|
Welcome to WindowsAnswers.net, your all-in-one resource for help with Windows problems. Our goal is to provide simple answers to complex issues with your computer. We recognize that many sites offer highly technical answers to these questions, which are often confusing and unnecessary.
WindowsAnswers.net is written and maintained by a group of computer technicians, with years and years of experience helping consumers educate themselves about the Windows operating system. You can rest assured that any answer found on this website is the correct answer to your problem.
Please use the search box, or the links on the right side of the page to browse around the website. Please feel free to contact us with any feedback or questions -- we'll be sure to write you back!
This article will guide you through the process of troubleshooting the error "USB Device Not Recognized". The guide will walk you through basic troubleshooting steps and assist in the finding, downloading and installing of the most current device driver
for your hardware device if necessary. If you exhaust all of the troubleshooting steps in this guide, updating the device driver will correct the problem. Due to the
number of hardware devices that comprise a computer, updating the
device driver for each hardware device will improve the all-round
speed and performance of your computer. However, updating all the
devices in a computer can take hours and is a tedious process.
Download DriverUpdate to automatically find, download and install the
most current drivers.
To begin troubleshooting...
Click
Start
(Windows
XP)
(Windows Vista/7)
The device manager is a Windows tool for viewing information about your hardware devices as well as managing and updating them. Click the Action menu and click Scan for hardware changes. Windows will scan for any new hardware and attempt to connect with any devices that it finds. If the USB device you connected is still not recognized, proceed with troubleshooting.
The next step is to disable "Power Management" for all USB controllers. Expand the "Universal Serial Bus controllers" category in the device manager. Right-click the first device in the list and select Properties from the menu. A new window will open. Click the "Power Management" tab in the new window and clear the check box next to "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power". Click OK to save changes and exit. Finally, click the Action menu and select Scan for hardware changes. Windows will scan for hardware changes and connect to any devices that it finds. If you are still experiencing the error at this point, proceed to the next step where you will attempt to manually update your device drivers.
To begin manually updating your device drivers...
Identify
the Device Make and Model
Click
Start
(Windows
XP)
(Windows Vista/7)
You should now be in the device manager.
Browse the list of categories and expand those that you
are interested in. You can expand a category by clicking the + or >
symbol next to the category. If you find a hardware device you wish
to attempt to update, take the following steps...
Right-click the device
Select
Properties
from the options
Looking
in the General
tab you should be able to see the manufacturer's name and the model
of the device. Make a note of this information.
Clicking
on the Driver
tab will display additional information about the device driver.
After
identifying the device that you wish to update and collecting the
necessary information about it, you should next identify the exact
version of Windows you are running. Drivers are often written
specifically for certain versions of Windows
to ensure the best operation. If you already know your operating
system version, proceed to past the next section to the following
one. If you do not know what version of Windows you are running,
proceed with the steps below...
Identify
the Operating System
Click Start
(Windows
XP)
(Windows
Vista/7)
Taking
the above steps will open the DirectX Diagnostic Utility. This window
displays information about your computer, including the operating
system and it's version. Check next to Operating
System
to see the version of Windows you are running. Make a note of this
information. After identifying the operating system, we are prepared
to download the new driver.
Find, Download and Install the Most Current Driver
Open your web browser.
Refer to the information collected from the device
manager. Use a search engine to search the device manufacturer's
name. The first results should link to the manufacturer's official
website. Click on the link for the device manufacturer's official
website.
After
the web site loads, look around the page for a link that refers to
Drivers,
Support,
Downloads
or something of this nature. Due to the number of device
manufacturer's and the differences amongst their individual web
sites, it is beyond the scope of this article to detail instructions
for each and every manufacturer's website. If you are having
difficulties finding the page that hosts the drivers, try using the
Search
bar
on the manufacturer's website. Search for drivers.
Once you've found the link that takes you to the
drivers page, the web page may request information concerning the
device driver you are searching for. Information requested by the
page may include:
The product line of the device.
The series or family the device belongs to.
The device model.
The operating system you are running.
After
specifying the requested information, you should be taken to the
actual page where the drivers can be downloaded from. The driver can
be downloaded by clicking on a link that contains the driver
name and model
or by clicking on a download
link. Accept the download if prompted and click Run
once the download is complete. The driver installer will initialize
and guide you through the process of installing the new driver. It
will notify you once it is finished. Click Close
or Finish
to exit the installer. |
