If you are a Windows user, you may encounter a problem with the USB device on your PC. You may see this error when connecting Pendrive, webcam, printer or flash drives. This can happen for many reasons. Thanks to this article, you will learn how to fix: “ The laptop does not recognize USB devices".

This problem exists in all modern versions such as Windows 10, 8.1, 8 and 7. There are actually different reasons for this error.

Why doesn't the USB port recognize devices?

All PC errors and problems have some causes. Here's what causes this problem −

  • Unstable or damaged USB controllers.
  • Outdated motherboard drive.
  • Lack of important Windows updates or any other services.
  • Damaged USB drives.
  • Incorrect power management settings.

Fix “does not recognize usb device” in Windows:

Every problem has a solution. Fortunately, there are many ways to fix problems. USB device on Windows. Let's try the most effective methods.

Method 1: Restart your computer.

One of the simplest and fastest ways to eliminate " can't recognize usb device" is to reboot the PC. Before starting your computer, unplug it for 1 minute. This will reset the USB hub on your motherboard. If the problem occurs on the laptop, you should remove the laptop battery for 3-4 minutes and reinsert it. Now start your computer and see if the problem is still there.

Method 2: Find an undetected driver.

Scanning for not detected drivers is another great choice for diagnosing and repairing the error " Windows 7,8,10 does not recognize usb device" by using device manager. It has access to all internal and external devices that electrify your system.

  • Go to your control panel.
  • Select Hardware and Sound.
  • Click Device Manager.
  • Open the action menu.
  • Now click on “Scan for hardware changes”.
  • Windows scans your hardware.
  • Close the Manager and all Control Panel windows.
  • Now check if your computer finds the driver by re-opening device Manager.

Method 4: Update drivers.

Sometimes updating your device drivers will fix the problem in Windows. You can do this in different ways.

  1. Check the USB driver manufacturer's website. Find updated drivers. Download and install them.

Method 5: Managing USB Hub Power

Sometimes, to correct a mistake " Windows does not recognize the USB device“, you need to do the following.

  • Open Device Manager again.
  • Click "USB Controllers".
  • Now right click on the USB Root Hub.
  • Select Properties.
  • Go to the Power Management tab.
  • Now, uncheck the Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.
  • Now click "OK".

Method 6: Removing an unknown USB drive

If other methods do not work, you should remove unknown devices to resolve the error " computer does not recognize usb devices»

  • First, open Run by pressing Windows logo + R.
  • Enter devmgmt.msc and click "OK".
  • Now click on “USB controllers”.
  • Connect a device that is not recognized by the PC port.
  • Find the icon called Unknown USB device(port failure).
  • Right-click on it and select Delete.
  • Restart your computer.

Method 7: Reinstall USB Drivers

Sometimes windows 10 does not recognize usb device, due to corrupted USB drivers, then you should try this.

PC users often encounter certain difficulties when they need to connect any device to the computer via a USB port. For example, it could be a printer, scanner, mobile phone, external hard drive or flash drive, game controller and many other devices that interact with the PC through this universal port. Typically, if the USB port is working properly, when a device is plugged in, it will be recognized and the user can interact with it. However, it often happens that after connecting, either nothing happens at all (the computer does not see the USB device), or the system reports that the device is detected, but does not work correctly. The sources of this behavior can lie both in the software and hardware of the computer itself, and in the connected device, so the search for causes should be carried out comprehensively.

Why a USB device may not work

If a computer running Windows 7 does not see USB devices (or any other OS), then there may be several reasons for the inability to connect the device via a USB port or for its incorrect operation, and we will present the main ones:

  • Malfunction of the external device itself, for example, a flash drive;
  • Malfunction of the cable used to connect;
  • Physical failure of the USB port controller;
  • Uninstalled, outdated or incompatible device driver;
  • Incorrect USB controller operating mode settings;
  • Disabling the USB port in the BIOS settings;
  • Infection of the PC with a virus that can block the correct operation of the port.

If we are talking about the fact that only the USB ports on the front panel do not work, as a rule, this may be due to poor-quality PC assembly, when assemblers simply forget to connect the cables to the corresponding connectors of the motherboard.

How to restore the functionality of a USB device in such cases

There may be several options for solving the problem:

  • If the PC does not respond at all to connecting the device, it’s worth checking the cable and the external device itself on another PC, most likely they are the problem. It is also recommended to connect any other device to make sure that the port is ok.
  • The system reports that the device is detected, but cannot recognize it. As a rule, the problem here may be the lack of drivers or their incompatibility; computer viruses can often be the cause. It is also possible to overload the power supply, so if other devices are working fine, it is worth trying to disconnect them and connect only the “problem device”.
  • Using the USB port is prohibited in the BIOS, in this case you should enable it. Also, some antivirus packages allow you to prohibit connecting external drives to USB, so you should carefully look at the antivirus settings in the PC protection settings.

