Why does not see it when I insert a USB flash drive. Why the computer does not read the flash drive. If another PC also does not see the drive or all of the above tips did not help

Usually, the suspects in this case are software failures, incorrect operating system settings, outdated drivers, malfunctions of the computer's USB ports, adapters, or the drives themselves.

Depending on the causes in each case, the problem manifests itself in different ways. It happens that the computer does not react at all to a USB flash drive or hard drive. In other situations, the sound of connecting a new device is heard, but the drive icon does not appear in the explorer. And sometimes the computer just freezes immediately after contact with the USB device.

What to do if a Windows computer does not see a USB flash drive or external hard drive

First, figure out what exactly the problem is: with a computer, an adapter (if the connection is via a cable), or a drive. Try connecting the USB device through other ports. If that doesn't help and you're using a cable, try replacing it with a spare one. If unsuccessful, check if the drive can be opened on other computers.

If the device works on another PC or you do not have the opportunity to check it

Connect your hard drive or flash drive to your computer and follow these steps in order. If the first fails, move on to the next, and so on.

If another PC also does not see the drive or all of the above tips did not help

In this case, most likely, the problem is in the drive itself.

If you have a flash drive and not a hard drive, you can use special utilities to fix software errors. Such software can usually be found on the manufacturer's website. For example, the JetFlash Online Recovery program is for Transcend drives. And USB Flash Drive Online Recovery is for flash drives of the ADATA brand. But keep in mind that during the recovery process, these utilities erase all data from flash drives.

If none of the above helped, then the problem is probably a physical malfunction of the hard drive or flash drive. Then it is better to show the device to a specialist or return it to the store under warranty.

What to do if Mac does not see a flash drive or external hard drive

On Apple computers, the verification procedure is somewhat different, but follows approximately the same algorithm. We will assume that you have already tried restarting the computer, disconnecting and connecting the USB flash drive, and also made sure that the connection is reliable. If this does not help, you need to do the following:

Open the built-in disk tool ("Programs" → "Utilities" → "Disk Utility") and check if the problematic flash drive is displayed there. If the drive is still visible, try it by clicking the "Erase" button and reconnect it. Keep in mind that all data from the flash drive will be permanently deleted.

A dedicated Mac diagnostic program provides detailed information about all software and hardware components of your computer, including USB devices. Open the Apple menu, then, while holding down the Option key, click "System Information" and go to the USB section in the menu that opens.

If there is a flash drive there, then the problem lies in the software and you can try to restore the disk by referring to the manufacturer's recommendations. If there is no information about the flash drive, then the matter is a physical malfunction, and you should contact the store or service center if the repair makes sense.

Among the variety of reasons, there are several that can be eliminated by means of the operating system itself, or by auxiliary utilities. But first you need to figure out why the computer does not see the flash drive. Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows XP... The reason may lie in the version of the operating system. This may appear in different forms. For example, a computer may write: “insert disk”, even though the USB flash drive has just been connected. Or it may write that the disk needs to be formatted. Or, a message appears indicating that a data error has occurred. It may freeze after inserting a USB flash drive.

This article will describe several methods that you can use to solve this kind of problem. First, let's look at the simplest methods, the simplicity of which does not detract from their effectiveness, they are applicable in most cases when Windows 7 does not see the USB flash drive, while reporting that the disk is not formatted. Or shows other error messages. If these methods did not work and Windows 7 does not see a USB flash drive on a laptop, for example, you can proceed to the next ones. As a rule, the problem with a flash drive in most cases is solved quite simply (unless, of course, it is physically damaged. In this case, most likely nothing will help it).

If Windows 7 does not see the flash drive, what to do can be read below

First, you should check if the computer detects the USB flash drive in Disk Management. To do this, you need to run the utility in any of the following ways:

Start - Run - diskmgmt.msc - Enter

Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Computer Management - Disk Management

In the window that appears, you need to see if the flash drive appears when it is turned on and disconnected from the computer.

If the machine sees the connected flash drive, and sees all the partitions on it (usually this is one partition) in the “Healthy” category, you need to right-click on it and select “Make partition active” in the context menu, you can still assign a letter to the flash drive - this is usually enough for the computer to "see" the device.

