If you’re having trouble connecting your USB devices, there are a few things you can do to try and fix the problem. First, make sure that your USB hub is properly connected to your computer. Next, try restarting your computer and your USB hub. Finally, if all of those solutions fail, you might need to replace your USB hub. ..

After spending a lot of time and trying a bunch of different ways to fix the problem, only one solution ended up working for me. I’ll mention that solution first, but will also mention the other possible solutions, as the first solution may not fix the problem for everyone.

Our USB drive is not showing up on our Windows computer. Can you help us?

Method 1 – Unplug Computer

I finally fixed the problem by trying this method. If it works, you’ll have saved a lot of time.

If you have a computer that is connected to the power supply, unplug it and then turn off your computer. This will not turn off your computer completely, but it will stop receiving power from the power supply.

The motherboard is where all of the hardware of your computer connects to, including the USB ports. Sometimes the motherboard needs to be “rebooted” because something can go wrong, like all or some USB ports suddenly stop working. The small microprocessor on the motherboard will reload the drivers and your USB ports should hopefully be recognizing devices again.

Shut down your computer using the Shut Down option in Windows or pressing the power button and then UNPLUG the PC from the wall outlet. Let it sit for several minutes and then plug it back in.

Method 2 – Update Device Driver

If Windows is not able to recognize the device, you may see in Device Manager that the device shows up as an “Unknown Device”. You can get to Device Manager by clicking on Start and typing in devmgmt.msc or by going to Control Panel and clicking on Hardware and Sound. ..

If you are using a Windows 10 computer, right-click on the Unknown Device icon in the system tray and click Properties. On the Driver tab, click Update Driver. ..

If you are not able to find the driver for your device, or if the USB device is not a flash drive, then you might be able to try downloading the driver from the manufacturer’s website.

Method 3 – Restart & Disconnect USB Devices

If you are unable to connect a USB device, try disconnecting all USB devices and restarting the machine. If that does not work, try connecting the USB device that was causing the problem.

If the device is not recognized by any USB port, it might be a hardware problem with the device. If the device is recognized by a different USB port, there could be a hardware problem with one of the USB ports. If no USB port recognizes the device, it’s probably something else. ..

Method 4 – USB Root Hub

In Device Manager, expand USB Serial Bus Controllers and right-click on the USB Root Hub. Click on Properties. ..

If you have more than one USB Root Hub listed, you need to uncheck the Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power box for each one.

If your computer is not recognizing a USB device, try reconnecting it and checking the power management tab for each one. If it still does not work, please go to the manufacturer’s website and look for a support guide.

Method 5 – Connect Directly to PC

A friend of mine ran into this issue and the cause ended up being his USB hub. He only had three USB ports on his computer, so he bought a hub where he could connect an additional 8 USB devices.

After removing the hub and connecting the device directly to the computer, it worked just fine. ..

We’ve been struggling to find a way to reduce the number of items that are connected to our hub. Actually, one other solution worked, but it required buying a new USB hub with more power.

If you are having trouble connecting your USB devices to your Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 computer, there is a fix available from Microsoft. Install the hotfix if you are using this operating system. ..

Method 6 – USB Troubleshooter

If you’re having problems with your computer, you can download the Windows USB Troubleshooter Fixit tool. It’s a free tool that can help you fix problems with your computer.

You can either have the troubleshooter fix the problems for you or select the fixes yourself. I would just let it fix them for you since the choices can sometimes be confusing and technical for the novice user.

Method 7 – Update Generic USB Hub

If you are getting the Unknown Device error in Device Manager, you can also try one other thing. Open Device Manager and then expand Universal Serial Bus Controllers.

If you have a USB hub, you should update the driver software for it. ..

When the update dialog pops up, be sure to choose Browse my computer for driver software. This will help you find the best driver software for your computer. ..

I can choose from a list of device drivers on my computer to install.

Generic USB Hub is the only choice on the list. After it is installed, close the window. ..

If the Device Manager screen does not refresh after a few minutes, it is possible that the device is still not recognized. Repeat the process for each Generic USB Hub listed.

Method 8 – Uninstall USB Devices

If you’re having trouble connecting your USB devices, one solution is to uninstall all USB devices from your system and then restart it. This is a last resort because even though Windows is supposed to automatically recognize the USB controllers, hubs and devices, it can sometimes fail and you’ll end up with no USB ports working. ..

I had a computer with six USB ports and only one port would not work properly. I uninstalled everything under USB Serial Bus Controllers in Device Manager and restarted. Instead of re-detecting everything, I was left with no USB port working, so be careful when using this method.

Go to Device Manager and uninstall each USB Serial Bus Controller from under it. Before you start with anything that is already working, uninstall the controllers with an exclamation point or that are listed as Unknown Device. ..

Method 9 – Uninstall Hidden Devices

If you installed a USB printer earlier and now no longer use it, it will still be installed, but won’t show up in Device Manager.

mdm list hidden mdm list usb If the devices you are seeing are USB devices, then you can try to remove them by following these steps: The first step is to open a command prompt and type the following two commands: mdm remove hidden mdm remove usb

To view hidden devices, open Device Manager by clicking on View and then clicking on Show Hidden Devices. ..

expand Imaging Devices, Universal Serial Bus Controllers and Unknown Devices

Other Possible Solutions

If you have not been able to connect your device to another computer, it is most likely because there is a problem with the hardware. The best thing to do is connect the device to another computer and see if it works or not. If not, then it may be an issue with the device.

Possible Solution #2 – Try connecting the computer to the wall using an ethernet cable. This is a more common solution and can be found at most electronics stores.

Another possible solution is to take the device, connect it to another machine and if it does recognize the device properly, to then eject it properly from that computer before reconnecting it to the original computer. I’ve seen this problem occur with several flash drives that were unplugged without ejecting properly. After connecting them to another computer and ejecting them properly from there, they suddenly started to show up on the original computer that was not recognizing them.

There are a few people who have had success getting rid of this problem by updating the BIOS. I’ve already written an article about whether it’s a good idea or not to update the BIOS, but in this case, it might be worth a try. You can also go into the BIOS and disable USB, restart the computer and then enable USB again. The only thing you need to make sure is that you have a PS2 port on your computer, otherwise you won’t be able to do anything once you disable USB in the BIOS if your keyboard and mouse are connected via USB.

USB problems can be frustrating, but hopefully one of the solutions above will solve your USB problem. If not, post a comment and I’ll try to help. Enjoy!