[Resolved] 5 Solutions to USB Not Recognized in Windows

“I need help with my USB drive; it keeps on saying ‘USB Not Recognized’ every time I connect it to my computer. I have to get this fixed ASAP! Thanks.”

USB devices have become an essential component of every computer. It can be your keyboard, mouse, or an external drive for storage. We use it often to make our lives easier and better.

However, there are cases when your USB device is not recognized by your PC due to varying reasons. Fortunately, there are many ways on how you can fix this issue. All you have to do first is to determine the cause, it could just be a simple lose connection or could also be something more.

Today, we will discover the reasons why your USB is not recognized by the Windows computer and the most effective solutions you can do to resolve this problem.

Part 1. Causes of USB Not Recognized ErrorPart 2. 5 Solutions to Resolve USB Not Recognized Issue in WindowsPart 3. Safely Recover Data from USB when it’s not RecognizedPart 4. Summary

Part 1. Causes of USB Not Recognized Error

Like what we mentioned earlier, your USB not being recognized is caused by varying reasons. Usually, more on the hardware part but updating drivers could also resolve the conflict.

Here are the common causes of USB device not Recognized error:

• USB controllers are corrupted or unstable
• Your Windows is missing some hardware updates
• PC needs an update with an external hard drive
• The USB driver is corrupt
• The external drive is entering selective suspend

With these possible causes, you can now determine what troubleshooting measure you need to perform to resolve the USB device not recognized problem.

Check out the next parts of this article on what solution works great!

Part 2. 5 Solutions to Resolve USB Not Recognized Issue in Windows

In case you wondering how to fix USB not recognized on Windows, we have listed 5 effective methods on how you can resolve this issue.

Find out which among these solutions work best:

Solution 1. Update Generic USB Hub

The first thing you can do is to check if the USB hub or port on your computer is updated. You can simply update it from the computer’s Device Manager.

To update the USB Hub, follow this guide:

1. Right-click on the Windows icon and find Device Manager.
2. Among the devices listed on the new pop-up window, find the USB Controllers or Universal Serial Bus Controllers.
3. Click the drop-down arrow next to it and select Generic USB Hub.
4. Again, find and right-click the Generic USB Hub and click Update Driver Software.
5. Choose Browse my computer for driver software.
6. Click Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer.
7. Choose Generic USB Hub and click Next.

By updating the Generic USB Hub driver software, the issue will be resolved completely. If not, try updating the other Generic USB Hub using the same process.

Solution 2. USB Root Hub

The next method you can perform is to check the USB Root Hub inside the Device Manager. Here are the steps on how to do it:

1. On Device Manager expand the drop-down arrow beside for USB Controllers.
2. Scroll and right-click the USB Root Hub.
3. Go to Power Management Tab and remove the check next to Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.
4. Click OK.
5. Restart your computer.
6. Repeat this step if you have more than one USB Root Hub.

Solution 3. Remove Power Supply to Fix USB Device Not Recognized Issue

If the first two steps do not work, the next thing you can do is to temporarily remove the power supply cable from the computer.

This is only applicable if you are using a desktop PC, here’s how:

1. Unplug the Power Supply cable from the computer.
2. Restart your PC.
3. Once the computer is ready, connect the USB device. Check if the connection is recognized.
4. Plug the Power Supply cable back.

Solution 4. Reinstall USB Driver

The fourth solution is to uninstall the USB driver on your computer so we can determine which particular driver is malfunctioning.

Follow this guide to reinstall the USB driver:

1. Open Device Manager and Expand the USB Controllers.
2. Uninstall the USB Drivers one by one.
3. Restart your computer. This is reinstall the USB drivers automatically and also resolve the corrupted USB driver.

Solution 5. Change the USB Selective Plan Settings

Lastly, you can change the USB selective suspend plan settings to resolve corrupted or unstable USB drivers.

1. Right-click on the Windows icon and scroll to Power Options.
2. Select Change Plan Setting under Choose or Customize.
3. Choose Change Advanced Power Settings under Edit Plan Settings.
4. Click the drop-down arrow next to USB Selective Suspend settings.
5. Select Disable both on battery and plugged-in settings.
6. Click Apply and OK to save changes.

Part 3. Safely Recover Data from USB when it’s not Recognized

After all the troubleshooting you have done on the USB device, perhaps some of your important data might have been lost. We know how it feels like to lose data especially when they are too important for you.

The best way you can recover data from your USB device is to use a third party program called FoneDog Data Recovery.

FoneDog Data Recovery safely retrieves any types of files like images, videos, audios, documents, and more. It smoothly recovers data from hard drive, external drive like the USB, memory card, and your computer (both Windows and Mac), including the Trash Bin.

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Here is how to recover USB data with use FoneDog Data Recovery:

1. Download the program on your computer and install it by following onscreen instructions.
2. Select the Type of Data you want to recover from the main menu together with the file location. If you are recovering from USB drive, you can see it listed under Removable Drives.
3. Click Scan to continue and wait until the software completes the scan. There are two types of scanning available, Quick Scan and Deep Scan. For faster result, select Quick Scan
4. Select the files you need to recover. The files are classified into categories such as documents, images, and more.
5. Preview the files and selectively mark those you need for recovery. Click Recover to save them on your computer.

That’s it! You have your USB files back in just a few steps.

Part 4. Summary

The USB device not recognized error is a common issue experienced on the Windows computer. Good thing, there are many ways on how to resolve the problem. We have gathered 5 solutions you can choose from.

If in any case, your will experience data loss, never worry about it, trust and install FoneDog Data Recovery and you will have them back in no time!

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