Troubleshoot: Windows Won't Recognize Your USB Drive
General Info and Troubleshooting
Updated 11/17/09
Intro
There are many different reasons why Windows may
=> Windows stops recognizing your USB drive or
=> Windows no longer displays the USB drive's familiar drive letter in Explorer or My Computer or
=> Windows reports the device is write protected
=> Windows reports it can't read the device (e.g. it says the drive is unformatted or a raw filesystem or reports the incorrect partition size)
You'll find a number of troubleshooting steps below as well links to related USB topics
If you’re not familiar with USB troubleshooting, suggest you
> First start by going through the General Steps
> Followed by the Additional Steps and related links as might apply
Otherwise, feel free to start and use the information below however you see fit!
Related Links
USB Device Problems? Check for Windows Updates
How to Avoid Problems with USB Storage Devices
How to Fix a Drive Letter that Doesn't Appear
How to Reinstall Your USB Controllers and Motherboard Chipset Drivers
How to Check Hardware / Connection Issues with your USB Device
How to Check USB Device and Hub Power Issues and Limitations
CD/DVD or Disk Problems? How to Fix Problems Caused by Filters
How to use G-Parted-Live-CD for USB storage device problems
Troubleshooting
1. General Troubleshooting Steps for: All USB storage device problems
Run Windows Update
=> Windows has a long history of USB problems and bug fixes
See USB Device Problems? Check for Windows Updates
Uninstall then re-install your USB storage devices (such as USB CD/DVD, flash and hard drives)
=> Your system may still have old USB installation data which conflicts with USB devices you're now trying to use
Use the Drivecleanup tool to uninstall and remove old installation data for unplugged USB storage devices
See How to use the DriveCleanupTool
Unplug other USB devices
=> A different USB device might be the real root cause of your problem
Unplug your other USB devices to take them out of the equation when you’re testing and trying to fix your USB drive
It’s OK to leave USB mice and keyboards plugged in. However
>> Note some tests in this Guide that specifically require otherwise
>> If you have the option to use a non-USB mouse and keyboard while testing, IMHO "you may as well use ‘em"
Undock any docking stations. Disconnect hubs
Plug your USB drive directly to your computer (Don’t use external USB hubs while testing unless noted otherwise!!)
Connect AC adapters
=> Don’t rely on USB ports for power when you don't have to. If your USB device has its own AC adapter, use it!
Connect USB drive AC adapters even if "the adapter is supposed to be optional" or "you never had to connect it before"
>> Note: A device LED only indicates the device is getting some power but doesn't mean the device is getting enough power!
Plug-in laptops
Check hardware connectivity for possible points of failure
See How to Check Hardware / Connection Issues with your USB Device
Check if Windows filter drivers may be the problem
=> Bad or corrupt filter drivers can cause CD/DVD, flash and hard disk drives to not work correctly
See CD/DVD or Disk Problems? How to Fix Problems Caused by Filters
Check the USB Storage device driver
=> If no USB storage devices can connect the driver might be disabled (may be a sign of malware)
Connect the USB storage device
Run Serviwin (http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/serviwin.html). Click View->Drivers
Scroll to USBSTOR. Verify StartupType=Manual and Status=Started
If StartupType= Disabled, rt click to change it to Manual. Reboot
Reinstall the USB controllers and motherboard chipset drivers
=> When it appears that your USB ports just aren't working right
How to Reinstall Your USB Controllers and Motherboard Chipset Drivers
2. Additional Steps when: USB Drive Doesn't Appear in Explorer or My Computer
If the USB drive appears in Device Manager but not in My Computer or Explorer
Check Windows policy settings in the registry
=> Windows may be configured to hide drives from view in Explorer and My Computer
Click Start->Run, enter regedit to open the Registry Editor
Navigate to key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explor er
Look for a value named NoDrives. If the key or value doesn't exist, there's nothing being hidden
Otherwise, rt click NoDrives then delete it and reboot to unhide all drives
Fix Drive Letter Conflicts
=> Your USB device may be trying to use a drive letter reserved by a different device or prior installation
Use the DriveCleanup tool (see above) to uninstall then reinstall USB storage devices
3. Additional Steps when: Write Protected, Raw Filesystem, or for General Read/Write Error Messages
Check/fix filesystem
=> If the drive is detected and is assigned a drive letter
Run chkdsk x: /r (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315265) (where x: is the USB drive letter)
Check if Write Protection enabled
=> If all your USB storage devices appear to be write protected
Click Start->Run, enter regedit.
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control
If sub-key StorageDevicePolicies exists, rt click then delete it
Data Recovery
=> TestDisk and PhotoRec (http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Download) are freeware tools. (The one download gives you both)
TestDisk can help recover corrupt partitions
PhotoRec focuses on recovering recovering Photo and Image files
PhotoRec step-by-step (http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec_Step_By_Step#Run_PhotoRec_executable)
=> Some "Try then Buy" tools for recovery below. I've never used either but
> I've seen people often (not alway) post good results
> The tool will report (for free) the files it can find. You'll need to buy it before it actually attempts to recover the files
Partition Table Doctor
Get Data Back
4. Additional Steps when: All Else Fails
Data Recovery
=> Recovering from a damaged flash drive
Reformat the Drive
=> Click for info (
http://www.techspot.com/vb/post687891-2.html) to reformat your drive