If none of the above helps, you should contact the computer help center Serty Service, whose specialists will quickly detect the problem and fix it.

The next time you connect, say, a USB flash drive to your computer or some device with a USB interface, the “USB device not recognized” error may appear on your screen instead of the desired result.

This error appears as a message that appears on the right side of the Start taskbar and states the following information:

One of the USB devices connected to this computer is not working properly and Windows cannot recognize it. For help resolving this issue, click this message.

This message appears immediately after connecting a USB device to your computer. This problem is quite serious since many devices nowadays use a USB interface.

In most cases, the “USB device not recognized” error appears due to the following reasons:

  • Incorrect USB port.
  • The Windows operating system lacks certain drivers, which is why there is a conflict between the OS.
  • Unstable USB controller.
  • USB has gone into temporary shutdown.
  • Outdated drivers.

To check the functionality of a device with a USB interface, simply connect it to another PC. If it functions normally there and no “USB device not recognized” error appears, then the problem definitely lies in your computer and its settings.

Solving the “USB device not recognized” error for Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10

If your computer does not recognize the USB device, but easily connects to other computers, then the problem in the form of the “USB device not recognized” error lies in your PC. In this case, try the following steps:

Method #1 Remove the USB driver through Device Manager

  • Right-click on Start and select Device Manager.
  • Expand the USB Controllers category and find the USB that your Windows cannot detect.
  • Right-click on it and select "Delete".
  • Restart your PC and try connecting the USB device.

Method No. 2 Updating the USB driver

For this purpose, you can use either third-party software that will update your driver automatically, or go to the website of the manufacturer of your device and download the necessary drivers from there, or simply update the drivers through Device Manager, which we will now consider:

  • Go all the way to the undetectable USB in the Task Manager as shown in the previous method.
  • Right-click on it and select Update Drivers.
  • Wait until the system determines the need for an update. If this occurs, wait until the update process is complete, and then try connecting the USB device to the port again and see if the “USB device not recognized” error appears.

Method #3 Changing the USB Settings

  • Right-click on Start and select Control Panel.
  • Select "Power Options" and then select the "High Performance" plan.
  • Click on the "Configure Power Plan" button next to your power plan.
  • Next, click on “Change advanced power settings.”
  • Expand the USB Settings directory.
  • Insert the following parameters into it:
    • On battery: Prohibited
    • From the network: Prohibited
  • Click "Apply" and restart your computer.

We hope the above methods helped you resolve the “USB device not recognized” error.

When you connect a mobile phone, flash drive, external hard drive, printer, scanner or any other device to your computer or laptop via the universal serial bus, you may encounter a very common error - USB device not recognized with the comment “One of the devices connected to this computer is not working correctly or cannot be detected.” It is found both in Windows 7 and on the most modern version of the Microsoft operating system - Windows 10. It looks like this:

In English versions this is the “USB Device Not Recognized” error:

Why this error appears and what ways there are to fix and eliminate it - we’ll talk today.

Reason 1. Cables, extension cords and hubs

Poor quality of cheap USB cables, adapters and splitters (aka “hubs”) are the most common source of various problems for devices connected via a universal bus. Therefore, when the error “USB device not recognized” appears, the first thing you should try is to exclude the intermediate link in the video of the extender or hub. That is, we connect a flash drive, 3G/4G modem and similar things directly to the USB port on the computer’s motherboard. The front connectors on the system unit case are also not suitable because they are also often the cause of malfunctions, which means you shouldn’t “trust” them.

In the case of a printer or scanner, pay attention to the integrity of the cable. If there is visible damage, use a different cable. It is inexpensive and will not stretch your budget at all.

Reason 2: Faulty USB port

The second very common cause of problems with the operation of external devices is physical damage or even breakdown of the USB port. It’s a paradox, but often people who wash themselves two or three times a day do not at all monitor the cleanliness of the equipment with which they interact every day. System units especially suffer from this. They often like to be “pushed” into the dustiest and dirtiest corner. As a result, dust accumulates in all possible places, including USB ports. I even happened to discover mummies of various beetles and insects there. And dirty contacts also do not contribute to stable operation of the connector. In addition, there were cases when users plugged in a mouse, printer or flash drive so zealously that they simply broke the port.

Therefore, if the error “One of the devices connected to this computer is not working correctly” appears, carefully inspect the connectors for dirty contacts or damage. Try switching to the neighboring one and see if there are any errors on it. In addition, it’s worth opening Device Manager and looking at the USB controllers to see if any of them have a red cross. This usually means that it has failed and the motherboard needs to be repaired. Sometimes, however, installing an additional controller in a PCI slot helps.

