Sometimes it becomes necessary to disable USB ports on a computer or laptop in order to limit access to connect flash drives, hard drives and other USB devices. Disabling USB ports will help prevent the connection of any drives that could be used to steal important information or cause a virus to infect your computer and spread malware across the local network.
Restricting access to USB ports
Let's consider 7 ways, with which you can block USB ports:
- Disabling USB through BIOS settings
- Changing registry settings for USB devices
- Disabling USB ports in Device Manager
- Uninstalling USB controller drivers
- Using Microsoft Fix It 50061
- Using additional programs
- Physically disconnecting USB ports
1. Disabling USB ports through BIOS settings
- Enter BIOS settings.
- Disable all items related to the USB controller (for example, USB Controller or Legacy USB Support).
- After you have made these changes, you need to save the settings and exit the BIOS. This is usually done using the key F10.
- Restart your computer and make sure the USB ports are disabled.
2. Enable and Disable USB Drives Using Registry Editor
If disabling via BIOS does not suit you, you can block access directly in the Windows OS itself using the registry.
The instructions below allow you to block access to various USB drives (for example flash drives), but other devices such as keyboards, mice, printers, scanners will still work.
- Open the Start menu -> Run, enter the command " regedit" and click OK to open the Registry Editor.
- Continue to next section
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\USBSTOR
- On the right side of the window, find the item “ Start” and double-click on it to edit. Enter value " 4 » to block access to USB storage devices. Accordingly, if you enter the value again “ 3 ", access will be reopened.
Click OK, close Registry Editor, and restart your computer.
The above method only works when the USB controller driver is installed. If a driver has not been installed for security reasons, the Start setting may be automatically reset to 3 when the user connects the USB drive and Windows installs the driver.
3. Disable USB ports in Device Manager
- Right-click on the " Computer" and select the "Properties" item in the context menu. A window will open on the left side of which you need to click on the link “ device Manager».
- In the device manager tree, find the item " USB controllers" and open it.
- Disable controllers by right-clicking and selecting the "Disable" menu item.
This method doesn't always work. In the example shown in the figure above, disabling the controllers (the first 2 points) did not lead to the desired result. Disabling the 3rd option (USB Mass Storage Device) worked, but this only allows you to disable a single instance of the USB storage device.
4. Removing USB controller drivers
Alternatively, to disable the ports, you can simply uninstall the USB controller driver. But the disadvantage of this method is that when the user connects a USB drive, Windows will check for drivers and, if they are missing, will offer to install the driver. This in turn will allow access to the USB device.
5. Prevent users from connecting USB storage devices using a Microsoft application
Another way to deny access to USB drives is to use Microsoft Fix It 50061(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/823732/ru - the link may open near the mituta). The essence of this method is that 2 conditions for solving the problem are considered:
- The USB drive has not yet been installed on the computer
- The USB device is already connected to the computer
Within the scope of this article, we will not consider this method in detail, especially since you can study it in detail on the Microsoft website using the link given above.
It should also be noted that this method is not suitable for all versions of Windows OS.
6. Using programs to disable/enable access to USB storage devices
There are many programs for setting a ban on access to USB ports. Let's consider one of them - the program USB Drive Disabler.
The program has a simple set of settings that allow you to deny/allow access to certain drives. USB Drive Disabler also allows you to configure alerts and access levels.
7. Disconnecting USB from the motherboard
While physically unplugging USB ports on a motherboard is nearly impossible, you can unplug ports on the front or top of your computer by unplugging the cable that goes to the motherboard. This method will not completely block access to USB ports, but will reduce the likelihood of using drives by inexperienced users and those who are simply too lazy to connect devices to the back of the system unit.
! Addition
Denying access to removable media through the Group Policy Editor
In modern versions of Windows, it is possible to restrict access to removable storage devices (including USB drives) using the Local Group Policy Editor.
- Run gpedit.msc through the Run window (Win + R).
- Go to the next branch " Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System -> Access to Removable Storage Devices»
- On the right side of the screen, find the “Removable drives: Deny read” option.
- Activate this option ("Enable" position).
This section of Local Group Policy allows you to configure read, write, and execute access for different classes of removable media.
USB ports may stop functioning if drivers are lost, settings in the BIOS or connectors are mechanically damaged. The second case is often found among owners of a recently purchased or assembled computer, as well as among those who decided to install an additional USB port on the motherboard or those who previously reset the BIOS settings.
BIOS is divided into several versions and developers, therefore, each of them may have a significantly different interface, but the functionality for the most part remains the same.
Option 1: Award BIOS
This is the most common developer of basic I/O systems with a standard interface. The instructions for it look like this:
Option 2: Phoenix-Award & AMI BIOS
BIOS versions from developers such as Phoenix-Award and AMI have similar functionality, so they will be considered in one version. Instructions for setting up USB ports in this case look like this:
Option 3: UEFI interface
UEFI is a more modern analogue of BIOS with a graphical interface and the ability to control using a mouse, but in general their functionality is very similar. The instructions for UEFI will look like this:
Connecting USB ports will not be difficult, regardless of the BIOS version. Once they are connected, you can connect a USB mouse and keyboard to your computer. If they were connected before, their operation will become more stable.
If we connect a 3.0 flash drive to a computer that supports USB 3.0 ports, we see the message “ This device can perform faster when connected to Super-Speed USB 3.0“, this, friends, means that we either do not insert the flash drive into the USB 3.0 ports (with the blue tongue), or there are problems with their functioning, and they work in USB 2.0 mode. What are the causes of problems with the operation of USB 3.0 ports on computers, and how such problems are solved, we will try to understand this in today’s article.
Let me remind you that the bandwidth of the USB 2.0 interface is 60 Mb/s, and USB 3.0 is 10 times greater, 625 Mb/s. Naturally, few of the removable drives connected to a computer’s USB 3.0 ports operate at the limit of this interface’s capabilities, but it is of fundamental importance for individual storage devices. For example, many modern models of external HDDs using a USB 3.0 interface can provide a linear speed of 100-170 Mb/s. Actually, the same as when connecting internal hard drives to the SATA interface. Whereas on the USB 2.0 interface, the linear speed of external hard drives on average usually remains at around 30 MB/s. Flash drives 3.0 on a USB 3.0 interface write data 2-3 times faster, and read data 3-5 times faster. By the way, we talked in detail about the speeds of flash drives on USB 2.0 and 3.0 interfaces. In general, friends, if you have a 3.0 removable drive, I think it’s worthwhile to understand the functionality of the USB 3.0 port if there are problems with it.
BIOS settings
USB 3.0 ports can operate within USB 2.0 capabilities if configured to do so in the BIOS. This point needs to be checked first. We go into the BIOS and look for where USB ports are configured, usually this is the “Advanced” section of the advanced settings and the “USB Configuration” subsection. Or something with similar names. Here you need to check if USB 3.0 support is active. The USB 3.0 Support setting must be set to Enable. The “XHCI hand-off” parameter should also have the “Enable” value; it can be called “XHCI Pre-Boot Mode”, simply “XHCI” or something else, but with the presence of the key term “XHCI”.
XHCI is a USB 3.0 controller, and if the BIOS does not implement a separate item to support this interface like “USB 3.0 Support”, its enable/disable is implemented by the controller. On some motherboards, the XHCI controller parameter may have other values such as “Auto” or “Smart Auto”, which ensure that USB 3.0 ports operate in 2.0 mode before the operating system boots with its USB 3.0 drivers. And such values are usually set by manufacturers of computer devices by default in order to make it possible to work with a modern USB interface inside operating systems, while avoiding the failure of the installation of some of them, the distribution of which does not include USB 3.0 drivers. The most striking example is the official builds of Windows 7, the problem with the lack of drivers for which we discussed and solved. If, friends, your PC or laptop has working USB 2.0 ports (with a black tab) for cases of installing Windows 7 without integrated USB 3.0 drivers, you can safely set the XHCI controller setting to the “Enable” position. Just when installing the “Seven”, do not forget that the flash drive must be inserted into the USB 2.0 port.
Driver update
Inside Windows, the USB 3.0 interface can operate at the USB 2.0 level for the simple reason of incorrect installation of the controller driver. This problem can be solved by any of the methods of dealing with incorrectly installed drivers - either updating them or reinstalling them. To begin with, we use the standard capabilities of Windows. Let's go to the device manager. Expand the “USB Controllers” branch. Click on extensible host controller. More often it is listed as “Intel(R) USB 3.0 Extensible Host Controller,” but in our case, for example, its manufacturer is the Japanese company Renesas. Call the context menu on it and select driver update.
First, you need to figure out why you might need to disconnect USB ports on your computer. Everything is quite simple here. With the advent of miniature data storage devices operating via USB, a need arose to prevent data leakage from computers. Using a regular flash drive or portable hard drive, you can easily steal any information. To prevent such incidents, it is necessary to completely disable USB ports. Of course, everyone may have their own reasons for disabling ports, but this is not so important. Below are several ways to disable USB ports on your computer.
Disable USB ports in BIOS settings
In fact, everything is quite simple: go to the BIOS settings and disable all ports, or those that are necessary. The caveat is that at the moment there are several BIOS versions, and disabling ports in each is sometimes different.
BIOS Award. Go to the BIOS settings and select the item Integrated Peripherals. Let's go to this menu. Next, we simply find the points: USB EHCI Controller, USB Keyboard Support, USB Mouse Support and Legacy USB storage detect and disable them by selecting the option Disabled. Then we simply save the settings and restart the computer;
Phoenix Award And AMI BIOS. Go to settings and select the item Advanced (sometimes some versions may have a Peripherals item) or Advanced BIOS Features. Next we go to the menu USB Configuration. Next, turn off all USB items, save the settings and restart the computer;
UEFI. More modern panel. Go to the menu Peripherals or Advanced. Selecting items Legacy USB Support And USB 3.0 Support and turn them off. Next, save the settings and restart the PC.
