USB flash drive is not recognized - what to do

A USB flash drive is a very useful external hard disk that can be connected via USB to almost any computer and other electronic devices. If your USB flash drive is not recognized by Windows and you receive an error message, you may not use the disk. This guide will help you troubleshoot.

USB Flash disk drives are useful

• USB flash drives such as USB flash drives, you can easily connect via USB to your computer and use. The disk appears in Windows Explorer or My Computer and can be described by using data copy function. Depending on the model, there are even several gigabytes of space available.
  
• A USB flash drive can be used among other things, to exchange data between two computers, or on game consoles and DVD players. For the data that reside on the USB flash drive that can be easily read by any device, you should use a FAT32 file system is the best.
  
• Typically, you will need in later versions of Windows, no drivers, so that the USB flash drive is recognized. In older versions of Windows, however, certain updates to be installed, otherwise it can sometimes cause problems.
  
• If your USB flash drive not recognized at all by Windows and it will get an error message in a balloon, then there is a software or hardware problem and the USB flash drive will also not be in your workplace.

Thus, the media recognized

1. Use as Windows 2000 or XP, so these systems require only the latest service pack. For Windows 2000, install Service Pack 4 and 2 for Windows XP Service Pack These important improvements you get from either the Microsoft Web page or directly via the update function of your Windows operating system.
   
2. Did you install the necessary service packs and Windows restarted your so should the USB flash drive can now be easily identified and used.
   
3. However, use Windows Vista or 7 and the USB flash drive is not recognized yet, so you need to perform additional steps.
   
4. Go to the Device Manager in Windows to see this by simply selecting from the start and then right-click the computer icon properties.
   
5. In the Device Manager should show your USB flash drive must be fitted with a yellow exclamation mark. Click the right mouse button on the icon and "uninstall" you select. Close the menu and restart Windows.
   
6. After the reboot, the USB flash drive is detected and reinstalled properly. The external disk, you can then use then again easily.