Reason 3. Drivers and software failure

Problems when installing the driver for a particular gadget are another possible cause of the Windows error “USB device not recognized.” If you open Device Manager, then in the list that appears you will see a yellow triangular icon in the list of controllers.

In this case, it will be signed as “Unknown USB device (enumeration failure)”. This may happen because the operating system cannot find suitable drivers (for example, when upgrading the OS to Windows 10), or a conflict arises between already installed and new ones. To correct the situation, you must first find the latest version of drivers for the connected device on the Internet, download and try to install.

If you don’t know what to look for specifically, then go to the device properties, open the “Details” tab and select the “Hardware ID” property from the list.

Identification lines will appear in the field below. We find two identifiers in them - VID And PID. We remember or write them down. We go to the Internet (for example, to the site pcidatabase.com) and look for detailed information about the connected removable disk, phone, mouse, printer, scanner, etc. And then you need to search for and install the current version of the driver.

But if you think that the “USB device is not recognized” error is due to a possible conflict between old and new drivers, then to eliminate it you will have to completely remove both. This is done either again through the Device Manager, or using third-party utilities. After you clean the system of faulty software, you will need to install the latest version and check the operation of the device.

Reason 4. Malfunction of the device itself

Yes, unfortunately, such troubles happen. This happens especially often with flash drives and external hard drives. Their controller either completely fails, or the area on which the microprogram for the chip is written is faulty. It cannot boot and therefore the computer does not understand what it is and labels it as “Unknown USB device”.
Check it works on another computer. If the same error appears there, then take it to a service center or to the trash. For example, my wireless mouse malfunctioned this way. On another PC it worked without problems. Most likely there was a conflict between her radio module and something else in the room.
Sometimes a malfunction may occur due to insufficient power. This happens with external HDDs. In this case, they must be connected not through one, but through two ports at once. There is a special cable included for this purpose.

Note: If, when you turn on various equipment or gadgets via USB, your computer or laptop begins to behave strangely: it turns off, reboots or freezes, then immediately unplug it and take it to a service center. As a rule, this indicates a malfunction of the connected device itself, and further independent diagnostics can lead to even more dire consequences.

Problem: an error appears when connecting a device to a USB port

USB device not recognized One of the USB devices connected to this computer is not working properly and Windows cannot recognize it.

This error can occur when connecting any device: flash drive, external hard drive, Wi-Fi adapter, smartphone, printer, scanner.

First of all, you need to try to understand whether the device is working properly. If possible, connect it to another computer. If the device works correctly on another computer, read further about the possible causes of the error.

Causes of error and solutions

1. Poor contact

This often happens when connecting old phones with old data cables, because... contacts on connectors and plugs oxidize over time and simply become dirty.

Tip: clean the gadget connector and the connecting cable plug.

2. The device is connected via a poor-quality (or too long) cable or via a USB extension cable

Most often, Hewlett-Packard printers do not work well with cheap cables (usually gray, thin and without ferrite filters). And in offices, they also love to use long cables.

Tip: use only high-quality and original USB cables. If possible, connect the device directly to the port; avoid using extension cords.

3. The additional power cable for the hard drive is not connected

An external 2.5-inch hard drive can work in half the cases without connecting an additional device. nutrition. However, to ensure trouble-free operation, it is recommended to connect both plugs.

Tip: connect additional power.

Remember that 3.5-inch external hard drives work with a power supply!

4. The device is connected to the port on the front panel

This item applies only to desktop computers, because... There is no difference in ports on laptops.

Devices that are particularly sensitive to the quality of the connection and the stability of the port voltage do not work well in the front ports.

Tip: Connect the device to the back of your computer and check its operation.

5. Too many USB devices connected to the computer at the same time

This can cause both a voltage drop on the ports and conflicts between devices.

Advice: turn off all devices. Restart your computer. Connect only the problematic gadget to the port on the rear panel and check its functionality.

6. Compatibility or device driver issue

This sometimes happens when connecting old mobile phones (drivers for which are only available for Windows XP) to modern computers.

Adviсe:

  1. Make sure that the device is designed to work with the current OS. Download the driver from the official website and install it on the system. In Windows 7-10, you can try to automatically search for drivers ().
  2. Prohibit temporary disabling of the USB port.
  3. Prohibit the USB device from being disconnected.

How to prevent a port from being temporarily disabled

Open:

  • Control Panel
  • Power supply
  • Setting up the power plan (current profile)
  • Change advanced power settings.

In the window that opens Power supply:

  • Expand the item USB Settings
  • IN The option to temporarily disable the USB port select value Forbidden
  • Click OK:

How to prevent your device from turning off to save energy

  • Open device Manager (win+r, devmgmt.msc, enter)
  • Expand the section USB controllers
  • Call properties USB root hub or Generic USB Hub:

  • Uncheck Allow this device to turn off to save power
  • Click OK: