4 Easy Solutions to Fix “USB Flash Drive Not Recognized” Error on Windows

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Summary: Look here as the article below will show the solutions to solve USB Flash Drive Not Recognized error with the help of the best data recovery tool – Bitwar Data Recovery Software!

Sometimes connecting a USB drive to PC might come across the error message as “USB flash drive not recognized.” It usually happens if the USB drive is corrupted or Windows fails to recognize it. Suppose that Windows fails to recognize the USB drive, there may be a chance data loss in the USB drive.

USB Flash Drive Not Recognized

What is the Cause?

USB flash drive not recognized” error usually occurs when we connect the USB drive or any storage device using USB data cable to the PC. It might be either due to the corrupted USB Device or Windows not able to recognize your device. The other reason might be that the USB drive is inserted incorrectly.

If such cases happen, then there are high chances that you might lose your vital data saved on USB Device as it might get corrupted. When this error occurs, we assume that the USB Drive is dead, which can be the worst scenario. It may be due to dead USB ports, partition issue with the USB Drive or by driver issues on Windows.

Practical Solutions to Fix “USB Flash Drive not Recognized” Error on Window

We have listed some of the best methods to repair and fix “Flash Drive not recognized error.” To overcome the error on Windows, you can try the listed solutions below:

Solution 1: Check USB Ports of PC
Solution 2: Update outdated drivers in PC
Solution 3: Format your USB Drive.

So most importantly, before applying these solutions, please make sure to recover all the essential data that is kept in the USB flash drive to prevent data loss by using a data recovery tool.

Recover Data on Flash Drive

When the USB Drive is corrupt, it shows 0 bytes of space in the USB Drive. So when the USB Drive is corrupted and is not working anymore on the PC, please restore all the essential data from the USB flash drive with Bitwar Data Recovery Software.

It supports Windows 7, 8, 10, and Mac operating systems. Besides, it is the most convenient and easy way to retrieve data from USB Drive or SD Card on Windows.

Follow the Recovery Steps below to Get Back Data in USB Flash Drive or SD Card:

Step 1Download and install Bitwar data recovery software according to your operating system.

Step 2. Launch Bitwar Data Recovery software and Connect the USB Flash Drive or SD card to PC.

Step 3. Select the USB and Memory Card Recovery.

Step 4. Choose the File Type that you want to retrieve and click Next. (You can select all if you to wish to recover all kinds of data)

File Type

Step 5. Double-click to Preview the files and then hit Recover to start restoring the data.

KEEP IN MIND: DO NOT recover the photos in the SAME USB Drive or SD card from where you lost. This may cause permanent data loss.

Solution 1: Check USB Port

If the USB Port is not working correctly, then there is a chance that the user might encounter the “USB Drive not recognized” error because the Windows system will not be able to recognize the USB device.

To make sure whether the USB Port is working or not, refer to the steps mentioned below:

Step 1. Start the Search menu by pressing Win + on the keyboard and type Control Panel.

Step 2. Select the Control panel and choose the Hardware and Sound.

Step 3. In the Hardware and Sounds menu, select the Device Manager option under the Universal Serial Bus option.

Step 4. From the list, choose the USB device and click on the Uninstall option.

Device Manager

Step 5. After uninstalling, click on the Scan for Hardware Changes option.

Here, if the Windows is still not able to recognize the device, then it means that the USB Ports are not working or faulty issue.

Solution 2: Update the Outdated Drivers

The error also may happen due to outdated device drivers. Hence, the user should update the device drivers and check if still, the error exists. So follow the steps below to update the device drivers on Windows.

Step 1. Launch Windows Settings by pressing Win + S and type Setting in it.

Step 2. From the options, select Update, and Security.

Step 3. Click on Windows Update and click on the Update option to start updating Windows.

Windows Update

Step 4. Restart the PC and check whether the error is solved or not.

Updating windows will help to update all the windows drivers on the PC, which can help to solve the “USB flash drive not recognized” error.

Solution 3: Format Your USB Drive

After checking USB Port and updating Windows, if the issue is not resolved, then you can try to format USB Drive.

Step 1. Open Computer Management by pressing Win + S and type in computer management in the search box.

Step 2. On the left side of the list, select Disk Management under the Storage option.

Step 3. Right-click on the USB Drive in the device list and select the Format option to Format your device.

Format USB

Step 4. Select the Volume label and the File System type and click on OK option to format the USB Device.

Step 5. After the device is formatted, please use Bitwar Data Recovery Software to recover all the data from the USB Device.

Solution 4: Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter

Step 1. Run Command Prompt by press Win + S and type in command prompt.

Step 2. Type in the Command below and press Enter execute the command.

msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic

Step 3. Continue by clicking Next and the system will help to Troubleshoot the device for any error.

Troubleshoot Hardware and Device

Step 4. Follow the steps given by the system and Check later whether the USB flash drive is recognized or not.

Fix it Now!

Most of the time, “USB flash drive not recognized” error can occur if the USB device is inserted improperly or the device is corrupted. So it may show 0 bytes of space, causing you to lose your valuable data.

If next time such an issue happens again, try to use Bitwar Data Recovery Software to recover all the precious data. It is one of the most well-known data recovery software which is being used by millions of peoples across the globe!

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2 COMMENTS

  1. Used my flash drive at a school computer then back at home this happened, a friend told me I had to delete the entire usb drive!! After some digging found this, already tried Bitwar, and got the files back, format the pendrive and now is 100% back to normal!!! Thank you!

    • Hello, Samantha, please make sure you will unplug the USB drive before safely removed it on Windows, generally this is the main issue to cause the problem you have, anyway, we are happy that our data recovery program can help retrieve the files back and the solution can help your problem get fixed. That's so nice to hear! And if you have any questions or need our help, please contact us.

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