Over the past few years, flash media have become very popular and are used by us, literally, daily, due to its advantages over disk media. It is hardly possible to overestimate its usefulness of a flash drive, because you can quickly write information to it or read it, it does not take up much space in a briefcase or bag, and price segment pleasantly pleases.

Despite all positive points, sometimes there are situations when it is impossible to read the data due to the flash drive or computer itself. After all, at the very important point you may lose access to stored files, and in order to quickly return everything to normal, you need to have certain knowledge. In this article, we will analyze all possible problem situations and find solutions to why the computer does not see the USB flash drive.

The most common problems why the computer does not see the flash drive:

Flash drive not working

This is the worst scenario for a person whose documents are stored on a flash drive, because it is almost impossible to bring it back to life. You can disable a flash drive by mechanical action on the device chip or its controller, by shorting electrical circuit, damage to the contacts on the USB board. This is what a flash drive looks like after an electrical circuit is closed or moisture gets inside the drive.

Determining if this happened to your drive is easy enough. The very first thing you need to do is check the flash drive for mechanical damage, chipping cracks, etc. If it is completely broken, you can look for a replacement in a computer peripherals store. If you doubt its inoperability, you can check it with a practical method.

Plug the flash drive into the USB connector of the computer, if the LED on it lights up and you hear a sound on the computer that is typical for connecting a new device, then everything is in order, it makes sense to look for the problem further. If this does not happen, most likely the flash drive is no longer suitable for use.

You can try to take the flash drive to service center, where the master will try to solder the contacts or replace the controller, but it will be very expensive, and this action will be justified only if you have important documents stored on it. If no fatal malfunction was found and the flash drive shows signs of life, try the methods to restore its performance, which will be described below.

The USB port on the front of the computer is not powered.

This issue is very common among desktop users. Most computer owners are accustomed to plugging a flash drive into the front USB ports because it's fast and convenient.

But there is a situation when, for some reason, during the assembly of a PC, the front panel is not connected to the power system, usually this happens due to the forgetfulness of the computer wizard. Accordingly, your flash drive will not be displayed, despite its full serviceability.

This problem can be solved in two ways. If you urgently need to use information on removable media, you can plug it into the back of your computer. The front connectors will still remain inoperative, but you will get access to documents. It is impossible to call such manipulations a full-fledged solution, so we will consider the second option.

Method number 2 involves connecting the power cable to motherboard to the front of the computer. Depending on the model of the computer case, the connectors for connection may differ. But do not be afraid, they all have markings and you will not be able to connect the wrong connector due to design features. The most common wire types are "VCC", "D-", "D+" and "GND". Furthermore, color coding cable and connector on the motherboard are the same, but it is better to keep a guide on the inscriptions.

The first step is to gain access to the motherboard, to do this, unscrew the mounting bolts on the case and remove the cover. Locate the cable that leads to the front panel and find the same connector on the motherboard. In the image below you can see what the connector should look like.

It is not recommended to connect on your own, it is better to call the wizard. If you connect the cable and connector incorrectly, you can burn these contacts and even devices. If you decide to connect the front USB connectors, then it’s better to tell us the model of your case and motherboard, and we will show you how to do it correctly and explain what the connector and cable look like.

Faulty or disabled USB port on the computer

Sometimes the problem of unreadable information on removable media is not related to the problem of the flash drive itself, but to the connector into which it is connected. A certain USB port may be inoperative, and this condition can be caused by simple damage to the connector pins. Then not only the flash drive, but also others will not work in this port USB devices.

Decide this problem You can, armed with a conventional soldering iron and minimal knowledge of circuitry. If there is no such knowledge, skill and equipment, then this can be fixed at the nearest service center for a low fee.

However, if there is no reaction to connecting a USB device on all connectors, then the problem may lie deeper. Ports can be disabled in BIOS settings.

In order to connect ports in the BIOS menu, you need to get there initially. To enter the BIOS in the first seconds of booting the computer, you need to press the corresponding key on the keyboard, which is responsible for calling the menu. Most often, the F2 or Del key is set by default, but depending on the motherboard brand and BIOS version, it may be different. On the first image that pops up when loading, it is indicated.

Once you have entered the BIOS itself, we need to follow the following route: “”.

Find the line “ USB controller"So that you are allowed to use the ports, opposite should be the value" Enabled».

After you have enabled the USB ports on your computer, press the F10 key. This will save your settings and exit the BIOS.

USB port dirty

A flash drive is a mobile storage device and therefore is often worn in pockets, briefcases or as a keychain. Due to such operating conditions, dust and small debris can accumulate in the connector. This does not happen often, but it can cause the flash drive to fail. Dust and small debris collects on the contact and prevents connection from the contacts in the port on the computer. Such a flash drive may not only not be displayed at all, but also freeze, slowly transfer or read information and be determined not the first time.

To clean the USB connector of a flash drive, arm yourself with a match and a cotton swab. Wielding a match, remove all debris from the connector, and then moisten a cotton swab with alcohol and wipe the contacts of the flash drive. So you save it from debris and oxidation.

Virus infection

Nowadays, the issue of storage device security is becoming more and more urgent, because viruses are in full swing. You can visit your site social network on the Internet and get infected, not to mention downloading files from unverified sources.

Modern computer viruses can also reproduce, no matter how strange it may sound. They infect files on your flash drive or computer hard drive, and their number grows exponentially.

Very often, the problem of the inoperability of a flash drive is virus infection. The drive is detected by the system, you can hear the characteristic sound of the device connecting to the system, but when you try to read the information, you will see the message "" or " Application not found».

Before solving this problem, it is worth installing antivirus software on your computer and conducting a complete file diagnosis. To access the data on the drive, we need to delete the virus file and scan it. To do this, go to the Start menu and enter the following phrase "" in the search box.

Click on the found element with the left mouse button. You will see a window called " Folder Options", here you need to do the following:

• Uncheck the " Hide protected system files»
• Check the box ""

After that, be sure to press the key " Apply"And only after that" OK», otherwise the changes will not take effect. It should look like this.

After that, go to "My Computer" and go to the folder of the drive itself. There you will see the “Autorun” file, you need to delete it, and check the flash drive for viruses with one of free antiviruses, the Dr.WEB Cure It utility can handle this perfectly.

Now you can fully use the flash drive and no problems should arise. If nothing has changed, then the problem is the lack of drivers, we will analyze it below.

Crashing drivers or using outdated drivers

A very common problem is when a computer does not want to display a USB flash drive due to outdated drivers or their system failure. Failure may occur due to a jump electrical voltage or unexpected shutdown of the operating system. Or, older computer models may not work with 32 GB or larger drives. We can say one thing, the problem is solved only by updating the drivers.

First of all, you need to go to "". You can do this in several ways, for example, through " My Computer"Or you can find this section in system search, as we will do.

We go to this menu, after which we connect the flash drive to the computer, after which we open the sub-tab "USB Controllers". Select the line " Memory device”, by clicking the right mouse button opens system menu and click " Delete».

Such manipulations allow you to remove the driver installed in the system for your storage device. As soon as you remove it, feel free to remove the USB flash drive from the computer and connect it again. Then the driver on the flash drive will be installed again and the problem will be solved.

If the problem persists, you may need to update the driver for all USB chipsets, this is quite easy to do. You can use the special disk that came with motherboard, it contains all required drivers. If you do not have it, download the DriverPack program, it will automatically select all drivers for which there is an update and carry out this procedure after your agreement.

Moreover, most users have doubts about the correctness of their actions when they learn about different USB formats. Don't be scared!

Drivers for USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 are installed according to the same principle. And the only difference between ports is maximum speed reading and writing information.

File system errors

The computer may also not recognize your flash device due to file system errors. Let's check if this is so, go to "", how to do this was described above. Now you need to open the sub-tab " Disk devices", if you see your flash drive there, then it is working, and the file system does not perceive it as it should, and, accordingly, does not display it in Explorer. In my case, the flash drive was displayed, which means it is working.

To fix this problem, you must format your flash drive, but this action has several nuances, so we will consider this process in the next paragraph of the article.

If you do not see your drive there, then the problem lies in the malfunction of the flash drive itself, which means that either the controller burned out or the contact soldered off. Specialists in service centers can try to bring it back to life. However, this is an expensive exercise, it is easier to buy a new one, of course, if the faulty one was not recorded important information and you need to restore the data on the flash drive.

File system conflict

Quite often, the contents of the flash drive are not displayed due to a conflict file systems on the computer and the removable media itself. For example, if a computer operates on the NTFS file system and FAT32 is used on a flash drive, a conflict situation is not ruled out. Moreover, this problem is widespread not only in Windows environment but also Mac OS. For example, if you format a flash drive on your Mac device into the ExFAT system or the standard Macbook file system, then the flash drive is unlikely to be read on Windows devices.