Note! In some versions, the menu items may have slightly different names, but that's okay, just go through all the menus and find the USB settings.
Disable USB using the registry
This is a more suitable way. In the registry, you can disable the access of USB ports to specific devices, but not the ports themselves. At a time when almost everything is connected via USB, including a mouse and keyboard, this method will be preferable. You can simply disable port access specifically to flash drives, but the computer mouse will still work fine.
Open the registry editor: keyboard shortcut Win+R, enter the command regedit and click OK. Next, move on to the next section:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\USBSTOR
Find an item Start. Open it and enter the value 4 . Save the settings and restart your computer. This section blocks access of external drives to the port.
Note! If USB controller drivers are not installed on the computer, then the value Start will automatically change to the value 3 as soon as the device is connected to the port.
Disable USB via Device Manager
Open device Manager: right click on My computer, open Properties, Further device Manager. Open the menu USB controllers. Right-click and select the item from the context menu Disable.
Important! The option of removing drivers for USB controllers will not work, since the first time you connect the device to the port, Windows will begin installing the drivers.
Disable USB using Windows files
Denying access using the Local Group Policy Editor
You can also ban reading and writing.
Additionally
It is also worth mentioning that there are two more ways to restrict access to ports: limit access using third-party programs and physically disabling the ports.
There is plenty of third-party software on the Internet, and each one is configured differently, so there is no point in describing this method in the article. All you need is to find the desired program and instructions for it.
As for physically disabling ports, this method will only work with ports on the front panel of the system unit. Open the system unit and carefully disconnect the wires going to the ports.
Bottom line
Whatever the reason for the need to disable USB ports, now you know how to do it.
You can enable USB ports on a laptop through the BIOS, Device Manager, Registry Editor, or Group Policy Editor. If access to the USB connectors was intentionally prohibited using special software, then you can unblock it in a program where the interface is blocked. All methods are available to ordinary users and do not require special training.
Disabling unnecessary devices
If the USB ports suddenly stopped working and you are now looking for how to turn them on, then the first thing to do is look to see if the device is connected to the laptop too much. When using a USB hub, the laptop may not be able to supply power to all devices, causing the USB ports to become unresponsive. Before setting up USB in the BIOS, unplug any unnecessary hardware from your laptop and check if the ports work. If nothing has changed, then reboot the laptop and go into the BIOS.
Enabling ports in BIOS
To enter the BIOS during boot, press Delete, F2 or another key depending on the motherboard model. You can view it on the start screen. 
In the case of a laptop, this screen does not appear because the fast boot feature is activated. You can temporarily disable this technology in the power settings:
Restart your computer. Without Quick Start, you will see all stages of Windows boot and can get into the BIOS. If this doesn't work on Windows 8 or 10 with UEFI BIOS, try the following method:
Once rebooted, select Diagnostics, then go to Advanced Options and open UEFI Firmware Options. Click "Reboot", the next time you start, the BIOS UEFI interface will appear.
To configure USB ports in UEFI, you need to go to the “Peripherals” tab and set the “Legacy USB Support” parameter to “Enabled”. If support for USB 3.0 ports is required, activate the corresponding item (USB 3.0 Support). 
In the AMI BIOS, go to the “Integrated Peripherals” section and set the four options to “Enabled”:
- USB EHCI Controller.
- USB Mouse Support.
- USB Keyboard Support.
- Legacy USB Storage Detect.
In Phoenix AwardBIOS, you need to go to the “Advanced” tab and go to the “USB configuration” section. All parameters inside must be set to “Enabled” for the USB ports to work. 
In all BIOS versions, to save the configuration, you must press the F10 key and confirm the selection by writing “Y”.
Windows setup
If ports are enabled in the BIOS, but devices connected via the USB interface are not detected by the system, then check the registry editor, device manager and group policy editor. It is possible that changes were made to the system through them, due to which the ports are no longer working. You should start with the Registry Editor.
If USB support is enabled in the Registry Editor, check the controller drivers in Device Manager.
If you see an exclamation mark icon next to the controller, and you are sure that the interface is supported in the registry editor, then this means that there are problems with the drivers. First try updating the software:
If updating the controller software does not help, update the motherboard driver. Download it from the manufacturer's website and install it manually. Another way to update the drivers of all controllers at once is to remove them from the system. Right-click on the controllers and select "Delete". After a reboot, the system will automatically install controller drivers, so you no longer have to worry about how to enable the USB ports - they will work just like that. 
If only removable devices connected via USB do not work, check in the Group Policy Editor to see if a read ban is set.
Find the Removable Devices: Deny Read option and set it to Disable. The problem with identifying flash drives and external drives should disappear.
Hardware damage to ports
If the laptop's USB ports or the south bridge on the motherboard are damaged, then no methods will help enable the interface. Therefore, if the connectors stop working after mechanical impact, liquid getting inside the case, short circuit or other negative factors, then you should take the laptop to a service center for diagnostics. 
In the case of a system unit, some USB ports can be replaced independently, but in a laptop there is no such possibility, because all connectors are soldered to the motherboard.
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