If Windows 7 does not see a flash drive on a laptop, or Windows 7 does not see a flash drive on a computer and writes that the partition is faulty or deleted, if you see the label "Unknown" or "Not initialized" and the partition is "Unallocated", this may mean that the device is damaged and you should try to restore the data.

If the flash drive was connected via an extension cable or a USB hub, you should try connecting it directly. There may be a problem with the switch. If it doesn’t help, you should turn off the machine, disconnect all extraneous devices from it (cameras, external drives, card readers, printers), leaving the keyboard and mouse, then turn on the computer. If the machine detects the device, then the problem is insufficient power on the ports, perhaps there is not enough power from the power supply. If not, you should reinstall the drivers on the ports of the machine.

• 1. Roots of the problem
• 2. USB not working
• 3. When the USB port on the front of the PC is not powered
• 4. The USB port on the PC is defective or disabled
• 5. USB port is dirty
• 6. Infection with various viruses
• 7. The problem of outdated drivers or their failure
• 8. Errors in the file system
• 9. File system conflict
• 10. Main findings

It is difficult for a modern person to imagine his life without numerous gadgets. Along with tablets, personal computers and smartphones, we very often use removable drives, USB and memory cards. But sometimes we encounter a problem when we cannot transfer some files to the drive, because the computer simply does not see it. Such technical failures in the operation of these devices are of a different nature - hardware or software. What to do if the computer does not see the flash drive? Should I buy a new removable drive right away? Or try to somehow solve this problem? More on this in our publication.

Roots of the problem

All sorts of breakdowns and failures in the hardware component of an SD card or USB are quite common, but the main reason is not a physical failure, but, as a rule, a software failure. Basically, the most common reasons why a computer has stopped seeing a flash drive are the following:

• The flash drive itself has stopped working;
• The USB port located on the front panel of the PC is de-energized, disconnected or faulty;
• The USB port is dirty;
• There is a viral infection;
• Drivers are outdated, there was a failure or a conflict in their work;
• Errors or file system failure occurred;
• Faulty power supply;
• There is an excessive current overload of the USB portal.

Let us consider in more detail the most common reasons why the computer does not see the drive.

USB not working

Sometimes a flash drive fails due to mechanical impact on the controller or device chip, due to damage to the contacts on the board, due to moisture, or due to an electrical circuit. All these failure options, among many other options for which the computer does not see USB, are the most difficult to eliminate.

But how to determine what actually happened to the drive? Everything is quite simple. First, check it visually for any mechanical damage, all kinds of cracks and chips. Next, check if such a device is operational. To do this, connect the USB to the PC connector. If at the same time you hear a characteristic sound on the computer (when a new device is connected) or the LED on the drive lights up, it means that everything is in order, you can try to somehow solve the problem. But if nothing happened, the problem is more serious. And, most likely, in the future you will not be able to use USB.

Of course, if the information that was previously saved on this drive is very important to you, you can try taking it to a service center. It is possible that the master will try to replace the controller or re-solder the contacts. But such work will be quite expensive. In the first case, if USB shows signs of life, we will try other methods to restore its performance.

When the USB port on the front of the PC is not powered

This is one of the most common problems faced by PC users. As a rule, we most often insert USB into the front port. It's simple and convenient. But sometimes, even during the assembly of the computer, for one reason or another, the front panel was not connected to the power system. In such cases, the flash drive will not be reflected, although there are no problems in its operation.

How to solve such a problem? There are two options. The first one is the easiest one: connect the USB to another connector located on the back of the computer. The second is to connect the power cable on the motherboard to the front panel of the PC. At the same time, please note that the ports for connection depending on the specific PC model will differ.

The most common wire types are "D-", "VCC", "D+", "GND". In addition, on the motherboard, the color markings of the connector and cable are the same, but it’s better, after all, to keep the reference point according to the inscriptions. The algorithm of work is the following:

• We get access to the motherboard (on the case we unscrew the fixing bolts and remove the cover);
• We are looking for a cable leading to the front panel and an identical connector on the motherboard

USB port on PC is defective or disabled

In some situations, the unreadability of data on removable media is not entirely related to the problem of the USB itself, but to the connector into which it is connected. But in this case, not only the flash drive will stop working, but also other devices that you will connect to this port. How to solve such a problem? It is enough to arm yourself with an ordinary soldering iron and have at least minimal knowledge of circuitry. But if such knowledge is not available, it is better not to take risks and contact the nearest service center.