The very first thing to do is find a computer that uses a different file system, open the flash drive and save the information that is important to you, because after formatting it will be lost.

To solve this problem, we need to carry out the process of formatting the flash drive. First you need to find out what file system is used on your computer. Go to " My computer", right-click on the hard drive, open the submenu and select the item " Properties".

In the window that opens, you will see information about the free and occupied space disk space, as well as find out what file system is used. In my case, the NTFS system is used.

After you know the file system of the computer, we need to format the flash drive into the same system. To do this, right-click on the flash drive and open the Format tab.

In the tab that opens, select the file system into which we will format, put a tick in front of the attribute " Fast"And click" Start».

A few words about why we use the Fast attribute. Firstly, formatting a flash drive will happen much faster. But there is another side of the coin. If there were any documents on the flash drive, then only with a quick format you can restore this data using special utilities. If you did not check the box, then the information that was on the flash drive for you will be lost forever.

Flash drive is not formatted

A fairly common problem is when you insert a flash drive into a computer (mostly a new flash drive and its first use), and the operating system gives you a warning that says that the removable drive needs to be formatted before use. And if the flash drive was used earlier and data is recorded on it, then it will not be possible to access them. Moreover, the volume of the flash drive becomes 0, i.e. as if there is nothing at all, not even a drive.

If you have already used a flash drive and this is not its first connection, then try connecting it to another computer, the problem may go away and you can save the data. But in any case, the flash drive must be formatted. How to do this was discussed in detail in the "File system conflict" section.

But I would like to draw your attention to two points. To avoid problems with the file system (FS) after formatting, find out which FS is used on the computer and install the same for the drive. And secondly, if the flash drive had the information you needed, then be sure to use the "Quick" attribute, so the formatting of the flash drive will take place only by the table of contents, and the lost information can be returned using special utilities.

A problem with a partition or flash drive is automatically assigned a busy letter

There are situations when the operating system incorrectly detects your removable media. Everything seems to be fine, the device connection is displayed and the flash drive icon appears in the tray, but it cannot be used for its intended purpose.

The problem may be that the system has not assigned a letter to the partition, under which it will appear removable storage or appropriated, but this letter is already taken, and because of this, an address conflict is obtained.

The solution to this problem will be to force the partition letter that we choose, everything happens in manual mode. So let's get started.

First of all, you need to hold down the key combination " Win + R", A window with the name "Run" will open in front of you.

In the line we need to enter a simple command diskmgmt.msc, which will take us to the disk and storage management section.

In the storage media manager that opens, we need to define our USB device. You can do this simply, disconnect the USB flash drive and reconnect it, the partition that first disappears and then appears is what we need.

In my case, the flash drive is a drive called "20151114_17", you can also identify it by a special icon. Now you need to right-click on it, and in the menu that opens, select the item " Change letter».

Now another additional window will open before us, a smaller one. In it, you must click on the button " Change"And" Ok".

Now another auxiliary window will open, where you must select any letter of the English alphabet, and after clicking on the button " OK"The letter will be assigned to the section.

It is worth paying attention to one important point! When choosing a letter to assign to a partition on your flash drive, look at what letters are already in use by the system. This is very important, because we may not fix the problem, but leave it. This will happen if you, for example, designate a partition of a flash drive through the letter “D”, which is already assigned to a local disk.

Faulty power supply or excessive current overload of the USB portal

This problem is very common nowadays. The fact is that the computer may simply not see the USB flash drive due to a malfunction of the power supply. Let's figure it out in order, the power supply consumes electrical energy from the network, and then converts and distributes it to all computer nodes. It has a power limit, for example, a 400W power supply will not be able to give you 600W. This means that the consumption of the entire system must be balanced.

Such a problem may appear if you have recently replaced some important node in the system, let it be the processor. Now it consumes much more energy compared to the past, which means that it simply does not reach somewhere, and in this case this “somewhere” is USB network computer. Accordingly, the energy consumption parameter must be calculated in advance, and if such a situation has already occurred, you will have to replace the PSU with a more powerful one.

Moreover, the problem may lie in a malfunction of the power supply, it can produce much less power potential than stated and than it gave out before. You will not be able to solve such a problem, since you risk the performance of the entire computer. The only solution is to replace the power supply.

