How to fix USB device not recognized in Windows

Posted on July 14, 2008 at 5:34 am

Are you getting a “USB device not recognized” error whenever you plug in a USB mouse, keyboard, or other USB device? I love USB and have 5 ports on my computer so that I can connect my mouse, keyboard, camera, phone, and printer to it all at once!

However, last weekend, my computer stopped recognizing my USB devices! The strange thing about it was that the USB ports were not bad because all of my devices were still getting power to them. I could still charge my cell phone without a problem!

So I started with the normal fixing methods, including uninstalling the drivers for my devices and reinstalling them. That didn’t work! Next I tried System Restore thinking that maybe I had installed something and it caused a conflict with the USB system drivers. That didn’t work!

I read online that in order to fix this problem I should go to Device Manager and uninstall all of the devices under USB Controllers. Restarted the computer, reinstalled the USB drivers, but the problem STILL did not go away!

You may also see in Device Manager that the device shows up as an “Unknown Device”.

So how did I finally fix the problem? Well, apparently it’s a super simple solution! No need to edit the registry, uninstall drivers, or anything of that sort.

Simply UNPLUG YOUR COMPUTER FROM THE POWER SUPPLY. Yes that’s it! Note that this does not mean just turning off your computer because modern computers don’t really turn off when you press the power button as the motherboard still gets power.

First to explain, the motherboard is where all of hardware of the computer is connected to, including the USB ports. Sometimes the motherboard needs to be “rebooted” also because something can go wrong, i.e. all your USB ports suddenly stop working. The small microprocessor on the motherboard will reload the drivers and your USB ports should be back to recognizing all devices!

So first turn off your computer using Shut Down or pressing the power button and then UNPLUG it from the wall outlet. Let it sit for about a minute and then plug it back in.

Hope this helps someone fix that pesky “USB device not recognized” Windows error!

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26 Responses to “How to fix USB device not recognized in Windows”

John said on : July 14th, 2008 at 7:55 am

I have been having this problem with my laptop for several months. One of my two USB ports stopped working. I tried your suggestion and it did not work. I did also remove the battery.
John

Madhur Kapoor said on : July 15th, 2008 at 1:48 pm

Thanks, some of my Pen drives gives this type of problems. I will try this method

nelson said on : July 15th, 2008 at 4:43 pm

cool find. I’ll remember this next time users show up complaining their USB drives don’t get recognized. is a simple solution indeed. unplug it, babe!

Mayur said on : July 16th, 2008 at 9:55 pm

Having same prob. even after i checked it with a new motherboard

DeAndre said on : July 17th, 2008 at 4:19 pm

Had this same problem minus the error messages and works fine for desktops and laptops (remove power supply from replicator to wall or power supply) works great! Thanks!

Vlad said on : July 24th, 2008 at 4:54 am

Super!! So simple, just unplug the power cable and it works again. Thnx a lot !!!

Rod said on : July 24th, 2008 at 12:16 pm

Wow! Glad I found this article! Thanks for the tip. It worked for me!

Jordan said on : July 27th, 2008 at 2:58 pm

I read this article thinking “It can’t be that easy, it must be a driver problem or something”… but I tried it for novelty value.. and it worked.. I love you!

Courtz said on : July 28th, 2008 at 1:14 am

OMG .. I have spent days trawling thru websites and attempting their solutions. THANX so much.. Your suggestion worked. Will remember that for future refrence

Henry in Melbourne, Oz said on : July 29th, 2008 at 2:12 am

You are an absolute whiz, my friend! I tried so many recommendations from so many websites ….. nothing worked. Then I found your solution and I thought no, that’s just TOO simple, it can’t work. Unplug the computer from the wall?? Surely that can’t make any difference. But it absolutely did! All my USB devices now work in all ports. You’re a lifesaver ….. THANX SO MUCH!! I’ll try to remember you in my will.

Dan said on : July 31st, 2008 at 3:40 am

I couldn’t believe how simple the fix was!!! I use a laptop and having this balloon come up was not only annoying, but it also made the computer glitch. I tried other fixes that ranged from re-installing a driver to using the run command, but this one definitely takes the cake. Thank you for such a simple solution!!!!!

butthead2001 said on : August 1st, 2008 at 12:05 am

WOW!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU….
I LEFT MINE OUT OF POWER FOR 30 MINUTES WHILE I PLAYED WII…WHEN I PUT THE POWER BACK ON…VOILA…YEAH BABY..

THANK YOU AGAIN
BUTTHEAD2001

Corporatetrainer said on : August 4th, 2008 at 10:14 pm

I’m blown away. After spending the better part of the day on this, I unplug my laptop and usb suddenly works. I’m still confused since the problem has gone on for days and it has been unplugged several times with out the usb’s working. But this time I start my laptop on battery only and the usb’s are back. ???!!!???
Hail to the poster.