Sometimes the problem is inherent not only for one connector, but also for the rest. In this case, it is much more difficult. Sometimes ports can be disabled in the BIOS settings. This problem is easy to fix. To enter the BIOS menu, press the corresponding key on the keyboard during the first seconds of booting the PC. Typically, this is the F2 or Del key. Then go to the "Advanced Settings" / "USB Configuration" section. Next, find "USB Controller". In order to allow the use of ports, on the contrary, you need to set the value to "Enabled". Immediately after enabling this option, click on F10 to save the settings.

USB port is dirty

Quite often, the reason why the computer does not see the USB flash drive is the pollution of the USB connector. After all, in fact, a flash drive is a mobile device. It is often worn in briefcases, backpacks, bags, put in pockets. That is why it is not surprising that, over time, dust and small debris accumulate in the connector. As a result, the flash drive becomes inoperable. To clean the USB connector, use a regular Q-tip and carefully remove any debris from the connector. After that, moisten the wand with alcohol and then wipe the contacts.

Infection with various viruses

The problem of storage security is one of the most relevant today. Visiting a site familiar to you, you can get a dangerous infection. Not to mention downloading programs from dubious sources. What is the result? The system detects the drive, you can even hear a characteristic sound (connection to the device system), but you will not be able to read the information. In this case, a message will appear: "Application not found" or "Removable media not found".

The first thing to do in such a situation is to install high-quality antivirus software on your PC and immediately carry out a complete diagnosis of the files. In order to access data on a USB, it is important to delete the file that contains the virus and then scan the drive. For such purposes, go to "Start", then in the line enter "Show hidden files and folders." Next, left-click on the found element. The Folder Options window opens. In it, uncheck the "Hide protected operating system files" option and put it on "Show hidden files, folders and drives." After these actions, click on "Apply" and then "OK" for all changes to take effect.

Next, open "My Computer" and the drive folder. There is a file called "Autorun", delete it, and check the flash drive for viruses. After all these procedures, you can use a fully fledged flash drive. This should not cause any problems.

The problem of outdated drivers or their failure

This problem is quite common. In addition, a failure is possible due to an unexpected shutdown of the OS or a power surge. In addition, some older PC models may not work with drives that are 32 GB or more.

How to solve such a problem? Open "Device Manager". After that, we connect the drive to the PC and open the "USB Controllers". After such actions, select "Storage device" and right-click to open the system menu and click "Delete". So we can remove the mass storage driver installed in the system. After these steps, remove the USB flash drive from the computer and reconnect it. So the driver will be reinstalled on the flash drive, and the problem will be solved.

In a situation where nothing has changed, try updating the drivers for all USB ports. In this case, you can use a special disk (comes with the motherboard). But if you don’t have one, then download the DriverPack utility. Such software will automatically identify those drivers for which an update is available and, after your agreement, will carry out the necessary procedures.

Errors in the file system

In some cases, the PC may not recognize the drive due to file system errors. How to check it? Open Device Manager / Disk Drives. If you see a flash drive in this device, it is serviceable, but for some reason the file system does not perceive it, and therefore does not reflect it in the explorer. How to fix it? Try formatting your drive.

File system conflict

Sometimes the contents of the drive are not displayed due to a file system conflict on the PC and removable media. For example, if a PC operates on an NTFS system, and FAT32 is used on USB, a conflict situation is not excluded. And even more, this problem occurs not only in Windows, but also on other platforms, in particular on Mac OS. What to do in such a situation? First of all, find the PC that uses a different file system, then open the drive and save the data that is important to you, because after the formatting procedure, they will be lost to you.

Key Findings

We have considered only some of the reasons that prevent the PC from reading the drive and the information on it. The solutions described will certainly help get rid of this problem, otherwise you still need to visit the service center.