There is another feature of this issue. Recently, USB devices for computers have become very common, for example, now the following devices are powered: a mat for heating a cup, desk lamp, wireless mouse, removable HDD, and in addition, the smartphone is also on charge. And you still want to connect a USB flash drive, but that's bad luck, the computer sees it. The fact is that there was an overload on the current on USB ports. Those. all your devices are already consuming maximum amount current and one more you will not be able to connect. Therefore, in order to use a flash drive, you need to disconnect several devices from the USB ports of the computer and then the problem will disappear.

If the computer does not see the USB flash drive in Windows XP

Has a variety of reasons why a flash drive may not be detected in Windows system xp. Moreover, the problem can lie both in the operating system itself, and in a malfunction of the flash drive, and even in the hardware of the computer.

If the problem is related to the operating system, then it can be eliminated only by making additional changes in the settings, it is best to do this manually, despite the abundance of special utilities that can help in this matter.

However, if the drive itself is faulty, then the only thing left for you is to try to save the data recorded on it. And after that, purchase a new and more reliable device.

If your computer cannot detect the flash drive, then it notifies the user with the following signals:

• Your flash drive is inserted and you are trying to access the data on it, the message "Insert disk" pops up.
• The system notifies you that the drive must be formatted for further use.
• Errors pop up about the impossibility of obtaining access to data.
• The system may freeze as soon as you plug the flash drive into the computer's USB port.

AT this section we will look at all the most common reasons for non-functionality of a flash drive in Windows XP and give practical recommendations for solving them. Carefully read the description of the problem, if it is not similar to yours or its solution did not help you, go to the next paragraph until the problem goes away. The first thing to do is to try to determine if the flash drive is working. This is signaled by a light indicator located on it. If you connected the drive, and it blinks or lights up, then the flash drive is working and the problem lies either in the system or hardware of the computer.

Try changing the port into which you connect the flash drive or even the computer, perhaps only the port or the entire system is faulty, and on another PC the flash drive will work properly. For example, if you see a complete system freeze when you connect a flash drive to the port, this means that given port defective and should not be used.

If you are using USB hubs or extension cables and the flash drive is not displayed, the problem may lie in the device itself, and not the flash drive. If this turned out to be the case, you can take the hub to a service center or try to repair it yourself. To do this, you need a soldering iron, solder and a little experience, because most often you just need to solder one or two contacts and everything will work as expected.

Perhaps the problem lies in the lack of electric current in USB system ports. To check this, you need to disconnect all USB devices on the computer (camera, printer, lamp, etc.), leave only the keyboard and mouse. If after such manipulations the flash drive is displayed in the system and you can access it, then the problem lies in a weak power supply. You can solve this problem only by replacing the power supply with a more powerful one, but it will help to postpone the purchase of a PSU USB usage hub with its own power source.

However, if the problem persists after turning off all other devices, there may still be an actual problem with a lack of power supply power and an outdated USB port. In other words, on older laptops, you won't be able to open a flash drive of 36 GB or more. It will not work here to solve the problem, you can only buy a more modern laptop or computer.

Very often there is a situation when a user plugs a USB flash drive into front port PC, but the system does not see it. This means that either the ports are not connected to the power supply on the motherboard, or too little power is being allocated to them. You can connect the front panel yourself using the instructions located above in the section of the same name.

Does not see the flash drive due to Windows XP errors. Troubleshooting

The flash drive may also not be detected due to operating system errors. For example, Windows XP SP2 is missing updates and software packages, which ensure the normal operation of USB devices. Moreover, it is possible that only a few USB devices can work in one port.

The solution to this issue will be updating the system to SP3 and installing the necessary updates. Even a new user can do this, since we only need a couple of clicks, and the system will automatically download, install and launch the update. So, let's get started, we can move in two ways - this is the official download from windows update or installing SP3 from a disk or flash drive. The first step is to check which package you already have installed.

Click on the icon " My computer"Right-click and select" Properties". The following window will open in front of you, where information about your system will be indicated.

To install SP3, we need to allow the operating system to search for and update the computer's system. To do this, just go from the control panel to Windows Update.

As soon as you do this, the system will start searching for updates, after which you will be prompted to update all at once or select only the ones you need. If you do not understand which update changes what, then it is better to let the system be updated completely.

After downloading all the updates, the operating system will require you to restart your computer in order to apply the new settings. Click OK and wait patiently. That's all, now you can connect the USB flash drive and use it.

If you decide to choose which updates to install instead of downloading them all to automatic mode, then here is a guideline that will help you improve your perception USB drives system.

