I have the same issue. Brand new Dell G15. Brand new 32GB flash. Formatted to FAT32. Scanned, and found no errors. Create program does not recognize it in either port. (Windows updates up-to-date).
Thoughts? (other than "Windows is ****"?)
MiniTool
minitool.com › home › data recovery › usb flash drive not recognized on windows 10/11? fix it now
USB Flash Drive Not Recognized on Windows? Timeless Tips Here
October 16, 2025 - Here is a full guide on the problem of USB flash drive not recognized, including how to recover unrecognized USB with data recovery software and fix it by updating the driver, assigning a drive letter, running the hardware troubleshooter, and formatting. In our daily computer use, USB flash drives are one of the most commonly used external storage devices. However, when you insert a USB drive and receive the “USB Device Not Recognized” error message, it can be frustrating. The “USB drive not showing up” error appears when Windows encounters a problem detecting a USB device.
Top answer 1 of 5
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I have the same issue. Brand new Dell G15. Brand new 32GB flash. Formatted to FAT32. Scanned, and found no errors. Create program does not recognize it in either port. (Windows updates up-to-date).
Thoughts? (other than "Windows is ****"?)
2 of 5
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I have the same problem with my laptop Dell XPS 15, the usb flash is recognized by it, but not when creating the recovery drive.
Videos
04:17
How to Create Windows 11 Recovery Disk or USB | 3 Free Ways - YouTube
04:11
How to Create a Windows 11 Recovery USB - YouTube
01:42
How To Create Recovery Drive in WIndows 11 - YouTube
USB Not Showing? Fix It Now! - YouTube
How to Fix USB Device Not Recognized | Restore USB Drive ...
04:14
How to FIX USB Drive NOT Recognized Windows - YouTube
How do I fix the USB device not recognized error on Windows 11?
To fix the USB device not recognized error on Windows 11, you can use the built-in error checking tool: · Open File Explorer. · Select This PC from the left pane. · Right-click the USB device you want to repair. · Select the Properties option. · Go to the Tools tab and click the Check button. · Select the Scan drive option. · Wait for the scan to finish.
cleverfiles.com
cleverfiles.com › all articles › how to fix usb device not recognized on windows 11/10/8/7
How to Fix USB Device Not Recognized on Windows 11/10 ...
Why can't I see my USB drive in Windows 10?
It’s possible that you can’t see your USB drive in Windows 10 because the USB selective suspend setting, which controls when your drive powers down, is enabled. To disable it: · Open the Settings app and go to System > Power & sleep > Additional power settings. · Click Change plan settings and then select Change advanced power settings. · Expand the USB Settings group. · Expand the USB selective suspend settings group. · Select the drop-down menu and then select disabled.
cleverfiles.com
cleverfiles.com › all articles › how to fix usb device not recognized on windows 11/10/8/7
How to Fix USB Device Not Recognized on Windows 11/10 ...
What to do if my USB device is not showing files?
The first thing you should do if your USB device is not showing file is run a data recovery tool like Disk Drill: · Install Disk Drill on your computer. · Launch it and scan your USB device. · Select all recoverable files. · Click the Recover button. · Recover the files to your main hard drive.
cleverfiles.com
cleverfiles.com › all articles › how to fix usb device not recognized on windows 11/10/8/7
How to Fix USB Device Not Recognized on Windows 11/10 ...
HP
hp.com › us-en › shop › tech-takes › how-to-fix-usb-device-not-recognized
Fix Unrecognized USB Device? 12 Solutions (2025)
April 23, 2025 - Laptop suddenly can't read your USB drive? Fix "USB device not recognized" errors quickly! Our step-by-step guide offers solutions for when Windows doesn't detect your USB.
Wondershare Recoverit
recoverit.wondershare.com › flashdrive-recovery › flash-drive-not-recognized.html
Why USB Device Not Recognized in Windows and How to Fix the Error
Step 1. Launch Recoverit USB Flash Drive Recovery program, select the USB drive which detected on the software to get started. Step 2. The USB recovery software will start scanning the device, it will take a while to search the lost data. Step 3. In the end, you can check all recovered data and files. Preview recovered photos, videos, audios, Word, Excel, PPT, and PDF files. Select your USB files and click the "Recover" button save them to a safety device path. There are many reasons why Windows may fail to recognize a USB device.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/techsupport › windows 11 usb device not recognized.
r/techsupport on Reddit: Windows 11 USB device not recognized.
April 8, 2024 -
The last USB device connected to this computer malfunctioned, was the message I received after plugging in the USB to connect my (roccat 7.1 elo) headphones. For some odd reason I can't connect the headphones after plugging it in, all that will happen is a series of disconnect and reconnect sounds. I've looked everywhere but can't solve my problem. Could someone please help?
