FIX: USB Not Working in Windows 10

If your USB is not working that can be a big problem since you won’t be able to use your
USB devices. Users also reported the following USB problems that can occur on your PC:
 • USB mouse, keyboard not working on Windows 10 – If USB isn’t working, you
might have some issues with your keyboard and mouse. To fix the problem, you
might have to use your touchpad or PS/2 mouse.
• USB ports not working Windows 10 – According to users, sometimes USB ports on
your PC won’t work at all due to this error. This can be rather serious, but you should
be able to fix this problem by using one of our solutions.
• USB not working Windows Code 43 – If your USB isn’t working, you might
sometimes get error Code 43 as an error message. To see how to fix it, be sure to
check some of our solutions.
• USB not working when plugged in – Sometimes your USB devices won’t work after
you connect them to your PC. It seems that devices are working properly, but they
aren’t recognized by the PC.
• USB not working Toshiba, Samsung, Dell, Lenovo –This is a common problem and
it can affect any desktop or laptop device. This issue can appear on almost any brand
of PC, and many Dell, Lenovo, Toshiba, and Samsung owners reported this problem.
• USB not recognized, appearing, detected, showing up – In some more serious
cases, your USB device won’t appear at all. According to users, it seems like your
USB device isn’t recognized at all.
• USB not responding, not opening – Several users reported that their USB device is
detected, but it’s not responding or opening. This is an annoying problem, but you
should be able to fix it with one of our solutions.
• USB not reading – This is a common error that can occur with USB devices.
According to users, they are completely unable to read their files their USB.
• USB not transferring – Sometimes USB problems can prevent you from transferring
files. Some users even reported that they are unable to transfer their files at all.
• USB is not yet available – In some cases you might get this error message on your
screen. This is not a common problem, but you should be able to fix it using one of
our solutions.
• USB not initialized – This is another USB-related issue. Unlike other problems, this
one is relatively uncommon.
• USB not opening files – Many users reported that they can’t open their files. This can
be a big problem since you won’t be able to access your files at all.
• USB not accessible – This is a fairly common problem that can appear with your
USB. According to users, this error will completely prevent you from accessing your
USB device.

If you’re having USB problems on Windows 10 first thing that you should do is to try
connecting your device to another USB port to determine if the USB port is working or not.

If you get same results with different ports on your PC try connecting your USB device to
another PC to see if the problem persists on another computer.

External USB drive not showing up on PC? Here’s how to fix that!

If the problem is present on other PC as well, it might be that your USB device is not working
properly. To fix these USB problems you can try the following solutions:
1. Reinstall device drivers

1. Download the latest drivers for your USB device and install it. If there are no new drivers
available just continue with the next step.
2. Open Device Manager. You can do that by pressing Windows Key + X and choosing Device
Manager from the list.

• Locate the device driver and right click it.

• Choose Uninstall device to remove the driver
Restart your computer.

2. Change Power Management settings for USB Controller

If USB is not working on your PC, you can fix it by changing your Power Management
settings. To do that, follow these steps:

1. Open Device Manager.

2. Find Universal Serial Bus controllers section and expand it.
3. Right click each driver named USB Root Hub and select Properties.

Go to Power Management tab. Make sure that Allow the computer to turn off this device to save
power is not checked. If it’s checked, uncheck it. Click OK to save the changes.
 5. Repeat the process for all USB Root Hub drivers.
6. Restart your computer.

3. Uninstall the USB Controller

Many users reported that USB is not working, and to fix this issue, you just need to reinstall
USB Controller by doing the following:

1. Open the Device Manager.

2. Find Universal Serial Bus controllers and expand it.
3. Right click the first driver in the Universal Serial Bus section and click Uninstall.
4. Repeat the process for all drivers in the Universal Serial Bus section.
5. Restart your computer.

4. Turn off fast startup

Some users report that Windows 10 is booting too quickly and therefore there’s not enough
time for external devices to be detected before the system boots.

If USB is not working, you just need to disable Fast Startup, and you can do so by following
these steps:
 1. Open Control Panel and choose Power Options.

On the sidebar on the left click Choose what the power button does.

Click Change settings that are currently unavailable.