Driver conflicts in Windows XP

There is also the issue of driver conflicts. The fact is that some already outdated drivers can cause errors at the system level, moreover, they can interfere with the normal operation of new drivers. A striking example of such a problem is the situation when a user inserts a USB flash drive into a computer, tries to access the data on it, and the system immediately knocks out an error message asking to insert a disk. Or, the system just freezes, and even assigning an existing letter to a flash drive partition is real.

The reason for such errors is as follows. Let's say you have two flash drives, you connected one of them to the system. In automatic mode, all the necessary drivers for this device are immediately installed. You have done the necessary manipulations for writing or reading files and pulled out the drive. After that, you insert a second flash drive, which is fully functional, and one of the above errors pops up. This means that the system is trying to use the already installed driver from the first flash drive to start the second one, but they are not compatible.

Reinstalling Windows XP Drivers for USB Devices

This problem can be easily fixed in several ways. Reinstalling drivers automatically or manually. Let's analyze a little theory, the driver from one USB device can be mistakenly used by the system to start another USB device. To eliminate these problems, we need to first remove all available drivers for USB drives, and then reinstall them.

Such a problem may display the message “USB device not recognized”, or inexplicable processes occur at the system level that block access to data or cause the system to freeze.

Remove via DriveCleanup

You can effectively remove all available drivers for USB devices using the DriveCleanup utility. Its advantage is that it searches the entire system for installed drivers and only then removes them.

First of all, turn off the computer, disconnect all USB devices from it in order to avoid conflict situations while the program is running. We turn on the PC, go to the official website of the program and download the executable file. The utility is compatible with any version of Windows, including different bitness. When uploading, pay attention to the file version.

Automatic installation

You have removed all drivers from your computer. In order for the device to function normally, the operating system must have drivers for it. Process automatic installation the driver is incredibly simple, you just need to plug the USB flash drive into the USB port, after which the installation will immediately begin. A window will pop up that will display the progress of the installation, on some systems this may occur in a mode invisible to the user. Within one or two minutes, the installation will complete and you will be able to use the device.

Manual installation

Under manual installation the installation of drivers is implied not directly from the storage medium itself. We can also install drivers for a flash drive from third-party Internet resources, but in order to avoid conflict situations, we will install drivers for a flash drive using another computer.

So, we take our problematic flash drive, insert it into another computer, where it is recognized. A prerequisite for this process is a coincidence Windows versions on both computers. We use system searches and find two files.

By any means, we transfer them to the problem computer, whether it be sending by mail or using other removable media. You need to place these files in a folder with the same path that was on the first computer and confirm the replacement when the corresponding window pops up. We restart the computer and enjoy its performance with FLASH disks.

We have considered only the most common reasons why a flash drive is not displayed on a computer. In fact, there are many more. Moreover, there are problems that are expressed by other system messages, and their solution is already described in the paragraphs of the article.

The message "Insert disk" appears even if the USB flash drive is already connected to the USB port

This system error takes place if the drivers overlap each other and prevent normal functioning USB devices. In order to fix this error, you need to uninstall all USB device drivers and reinstall them. This process described step by step in this article.

Disk formatting message

This message appears if you are using a USB flash drive for the first time or if a system failure has occurred in it. In addition to the message, you can make sure that it is not usable, because it does not display either free space or occupied space. The solution to this issue is described in detail in paragraphs 8 and 9.

Data error message

This problem pops up in 3 cases. This is a conflict of drivers, a conflict of file systems and a failure of the flash drive itself. It is solved by reinstalling the drivers, if it didn’t help, then a quick format to save the possibility of recovering data on a flash drive. Step by step instructions are above.

Complete system freeze immediately after connecting the flash drive to the computer

This issue has already been discussed in the article, but I would like to draw your attention to the fact that this error can occur for two reasons:

1. Driver conflict.
2. Bad port.

It is easy to check what problem you have, insert the USB flash drive into another port, if the freeze repeats, then it means a problem with the drivers. Instructions and tips for reinstalling them were given as part of this article.

Why does the computer not see the flash drive when the indicator on it is lit

Possible damage to the contact on the flash drive, which is responsible for the transfer of information. A driver conflict and the assignment of an occupied letter to the partition are not ruled out. If the problem persists, after connecting the flash drive to another computer, try checking the accessibility of the partition. If everything is in order here, then reinstall the drivers and the flash drive will work.

Error 43 / Error 43

This error immediately stops reading information from a removable device, which means that we will not be able to immediately access the data. There are several problems that can cause Error 43.