What to do if the computer does not see USB? First of all, you need to make sure that the device itself that you need to connect is not damaged. You can check this very simply: if everything is fine when connecting it to another computer, then the device itself is working. In addition, when connecting it to your PC, pay attention to whether the light bulb (LED) lights up. If the USB ports and cable can be fully functional, but you need to check the settings of the device itself and confirm the possibility of data exchange between it and the computer (if this option is disabled, the device will not be displayed on your computer). This also applies to tablet PCs, smartphones, MP3 players and similar gadgets.

Many people connect new devices to the USB ports located on the front of the system unit. However, very often the front ports do not have a connection to the power supply, or there is power, but it is not enough for correct operation. What if the computer does not see this situation? Simply reconnect the device to one of the ports on the back.

Sometimes the system immediately detects a new data drive, but displays a message stating that the device is not recognized and refuses to read the information. Most often, the problem lies, again, in insufficient power and is solved by connecting the media to another port. However, in some cases there is a need for an easier and more convenient way to do this with the help of specialized programs (say, Everest). It will help you find out the name of your board, and then download the appropriate drivers from the manufacturers' official websites.

It is also possible that the problems occurred due to the fact that Windows assigned a volume label (letter) already in use to the new device. This is corrected using the control panel tools (right-click on the "My Computer" shortcut, select "Manage" from the menu that appears). On the right you will see the "Storage devices" tab, and in it - It remains only to find the label of our device, press the right mouse button and select the "Disk path" ("Change drive letter") item. In the window that opens, enter a new character. After that, the problem can be fixed.

What to do if the computer does not see USB? Although very rare, it still happens that the ability to read data from USB devices is disabled in the BIOS. Most often, this is done in Internet salons and similar establishments, so that people, using their media, do not infect computers with viruses. If we are talking about a home PC, you should go into BIOS, and then check the box that allows the motherboard to turn on USB devices.

If the computer does not see the information on your drive via USB, this may be due to the presence of malicious virus programs on the PC itself or on the attached device. Here the solution is obvious: you should download a reliable powerful antivirus and conduct a full scan of both the computer itself and the drive.

This advice, rather, applies to those who cannot connect a USB flash drive. What if you have already done everything described above? You need to be aware that sometimes there is a conflict between the file systems of USB devices and PCs. As a rule, on flash drives, these are FAT and FAT32 systems. Modern hard drives support the NTFS system. With the help of the Disk Management already familiar to us, you can change the type of the file system of the flash drive to FAT32 or NTFS.

Finally, you may just need to format the drive. This can be done if it is displayed in the list of connected devices. However, when formatting, all data stored on it will be permanently deleted.

To date, the method of storing data on portable flash drives has gained quite a lot of popularity. And now all manufacturers of flash drives are fighting for the creation of the smallest and largest flash drives in terms of memory, the leading position in the minimum size is occupied by Micro SD cards.

Micro SD flash cards are by far the smallest storage devices that have been put into mass production.

Due to the very fragile structure, these drives often become unusable due to physical damage, or incorrect completion of work with such flash drives.

It is not uncommon for cases when, after a short period of work with a card, it ceases to be read or is not detected at all by devices, so you cannot rely on the long-term operation of such a drive. I advise you to use the Micro SD card as a space for work, and not for permanent storage of information. Although every day the manufacturers of such SD cards improve their durability and bring them closer to the possibility of using them for permanent and durable storage of information.

Reasons why the computer may not detect the Micro SD card:

· Hardware problem.

Flash drive failure.

· Assign an already assigned partition letter.

· File system conflict.

· Malicious programs in the operating system.

If your Micro SD card is no longer detected by your phone, camera or other device, then you need to remove it and insert it into your computer to diagnose, identify and fix the problem.

Let's move on to reviewing and eliminating the most common causes of failure of such a flash drive.

How to check if a Micro SD card is detected on a computer?

In order to understand whether your computer has detected your Micro SD card, you can use 2 methods.

First way. Open my computer and check the connection of the new partition. If you have a new disk, then the flash drive is defined.

The second way. If nothing appeared in the explorer, then it is worth checking whether the computer has determined at all that an SD card was connected to it. To do this, go to my computer, right-click on the computer and select "Manage" from the drop-down menu.

After that, the Computer Management window will open, in it there is a menu on the left side. We need to select the "Disk Management" section.