Grateful Kiwi said on : August 11th, 2008 at 4:18 am

You’re a saint. We think problem was caused because we plugged camera into USB while PC was in sleep mode and moved mouse to wake computer up. Tried a range of fixes and was about to start uninstalling drivers etc. but not feeling good about that as we’e sooo not techies. So we read a few more Google results, found yours and thought this is us. Worked a treat. And to think we were ready to send this 2 week old PC to fixer the next day, loss of income, self employed etc. Oh such a grey sky was instantly turned blue. Thanks again.

bocser said on : August 11th, 2008 at 8:18 pm

wow….thanks!!! Seriously, I did everything from the registry to drivers to switching ports to almost intentionally breaking my mouse and all I had to do was unplug my pc. DUH!

Aeron said on : August 19th, 2008 at 5:40 pm

Im running Windows Vista in laptop and the same problem occured to me.Can any1 temm how can i fix this bug.I tried to shut down the computer but it didnt work
THNX

Matt said on : August 28th, 2008 at 6:02 pm

The most useful tip I have received in a long while–becuse it worked! I had the same exasperating problem with my USB storage devices, went through all of the same “trouleshooting” procedures (probably causing more harm than good) with no luck. Unplug the *&%# thing for a couple minutes (while I poured myself a drink), turned it back on and now it works…go figure.

Thanks!

Anne said on : September 4th, 2008 at 2:19 am

Thank you very much.

Easy, simple & it worked !!!!

Dev said on : September 6th, 2008 at 10:32 am

OMG !!! its so nice to know theres so many of you going through the same problem ! i spent 6 hours trying to figure this out,uninstaling ,rebooting ,re-install , system restore ! surfing forums !!! i was so angry with my pc i just shut down from the switch on the wall plug ! now im at work ..and i thought ill just google the problem one more time..so glad to know that this might be a way to go ..will get home in 8 hours and check ,looking at the success rate from every1’s response ! i should be positive that it might be solved anyways wish i found this site much earlier ! Thanks a bil

Ghazwan Naser said on : September 6th, 2008 at 5:23 pm

Dear Sir
you are the best of the best
I didn’t belive it firstly …
how simple and easy….this solution is..
three days of trying ..
please Sir …accept my best regards

vineet said on : September 17th, 2008 at 9:58 am

Mine is still not working, when i first start my desktop in the morning then my microsoft USB mouse hangs, but as soon as i re start my pc then its works fine. then again after 5-6 hours i switch on my pc it hangs again and i have to repeat the same process again .
pls guys help me i m bugged up ,pls give any solution.
thanks in advance

pls mail me suggestion at bullish@in.com

mohammad said on : September 18th, 2008 at 6:06 pm

I cant thank you enough!

USBHELL said on : September 22nd, 2008 at 12:10 pm

Isnt there any other fix than switch it off, That solution doesnt work for me … its been 2 weeks now - with one week of that the machine was unplugged,

After the week off , It did work for about 5 mins then stopped again (usb device not recognized - malfunctioned)

I wouldnt mind .. but its my wireless network card thats not recognized

Ive tried absolutley everything i have read online… even rebuilt my pc and formatted, it has to be a mobo problem, it works in every other machine …..

janasheen said on : September 25th, 2008 at 2:27 am

Usb device not recognised.

I have installed xp sp3 and vista ultimate both on different paritions but when i connect the extend cable of 3 metres which is silver coloured cable.
i get a popup menu”usb device not recognised”"one of the usb devices attached to this computer has malfunctioned, and windows cannot recognise it.”

But if i use the cable of 1 metre it works fine.But the same cable of 3 metres works on my friend PC.
.
Pc Specifications.

Intel(r) Pentium(r) 4 CPU 3.40Ghz(2CPu’s) 3.42Ghz
Memory 1023 MB
System Type 32 Bit
Graphic Card :Nvidia GeForce 6200 Turbo Cache (256mb)
Sound :High Defination Realtek
T.V Tuner :Lifeview Dvb-S
Wireless Adapter :Tp Link Wireless TL/wn620g 108mbps
Modem :Creative
Built In Lan :Broadband Netlink Gigabit Ethernet

Motherboard : Gigabyte GA-81945PL-G

UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS CONTROLLER :

INTEL 82801GB USB UNIVERSAL HOST CONTROLLER-27C8-27C9-27CA-27CB-27CC

THE THINGS I HAVE TRIED FROM MY SIDE:

1.INSTALLED AND REINSTALLED THE USB DRIVERS
2.IN USB ROOT HUB I HAVE UNTICK THE (allow the computer to turn off this device to save power)
3.UPDATED THE OPERATING SYSTEM.

well if anyone knows how to solve this problem kindly help me out.The reason for using 3metre cable i get a free wifi at some height
network in which i connect wifi device to catch signals.

Now the question is to remove the power cord from the motherboard or from the powersupply…

USB-troubled said on : September 30th, 2008 at 11:22 am

Wow, that’s incredible… after a computer crash not only did my USB devices not work, but the sound was playing all weird! I thought the computer was doomed and even suspected hardware damage.

But lo and behold, unplugging the computer for a minute fixed everything! I still can’t believe it.

MAvi said on : October 1st, 2008 at 2:35 pm

Thank you so so much,
i was having the same problem USB not recognized whenever i connect any USB,
search on internet saw this page, nd tried it,
it really worked, thanx so much,
Hatts of to u