sections exclamation point. If there is such a device, right-click on it and select Properties. The properties will contain information about the error and driver status.
To fix the driver problem, right-click on the device, select Properties / Driver / Update.
If the disk is visible in Disk Management
If the disc is visible in Disk Management, but it does not have a letter, then it is for this reason that it may not be displayed in Windows Explorer. In order for the system to start displaying it in Explorer, such a drive must be assigned a letter.
To do this, right-click on it and select "Change drive letter or drive path". If there is no such item in the pop-up menu, this may be due to the absence or unsupported file system type of the storage medium.
In the menu that opens, you will see that the drive does not have a letter assigned - assign it. To do this, select Add / / Ok.
If the disk is visible in Disk Management, but it is not allocated
If the disc is visible in Disk Management, but it is not distributed, which means that it is not formatted. In order for such a disk to become operational, right-click on it and select "Create Simple Volume".
Select the maximum suggested partition size and assign a drive letter suggested by the system. After this, the disk will be normally detected by the system and ready for use.
If the disk is visible in Disk Management but cannot be formatted
If for some reason the disk cannot be formatted, then to restore its functionality, you can completely erase it and then re-create the partition.
Note. As a result of such manipulation, all data from the disk (as well as flash drives or memory cards) will be permanently deleted. Therefore, worry about their safety in advance - scan the disk or flash drive using Hetman Partition Recovery, and save your data in a convenient place.
To clean the disk, open Command line as administrator and clean it up using the command diskpart – "clean".
How to recover an SD card or USB flash drive if the computer does not see it, does not read or write data? Problems with flash drives are rarely caused by natural wear and tear. More often, problems with them are caused by users ignoring the rules for safely removing the device, experiments with various software in which these flash drives are involved, as well as their initially lousy quality. Below we look at the list possible actions, carried out in a Windows environment, which can solve the problem, unless, of course, the cause lies in a mechanical failure. And we, friends, will go from simple to complex.
Recovering SD cards and USB flash drives in Windows
- Note: below we will only talk about restoring the functionality of flash drives, but not about saving the data stored on them. This is a separate topic, and there is something about this on the website; you can also use this program for. Most of the methods proposed below for recovering SD cards and flash drives will lead to the loss of their data.
1. Hardware lock
SD cards, MicroSD adapters and flash drives can be hardware protected from writing data or completely blocked even for reading. On such devices there is a lock switch, which must, accordingly, be set to the “Unlocked” position.
2. Problems not related to the drives themselves
Politics may be the cause of problems with SD cards and flash drives Windows security. You need to find out whether access to removable drives (in whole or in part of writing data to them) is blocked by the computer administrator. You also need to check the card reader or ports Computer USB. If everything is fine with the latter, the card reader reads other SD cards, but problems still arise with the flash drive, no matter how you connect it to others USB ports, go ahead.
3. Windows Explorer
Standard formatting tools Windows Explorer can help in simple cases such as unsuccessful writing of data to a flash drive. Or when for some reason a smartphone, tablet, camera or other device cannot cope with this operation regarding SD cards. In any of the current Windows versions in the explorer window on the drive we call context menu, click “Format”.
Leave the original file system and first try a quick format.
If it fails, we repeat the operation, but with full formatting (uncheck the fast box).
4. Windows Disk Management
You can try to perform the formatting procedure in disk management. To launch this tool, enter in the system search field:
diskmgmt.msc
In the disk management window, focusing on the size of the drive, we look for it among the disks connected to the computer. And in the context menu called on it, we launch formatting.
You can immediately select full formatting.
If the flash drive has a partition structure like a hard drive, you must delete each of those partitions. This is done using the “Delete volume” option in the context menu.
And then, in place of the resulting unallocated space, you need to create a single partition. To do this, in the context menu on this very unallocated space, launch the “Create a new volume” operation and follow the instructions of the step-by-step wizard.