• A malfunction of the device itself is the first of them. Check on another computer if this situation happens again.
• Driver conflict - the solution is described above.
• Updating the hardware configuration - just roll back the driver version in the Task Manager.

conclusions

We have studied in detail the reasons that may prevent the computer from reading the flash drive and the information on it. Described solutions with step by step instructions will definitely help you to get rid of this problem. The unreadability of a flash drive can only be a sentence if the flash drive is faulty. In other situations, this is an easily reversible process. If you have any questions or you could not find a solution to your problem in the article - leave comments, we will try to clarify the situation together.

If you cannot connect your smartphone to a PC using a USB cable and it is not visible in Windows Explorer, then in this article you can find methods to fix this problem. The methods suggested below are applicable to the Android OS, however, some points can be used on devices with other operating systems.

First you need to understand the reasons for the connection failure. Has everything worked fine before or is this the first time you connect your smartphone to a PC? Lost connection after doing certain things with your phone or computer? The answers to these questions will help you find the right solution to the problem.

Reason 1: Windows XP

If you have Windows XP installed, then installing Media Transfer Protocol from the Microsoft portal should help you. This will fix the communication problem.

1. After visiting the site, click on the button Download.



The download of the MTP protocol installation package will begin.

2. Then run the installer and click the button Next.



3. Accept the terms in the next window license agreement. Click the button Next.



4. Then click again Next.



5. And at the end on the button Install to start the installation procedure.



After the installation of the protocol is completed and the system is restarted, your phone or tablet should be determined.

Reason 2: Physical disconnect

If, when connecting a smartphone to a computer, it does not receive a connection detection notification, then in most cases the reason for this is a damaged cord or USB port. You can try connecting the cable to a different USB port or use a different cord.



It is also possible that the jack itself on the smartphone is malfunctioning. Try connecting it via a working USB cable to another PC - this will help you understand if the socket is to blame for the lack of connection.

In the end, you will understand what you need to do to fix the problem - purchase a new cord or repair / install a new jack on the phone.

Reason 3: Wrong settings

Check that the smartphone, when connected via cable, reports its connection. You can see this by the USB icon that appears in top panel, or by opening the Android message curtain, where you can view connection options.

If a smartphone or tablet is locked with a pattern or password, then you need to remove it to provide access to files.

In the connection settings that appear during connection, the item "MTP - Transfer Files to Computer".



You can also use the option "USB Mass Storage / USB flash drive". In this case, the computer will see your device as a regular flash drive.

If all the above methods did not work for you, try reinstalling software your device. And if you are going to flash a smartphone, then it will help you.

It should be noted that file transfer can be carried out using popular cloud services: , or . This can be useful if you need to get a file urgently and don't have time to deal with connection problems.

Connecting a smartphone or regular phone to a computer or laptop allows the owner of gadgets to move files from one device to another, to flash the latter in case of problems. However, there are times when Windows 10 does not see the Android OS via USB and any prospect is reduced to zero. Therefore, before solving the problem with connecting the device, it is worth checking the cable (with which the connection is made), the driver and the smartphone itself for operability. Then make adjustments to the settings of Windows 10 itself.

Reasons why the PC does not see the phone

A Windows 10 computer may not see a smartphone or phone for several reasons:

• The user did not give permission to connect the gadget to the PC;
• Damaged USB cable;
• There are no drivers to work with the phone;
• Problems with the smartphone itself or any other gadget;
• Damage to the system by viruses;
• An outdated, incompatible version of the operating system.

By establishing the exact cause of the problem, you can establish the correct connection of the gadget to the computer.

Ways to solve the problem

When you connect the gadget to a PC via a USB cable, a message appears on the screen of the first one stating that the smartphone can be connected to the PC. We put a mark by choosing which type of connection you need. There is a connection of the actual phone, memory card, media player, charger, camera.

There may be such an option.

Only after confirming the selected action, the smartphone is synchronized with the computer and becomes visible.

If the computer does not see the gadget at all and does not respond to connecting the device via USB, it is worth checking the cable itself for operability. You can do this in several ways:

• Connect the cable to another PC or smartphone;
• Use a different cable (if available).

If nothing happens, the wire is most likely damaged. After checking it again for another connection option and making sure that it is not working, the cable should be replaced.

Also, the problem may lie in the nest. Try reconnecting the USB cable to a different port on your computer and see what happens. You may be using a USB 3.1 port that is not suitable for of this type connections.

A common reason for the lack of connection between a computer and a smartphone is the incorrect operation of drivers or their complete absence. This often happens if you connect to a computer new phone. And if automatic connection and the driver update did not work, you need to manually configure the connection. To do this, do the following:

• We connect the phone to the PC.