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Here are a few suggestions: Reboot your computer to see if the issue goes away on its own Try a different USB port in case there's a problem with the one you're using Update device drivers. Open device manager and find the device, right click on it, and update drivers. Select 'search automatically', and if that fails, check the manufacturer website to see if they offer a download for the device drivers. Reinstall device drivers. Open device manager and find the device, right click on it, and uninstall device. Unplug it, wait a few minutes or reboot, then plug it back in. It should set itself up again and reinstall its drivers.
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Fixed mine by shaking & making it a little loose, the head that's connected to the pc/laptop, not the phone.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/windowshelp › my usb drive can not be recognized anymore (not on the tv or the pc or the phone).
r/WindowsHelp on Reddit: My USB drive can not be recognized anymore (not on the TV or the PC or the Phone).
March 30, 2025 -
Used to work fine for the last 6 months, but now Windows doesn't recognize it at all (not even a USB recognition sound).
I looked for it in disk management/ used command prompt, but to no avail,
Other USB drives work fine on my computer.
Is there a chance to save it ? (there is no important data on it, I just want it to work again)
Top answer 1 of 5
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Flash drives eventually wear out. The individual cells that store bytes on the drive have a finite number of read/write cycles before they fail. Also, DO NOT store data on a flash drive for long term archival purposes. The cells degrade over time when sitting unused; this happens much slower that the read-write wear rate but it still happens. Depending on the NAND flash chip quality, the data rot may render a drive unusable between 10 and 100 years but read/write wear-out happens much faster. SO what has likely happened here is that the flash drive simply wore out.
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Device: Dell G15 System: Windows 11 Pro (24H2) CPU: Intel I7 11800h GPU: RTX 3050 Mobile
Clever Files
cleverfiles.com › all articles › how to fix usb device not recognized on windows 11/10/8/7
How to Fix USB Device Not Recognized on Windows 11/10 ...
Disk Drill is designed to scan USB flash drives, external hard drives, and other storage devices for lost files even when Windows 11/10/8/7 can no longer access them using its sophisticated algorithms capable of locating files based on file system information and file signatures. The only caveat is that data recovery software like Disk Drill can recover a USB drive that’s not recognized as long as the drive appears in Disk Management, which confirms the operating system can communicate it.
Published September 1, 2025
Reddit
reddit.com › r/windowshelp › create recovery drive does not recognize usb flash drives
r/WindowsHelp on Reddit: Create Recovery Drive does not recognize USB flash drives
December 31, 2023 -
I am trying to create a recovery drive for a brand new Dell computer running Windows 11 and keep getting this error with different flash drives: "Connect a USB flash drive. The drive must be able to hold at least 32 GB, and everything on the drive will be deleted."
https://pixeldrain.com/u/ieqvdiHE
i've tried formatting the drive exFat, and NTFS, neither work.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Al
Top answer 1 of 2
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Hi u/u2nyr , thanks for posting to r/WindowsHelp ! Don't worry, your post has not been removed. To let us help you better, try to include as much of the following information as possible! Posts with insufficient details might be removed at the moderator's discretion. Model of your computer - For example: "HP Spectre X360 14-EA0023DX" Your Windows and device specifications - You can find them by going to go to Settings > "System" > "About" What troubleshooting steps you have performed - Even sharing little things you tried (like rebooting) can help us find a better solution! Any error messages you have encountered - Those long error codes are not gibberish to us! Any screenshots or logs of the issue - You can upload screenshots other useful information in your post or comment, and use Pastebin for text (such as logs). You can learn how to take screenshots here . All posts must be help/support related. If everything is working without issue, then this probably is not the subreddit for you, so you should also post on a discussion focused subreddit like r/Windows . I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
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Same issue! Alienware m18 I9 13th geb Nvidia Rtx 4090 32gb ram Windows 11 Computer recognizes the usb stick but once inside create recovery drive then it does not find it? Usb stick 64gb sandisk
MyRecover
myrecover.com › windows data recovery › fix 'usb device not recognized' error in windows 11 | solutions
Fix "USB Device Not Recognized" Error in Windows 11 | Solutions
Recover deleted & lost data from any disasters in Windows. ... Struggling with a usb device not recognized windows 11 error? Our article details multiple working methods to fix usb device not recognized windows 11, including registry edits, driver rollbacks, and using Windows' built-in hardware troubleshooters.
