When you connect an external USB drive or flash drive, it will immediately appear in Explorer (my computer) and will be displayed as a local drive. However, sometimes when you connect a USB flash drive to a computer, the drive may not appear in “my computer”, this also applies to SD and microSD memory cards. If the flash drive is not showing up in File Explorer, you can try the solutions below to enable your external drive in File Explorer again. Before testing these solutions, I recommend unplugging the flash drive, rebooting your computer once, and plugging the flash drive back in to see if it shows up in This PC.
Adding a drive letter to an external drive
Press the Win+R key combination and enter diskmgmt.msc to enter disk management.
In the "Disk Management" section, check if your external drive (flash drive) has a letter. If there is a drive letter, it will appear next to the drive name as shown in the image below. If there is no letter, you will need to follow the next steps.
- Right-click on the flash drive you want to see in My Computer Explorer, and then click " Change drive letter or path".
Click the button Add. Clicking the Add button will open the Add Drive Letter or Path dialog box. As you can see in the image below, Windows 10 automatically assigns a drive letter to the selected flash drive, but you can select your own letter by clicking the down arrow next to the drive letter. Click OK to complete the process.
Show empty drives in My Computer
A parameter in the folder properties can restore the display of the flash drive to “my computer”. The option is used to hide empty drives in Explorer.
- Open My Computer. Click File, then Options.
Go to the tab View and uncheck Hide empty drives. Click apply, if the flash drive does not appear even after the above solutions, try connecting it to another computer and check if it appears there.
Restoring USB flash drives has its own characteristics. The good news is that these devices, unlike SD cards, are repairable. Therefore, if you cannot exchange a flash drive under warranty, why not take advantage of the 60-70% chance to have it repaired.
The article will discuss various cases, typical problems associated with flash drive failure, and options for solving them.
Recover data or repair a flash drive?
These are not the same thing, although the concepts are interrelated.
The main task that the repair solves is to restore the functionality of the flash drive so that it:
- detected as a storage device in Disk Management,
- was correctly defined in Explorer,
- read and wrote data.
As a result of repairing a USB flash drive, it is easy to lose all the data on it, while it will be available for writing and reading.
File recovery is only possible on a working USB flash drive.
The main reasons for failure of a USB flash drive
How to understand that a USB flash drive needs repair:
- When a flash drive is connected, the LED on its case does not light up;
- The device is not recognized on another computer/laptop;
- The flash drive is detected as an unidentified usb device.
Damaging a USB drive is as easy as shelling pears. Like any physical device, flash memory is subject to external influences (shock, thermal effects, water ingress, etc.). In addition, there are a number of software errors due to which the flash drive does not work.
The contacts of the USB connector are damaged
Often, the problem lies in a damaged contact between the controller and the USB connector.
How to check. To check the flash drive for this problem, test it on another computer. Alternatively, insert another flash drive (if available) into the USB port of the same computer.
If other flash drives can be read on a PC without problems, the problem is probably in the current storage medium.
If you are unable to read data from a flash drive only on this computer, the problem may be in the USB sockets of the motherboard of your PC or laptop.
How to fix.
- Here is a link to a third-party guide on how to repair a USB connector: DIY USB connector repair on a laptop.
- If you don’t want to fiddle with wires, it’s better to send a PC or flash drive with a broken USB port for repair. The approximate cost of USB replacement is $20–50.
Hardware/mechanical problem: controller damaged
Most often, everything depends on the flash drive controller, which is the main link in the operation of the drive. The controller contains important microcircuits, and disconnecting a contact or burning out a leg will make data recovery on a flash drive very problematic.
How to fix a flash drive.
- Replace the controller yourself (which is unrealistic at home).
- Take the USB drive to a service center - but repairing the flash memory will cost a lot of money. You won't find a controller for a USB flash drive on sale. The laboratory can find a donor flash drive and “transplant” the faulty controller.
- If the data stored on a flash drive is vital and you would like to recover it, the laboratory may use an expensive hardware and software system to retrieve the data bypassing the hardware controller.
You can find out the cost of services directly from specialists at a company that repairs flash drives in your city. It can start from $30 and go up to $500 - 1000.
Reflashing a damaged flash drive
The USB flash drive contains firmware - microcode with service data. If the USB firmware is damaged, the USB flash drive will inevitably stop working.
How to fix. Such a flash drive cannot be formatted using ordinary universal software like SDFormatter; it will require complete “trephination” - flashing. To do this, you will need a proprietary utility from the manufacturer.
However, you can reflash the flash drive only by finding out the name of the controller. The difficulty is that manufacturers, as a rule, use different types and models of controllers and can implement not only their own, but also other people’s developments. Therefore, it is not always possible to immediately determine the type of flash memory controller.
Fortunately, there are special programs that allow you to determine the VID&PID* type for Transcend, Silicon Power, etc. drives; We will list them with a link to the installers.
(* VID – manufacturer identifier, PID – device identifier.)
After the warranty repair, all the photos on the smartphone and on the SD card disappeared.
Answer. A very vague question. What was the warranty repair performed - a mobile device or a memory card? All your claims against the performers are governed by your contract.
As for data recovery on an SD card, use specialized applications, which, in fact, are what this site is dedicated to.
A 2GB flash card from an old Nokia phone, the phone sees the flash drive perfectly, the tablet and other phones do not see it. My equipment sees other people's flash cards.
Answer. If other flash cards do not open on your, as you say, old Nokia, it is most likely because the phone simply does not support new technologies. Review the documentation and specifications for your device. Perhaps it's time to upgrade your hardware?
My 32GB micro flash drive broke in half. How can I recover information on this flash drive? Please tell me where and who can help me, how to fix the flash drive?
Answer. Alas, this flash drive cannot be repaired or at least somehow reanimated. If the firmware on your flash drive crashed, then you could give it some chance of recovery. As for physical damage, it all depends on the damage. If the flash memory chips are intact, you can read the data through a PC 3000 Flash reader, etc.
The only possible solution (if the files are not particularly important) is to purchase a new microSD card.
The flash drive does not open, does not appear as a removable disk, and does not appear in the device manager. Physical impact is excluded, because There are three such flash drives, different people worked with them.
Answer. You haven't specified the type of memory you are working with. In any case, if a flash drive or SD card does not open, I would advise checking the operation of the flash card on other devices. Test it on other phones or devices that you can connect it to. If it is an SD card, try connecting it to your PC via a card reader.
Check if the connected device is detected in Device Manager. If yes, use any disk partitioning program or standard Windows tools, or proprietary software available on the flash drive developer’s website to format the flash drive in NTFS or FAT.
While formatting the flash drive (transcend), the flash drive was pulled out from the PC. It was clear that it would no longer work, a check confirmed this. The computer does not detect the flash drive, the indicator blinks all the time, it is not in “my computer”, it is in the device manager, it says that it works fine, it is defined as a storage device. Help me restore the transcend flash drive!
Answer. The file table on your flash drive is probably damaged. You can still restore the operation of a flash drive if you create a partition on it and format it. You can revive a flash drive, as already mentioned, using specialized utilities like Acronis Disc Director, etc., but it is best to use the TestDisk application to partition and restore a transcend flash drive.
The flash drive was encrypted in TrueCrypt, I reinstalled the OS, mounted the flash drive, the files were displayed, but when I tried to open them, it gave me an error - access denied. Tell me, is it possible to save information if the flash drive is not detected after encryption?
Answer. You will need a client program to work with Truecrypt. Alas, the truecrypt.org website is currently unavailable, and the project itself is closed. So try to find the application somewhere on the Internet. After this, when opening files, you will be required to enter a password to access your files.
The flash drive is reset and the system requires formatting the flash drive, but I need to save very important and expensive files. Help!
Answer. Under no circumstances agree to format your flash drive! Instead, use data recovery software and try to recover the missing partition on your storage device. You can safely copy all the saved information to your hard drive and then search among these rubble for exactly what you need.
There is a JetFlash Transcend 8GB flash drive. No longer determined by the system. I formatted it with JetFlash Online Recovery and it deleted all data from the flash drive. Is it now possible to recover the Transcend flash drive, that is, the data on it?
Answer. The Unformat program is suitable for restoring a Transcend flash drive. The chances of recovery depend on the depth of formatting. Anyway, use the deep scan option. Alternatively, try Recuva with a similar scanning option.
Hello, dear friends!
There are several reasons why you may encounter the fact that the computer does not see the flash drive.
This problem can occur on any OS. It occurs on both Windows XP and Windows 10. 
If the computer does not recognize the connected flash drive, then you may encounter one of the following variations:
- The computer says “insert disk”, despite the fact that you have already connected the flash drive
- Connection sound and notification, but the flash card is not in Explorer
- It says that it needs to be formatted because the disk is not formatted
- A message appears indicating that a data error has occurred
- After connecting the flash drive, the computer freezes
How to fix?
The simplest and at the same time effective methods will be located at the beginning of the article.
If any method does not help you, move on to the next one. Also, write a comment below to the article about your problem...
If all else fails, check the flash drive for serious physical damage - it may make it impossible to repair the flash drive.
1. Check through Disk Management
First of all, you need to check whether the computer sees the connected flash drive.
Run Disk Management Utility: Win + R and then enter the command diskmgmt.msc and press Enter
In the disk management window, pay attention to whether the flash drive appears and disappears when you connect and disconnect it from the computer. 
If the computer sees the connected flash drive and all partitions on it (usually one partition) are able to "Good"- then this is the ideal outcome.
In this case, just right-click on it and select “Make partition active”, and perhaps assign a letter to the flash drive - this will be enough.
If the partition is faulty or deleted, the status will display "Not distributed."
Try right-clicking on it and selecting "Create Simple Volume" to create a partition.
This will create a partition with formatting and deletion of all data that was on the flash drive.
If the mark is displayed "Unknown" or "Not initialized" and one section is able "Not distributed", this may mean that the flash drive is damaged.
2. Further actions after verification
We launch the device manager and check whether your device is displayed as unknown; it may also be located in the “Other devices” section.
The drive can be called either by its real name or as a “USB Mass Storage Device”.
Right-click on the device, select Delete, and after deleting it, in the Device Manager menu, select Action - Update hardware configuration.
Perhaps this action will be enough for your flash drive to appear in Windows Explorer and be accessible.
In addition, you can do the following:
If you connect the flash drive to the computer via an extension cable, try a direct connection.
Try connecting to all ports on your PC.
Turn off the computer, disconnect all third-party and USB components, except for the mouse and keyboard - if they do not have a built-in card reader, as well as the flash drive being tested. Turn on your computer.
If after this the flash drive works, then the problem is in the power supply to the USB ports of the computer - the reason is a weak PC power supply.
Using third party programs
Programs designed to remove all USB device drivers.
What is this for? To eliminate erroneous interactions between installed drivers and connected devices.
Windows installs the driver for the USB device the moment it is connected to the PC.
When connecting a new device, it is possible that an attempt will be made to use the already installed driver for the new device.
If the driver and device are incompatible, both an error and a computer freeze may occur.
Such programs include, for example, DriveCleanUp and USBOblivion.
Drivers for USB components are located in the registry, and such programs remove them from there - there is no other way.
My personal opinion is that you should use such programs only when everything is very bad when working with flash drives.
Third-party programs with incomplete compatibility can lead to new problems in the interaction of flash drives with the system, for example, the PC will stop seeing ALL flash drives.
Reinstalling USB devices in Windows Device Manager
If the computer does not see a single flash drive, and the above recommendations did not help, try the following:
- Launch Device Manager. Open the “Run” menu by pressing the Win + R buttons, and then enter in the field devmgmt.msc
- The device manager will open, go to the USB controllers tab.
- Next, you need to delete, by right-clicking and selecting the appropriate item, devices with the following names:
- USB root hub
- USB Host Controller
- Generic USB Hub
- After that, select the action - update the hardware configuration
After reinstalling USB devices, check if the USB drives work on your computer or laptop.
Additional actions
- Check your computer for viruses
- Check the Windows registry, namely the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\ Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Policies\ Explorer . If there is a “NoDrives” parameter, remove it, and then restart your computer
- Go to the Windows registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ System\ CurrentControlSet\ Control.If such a "StorageDevicePolicies" key exists, delete it.
- You can also try to completely disconnect the computer/laptop - turn it off, disconnect it from the network/battery, and then press and hold the power button for 10 seconds. After this, turn on the computer. The method is strange, but sometimes it helps.
This is where I will end the article.
After reading it, you learned about possible ways to solve the problem of an unidentified USB drive.
I hope the information was useful, and if there was a problem, you were able to fix it.
All the best.
See you again, friends!
Active PC users often have a problem that the computer does not see a flash drive connected to the computer port. The situation is quite unpleasant... You wanted to copy data from a flash drive to your computer, connected the drive and nothing happens. What should I do? What to do about it?
Reasons why the computer does not see the flash drive
Lack of nutrition
The computer may not see the flash drive if it is connected to the USB port on the front of the system unit. There may be two reasons for this:
Try connecting the flash device to the USB connector on the back of the computer.
If after this the computer does not see the flash drive, try connecting it to another computer, preferably not one, but several. If it doesn't help, read below.
Driver failure
The second very common problem is that the computer does not see the flash drive due to a driver failure in Windows. In such a situation, you can try the following:
Right-click on the “My Computer” icon (1), select “Properties” (2) from the context menu:
In the window that appears, select the “Hardware” tab (3) => “Device Manager” (4):
Near the “USB Controllers” item, click on the black plus sign (5). You will see a list of USB device drivers (6) that were connected to your computer:
Insert the flash drive into the computer and see which driver has changed; you need to remove it (right-click on it and select “Delete”).
Remove the flash drive from the computer and insert it back. The flash device driver will be updated.
If the above method did not help you, try reinstalling the chipset drivers. They include drivers for all controllers. The DriverPackSolution program will help you do this.
Presence of a virus on a flash drive
The third fairly common problem is that the computer does not see the flash drive due to the device being infected with one of the Autorunner viruses. When you try to open a flash device, a warning appears: “Access denied.” To log into the flash device you need to do the following:
Go to “My Computer”, in the address bar (7) enter the address of your flash drive, for example G:/
If you managed to get to the flash drive, then make hidden files visible. To do this, click “Tools” (8) in the title bar and select “Folder Options” (9) from the drop-down menu:
Click the “View” tab (10), scroll the slider (11) down and in the settings, uncheck the sub-item “Hide protected system files and folders” (12). Below, check the box “Show hidden files and folders” (13):
Paul - the job is done, now all that remains is to find and delete the malicious autorun.inf file (14):
Done? Now scan the flash drive for viruses with your antivirus (note that the antivirus databases must be updated).
Problems with partitions
The computer also does not see the flash drive due to problems with the device partitions. Let's say you insert your flash device into your computer. It was successfully recognized, a characteristic sound sounded and a shortcut was displayed in the taskbar (15). But the system did not assign a partition letter to your device. This is easy to fix:
Go to the “Start” menu (16) => “Control Panel” (17):
In the window that opens, make sure that in your sidebar it says “Switch to category view” (18). If instead it says “Switch to classic view”, then click on this inscription and you will have what you need. Click on the “Administration” icon (19):
In the window that opens, select “Computer Management” (20):
In the window that appears, select “Disk Management” (21). There you will see all the information media present in the system: flash drives, hard drives, disk drives and their partitions, marked with letters. If you find your flash device there (you will see that there is no partition letter (22) next to the name of the flash drive):
This needs to be fixed: Right-click on your storage device. From the context menu, select “Change drive letter or drive path” (23):
A small window will pop up, in which click the “Change” button (24):
In the new window, select the partition letter from the drop-down list (25):
Mechanical problems
Well, the most recent case is perhaps the saddest. If all the above operations did not save your flash drive, then most likely your flash drive has mechanical damage.