• Go to "Device Manager". We find unknown device(will be displayed with a yellow triangle).
• Click on it right click mouse and select "Update driver".

• After searching and updating the drivers, you need to restart the PC (having disconnected the phone).

IMPORTANT! If your gadget comes with a driver disk, we recommend that you use it when updating drivers.

If even after updating the drivers the computer does not see the phone or does not want to connect it, you will have to find it on the network special program, which is designed to work with the gadget. You should look for the program on the official website of the smartphone manufacturer.

Also, the laptop may not see the phone due to a virus infection of the system. Malware can make changes to the system registry or change an important file and affect how Windows interacts with your gadget. Therefore, we recommend checking the system for viruses.

The last recommendation would be to reboot the phone or turn it on completely (with the battery pulled out for 5 minutes or more). After rebooting the device, it is worth reconnecting it to the system. If you connect to the system old phone 2000 release, or even earlier, or you have Windows XP or 2008 installed, then the problem may lie in an outdated OS. Your only option is to connect your phone to the latest build of Windows 10.

The problem, according to which, many users of smartphones with completely different operating systems arise.

In this article, we will, if possible, reveal all the possible and most common causes of this problem, as well as help give the necessary advice on how to eliminate them.

Why the computer does not see the phone via USB, but is charging

Having connected the smartphone to the PC, you expect that a notification window should pop up in front of you, requesting, or already confirming the connection of the smartphone to the computer.

If nothing of the kind is observed, but only automatic battery charging is turned on, then you need to proceed as follows:

1. A PC system unit or a laptop can have from 3 to 10 USB connectors. Some of them are designed for mice, keyboards, modems, flash memory cards and other devices. Quite often, USB connectors on the front panels do not support mobile devices. Try to plug the cable into another USB input, preferably black (USB0), since it is designed to work with gadgets.
2. If at home you have other universal cords, then try using them. It is possible that the reason lies in the problematic USB cable.
3. The problem may be related to the nest itself mobile device. If it is too loose or moisture gets in, it may not work properly. Try plugging your phone into a wall outlet. If the charge goes, then the problem is not in the socket.
4. Just in case, connect your smartphone to another PC. Possibly due to the recent reinstalling Windows, the settings have gone wrong, or some drivers have not been installed. It's unlikely, but one in a million happens.

Ask yourself if flash drives are connected to a computer? If not, then check its settings manually. To do this, go to Control Panel => Troubleshooting => Device Settings. This is an automatic troubleshooter.

If a this method did not help, then try turning off the power saving mode in the Generic USB Hub.

Be sure to check your gadget's default settings. If, however, the charging only mode is checked, then it is natural that the computer does not see the phone via USB.

You can check absolutely all the items, except for MIDI, because almost no one uses it anymore.

Why the computer does not see the Android phone via USB and is charging

When a problem arises, it is worth analyzing whether your computer has always detected the phone, or did it just happen now? The phone is no longer visible via USB by itself, or after certain manipulations?

More and more new smartphones are released every day, in which upgraded software is installed. If you are the owner of an old, by today's standards, PC, then most likely the phone is not visible due to the lack of certain plug-ins. Try installing the MTP - Media Transfer Pritocol protocol.

New samsung generation, starting from the model samsung galaxy S3 may require the installation of this program. If, on the contrary, your PC is more modern, and the phone is not from latest models, most likely, it is worth updating the version of Android.

Now consider the situation when the computer does not see smartphones windows phone 8.1 and new windows phone 10. Remember that smartphones with Android OS and Windows phone that have a graphic or digital lock key must be unlocked when connected to a PC, only then you will get access to all folders.

When connected to a PC, check if a notification appears or the USB icon is displayed. If no signs are visible on the smartphone screen, open the connection settings, it will describe in detail what device your smartphone is connected to (as a camera, as a memory card, or as a full-fledged gadget).

Windows phones have so many connection modes, so it's always worth checking which one is selected before you panic. The best option is the MTP mode, which allows you to exchange all files.

Also, the computer does not see the Android phone via USB, but it charges, in cases where the drivers on the computer are outdated, or they do not fit the model of your phone. This problem is common with newer phones whose brand names are relatively new to the market.

If you scour the Internet, you can see that the owners of the brand new Xiomi Redmi note3 often face similar situations.

