USB drives are easy plug and play devices that has made mass storage and transfer of files much easier these days. However, there could be some potential issues that USB pen drives are prone to which in turn can affect the data on these drives. Here are few issues and the possible ways to solve them:
Safe Removal of USB Drives:
It is important that USB Drives should be safely removed from the computer, else that could damage data. Most users tend to simply unplug the USB drives after usage which is an improper way to eject the external USB devices. Simply right click the device from the notification area and then click on Eject Mass Storage. If that does not work log off and log in again to eject. In some cases, few background applications may not allow you to remove the device, which is when you shall try using third party software or shut down the computer to remove the device.
USB Device Not Working:
If your USB device which was working earlier is not working now, then you shall try these steps-
- Check if the USB device is working in a different port (as the port could have gone faulty)
- Try the device in a different computer, if that works then try to uninstall the USB device driver from the Device Manager and then restart the computer to reinstall it automatically.
- If your USB device does not work even after reinstalling the drivers, that could probably be the faulty port. In that case please contact the support team.
Unlock USB ports:
Sometimes your USB ports on your computer may not work as they might have been locked by a third party program or Virus. In these situations there is an advanced level of troubleshooting that you need to follow. This might require you to be proficient with the registry editor, as any mistake may crash your computer. In case, you are willing to take up the risk, please contact our support team at (614) 656 3066, else proceed with the following steps:
- Type Regedit in the RUN line and open it. (Make sure your user account has all admin privileges).
- Locate HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentContro>Set\Services\USBSTOR
- On the right side pane, change the data in start to from 4 to 3, to enable the ports.
This should solve the issue. However, if the value is already set to 3, then it could possible be an issue with the virus. You shall try running a full scan on your computer and if that does not resolve the problem, then feel free to contact us at (614) 656 3066.