Under the Shutdown settings find the Turn on fast startup and uncheck it. Now click Save changes
and you’re done.
According to some users, you might be able to fix this problem simply by disabling USB
selective suspend feature. To do that, follow these steps:

1. Open Power Options and click Change plan settings next to your currently selected
plan.

Now click on Change advanced power settings

Navigate to USB settings and set USB selective suspend setting to Disabled. Click Apply and OK to
save changes.

5. Remove your laptop battery

If USB is not working on your laptop, you might be able to fix this problem by removing
your laptop battery.

According to users, many of them fixed the problem by removing the battery and keeping the
power button pressed for 30 seconds or more.
By doing that you’ll cause your capacitors to discharge completely. Some users are also
recommending to leave your laptop turned off without a battery over the night in order for
capacitors to fully discharge.

After doing that, the problem with USB should be resolved completely.

6. Modify your registry

According to users, you might be able to fix this problem simply by making a couple of
changes in your registry. If USB is not working, you just need to follow these steps:

1. Press Windows Key + R and enter regedit. Now press Enter or click OK.

Optional: Modifying the registry can cause various issues to occur, therefore it’s
recommended to back up your registry. You can do that by clicking File > Export.

Now set Export range as All and choose a safe location. Enter the desired file name and click
on Save
 In case anything goes wrong after modifying your registry, you can simply run this file to
restore it to the previous state.

In the left pane, navigate to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4d36e965-
e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}. The name of the key might be slightly different
on your PC, but it should start with 4d36e965, so you’ll easily find it

4. In the right pane, locate UpperFilter and LowerFilters and delete them. If these
entries aren’t available, this solution won’t apply to you.
5. After deleting the files, restart your PC.

Once your PC restarts, your USB ports should start working again without any problems

7. Update your USB Root Hub drivers

If USB is not working on your Windows 10 PC, you might be able to fix the problem simply
by updating the USB Root Hub driver. This is rather simple and you can do it by following
these steps:

1. Open Device Manager.

2. Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers section and right click USB Root Hub. Choose Update
driver from the menu.
Now select Search automatically for updated driver software. Windows will automatically install the
necessary drivers.

4. Repeat these steps for all USB Root Hub devices on your PC.

After doing that, your USB should start working again without any issues.

8. Install the necessary updates

If USB is not working on Windows 10, you might be able to fix this problem simply by
installing the necessary updates.

In most cases Windows 10 will install the updates automatically, but sometimes you might
miss an important update. However, you can always check for updates manually by doing the
following:

1. Open the Settings app. You can do that quickly by pressing Windows Key + I.
2. When Settings app opens, navigate to Update & security section.
Now click on Check for updates button. Windows will now check and download available updates.

After downloading the updates, you just have to restart your PC in order to install them. Once the
updates are installed, the problem should be resolved completely.

Use Disk Management Tool

This tool checks whether Windows will detect your USB stick. It also shows you all the hard
disks connected to your PC, and you can review information like partitions, sizes, and more.

• Plug in your USB stick and right-click Start > Disk Management.
• Check for your USB stick under primary or secondary disks. If it doesn’t contain partitions,
it’ll appear as Removable.
• If you see it in the Disk Management utility, you can create a new volume and assign
a drive letter. This way, you can partition or format the flash drive to make it easily
detectable by other devices, including your PC.
• If your USB drive is not showing up, it could be a driver or hardware issue, or the
drive is dead.
Try Plugging Into a Different Computer Or USB Port

Unplug the USB stick from the current port and computer, and try plugging into a different
computer and/or USB port. If it works on the new USB port or computer, the USB port may
be damaged or dead, or the computer itself may have a problem.

A faulty, damaged or dead USB port presents problems such as failure to detect USB drives
or displays error messages. Check if the port is clean, dust-free, and firm. If it’s moving up
and down or feels loose, then it’s faulty/damaged.

If you’re using a USB hub, unplug the stick from the hub and plug it directly into your
computer. Some hubs have insufficient power for external drives to function, which may be
the case with yours.

If the USB drive isn’t showing up even after trying a different port, computer, or checking in
Disk Management, the drive is probably dead and needs to be replaced.

Troubleshoot Drivers

You can troubleshoot driver issues using Device Manager, especially if your USB stick is
detected by a different computer other than the one you’re using, signaling a driver problem.

