Fix USB Device Not Recognized Error

49 Comments on Fix USB Device Not Recognized Error

Secure USB on 2nd Dec 2009 6:11 pm


Thanks for the articles help me to sort out the problem i faced while connect USB TV to my PC.

joe b on 18th Dec 2009 9:51 pm


Hello, I tried all of your suggestions but am still getting the “unrecognized” error. When I plug in a USB device that has its own power (like an external hard drive with its own power source) it works, but usb drives and ipods, etc. do not register. Just started happening yesterday.

Don on 22nd Dec 2009 12:05 am


I don’t get an “device unrecognized error”…it just doesn’t see it or as to install a driver for the device (flash drive, ext HD, printer, etc.) although the devices light up when plugged into the USB port…so they are getting power. And device manager shows that all USB controllers are working properly. All the devices I am trying work on other PC’s. I am running Windows XP W/SP2 although this started when I updated to SP3, which I have now uninstalled.

Anthony on 22nd Dec 2009 2:23 am


@joe b – Try uninstalling the USB Root Hub devices in the Device Manager. When you reboot Windows, they will automatically be reinstalled. After that, try again.

@Don – Same for you, even though thing appear to be working, still try and uninstall the USB Root Hub devices in the Device Manager. Reinstalling them can help. You can even uninstall the USB Controller (one level higher).
Another thing to try is to disable the power disable on the USB Root Hub devices. Right-click the USB Root Hub devices in the Device Manager, and select Properties in the popup menu. Select the Power Management tab and clear the checkbox in front of “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power”.
This prevents the USB hub to go to suspend mode, which could also cause the failed detection.

Don on 22nd Dec 2009 3:19 am


Anthony….thanks but I already tried all those things, several times! But thanks for the input.

Anthony on 24th Dec 2009 11:18 am


@Don – Did you try viewing the hidden devices in the Device Manager? Sometimes plugged or unplugged devices will show there and uninstalling them can also help recognizing them again. In Vista you can simply select Show hidden devices in the View menu, in XP you will need to add a registry key before you can see hidden devices.

angela on 27th Dec 2009 4:25 pm


I have went to the device manage and right clicked on the Universal serial bus controllers but it does not give me the option to uninstall them. Only if i click the plus sign and they all drop down it gives me the option to uninstall them one by one? Im confused please help.

Anthony on 27th Dec 2009 5:13 pm


@angela – You are right, I’ll update the article to clarify, but you should indeed open it up by clicking the plus sign and then uninstall the USB Root Hub devices under it. Ideally you only uninstall the one that has the problematic device connected, but if you do not know, just uninstall them all and they will be reinstalled.

Panther on 28th Dec 2009 1:13 am


hi, my problem is with my USB i too get that message regarding windows and the problemmatic usb issue….
recently i got my gf a kodak digital camera for a earlie x-mas, it worked fine a week ago, i plugged it in, would load and upload no problem…now…..for somereason it dose not???? i keep getting the USB popup saying windows cannot recoggnise the usb device.

im beginning to think its the camera?!?!?!? i looked in my device manager window and dose not suggest problems or device failures………nothing…..i can plugging my flash drives and they load normally?!?!??….arg~ its rather anoying. i tryed alot of online solutions nothing…..delet this…remove that….install this….restart/wwait 30mins……notta.

how can i tell if it is actually MY end or the camera end???
regarding the BIOS, i wouldnt know anything about that or how to get to it -.-
camera it self works perfectly…..the cd it comes with SHOULD have drivers to install, but again my labtop isnt recoggnising these or something, somewhere…..
=====

inshort;
-i plug in my camera to my computer and windows pops up with ‘device not recoggnised’ issue…
-now when i plug my camera in to my usb port(s)[tryed all 4] nothing happens,,,,,,,
maby it is the camera?!?!?!??! since i still can use my flash drives~

thanks for imput if any…..

Panther(Canadian) on 28th Dec 2009 3:52 am


got a bit more details to point out, i should also point out…….
===
“In the Device Manager, right-click the Universal Serial Bus controllers device and select Uninstall in the popup menu. Now reboot and Windows will reinstall the device. ”
=======
[above]i have a pull out tab under ‘universal serial bus controller device’ and in that i have 4 lables….including;
-standard enhanced PCI to usb host controller
-standard openHCD usb host controller
-usb root hub
-usb root hub
=========
i would try to do the instructions above about uninstalling, however i am a bit weirey about doing so concidering the fact my girlfriend dose NOT have her original windows OS disc on hand, should there be any problems.

====
im almost certain that its not my USB ports anymore only due to the fact, i can still plug in other devices and they respond/work or get powered……..now, when i connect my camera usb dock, windows dosent even give me the pop up about ”USB Device Not Recognized Error” . . . camera powers down when i connect it to the computer, as soon as i remove it, camera powers back up……soo…..im still stumpped, advice is dire needed!!! going nuts here…..

-replace camera cord?!
-usb driver uninstal/removel?!

thanks for reading and replying !

Anthony on 28th Dec 2009 11:44 am


@Panther – Well, there is a simple method to confirm if it is the camera or cable and that is to plug it into a different computer. Maybe at a relative or friend? That will definitely be the best first step considering your scenario.

PrideCommodore-PanzerElite on 28th Dec 2009 2:58 pm


……yeah i had thought of that no doubt…..
and secondly…….
…well as oddly as it is, i woke up 30 mins ago to get ready for work, and thought ”why not just try and see for giggles…” too my amazement, it worked?!?!?!?!? just randomly, i dont know why or how… but it worked and continues to work normaly.

baffles me nonetheless ill just take it and leave it as is. if i have problems ill be sure to head back here with results.
im guessing ONE of the steps i did above worked but wich one i honestly dont know, since the time it took to be fixed.

thanks for the ideas and fixes anyways ^^

Panther

De Embree on 5th Jan 2010 7:38 am


Hi Anthony,
I read all of the instructions and feedback above regarding the Unrecognized USB Device Error… I have an HP 500GB Personal Media Drive, (hd5000s), That I have been using for a couple of years or so without any problems, However as of a few days ago I am now getting an error that the USB device is not recognized and the light on the drive just flashes… This same error happens whether I slide the drive into the HP Desktop slot or plug it into the Desktop’s or a Laptop’s USB port via cable… I am a photographer and have over 150,000 important photos on this drive… I have a similar 300GB drive – This sounds mechanical or electrical within the drive’s case and most likely unrelated to the drive itself so I am wondering if there is some way that I can take the drive itself out of the 500GB case and place it in the 300GB case… I can’t see an obvious way to open the cases to try and do the exchange?????
Any additional help or advice that you might have on this matter would be greatly appreciated… Thanks… De

Anthony on 5th Jan 2010 9:31 am


@De Embree – I do not have a HP media driver, but i did read that you can open the disks up by pulling back the plastics strips on either side of the enclosure.
Exchanging the disks might be possible, but make sure you check they are compatible. I thought the original disks were PATA and I am not sure if the new ones are SATA. You can always connect the internal HDD as an internal hard disk in the computer of course (assuming you have the space for it).

De Embree on 6th Jan 2010 4:16 pm


Thanks Anthony…
I was able to open the USB enclosure and move the HD to another identical enclosure (they are SATA) however I am still getting the Unrecognized USB device error so it is obviously related somehow to the drive itself… I looked at installing the drive internally but the cable and power connections are different than those inside my desktop… I am at a loss as to what else to try…
De

Anthony on 6th Jan 2010 7:12 pm


@De Embree – One option is to get a generic hard disk enclosure for external disk and not use a HP media drive bay. But… it would be better to simply attache the HDD directly into a computer on a SATA connector to make sure the disk is not defect. If possible go to a computer store and ask them if they can check the disk on a SATA controller. If you tell them you will buy a drive bay for it if it still works, I am sure they will help

De Embree on 6th Jan 2010 9:08 pm


Thanks very much Anthony… I will be in the city later this week and will see if I can get the ole ‘Geek Squad’ or someone to take a look at it… Appreciate your time and advice… De

Sam on 7th Jan 2010 10:27 am


Hi Anthony,
Yesterday, my brother had a problem with his iphone. he said that when he updated cydia his iphone was turned off. so i plugged it to my laptop through the usb, and at the same time i plugged my usb modem, after couple minutes, i lost internet connection on laptop and it couldn’t read my usb modem anymore although it works fine with my flash drive. i tried to uninstall the device, restore the computer. still having same message ” USB DEVICE NOT RECOGNIZED”.
AND STILL CAN’T USE INTERNET. please help

Anthony on 7th Jan 2010 7:40 pm


@Sam – Two things I can suggest: 1) use a system restore point to restore the Windows configuration from before you connected your brother’s iPhone, or 2) Uninstall the iPhone in the Device Manager (you might need to select Show hidden devices in the View menu first).

John on 8th Jan 2010 3:34 pm


Hey out there, I too have a USB (flash drive) problem. When I plug it into any port on several different computers, I get the message “USB not recognized”. I tried several of these different fix methods but it ain’t working. The thing is my flash drive was working fine for about a year and then I dropped it (it’s on my keychain) in the snow. Shortly after that it stopped being recognized. There use to be a green power light on it but now that light is red, and I noticed the little clear plastic piece covering the light is dislodged and was floating around inside the casing. I have since carefully cut off the casing to get that piece out of there and to see if I could notice anything visually diffective, but I have had no luck. I have noticed however, on the oppisite side of where you plug the flash drive into the usb port, another exposed part of the circuit board that looks like it could get plugged into something else. Maybe just a little bigger than a usb port. Is there any way to access the drive from this end? Please help! What can I do? Thanks, John.

Anthony on 8th Jan 2010 8:44 pm


@John – Electronics are very sensitive to water so the stick might really not work anymore. Regarding the other end, I suspect that is a connector that is used during manufacturing for testing, not sure if you can use it or if the results would be any better. If you have very important data on it, you will need to take it to a specialist.

Bruce on 11th Jan 2010 3:18 am


Similar to this but perhaps different. I have a Dell Inspiron 1150 notebook in which the machine doesn’t register any USB devices. It delivers power through the port sufficent to drive a 35W external stereo speaker set. All diagnostic tools I have used eg. USB sniffer either can’t find a device. Alternatively they say that the USB controllers and hubs are working correctly. The machine has the correct drivers (recently updated from Dell). On plugging in a Transcend 2Gb USB Mass Storage Device the following happens – the led lights but doesn’t flicker indicating that there is no traffic. USB Sniffer can’t create a session for the same reason. Can you tell me if you have found this problem before? If so was the problem a chip on the motherboard? Is the only solution a new M/board?

Bruce

Anthony on 12th Jan 2010 12:10 pm


@Bruce – I assume you have tested the USB devices on another computer and know that they are working. Did you check the Disk Management module under computer management to see if the USB disks show up there at all? (right-click My computer and select Manage in the popup menu)
Sometimes a registry problem can also cause problems with USB device detection, but normally that gets fixed if you uninstall the hidden USB devices (devices that have been plugged and detected in the past).

Eve on 12th Jan 2010 6:46 pm


Hi, I have the same USB problem (Code 43) and have tried everything I’ve found on the internet: uninstalled the drives in device manager, updated BIOS, updated all drives both on Windows and HP (I’m using Compaq Presario CQ40-121TU on Windows 7), did system restore to the day before the problem started. I’ve been using Windows 7 for about 2 months with no problems, and then couple of days ago it suddenly didn’t recognise any of the laptop’s 3 ports. It powers the devices up but doesn’t recognise them. I’ve tried all of the devices (mouse, Kingston, iPhone, camera) on another laptop working on XP and have no problems. I’m completely at wits end!

Anthony on 25th Jan 2010 5:57 pm


@Eve – Code 43 is really a driver related error according to the Microsoft Device Manager error codes description. From your description it seems like the USB Root Hub device has the problem. Try removing them in the Device Manager under the Universal Serial Bus Controller class. Windows will reinstall them when you reboot.

hibiscus168 on 27th Jan 2010 4:28 am


Help please!!!! I am an average home computer user.
I have an intermittent, ongoing problem with USB device not recognised message. I’m using Toshiba laptop L300, with newly installed windows 7 professsional 32 bit.
It is always the logitech mouse and the Epson CX3900 printer/scanner which are affected. If one malfunctions, the other one does as well.
Code 43 error does not help. I have tried EVERYTHING I have found on various help websites to no avail. This includes uninstalling and reinstalling USB Root Hubs, switching off power save under power management in device manager, system restore etc.
All drivers are up to date – regularly scanned and updated using Uniblue.

Anthony on 28th Jan 2010 12:17 am


@hibiscus168 – Windows 7 still lacks a lot of support for many printers. Did you try getting the latest Windows 7 compatible printer drivers for your Epson CX3900?
Does it make a difference if you plug the mouse and printer in different USB ports? Sometimes not all ports are USB 2.0 compatible.

Regarding the updated drivers, the Uniblue DriverScanner is one of the least updated products actually. Together with DriverAgent that is the last one I would use. DriverFinder, Driver Detective and Driver Robot are the most updated driver tools.

hibiscus168 on 28th Jan 2010 2:10 am


Thanks for the prompt reply. Yes I have tried everthing you suggested! The problem is intermittent, comes and goes at random.
All is ok at the moment. Maybe something has finally worked.

Nerrisha on 1st Feb 2010 6:48 pm


Hi, I also have a 500G USB and it worked perfectly until recently. Now the hardware icon comes up on the toolbar but I am unable to see the device under My Computer. The light on the device just keeps flashin forever. What do I do?

Anthony on 1st Feb 2010 9:32 pm


@Nerrisha – Flashing in general means data is being transferred, but it could simply be that Windows is trying to read the drive. Check if you see the device in the Windows Device Manager and is a device manager error is indicated (icon with yellow question mark or red exclamation mark). Let me know the error code if so.

Also check the Disk Management console to see if it shows up there. Right-click the My Computer and select Manage in the popup menu. Maybe the disk is there, but the file system is not recognized.

aja on 1st Feb 2010 10:57 pm


anthony~
i’ve tried your method
after i reboot my laptop(windows7),
the drivers are re-installed as u said(i uninstalled all the hub since i dont know which hub had problem)
and then in the process of re-installing~
all hub is ready to be used
except for one~
it keeps searching preconfigured driver folders… for ages
and why is that?
thanks in advance

aja on 1st Feb 2010 11:04 pm


@anthony
sorry for wasting your time
i’ve solved it
forgot to take off the cooling fan~
its alright now
and your method works!!
thank you very much!

melody on 3rd Feb 2010 12:20 am


@anthony after i re-installed them,it totally worked,and then after a day, the’ USB device not recognized..’ error msg comes back.is there anything wrong with my hardware

ps:my laptop overheats very fast

Anthony on 4th Feb 2010 8:31 am


@melody – Once installed it should not come back with the usb device not recognized message. If you laptop overheats fast, then it could be a power problem.
What device is giving this error?

robinsjanis on 6th Feb 2010 7:10 pm


i unninstalled a driver for my ipod and i unplugged it now windows is showing it as unknown device please help me there is no question mark on it please help me

Margaret Anne Stevens on 7th Feb 2010 12:16 am


Still having intermittent problem with ‘USB device not working’ message.
The mouse stops working randomly and the message flashes. The message continues to flash even when the device is unplugged. Usually resolves when I reboot the computer, but not every time.
I have installed ‘Driver Detective’ and all relevant drivers are up to date.

Eve on 7th Feb 2010 12:42 pm


Hi Anthony,

Here’s what I’ve done:
uninstalled the drives in device manager,
updated BIOS,
updated all drives both on Windows and HP,
system restore to the day before the problem started,
hotfix from KB Article Number 976972,
Registry Edit,
full hardware diagnostics,

When I connect the devices to any of the 3 USB ports they are powered up, but Windows is not able to read them. It looks to me like there is a software error, especially that the error pop-up window keeps coming up every few minutes, even though I have not connected any USB devices.