In such cases, you should proceed as follows:

They experience great inconvenience when connecting their smartphones to a PC iphone owners. The IOS operating system is quite complex and specific. If it so happened that Iphone connection or Ipad to PC, the device is not displayed, then you should try the following methods:

1. Try to force reboot the system. And having done this, without turning off and on the phone again, but by holding down the “Home” button and the lock button at the same time. If the PC and smartphone are working, this should work.
2. One of typical problems- the USB cable itself. It often happens that you have to use a non-original lace. If a cheap low-quality cable was purchased, then the whole thing is in it, it simply does not display external device and can only charge the battery.
3. Perhaps your computer has not been updated for a long time iTunes version. Delete existing program and install a new one from the official site.
4. Many people think that it's all about the firmware, but it's not. Don't write to update IOS version. If the phone is not buggy, you are not thrown out of the programs, then try resetting the geolocation in the settings. This should help.
5. A firmware update may be needed only in cases where it is broken. The world-famous Cidia application, which allows you to install paid content for free, is often the reason for the incompatibility of a smartphone with a PC. At first, this is displayed by the inability to import certain files, and soon the PC stops seeing the phone. By updating the firmware, you will remove this application and everything should work again.

Note! If, for any reason, you cannot use the standard data exchange when USB help, do not be upset, because you can exchange between devices in other ways:

• Synchronization using virtual storage.
• Wireless exchange programs - AirDroid.

If you are faced with the fact that the phone does not connect via USB, that is, the computer does not see it, in this guide you will find all the options known to the author for the causes of what is happening, as well as ways to fix the problem.

The steps below are for Android phones, as the most common with us. However, they can be used to the same extent for Android tablets, and separate items can help you deal with devices on other operating systems.

Why Android phone is not visible via USB

I think it’s worth starting with answering the question: has the computer always not seen your phone, or did everything work fine before? The phone stopped connecting after actions with it itself, with a computer, or without any action at all - the answers to these questions will help you quickly find out what exactly is the matter.

First of all, I note that if you recently purchased a new Android device and the Windows XP computer does not see it (while the old Android phone can easily be connected as a USB flash drive), then you should either update operating system to one of the currently supported ones, or install MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) for Windows XP. You can download MTP for XP from the official Microsoft website here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-US/download/details.aspx?id=19153. After installing and restarting your computer, your phone or tablet should be determined.

Now let's move on to the situation when the phone is not visible via USB in Windows 7, 8.1 and Windows 10. I will describe the steps for Android 5, but for Android 4.4 they are the same.

Note: for devices that are locked graphic key or password, you need to unlock the phone or tablet connected to the computer in order to see the files and folders on it.

Make sure that the phone itself, when connected via USB, reports that it is connected, and not just for charging. You can see this by the USB icon in the notification area, or by opening the notification area in Android, where it should be written what device the phone is connected to.

This is usually a storage device, but can be a Camera (PTP) or USB tethering. In the latter case, you will not see your phone in the explorer and you should click on the USB tethering notification to turn it off (you can also do this in Settings - Wireless networks - More).

If the phone is connected as a camera, then by clicking on the corresponding notification, you can enable MTP mode for file transfer.

On older versions of Android, there are more USB connection modes and the best for most use cases is USB Mass Storage. You can also switch to this mode by clicking on the message about USB connection in the notification area.

The phone does not connect via USB to the computer, but only charges

If no notifications about connecting via USB to the computer appear, then here step by step description possible actions:

1. Try connecting to another USB port. It's better if it's USB 2.0 (the ones that aren't blue) on the back. On a laptop, respectively, just USB 2.0, if available.
2. If you have compatible USB cables from other devices at home, try connecting with them. A problem with the cable can also be the cause of the described situation.
3. Are there any problems with the jack on the phone itself? Whether it changed and whether it fell into the water. This could be the cause too and the solution here is replacement ( alternatives at the end of the article).
4. Check if the phone is connected via USB to another computer. If not, then the problem is in the phone or cable (or they checked it badly android settings). If yes, then there is a problem with your computer. Do flash drives connect to it at all? If not, try logging in first. Control Panel - Troubleshooting - Device setup(to try to fix the problem automatically). At the same time, it is worth trying to disable energy saving in the device manager for the Generic USB Hub.

If nothing on the list helps to solve the problem, then describe the situation, what was done and how your Android device when connecting USB in the comments, I will try to help.

Attention: recent android versions By default, they are connected via USB to a computer in charge-only mode. Check in the notifications the availability of selecting the USB operating mode if you encounter this (click on the item Charging via USB, select another option).