5. Programs for low-level formatting
Standard formatting tools may not help in complex cases, for example, when flash drives are displayed (in the same Explorer or Disk Management) as unrecognized devices with a file RAW system. The latter means that either Windows environment does not understand the file system of the drive, or there is no file system as such in principle. Actually, this is what causes problems with a flash drive or SD card when it works on other devices, with other operating systems. In such cases, third-party Windows programs designed for so-called low-level formatting will help restore the flash drive.
In fact, low-level formatting is a procedure that is carried out either in the production conditions of flash device manufacturers, or in serious specialized services. Various types of Windows software that claim to perform this kind of operation actually perform a regular full format, but using mechanisms that differ from those used by the operating system. Such programs cope well with flash drive problems if these problems arise at the file system level. Let's look at two of these programs.
HDD Low Level Format Tool
http://hddguru.com/software/HDD-LLF-Low-Level-Format-Tool/
Shareware portable program HDD Low Level Format The Tool can format various types of storage media, in particular SD cards and USB flash drives. After unpacking the archive with the program, run it and agree to the license terms.
We choose free use.
Directly in the program window we indicate the problematic drive and click “Continue”.
We confirm the decision.
We wait for the operation to complete and check the operation of the media.
SDFormatter
http://flashboot.ru/files/file/355
A completely free small program called SDFormatter is another tool for so-called low-level formatting. Works with both SD cards and USB flash drives. Install SDFormatter into the system, launch it, and indicate the problematic flash drive in the “Drive” column. Click “Format”.
The program wants to make sure that our intentions are serious, click “Ok.
He asks not to touch the drive while the operation is being performed.
Upon completion, test the flash drive or SD card. If this does not help, repeat the operation with the settings for complete overwriting of sectors (nothing more than full formatting). Press “Option”, select “Full (OverWrite)”. And also click “Format” at the bottom.
If using the above methods it was not possible to revive the flash drive, and it is still under warranty, you need to stop at this stage. And do not take any further action except contact the seller with a request to replace the device. All the actions described below should be resorted to only when, in fact, there is nothing to lose. The instructions below apply to USB flash drives, SD and MicroSD cards. However, in the case of the latter, the likelihood of recovery is extremely low.
6. D-Soft Flash Doctor
D-Soft Flash Doctor performs so-called low-level formatting, and at the same time also detects damaged sectors (cells). Well, and, accordingly, knows how to block them and replace them with backup ones. The program can help when flash drives or SD cards have difficulty reading individual files located on damaged sectors. The program is free and portable. I did not find the official website, but it can be freely downloaded on the Internet.
In the D-Soft Flash Doctor window, the first thing you need to do is run a scan to detect errors.
In my case, there were no damaged (broken) sectors.
But if in your case, friends, the scan results are different and bad sectors are detected, we start the recovery process.
The window for performing this operation promises that the process will not last longer than 10 minutes, but in fact, reassigning bad sectors on a drive with a capacity larger than 4 GB can take quite a long time. So it is better to run the recovery operation at night.
7. Flashing the memory controller
Programs for so-called low-level formatting or their analogues, which in any other form claim to be able to resuscitate all types of SD cards and/or USB flash drives, turn out to be powerless in the event of a software failure of the controller, when it requires flashing. This problem can have different symptoms, but more often it is either the computer does not see the drive completely, or it sees it and can even read the data, but cannot format it by any means. In particular, due to write protection even though the drive is not locked by hardware.
Which results in the USB drive not being recognized. From damaged USB ports to USB formatting issues, the list of possible scenarios is varied. It should also be noted that before applying any of the methods below, the user must ensure that the cause is analyzed and the problem is identified correctly.
The list of reasons that lead to a flash drive being unreadable and which users encounter most often includes the following 5 scenarios:
- USB ports don't work.
- You need to update your USB drivers.
- The operating system (OS) is not updated.
- The USB storage device is faulty.