• Right-click Start>Device Manager.

Expand Disk drives and check for a yellow exclamation point next to any of the listed devices. If
there’s one or more with this mark, then the device(s) has a driver issue

• Right-click on the problematic device and select Properties to see the related error message.
You can search for the error online to find a solution to the problem

You can also try the following solutions to resolve driver issues:

• Roll back the driver to revert to recent driver updates and restore the device back to a time
when it was functioning properly.
• Download drivers from the device manufacturer’s site from the downloads page, support
page, or by searching on the site for the right driver.
• Update the driver by right-clicking on the driver in Device Manager, select Update driver
and follow the prompts.
• Uninstall the device from your computer, restart it and wait for it to reinstall the right driver
and configurations.

Use Device Manager To scan For Hardware Changes

• Right-click Start and select Device Manager.

• Click Action > Scan for hardware changes.
Windows will try to find your USB stick so you can access it again.

Reinstall USB Controllers

This method helps where the USB driver is unstable or corrupted.

• Right-click Start>Device Manager and click on the Universal Serial Bus controllers to expand
the list.
Right-click your device and click Uninstall, and then restart your computer to reinstall the controllers
automatically.
Create a New Drive Volume & Assign a Drive Letter

If your device appeared in the Disk Management step, you can create a new drive volume
and assign a drive letter. The Disk Management tool fixes partitioning and file system
problems with different drives.

However, your USB stick may show only Unallocated space, in which case you’ll have to
create a new partition so that Windows and other operating systems can use it.

• Right-click Start>Disk Management, right-click on the Unallocated space>New Simple

Volume and follow the prompts to create a partition.
If you still can’t see your flash drive, yet it’s partitioned, make sure it has a drive letter.
Ideally, this should be automatic, but if you removed it manually, the drive won’t be detected
or accessed in Windows.

• Right-click the drive’s partition and click Change Drive Letter and Paths.
If it doesn’t have an assigned drive letter, click Add and pick a letter. If it has a letter, click Change
and choose a different one.
Disable USB Selective Suspend Feature

This is a power-saving setting that helps reduce battery use by cutting power to your USB
stick when it’s plugged in. To ensure your drive isn’t powering down for any reason, disable
this feature so that power management settings don’t override the USB controller, which
makes Windows not detect it.

• Click Start>Control Panel and select Hardware and Sound.

Click Power Options>Change plan settings.

• Go to USB settings and expand it.
• Click USB selecting suspend settings and change the Plugged in drop-down menu to
Disabled (Note: If you’re using a laptop, click On battery and change to Disabled in the
drop-down menu)
 • Click Apply>OK and restart your computer to effect the changes.

If all else fails, you can replace your USB stick as a last resort method, though you can do
this if the drive is already broken. Otherwise, we hope this guide has helped ease the process,
and you now know what to do when your USB drive isn’t showing up when you plug it in.

Computer shuts down when USB device is plugged in, how to fix it?
Fix – Computer shuts down when USB device is plugged in

Solution 1 – Check your power supply

According to users, sometimes this problem can occur due to your power supply. Users
reported that the issue was a failing power supply and after replacing it the problem was
resolved.

Keep in mind that replacing the power supply is an advanced procedure, so if your PC is
under warranty, be sure to take it to the official repair center an ask them to replace your
power supply. If you’re tech-savvy, you can replace the power supply on your own, but keep
in mind that changing the power supply will violate your warranty. Replacing the power
supply can also cause damage to your PC if you’re not careful or if you don’t know how to
do it properly. To avoid any damage to your PC, it might be best to contact a professional.

Solution 2 – Check your cable

If you’re using a cable to connect your USB device with your PC, you might want to check
your cable. Sometimes your cable might be damaged and that can cause your PC to turn off.
To fix this problem, you need to replace your USB cable with a new one and check if that
solves the issue.

Solution 3 – Reinstall your USB drivers

In some cases this problem can be caused by problematic drivers on your PC. To fix the
issue, you need to reinstall your USB drivers. This is rather simple and you can do it by
following these steps:

• READ ALSO: USB 3.2 doubles the speed of USB Type C (3.1) cables

1. Press Windows Key + X to open Win + X menu. Select Device Manager from the menu.
Once Device Manager opens, go to View and check Show hidden devices option.

