The USB flash drive not showing up in Windows 11 or the USB device not recognized on the computer? Don't worry about this. Professional solutions are provided on this page to help you solve this issue.
Have you ever encountered this problem: You plug a USB flash drive or pen drive into your Windows PC, only to find that the USB drive is not showing up on your computer. Occasionally, you'll get a message like "USB device not recognized" or similar. It makes the USB drive inaccessible and you cannot open files stored on the drive.
Before we start fixing it, you must understand the possible causes of why Windows 11 not detect USB:
To ensure your USB data is safe, it is suggested to create backups for USB regularly with the best free backup software.
While it's hard to pinpoint the exact reason why your USB device not recognized by Windows 11/10 computer, you can try every possible solution until it works again. Before making other fixes, it's time to do some preliminary checks on your USB flash drive to prevent the problem from being with the hardware itself:
๐ Method 1. Check for Device Compatibility๐ฅ ๐ Method 2. Update or Reinstall the USB Driver๐ฅ ๐ Method 3. Assign a Drive Letter to the USB Flash Drive๐ฅ ๐ Method 4. Check for Windows Updates ๐ Method 5. Create A New Volume for The USB Drive ๐ Method 6. Disable USB Selective Suspend Feature
If your USB drive doesn't work with your computer, it won't show up when plugged in. In a Windows PC, most USB 3 devices can be connected to a USB 2 port, which shouldn't be much of a problem.
However, as technology improves, USB 3 devices may require more powerful and compatible ports to work. Check your device's instruction manual or packaging for compatibility information before trying again.
Another thing you can do is ensure that your USB drivers are up to date. You can quickly update or reinstall your USB drivers to fix the USB drive not showing up issue. This works when your USB drive doesn't show up in File Explorer but shows up as unallocated space in Disk Management.
If the USB drive appears in Disk Management but not in File Explorer, it may be because the drive has not been assigned a drive letter. However, before we assign a drive letter, check for a blue bar on top of the drive. If so, it's likely the drive letter is causing the USB drive not to show up on Windows 11 and it can be easily fixed.
When the bar at the top of the drive is black, it means the space on it has not been allocated and you can move on to the next method to fix it. Let’s see how to assign a drive letter to the USB flash drive on Windows 11.
Keeping your Windows 11 PC up to date is critical. Because new Windows updates may include fixes for faulty USB ports or faulty devices, as well as general usability improvements. To check for Windows Updates on Windows 11, follow the steps below:
As discussed in the previous fix, if the USB drive has a black bar at the top, its space has not been allocated and may be the reason for the USB drive not showing up in Windows 11. To fix it, you just need to follow the steps below to allocate space or create a simple volume.
โ Note: If you are using a USB drive with more than 4 GB of storage space on Windows, the NTFS file system is recommended. For drives smaller than that, use the FAT32 file system.
If none of the above fixes work, check to see if the power settings on your system are preventing the USB drive from showing up. There is a setting in Power Options that cuts power to a USB drive when it is plugged in, so it might not show up. Follow the steps below to disable the USB selective suspend option on Windows 11:
The USB not showing up in Windows 11 mentioned in this article is just one of the common problems. Sometimes you even need to format the disk before using it.
Given the high frequency we use USB, it is recommended that you regularly back up files on the USB to avoid accidental loss of files. AOMEI Backupper Standard is a free backup software to protect disk, like USB drive, local & external hard drive, Windows system, and personal data.
To backup specific files on your USB drive, you can utilize the "File Backup" feature. Also, you can use "Disk Backup" to create a backup image for your entire drive.
If you decide to create a cloud backup, cloud storage may be a big problem for you, since almost all cloud drives only provide you with a few GB of free cloud storage. To get enough cloud storage, try the Cloud Backup feature.
It enables you to backup folders to AOMEI Cloud, a cloud drive released by AOMEI Tech, which offers you 1TB of free cloud storage from the time you sign up AOMEI account until 15 days.
If your USB flash drive is not showing up in Windows 11 or Windows 10, follow the methods in this article to resolve the issue. Once fixed, it's advisable to regularly back up your USB to safeguard your data.
The free backup software described in this article is worth checking out. It not only protects your data in an all-round way but also protects your system. You can also use it to create bootable media to help you start your computer in the event of a system crash.
Additionally, you can use it to deploy 11 Windows image by USB drive. Unlock more features on advanced editions by yourself.