- The USB firmware is corrupted.
You can find more than one USB recognition program on the Internet that will guarantee that the data will be retrieved, but it is better not to use these programs as they can pose security risks, possibly compromising the data.
Below are some of the factors that can lead to flash drive recognition problems. It should be noted that these problems need to be resolved as soon as possible:
- Problem with USB formatting. This is the most common type of problem where the user fails to format the drive before first use. The error message states that formatting could not be completed.
- Driver problem. USB drivers are not available or need to be updated.
- Problems with hard drive. If HDD The OS and associated system are not working properly, this is most likely a problem with the hard drive.
- OS related problems: OS if not updated on time also leads to these problems. The only solution is to update the components.
- Port related problems. This can be either hardware or software. If the ports do not recognize USB, professional help is recommended.
USB formatting problem is the most common type of problem
4 Ways to Fix Problem with Flash Drive Not Recognized by Windows
Method 1: Scan for USB problems
Step 1. Insert the flash drive into the USB port.
Step 2. Make sure that the flash drive appears in the “My Computer” section. Then, right-click to open the “Properties” section.
Step 3. Enter the "Service" section.
Step 4. Then you need to click on the “Check Now” button for a new menu to appear. Here, both options should be selected and the run button should be clicked to scan the device and fix the problem (some may just say "Check", then you need to click "Check" and then "Check and repair disk").
Method 2: Reformatting USB
Follow this process:
Step 1. Right-click on the flash drive under My Computer to select the Format option.
Step 2. Now, to solve the problem, you need to format the flash drive using NTFS instead of FAT32 or vice versa:
On a note! All information from the flash drive will be deleted!
Method 3: Update drivers
The process looks like this:
Step 1. You need to open the Run window (Win+R), and then enter devmgmt.msc as in the screenshot below:
Step 2. After this, you will be taken to the Device Manager (you can also open it through the built-in Windows search, you just need to enter “Device Manager” in the search field, and Windows will give you the desired result).
Step 3. You need to find “Universal Serial Bus controllers” as in the picture below:
Step 4. When you have found the controllers you need, you need to right-click on them and select the option to update drivers, then “Automatically search for updated drivers.”
Method 4. OS update
To update your OS, follow these steps:
Step 1. Go to Control Panel > System and Security.
Step 2. Now you need to make sure that the “Check for updates” option is selected.
The OS will be updated.
Then you need to restart the system to ensure that the problem is resolved.
Software to recover lost data on hard drive
Once the USB recognition problem is resolved, it is recommended that you save all important data to ensure that the problem never happens again. You should also check that all folders are saved and that nothing is missing. Wondershare Data Recovery tool is the most advanced and modern tool designed specifically to solve the problem of file loss. It is better to download it from the official website.
Note! Only 100 megabytes of lost data are free.
Recovering files with Wondershare Data Recovery occurs in 3 steps:
Step 1. First you need to select what types of files you want to recover.
Step 2. Then you need to select the device from which you want to recover these same files.
Step 3. You also need to select the location where these files will be restored.
It won’t be difficult, and the intuitive and simple interface will only help with this.
Video - Flash drive not detected - solution to the problem
The era of CDs and DVDs is almost completely over. Today, flash drives are used everywhere as universal storage media. USB drives are small in size, have a sufficient amount of built-in memory and allow you to add or delete any files without any harm to existing ones.
Everything seems to be fine, but flash drives have one significant drawback - if used incorrectly, they often fail... The most typical failure is the computer identifying the drive as an unknown device or a disk with zero memory capacity:
If you were careless to unplug your USB drive from its slot without first using the safe removal function, it is quite possible that it will become a victim of a short circuit and become unreadable. Is it possible to restore a flash drive after such an incident? Read on...