Almost everyone uses USB flash drives now. This is a simple and reliable way to transfer and store information. But the malfunction of these devices has become a common problem for many users. Below are all possible causes of problems and options for resolving them.
First, simpler and more effective ways to solve the problem will be described, so you should follow the recommendations in order. But do not forget that some problems, such as severe physical damage, cannot be eliminated.
Reasons why the system does not recognize the device
To operate a USB device, it has a built-in special controller. If there is a certain failure, it may become blocked, which will prevent the computer from recognizing the flash drive.
The reason for the failure may be a power surge, sudden removal of the flash drive, incorrect formatting, etc. Violations of this type can still be corrected, but in case of mechanical or thermal damage, it is impossible to restore the operation of the flash drive.
You can understand that the flash drive is not detected by the computer by the following factors:
- The USB device is connected, but the computer says “insert disk”;
- The message “Device connected, not detected” pops up;
- issues a request to format the flash drive;
- a data reading error message appears;
- The indicator on the drive is on, but it is not displayed on the computer, etc.
The cause of the failure may also be:
- non-working computer USB ports;
- outdated drivers;
- viruses on the device;
- settings failures in BIOS;
- different file systems of the USB device and computer;
- assigning the letter of the connected hard drive to the flash drive, etc.
Driver check
First of all, you need to check whether the driver is installed correctly on your computer.
To do this, go to “Disk Management”:
Now try removing and inserting the USB device and see if it appears in this window. If the flash drive is visible and the status is indicated as “Good”, right-click on it and select “Make partition active”.
If there is a problem, the status will show "Not allocated", "Not initialized" or "Unknown", which means that the device is damaged.
The system may assign the wrong letter to the flash drive, which will also prevent it from being recognized. Right-click on the device and select "Change Drive Letter" and assign a different value:
The flash drive driver itself needs to be checked in Device Manager:
- start;
- control Panel;
- device Manager.
If the driver for the flash drive is not installed, yellow question marks will appear next to one or more USB devices.
Computer hardware errors
When the PC does not detect a new flash drive, insert it into different USB ports. If all ports are operating normally except one, the cause of the problem is a problem in that port.
The same problem can arise when connecting a flash drive not directly, but through a USB hub or extension cable. Try connecting the device directly to the USB port. If everything works, then the adapter is the cause.
It happens that many devices are connected to the computer via USB, then the ports may not have enough power to operate the flash drive. Disconnect other devices from the ports one at a time, leaving only the mouse and keyboard. If the USB drive now works, then the problem is due to lack of power.
Photo: USB hub transformer Apacer PH150
In this case, it is better to install a more powerful power supply or USB hub with a separate power source. But if the size of the flash device is very large, older laptop models simply will not handle its power. With this option, it is almost impossible to solve the problem.
Another problem is the heating of the connected USB device. The malfunction may be a short on the device board.
You can check this on another computer - if it continues to heat up, then the USB drive is faulty. And if everything is fine in other places, then the computer port itself may short out.
If the flash drive and USB port are working properly, the indicator on the device will light up. Then the cause of the problem is systemic, not hardware.
Video: Recovering a flash drive that is not recognized by the computer
Virus check
Then why is the flash card seen by the computer, but not read? One reason could be a virus that infects the boot file of the USB drive. Because of this, the device either does not boot at all or is immediately blocked by the antivirus. And if it is displayed, it displays a warning “Access denied” when you try to open it.
First of all, you should destroy the infected boot file “autorun.inf”. To do this, enter the address of the flash drive in Explorer (for example, G:/):
- "Service";
- "Folder properties";
- "View";
- “Hidden files and folders”;
- "Show hidden files and folders."
