Sees micro sd. Why doesn't the computer see the Micro SD memory card?

Recently, more and more often, users are having problems with the operation of SD cards on various devices. The card is inserted into the appropriate port, but the computer is not able to see it, and it is also not shown in the settings. We are talking about an extremely common and quite serious problem, which, as practice shows, is almost always easily solved. In this case, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the causes of the malfunction and how to solve them.

Most users often do not distinguish between types of memory cards. It is worth knowing that they come in the following varieties:

Important nuances in using a memory card

Before purchasing and starting to use these cards, you should familiarize yourself with important nuances their applications.

• In addition to memory capacity, they indicate speed. You need to know which speed class of card is suitable for a particular device;
• Using special adapters, microSD can turn into regular SD cards. True, it is not recommended to do this often, since the speed of information exchange drops;
• Older generation laptops have built-in card readers that are unable to interface with newer models such as SDHC, but there is a simple solution to this problem - buy a card reader that connects to standard USB ports - it looks more like a standard flash drive and is quite cheap.

Why doesn't the computer see the memory card?

Since the drives described above have an extremely fragile structure, they often become unusable due to defects or improper completion of the work.

Reference! Sometimes it happens that after a short period of using a card, it simply cannot be read or is not detected by devices, so it is not recommended to count on long-term operation of such drives.

There are a number of common reasons why a laptop or PC cannot display an SD card. We are talking about:

If the media is no longer detected by a phone, camera or other device, it must be disinfected and installed in the PC in order to diagnose, identify and eliminate the problem.

What actions should I take if the device refuses to recognize the memory card?

Eliminating the problem requires searching for the cause, which, in turn, can be very different. You should familiarize yourself with step by step instructions, which will tell you what actions to take when the computer is unable to detect an SD or microSD card.

How to properly check for a faulty memory card and card reader

First, identification of media problems is required. To do this, you will need to connect it to any other working device. Also, if you have a second card of an identical model, you can determine whether it can be recognized by a computer. If everything is fine, then there are no problems with the card reader and most likely the reason lies in the card. They often become faulty after they are incorrectly removed work time or wear out on their own.

In such a situation, the only solution is to try to restore the functionality of the product. A specialized utility called HDD Low Level Format Tool helps with this very well. To use it correctly you will need:

Step 1. Download and install the software on your computer from an official source.

Step 2. After launch, select the memory card and proceed to the next step.

Step 3. A new menu will appear, in it you need to click on “LOW-LEVEL FORMAT”.

Step 4. A warning menu will appear indicating that all information will be formatted. We agree to click on the format button.

No less popular and effective is the SDFormatter utility, which is also capable of coping with the formatting task. To use it you will need:

Step 1. Install and run the SDFormatter software.

Step 2. During startup, the utility will automatically detect connected flash cards displayed in the main window. Click on "Option" to set formatting options.

Step 3. IN in this case“Qick” implies formatting in quick mode, “Full” will erase all data, and “Full (Overwrite)” will additionally overwrite.

Step 4. After returning to the main menu, you need to click “Format”, after which the utility will format the memory card. The file settings will be automatically set to FAT32.

Reference! Sometimes the card reader itself refuses to display the memory card. The way out of this situation is to contact a specialized company, whose technicians will carry out the repairs. Do you need to use your card urgently? There is a temporary solution: we are talking about a portable card reader that can be connected to a laptop via a USB port.

How to check for failures in Windows OS

In more rare cases, the PC refuses to detect and recognize the memory card due to operating system malfunctions; for example, Windows OS may incorrectly assign the letter of the attached media. To resolve this conflict, follow these steps:

Step 1. Open Control Panel through the Start menu.

Step 2. Select the “System and Security” section.

Step 3. Then go to “Administration”.

Step 5. By clicking on the last item, the “Disk Management” tab will appear on the left.

Step 6. Must select the desired card in the list of installed disks and right-click to open a new menu. Next, click “Change drive letter...”.

Step 7 A letter is selected that has not yet been used in the system, after which the settings are saved.

Video - Why doesn’t the computer read Micro SD and how to fix it?

Driver Update

If after some sort of reboot of the adapter nothing happened, there is another way to fix the problem - update or reinstall the card reader drivers. In this case, you need to visit the manufacturer’s resource and see if a new version of the driver has appeared. If it really exists, you can download and install it. Before doing this, it is better to remove outdated drivers in .