Types of flash drive failures
So, if you are reading this article, then most likely you already have a “dead” flash drive. Before you try to revive it, you need to find out what kind of trouble happened and how your USB drive reacts when connected to a PC. In other words, let's see how bad it is :)
The flash drive can react in two ways: either the indicator diode on it will light up or not. If the diode does not light, then a physical breakdown can be diagnosed. In this case, you can try to repair the drive only if you have a soldering iron and know how to work with it (the last section of the article is about this).
A much more optimistic forecast can be given if the indicator lights up and does not go out. This means that our problem is software and can be fixed using special software. In this case, one of two scenarios awaits us: the flash drive may be detected as an unformatted disk with a capacity of 0 bytes, or it may not be detected at all.
If the computer sees an empty drive, then everything can be solved by correct formatting. However, most often the problem is that due to a sudden power surge, the firmware of the flash drive is damaged and we will have to look for it on the Internet.
To summarize the algorithm for diagnosing a breakdown, I suggest you act according to the scheme below:
Formatting treatment
The easiest damage that can happen to your flash drive is a file system failure. Failure can be of two types: with a violation of the cluster layout and without. In the latter case, you can even do without formatting and save all the data on a flash drive!
You can diagnose a failure without violations if the flash drive is detected by the computer, but does not open. The computer simply freezes when trying to display its contents, so we don’t try to open anything. Let's see what letter you've decided on removable media, launch the Command Prompt (Start - Run - cmd) and enter the command "CHKDSK G (or other letter): /f":
The /f key will automatically try to correct file system errors that led to the unreadability of your flash drive and, if the command completes successfully, you will receive a fully functional drive with all the data that was on it before the error appeared!
Unfortunately, it’s not often that you get off so easy... Much more often you have to deal with flash drives, whose size is determined by the computer as 0 bytes. In this case, formatting can help. And not with standard tools, but with special utilities. One of the most universal in this regard is HP USB Disk Storage FormatTool (you can download it in the archive using the link at the end of the article):
This utility allows you to correctly format any media in FAT32 and NTFS systems. To do this, just select the desired device from the drop-down list and click the “Start” button. By default, the quick format option is activated, but this mode may not work with a damaged flash drive. If unsuccessful, you must uncheck the corresponding box before starting the procedure again.
In particularly advanced cases, when even HP USB Disk Storage FormatTool gives an error, but the flash drive is still recognized as removable media, so-called low-level formatting can help. It erases all memory sectors byte-by-byte and fills them with zeros, making it impossible to attempt to recover data in the future.
If saving a flash drive is more important to you than saving the data that was on it, then the HDD Low Level Format Tool utility (available in the archive for the article) can help you format it using the above-mentioned method:
When you start the program, a window will appear asking us in what mode we want to use the HDD Low Level Format Tool. Naturally, we need a free one, so we click the “Continue for free” button or simply close the window. A main window will appear with a list of disks. Select the one you want, click “Continue”, confirm your consent and wait for the process to complete.
Low-level formatting itself takes quite slowly, so be prepared in advance for the fact that it can take about an hour (depending on the capacity of the flash drive and its read/write speed). Moreover, in free mode, formatting speed is limited to 50 megabytes per second (approximately 180 gigabytes per hour).
Determining the controller type
If formatting does not produce results or the flash drive is initially detected by the computer as an unknown USB device, then the problem is most likely due to damaged firmware. Finding firmware for popular media models on the Internet is not that difficult, but you need to know exactly what to look for. And to do this, first of all you need to determine the type of flash drive controller.
This can be done in two ways: using special programs or by PID and VID identifiers. It is preferable, of course, to use programs with good databases, since controllers from completely different companies may have the same identifiers and you will have to search for a long time for a suitable utility for flashing the firmware...
The best in terms of determining the type of controller are the Chinese programs ChipGenius and ChipEasy, and from the Russians, perhaps, Flash Drive Information Extractor (everything is in the archive). You can use any of them, however, the disadvantage of the Russian language is the lack of links to download utilities for firmware (highlighted in pink in the screenshot):
All of them provide quite a lot of different information, however, we are mainly interested in two parameters: device identifiers (highlighted in yellow in the screenshot) and, directly, the controller model (highlighted in green). Knowing this data, we can find a firmware program on the Internet.