Any help?

Anthony on 7th Feb 2010 9:59 pm


@robinsjanis – First try reinstalling the driver for your iPod. If that does not help, you might need to find and remove the registry entry related to it as indicated in the article. That will force Windows to redetect the device when plugged and reinstall the driver.

@Margaret Anne Stevens – It might not even be related to the mouse, but to another USB device. Try unplugging all other USB devices if you have any and see if the message comes up. Is this on a laptop or a desktop computer?

@Eve – Seems you have tried a lot. It could of course always be that some hardware is really broken. Have you tried a system file check? Type “sfc /scannow” to check and correct Windows system files. If a standard USB driver is corrupted, that can fix it.
Only other option I see is reinstalling Windows…

Hibiscus168 on 8th Feb 2010 1:37 am


Hi, I accidently logged in last time with my name (Margaret Anne Stevens). Please refer to my previous, recent posts for information.

Eve on 8th Feb 2010 8:23 pm


Hi Anthony,

Finally the only thing that helped was reinstalling Windows and I’m going back to Vista for now. I even contacted Microsoft and they had no clue, so guess it’s safer to stick to Vista till they update W 7.

Thanks for your help.

Anthony on 8th Feb 2010 11:56 pm


@Hibiscus168 – The one thing that you could still try is to get and use an external USB hub. Connect the printer to that and the mouse directly to the computer.

@Eve – Thanks for letting us know. Unfortunate that you had to go back, but I am actually also using Vista (64-bit) at the moment and have no plans to switch to Windows 7. Way to new, and far too many unsupported hardware. Even a lot of (older) software needs to be run in Compatibility Mode still.

Strauss on 16th Feb 2010 10:16 am


Hi all… I recently bought a usb extension so that i could move my printer but every time i use the extension i get the usb device not recognized error…

Anthony on 16th Feb 2010 7:59 pm


@Strauss – Could be that the total cable length is too long now, especially USB 2.0 should not go beyond 5 meters without a hub or repeater solution. Connections also don’t help, it would be better to simply get a longer printer cable.
But the cable could also simply be broken, have you tried it with another USB device?
Another solution is to go wireless, HP for example has a bluetooth wireless printer adapter for this, which is available from Amazon.

Bronski on 27th Feb 2010 2:21 am


Hello, Anthony

When I connect my HP personal media drive to one of the HP laptop’s USB port, I receive the following message error USB DEVICE NOT RECOGNIZED (same as the message above). The hard drive activity LED indicator is flashing, and the power on LED indicator stays blue.

I have tried all of the suggestions above but the HP drive continues to display the same message. Please help!!

What is the root cause of this technical problem? How can I fix this?

I thank you in advance for your time and assistance.

Sincerely,
Bronski

Anthony on 28th Feb 2010 2:01 pm


@Bronski – I suggest you first try the disk on a different computer, to identify if it is the disk or your laptop.
Does the disk have a separate power supply or only a USB connection?

john on 1st Mar 2010 10:50 am


had the same usb problems diconected the sd card reader .usb flash drive found and working usb external found and working .after two months of installing unistalling was about to cut loses with windows 7 and go back to vista

Bronski on 3rd Mar 2010 3:00 am


Hi, Anthony

Thank you for your prompt reply. The disk has a seperate power supply plug on 110 volt AC. I have tried the disk on another computer and with no success.

Any suggestions?

Thank you for your time and efforts. I appreciate your assistance in this problem.

Bronski

Bronski on 3rd Mar 2010 3:03 am


One more question Anthony, should I disconnect the SD Card Reader as suggested by (John)?

Thank you,

Bronski

Anthony on 3rd Mar 2010 10:40 pm


@Bronski – You can try, but if it also does not work on a different computer, it is more likely that the disk itself has a problem…

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