You must have experienced this issue of seeing a message appearing on your computer that your USB device is not recognized. Sometimes, due to several errors, this prompt of USB Device not Recognized keeps popping up and annoys the user to no end.
On your Windows, this prompt would tell you that a recent USB that you tried to connect to this computer has malfunctioned and Windows cannot recognize it.
Now, this prompt may occur even if you have not connected any USB to your computer. This may be confusing as well as frustrating for you, but you should not worry because this issue can be resolved by some very basic and simple steps.
Steps to fix if USB Device not Recognized keeps popping up:
There are several steps and ways through which you can solve if the USB Device not Recognized keeps popping up on our Windows.
STEP # 1: Directly connect the USB to your computer device:
Sometimes, when you are trying to connect a USB, because of its misconfiguration, you may be unable to connect it properly and this also results in this error showing up constantly on your Windows.
What you can do is:
- First off, eject the USB device from your computer.
- Now, go to the power button and Restart your PC.
- Once the Windows reboots, you can then connect your USB to your computer directly. Make sure that you insert your USB into the USB ports carefully.
Instead of using a USB hub, this is a better option and works in many cases to help get rid of this error.
While you are connecting your USB directly to the port, make sure that it isn’t broken or cracked. This may result in this error showing up on your computer.
STEP # 2: Check the hardware troubleshooter if the “USB device not recognized” error persists:
There is a built-in troubleshooter for all hardware and replaceable devices in a computer. If your Windows is unable to recognize your USB, then you probably need to get this done.
- Press the key having the Windows logo, and simultaneously press R.
- This will open the Run box.
- Now type “control” in the run box.
- Press the Enter key.
- This will lead you to the control panel. Open the “view large icons” pane.
- There, you will see the option of Troubleshooting.
- Click on Troubleshooting now.
- Under the Troubleshooting Computer Problems, you will see the Hardware and Sound option.
- Under this section, you will see the option of “configure a device.” Select it.
- Then click on Next.
- This will enable the troubleshooter to run a check and repair any problem with the hardware and device.
Check your USB device again for this error. If it shows up again, then you will have to employ the next method.
STEP # 3: Check out for misconfigured USB controller drivers:
- Press the Windows Logo key and simultaneously press Pause.
- On the display, you will see a panel from which, you will have to select Device Manager.
- Now, double-click on the Universal Serial Bus Controllers.
- In the tab, click on View then.
- A drop-down menu will appear. Select “Show hidden devices” from there.
- A list of USB controller drivers will appear.
- Right-click on each of them, and then choose “Uninstall device.”
- Once all the USB controller drivers are uninstalled, just go back to the power button and Restart the computer.
- Once the Windows reboot, all the USB controller drivers will automatically reinstall.
- Now, check if the error persists or not?
STEP # 4: Check if the USB suspend feature is enabled?
The USB Suspend feature if enabled helps in the conservation of battery for various machines, especially for laptops.
However, while it is helpful, it also causes some errors to appear too, including this error of Windows being unable to recognize the USB device.
So, you will have to check if it is enabled or not? In case it is, you will have to disable it.
All you need to do is:
- Press the key having the Windows logo, and simultaneously press R.
- This will open the Run box.
- Now type “control” in the run box.
- Press the Enter key.
- This will lead you to the control panel. Open the “view large icons” pane.
- Now, select the “Power Options.”
- You will then see the section “Choose or customize a power plan.” Choose the “Balanced (recommended)” option.
- There you will see another option of “Change plan settings.” Click on it.
- Next, you will have to click on “Change Advanced Power Settings.”
- Here you will see a list, out of which you will have to select “USB selective suspend setting.”
- If you see that it is enabled, just click on the word “Enabled.” It will open a drop-down menu for you.
- Choose “Disable” from the option in this menu.
- On a portable machine like a laptop, you may see two options: On Battery and Plugged in. You will have to disable both of them.
- Now, click on Apply the changes and then on OK.
After doing this, try to check your USB device and if its error has been taken care of or not.
STEP # 5: Make changes in your computer settings:
For Windows 10:
If your USB is fine and you have checked every other aspect that can cause this error to appear, but it is still popping up on your screen, then you will have to go on and make some changes in your computer settings.
- First off, press the Window logo key along with I
- This will open the Settings window for your computer.
- Click on Devices.
- Now, select the option of USB.
- This will open a series of commands. You have to “uncheck” the “Notify me if there are issues connecting to USB devices” option.
For Windows 7:
- Press the Windows logo key and simultaneously press Pause.
- This will open the Device Manager.
- Now, double-click on the Universal Serial Bus Controllers option.
- Then, right-click on it and open Properties.
- Now, in the tab, tap on “Advanced.”
- Near the bottom, you will see the option of “Don’t tell me about USB errors.”
- Check the box in front of this option.
- Now, click OK.
This final step will ensure that you never receive another message related to your USB being un-recognized on your computer.
If you go step by step as mentioned above, you will be able to get rid of this issue, and you will also be able to find out if the problem is with your USB or with any of the settings that you can tweak with.
Don’t forget to prepare a backup too:
This is a very crucial thing to remember. It is important to save all your files in your USB in another safe place so that any trouble-shooting mechanism of action doesn’t result in destroying or erasing some of those files.
If your USB isn’t working on your system because of some problem with the USB port or system settings, then you will have to transfer and save your data on another computer to be on the safe side, because when you will troubleshoot your hardware, you may end up losing some of your files. This is probably something that you wouldn’t want. Hence, this step is mandatory before you proceed with any of the above-mentioned steps.