By the way, Chinese programs They already give us links to such programs, but it’s not always possible to download them, even if you use Google’s page translator, so the search will be discussed separately below. It’s a pity, of course, that our developers couldn’t integrate the search for a link to the firmware into their program, but oh well :)
In the meantime, it’s worth mentioning that you can find out the identifiers (but not data about the controller!) of a flash drive without special utilities. To do this, you need to go to Device Manager (context menu of the “My Computer” icon - “Properties” - “Device Manager”), select our drive from the list, call up its properties and in the “Details” tab select the “Hardware ID” property:
We have at our disposal an unnamed flash drive (alas, it’s working :)) and we found out its identifiers, as well as the type of controller and its model. Now it's time for the most difficult procedure - searching for a program for firmware.
Flash drive firmware
Firmware or firmware (abbreviated F/W) is a microprogram that controls the operation of the flash drive controller. If it fails, the drive, while remaining physically functional, stops responding to standard computer requests, which is why you can neither read nor write information from it.
Fortunately, the firmware for most controllers is freely available on the Internet. Therefore, the main problem is only finding them. You can search directly in search engines on requests like: "Alcor (chip manufacturer) AU6982 (chip model) VID: 058F PID: 6387 firmware", and on specialized sites.
One of the best Russian-language resources for searching and downloading firmware for any flash drive is FlashBoot.ru:
On the search page we need to enter the PID and VID identifiers, and then click the "Search" button. We will receive a whole list of flash drives that have the same ID as ours. The task now comes down to finding a device with the same controller model as ours.
If you find a flash drive in the table that resembles yours in all respects, click on its name and you will see detailed information about her:
Here we are primarily interested in the UTILS line, which contains the name of the utility needed to flash our flash drive. We copy this name and search for it on the Internet. You can do it differently. You can search on the same site. To do this, go to the "Files" section in the top menu. True, the names of the programs from the list and those on the site differ, so the search will not always be successful.
In any case, we found out that our flash drive is based on an Alcor chip and its model is AU6982. This is already enough for a successful search, which leads us to the need to download the AlcorMP utility one of the versions available on the website:
We unpack the downloaded archive into a folder, check whether the program version matches the version that we identified by identifiers and run the executable file. If the firmware version is suitable, then we will see data about our flash drive in one of the cells of the working window. All you have to do is press the "Auto" or "Setup" button (if you know how to configure parameters) and wait for the firmware to finish.
If the working window is empty, which often happens, then we were unlucky the first time :) You need to try downloading other versions of programs suitable for the same chips as your flash drive. In short, this is where the lottery begins and sometimes you can try up to a dozen different utilities until you find the only one that will correctly identify your drive.
After flashing the firmware, safely unplug the flash drive and reinsert it. If everything worked out, then it should be detected by the computer without any problems. If not, try other flashing programs until you succeed.
Treatment for physical injuries
The most severe case of a flash drive failure is when it does not show any signs of life when connected to a PC: the indicator does not blink, messages about unknown equipment do not appear, and there are no unidentified devices in the Device Manager. In this case, real physical damage can be stated.
However, unless the flash drive has been dropped from a great height, exposed to high temperatures, or dropped into water, you have a small chance of saving it (and sometimes even the data on it!). Most likely the problem is that due to a short circuit on the flash drive board, something has become unsoldered. Often the legs through which food flows are unsoldered.
In any case, we will have to open the flash drive case to try to restore it. To do this, unfortunately, you may need to unscrew it if it does not disassemble. Inside we will see something like this board:
The main “problem” areas are the legs of the USB plug and the power stabilizer, which over time tend to become unsoldered or burn out due to short circuits. If you know how to work with a soldering iron, first try soldering the outer terminals of the plug, which are responsible for power and grounding. This should restore normal power to the flash drive.