Locate your USB drivers. After doing that, right click any driver and choose Uninstall device.
A warning message will appear. Click on Uninstall to remove your driver

1. Now repeat these steps for all other USB drivers.

2. Optional: Some users recommend to uninstall USB Controllers, Disk Drives and
Storage Volumes, so you might want to delete their drivers as well.

After removing all USB drivers, you need to restart your PC. Once your PC restarts,
Windows 10 will automatically install the missing drivers. After your drivers are reinstalled,
check if the problem appears again.

Solution 4 – Try your device on a different PC

If this problem appears with devices that require high power such as portable hard drives, it’s
possible that your PC isn’t providing enough power. To fix the problem, you can try
connecting your device to a different PC that has similar hardware. If the problem doesn’t
appear on the other PC, it’s most likely that your device isn’t getting enough power or that
your power supply is failing.

Solution 5 – Try using a USB troubleshooter

In some cases, this can be a software issue and you might be able to fix it by running a
troubleshooter. The troubleshooter can fix common software problems with the USB, so you
might want to try it out. To run the troubleshooter on Windows 10, do the following:

1. Press Windows Key + I to open the Settings app.

2. When Settings app opens, navigate to Update & security.
 Go to the Troubleshoot section. In the right pane select Hardware and Devices and then
click on Run the troubleshooter button.

Once the troubleshooter starts, follow the instructions on the screen to complete it.\

You can also run the troubleshooter by using Control Panel. To do that, follow these steps:

1. Press Windows Key + S and enter control panel. Select Control Panel from the
menu.
When Control Panel opens, click on Troubleshooting

Once Troubleshooting window opens, click on View all.

List of options will appear. Click on Hardware and Devices.

Troubleshooter window will now start. Click on Next and follow the instructions on
the screen.
Solution 6 – Disable the USB ports

This is a simple workaround, and if you can’t use your PC due to this error this solution
might help you. To disable your USB ports, do the following:

1. Open the Device Manager.

2. When Device Manager opens, check the option to show hidden devices.
3. Locate your USB drivers, right click a driver and choose Disable device.

Once you disable all your USB ports, the problem will disappear and you’ll be able to
use your PC without any problems. This is just a crude workaround, so keep in mind
that you still need to find a cause for this problem.
 Solution 7 – Check the USB connectors

In some cases, this problem can appear due to issues with your USB connectors.
Sometimes your USB connectors can become loose and that can cause this problem to
appear. In addition, the problem can also appear if metallic contacts are touching. This
can be a big problem, and you might need to contact a professional in order to fix it.

Several users reported that this problem can occur with front ports on your PC,
especially if they aren’t fully connected. After connecting the front ports properly, the
issue was resolved. Keep in mind that this solution requires you to open your
computer case for hardware inspection, and by doing that you’ll violate your
warranty.

Solution 8 – Scan your PC for malware

Although unlikely, malware infections can sometimes cause your PC to turn off when
connecting a USB device. To fix the malware problem you need to perform a detailed
system scan. Keep in mind that some viruses are harder to detect than others, so you
might want to try scanning your PC with two or more antivirus tools. As previously
mentioned, malware infection is an unlikely cause for this problem, but few users
claim they fixed the issue after removing the malware from their PC.

There are many reasons why your PC restarts after plugging a USB device. In most
cases the problem is your power supply or USB connectors, so you should definitely
perform a hardware inspection and replace the faulty components.

Why do 2.0 USB devices not working in 3.0

USB ports of computers?
The USB 2.0 standard offers a 480 Mbps connection between host and client, which is a ~60
MB/s speed.
The reason USB 2.0 offers a real world speed of 30Mb/s is because the full 480Mbps is
divided between the upload link and the download link, what is known as Full Duplex / Half
Duplex communication.

The USB 2.0 standard only supports Half Duplex communication, so ~30MBps is the
maximum read / write speed. What is possible is to write to another device at ~30MBps in the
same USB connection tree while reading at such ~30MBps, thus using both read & write
communication in full.

USB 3.0 offers both half duplex and full duplex connectivity, by having a secondary data
cable pair, which paired with the new data transmission standard, can achieve +5Gbps
speeds.

Hence all USB 2.0 devices will not work in USB 3.0 ports of computers.