The download file will now be displayed. It must be removed and data from the entire device scanned with an antivirus.
If the flash drive does not open through Explorer, use the command line:
Setting up USB in BIOS
The flash drive may not be recognized due to USB ports being disabled in the BIOS. This happens very rarely, but it's best to check your settings just in case. Please note that no device will be recognized in a disabled USB port, so if others work fine, then skip this step.
To enter the BIOS, restart the computer and press the Del or F2 button while turning it on. Different PCs may have different keys, so look at what is written on the screen (approximately “Press F2 to enter Setup”). If a blue table with settings opens, then everything is correct - you have entered the BIOS.
Now you should find the menu item in which the inclusion of USB is regulated. Its name may vary, but most often it is the Advanced (Peripherals, Integrated Peripherals) tab:
In it, look for the item USB Configuration/Controller, etc. There are a lot of BIOS menu options, so it’s quite difficult to specify the exact item. But the word USB must be present. Now make sure that USB support is “Enabled”, if not, then switch them:
Some BIOS versions not only regulate how the controller turns on, but also indicate its operating mode - V1.1 or V1.1+V2.0 (there is already 3.0). Choose the option that supports all directions (V1.1+V2.0). Save the settings and exit the BIOS (most often the F10 key).
USB drive is not detected by the system due to errors
After formatting, which may not have been entirely successful, the operating system may not see the flash drive due to errors. This can be checked in the “Disk Management” item, the entrance to which was described above. If the flash drive says “Good”, but it is still not visible in Explorer, the cause may be a formatting error.
This can be eliminated by new formatting. Right-click on the device and select “Format”. The flash drive should now display and work without errors.
Different file systems of flash cards and computers
To restore the operation of a usb flash that is not detected on the PC, you need to change the file system, which may cause a conflict on the computer. The file system of the latter is most often NTFS, while the flash device is FAT32. In the Disk Management window, you can see the file system types of different PC media.
Correct formatting solves the problem. For this:
In the window that opens, check the compliance of the specified capacity and the parameters of the flash drive. Specify the file system NTFS and check the box next to “Fast (cleaning table of contents)”. Now click “Start”:
Confirm your actions:
After the process is completed, the system will notify you:
Photo: formatting completion message
Required OS updates for operation
When Windows XP is installed, the flash drive may not be recognized due to outdated updates required for its operation. However, some flash drives can work in PC USB ports, while others cannot.
The main updates required for normal operation of USB devices:
- KB925196 – incorrect recognition;
- KB817900 – port operation stops after the device is removed and reloaded;
- KB968132 – errors when connecting several flash drives;
- KB88740 – Rundll32.exe error;
- KB895962 – stops the USB device after turning off the printer;
- KB871233 – the flash card does not work after the PC wakes from sleep or hibernation;
- KB314634 – support only older USB devices;
- KB312370 (2007) – USB 2.0 support.
Recovery methods
When no problems are found with the system, you can use special recovery programs:
- ChipGenius – determines the manufacturer and other information about the device;
- AlcorMP – reflashes usb flash controllers from most manufacturers;
- JetFlash Recovery Tool – flashes flash drives from Transcend.
If your computer says "Insert disk" when booting, the problem may be outdated drivers that should be removed.
For this:
- When the computer is turned off, disconnect all USB devices (except the mouse and keyboard);
- turn on the PC;
- download the DriveCleanup program;
- Depending on the OS version, copy the 32-bit or 64-bit “drivecleunup.exe” to the C:\Windows\System32 folder;
- go to the command line and write “drivecleunup.exe”;
- drivers will begin to be uninstalled:
After this, restart your computer. Insert the flash drive and the system will find new drivers for it.
A flash drive may not be detected for many reasons, the main of which are a malfunction of the device or USB port, as well as system errors, most of which can be eliminated by correct formatting and installing drivers. Some programs can also help restore USB flash, so you should follow the instructions in order.