If, after manipulating the soldering of the outer legs, the flash drive starts blinking when connected to a PC, but is not detected, perhaps the problem is in the unsoldered legs, receiving and transmitting data. Solder them too and check again. If the connection is not accompanied by a blinking indicator, then most likely you need to solder or replace the power stabilizer.
conclusions
Alas, sometimes it happens that even after all attempts at resuscitation, the flash drive shows no signs of life. In this case, you should admit that you did everything you could and, with a clear conscience, throw the media in the trash.
Although, if the flash drive is very dear to you, you can take it to a good service center. There they can remove the memory chip for you and transfer it to a new board. True, the cost of such an operation is comparable to the cost of a new device, and sometimes even exceeds it! Therefore, it is advisable to do this only if there is some important information on the flash drive.
However, most often before service center it doesn't work out. Most flash drives can be restored at home. Our article and program archive will help you with this, which you can download from the link below. I wish you success!
P.S. Permission is granted to freely copy and quote this article, provided that an open active link to the source is indicated and the authorship of Ruslan Tertyshny is preserved.
A USB flash drive is not recognized as a disk when connected to a computer or laptop? Can't you write anything on it? And you can’t even format the flash drive? In principle, all is not lost. Most likely the problem lies with the controller. But this can be fixed. And everything will take a maximum of 5-10 minutes.
The only caveat is that restoring the flash drive’s functionality is only possible if it does not have any mechanical damage (+ it appears in device manager). That is, if you disabled it not through “Safely Remove” (or something like that), then this can be fixed. At the very least, it’s worth at least trying to restore a non-working flash drive.
How to get your flash drive working again
Even if it seems that the USB flash drive has come to an end, you should not take it for repairs. And even more so throw it away. First, you can try to restore the damaged flash drive.
The instructions work for all USB flash drives: Silicon Power, Kingston, Transcend, Data Traveler, A-Data, etc. With its help, you can restore the file system and fix any problems (except mechanical damage).
So, the first thing you need to do is determine the parameters of the USB flash drive. Or rather, its VID and PID. Based on this information, you can determine the brand of the controller, and then select a utility that will help restore the damaged flash drive.
To find out these parameters, do the following:
- Connect the flash drive to your PC or laptop and go to Start – Control Panel – Device Manager.
- Find the "USB Controllers" section.
- Double-click on it and look for the item “Memory USB device" This is your flash drive (let me remind you, it must be connected to the computer).
- Right-click on it and select “Properties”.
- In the new window, go to the “Details” tab.
- In the “Property” field, select “Equipment ID” (or “Instance code”).
- Look at the VID and PID values and remember them.
- Next, go to the website http://flashboot.ru/iflash/, enter your values at the top of the site and click the “Search” button.
- You are looking for the model of your USB flash drive (by manufacturer and memory capacity). In the right column “Utils” there will be the name of the program with which you can try to restore a non-working flash drive.
After that, all that remains is to find this utility by name or follow the link (if it exists) and download it.
Restoring Kingstone, Silicon Power, Transcend and other models is easy: just run the program and follow the instructions.
What to do if you have not found a suitable utility for your model? To do this, go to Google or Yandex and write something like this: “Silicon Power 4 GB VID 090C PID 1000” (of course, you should indicate the parameters of your flash drive here). And then look what the search engine found.
Never use programs that are not suitable for the VID and PID parameters of your controller! Otherwise, you will “kill” the flash drive completely, and you will no longer be able to restore it.
In most cases, recovery of a damaged flash drive is successful. And after that it will be detected when connected to a PC or laptop.
This is how you repair a flash drive yourself using a free utility.
And most importantly: in this way it is possible to restore a damaged flash drive in 80% of cases. While most specialized programs may not be able to cope with this task.