MiniTool Partition Wizard
partitionwizard.com › home › disk recovery › 9 proven ways to fix “usb drive not recognizing” in windows 11
9 Proven Ways to Fix “USB Drive Not Recognizing” in Windows 11 - MiniTool Partition Wizard
December 8, 2021 - After that, this tool will scan the whole drive for errors and fix them automatically. Once done, re-plug the USB drive and see if it can be recognized by Windows 11. If your USB drive becomes a RAW files system and can’t be accessed, don’t worry. MiniTool Partition Wizard can help you recover ...
Secure Data Recovery
securedatarecovery.com › home › blog › what to do if your usb drive is not showing up
How To Fix USB Drive Not Showing Up on Windows and Mac
December 31, 2024 - The USB root hub is what monitors the insertion and removal of devices. You can use Device Manager to disable and then re-enable the USB hub, which may enable the controllers to recover the USB port from its unresponsive condition.
7 Data Recovery
blog.7datarecovery.com › home › flash drive recovery › how to quickly fix a usb flash drive that is not recognized
How to Fix a USB Flash Drive That Is Not Recognized on PC
April 16, 2025 - Windows comes with lots of powerful troubleshooters that are designed to target specific problems. The Hardware and Devices troubleshooter can scan your computer for issues pertaining to your USB and fix them so you can access a USB drive that is not recognized. Microsoft will be removing these troubleshooters with the next update of Windows 11.
EaseUS
easeus.com › usb data recovery › pen drive not detected/recognized, how to fix [2026]
Pen Drive Not Detected/Recognized, How to Fix [2026]
To solve this problem, you just need to use the EaseUS free partition software to assign an unused drive letter to the USB drive. This should clear the issue and allow you to recover inaccessible data quickly.
Published 1 week ago
EaseUS
easeus.com › partition master › how to fix usb flash drive not showing up in windows 11🔥
Full Guide to Fix USB Flash Drive Not Showing Up in Windows 11
3 weeks ago - Connect the USB drive, check if it appears in File Explorer, open Disk Management, assign a drive letter, and perform initial checks for physical damage. ... Cedric Grantham is a senior editor and data recovery specialist of EaseUS.
Eleven Forum
elevenforum.com › windows support forums › devices and drivers
USB Drive not Recognized windows 11 Help! | Windows 11 Forum
April 7, 2022 - Go to Settings>System>Recovery and choose “Go Back.” You’ll be asked if you want to check first for updates to Windows 11; decline that and follow the wizard to return to Windows 10.
Microsoft Community Hub
techcommunity.microsoft.com › microsoft community hub › communities › products › windows › windows 11
USB drive not visible in file explorer | Microsoft Community Hub
This usually means the drive has no partition or file system on it when the USB drive is not visible in Windows file explorer. Here is a quick fix: https://www.techgizz.com/usb-drive-not-showing-in-file-explorer
ibeesoft
ibeesoft.com › computer-tips › fix-usb-drives-not-showing-up-windows-10.html
[Fixed] USB Not Showing Up in Windows 11/10
December 16, 2020 - Expand "Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\USBSTOR" in turn · Double-click the "Start" item on the right side of the page and change the number to "3." File system errors can also cause the flash drive not showing up on Windows 11, 10, and 7. If this is the case, the device will show up as a RAW drive, which will not be accessible. To repair it, you must format the drive to assign a new file system. However, to protect your essential data, you can use the following steps to recover data from USB stick.
Wondershare Recoverit
recoverit.wondershare.com › windows-10 › how-to-fix-windows-10-doesnt-recognize-usb.html
How to Fix USB Device Not Recognized Windows 10/11?
Recover lost data files from USB drive on Windows 10/11 easily. Data recovery from any storage device on Windows computer and Mac. Recover lost data files due to Windows computer crashed. ... Another option you can try when experiencing USB device not recognized Windows 10/11 problems is to change the USB selection suspend settings.
Microsoft Learn
learn.microsoft.com › en-us › previous-versions › troubleshoot › windows-server › usb-device-not-recognized-error
"USB Device not recognized" error - Windows Server | Microsoft Learn
Select the box to expand USB Settings > USB selective suspend settings. Select Plugged in, select the drop-down menu, and then select disabled. If you're using a laptop, select Battery, select the drop-down menu, and then select disabled. Select Apply > OK. If this doesn't resolve your issue, proceed to resolution 6. This method updates your motherboard's chipset drivers, so your computer will recognize your USB external hard drive.
Systweak
systweak.com › home › [fixed] usb drive not showing up in windows 11/10
[Fixed] USB Drive not Showing Up in Windows 11/10
It is possible to repair a USB Drive not detected by performing basic checks, assigning driver letters, updating USB drivers, or updating a few USB-related settings on a Windows PC. If none of the methods described above work, then you need to format the USB Drive and use a file recovery software like Advanced Disk Recovery to recover your lost files.
Published May 29, 2023