In the displayed statistics, we can see all the drives connected to the computer, determine their volume, or set the partition letter.

If you did not see your SD card in this list, then read the following reasons and their solutions.

hardware problem

If you are trying to connect your SD card to a computer through an adapter or through a card reader, and nothing happens, the first thing to do is to check these interface devices for operability.

If you use a card reader to connect the card, then try inserting a known working Micro SD card into it, if a known working card is also not detected, in this case check and reinstall the card reader drivers. If after all the attempts made nothing has changed, then most likely the problem is in the card reader.

If you are using a laptop, then most likely you are trying to insert an SD card through an adapter, directly into the laptop's built-in card reader. If nothing happens when using this connection method, then I recommend checking the drivers for the built-in card reader first, and then checking the adapter for operability.

Drivers for card readers can be downloaded and installed from the manufacturers' official websites, if you have a portable card reader that connects via a USB port, then download the drivers from the manufacturer's website. In the event that you use the built-in laptop card reader, then you can download the drivers from the official website of your laptop manufacturer.

In order to check whether the driver of your card reader is detected by the system, you need to open the "Device Manager", to do this, press the key combination Win + R and in the "Run" line that opens, enter the command "devmgmt.msc".

The "Device Manager" window will open in which you can see devices on which the driver is not installed. Such devices will be marked with a yellow triangle with an exclamation point. If there are no such devices, then expand the "Portable devices" section and make sure that the computer has identified the card reader itself in order to discard the option of a non-working device.

Flash drive failure

In the event that you have checked the performance of the above devices and made sure that they are in good condition, then it is worth checking the Micro SD card for physical damage, cracks, chips, deformation or damage to the outer layer, since such a flash drive consists of many small tracks, which are easy to scratch and tear.

Try to connect it to any device - a smartphone, camera, etc. If the flash drive is not detected in any device, then most likely it is physically damaged and cannot be repaired. Only the presence of important information on the map can motivate you to contact the service center.

Assigning an already assigned partition letter

This type of problem is quite common. This happens when an SD card is connected to a computer, the system assigns it the same letter as the existing partition, because of this a conflict occurs and we do not see our flash drive in the list of computer disks.

In order to fix this type of problem, open the "Computer Management" section described above.

After getting into the "Disk Management" section, we need to find our flash drive, focus on its volume, select a disk that matches the volume of our Micro SD card. Right-click on it and select "Change drive letter or drive path ..." from the drop-down menu.

A window will open in which we need to click the "Add" button.

In the window that opens, select the letter for this section and click OK.

Done, we set the letter to our section, now we check its presence in the explorer.

File system conflict

It is not uncommon for cases when a flash drive is defined, but it cannot be opened. The reason for this may be a file system conflict or a damaged file system of the Micro SD card itself. If the data on the flash drive does not play any role for you, then you can try formatting it to the NTFS file system.

To do this, right-click on the flash drive and select "Format" from the drop-down menu.

In the formatting window that opens, in the "File system" section, select NTFS, set the Volume Label and click the "Start" button.

Thus, we formatted the Micro SD card to NTFS format, after which you can open it.

Malicious programs in the operating system

Faced with the problem of determining the Micro SD drive, you may not suspect that malware, the so-called viruses, can be the culprit for all this, which can block USB ports and prevent the computer from working with your memory card.

In this case, your best bet would be to perform a full system scan with your antivirus program, or use free antivirus programs that can help you with this.

One of these I will advise you is Dr.Web CureIt!

The program is absolutely free and is intended only for scanning and finding virus programs and removing them.

To download this program, go to the official website of Dr.Web at the link https://free.drweb.ru/cureit/

Download the program and start scanning.

After the end, remove all found malware and after restarting the computer, try connecting the Micro SD card again.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many reasons why your computer does not see the Micro SD card, so it is impossible to unequivocally answer the question “Why does my computer not see the memory card?”, As this can be caused by various problems. In order not to make a mistake and solve the problem, it is worth doing all the steps described in this article in turn.

Also, do not forget that when formatting, all information from the flash drive will be deleted.

And I still advise you not to store important information on drives of this type, as they most often fail to work due to a very fragile structure. Use these types of drives to work directly with files, saving them to more secure locations.