Specifics of virus checking

Even the most modern device is recommended to be supplemented with anti-virus protection. To fix the problem, you will need to scan the memory card and clean out malicious files.

Step 1. You need to go to “This PC” through the desktop shortcut or through the “Start” menu.

Step 2. Right-click on the memory card icon to open a new menu, then select the “Scan…” option.

Right-click on the memory card icon and select the “Scan…” option.

On a note! In the menu, the item will correspond to the installed antivirus program on your device.

Step 2. In the Control Panel, set the View mode to Large Icons. Select "Folder Options".

Step 3. Open the “View” section.

Thus, there are a sufficient number of reasons why a PC may not see an SD card. To accurately solve the problem and use the media again, it is recommended to follow all the steps described above.

Video - The card reader does not see the SD card, what should I do?

If your SD card doesn't show up in Windows Explorer when you plug it into your PC's Card Reader, don't despair. This is a common problem with Windows, and although very frustrating, it is usually very easy to fix.

Below is a list of fixes that have worked for other Windows users. Start at the top of the list and work your way down until you find the fix that works for you.

Method 1: Update your drivers

In 80%, this problem is solved by installing drivers.

The driver can be downloaded from the official website of the laptop manufacturer.

For lenovo laptops

For HP laptops

For Asus laptops

For Aser laptops

For other brands of laptops, installing the driver for the card reader is similar.

Here are the websites of other manufacturers:

• Dell - https://www.dell.com/support/home/ru/ru/rubsdc?app=drivers
• Prestigio - http://www.prestigio.com/MultiBoard_Drivers
• Toshiba - https://support.toshiba.com/drivers

Method 2: Run Windows Installer

1. Click Windows + R.
2. Enter " services.msc" without quotes in the launch field and click Enter key .
3. Find Windows installer.
4. Then right click on it and click " Start".
5. You can then run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter again.

Try checking if Card Reader is recognized in Explorer.

Method 3: Reinstalling the controller

1. Press the keys Windows + R on keyboard.
2. Enter devmgmt.msc in the "Open" text box.
3. Expand universal serial bus controllers from the window.
4. Right click on drivers and select " Delete" .
5. Click " OK" in “Confirm request to remove device.”
6. Restart your computer, the drivers will be automatically installed on your Windows 10.

Method 4: Test your SD card on another PC.

If your SD card is faulty, your computer will not recognize it. To check, you need to find another computer with a card reader and test your SD card on that computer to make sure it works.

If your SD card doesn't work on another PC, it's probably faulty and you need to replace it.

If he really works in another computer, then it is not a faulty card, but it may be that your card reader is faulty.

Method 5: Disable then enable the card reader

Go to Device Manager as above - when I do this, there are no SD host adapters, but there are memory technology devices that have a RealteK PCIE Card Reader. Select that, then click Driver, then Disable, confirm the pop-up, then back to the driver screen click Enable and its pop-up - the SD card now appears as before and is accessible.
I don't know why it works, but it did for me."

If you don't know how to do this, follow these steps:

1) On your keyboard, press the key Win+R(key Windows and key R) simultaneously to bring up the launch window.

2) Enter devmgmt.msc in the launch field and click " OK" .

4) Go to the tab Driver. Click " Disconnect device" .

5) When prompted to turn off the device, click " Yes" .

6) Double-click the card reader to open the Properties windows. Click " Turn on device" to turn the device back on.

We hope these tips help you troubleshoot your SD card issue. Please comment below if you have any questions or suggestions. We are always happy to hear about new solutions!

Method 6: Clean the SD card and reader

Another very common reason for an unrecognized SD card is a very simple one: a dirty SD card or a dusty card reader. Or it will lead to poor contacts between the card and the reader.

So the second thing you need to do is give your card a clean and remove any dust from the reader and then try the card again.

• To clean the card, dip a cotton cloth in a little alcohol or water and lightly wipe the dirty area, turning Special attention to metal contacts.
• To clear your reader, use the device compressed air to blow dust out of the reader. Alternatively, you can buy a contact cleaner from Amazon that you can use to clean the reader.

Over the past few years, flash storage media have become very popular and are used by us literally every day, due to their advantages over disk storage media. It is hardly possible to overestimate the usefulness of flash media, because you can quickly write or read information on it, it does not take up much space in a briefcase or bag, and the price segment is pleasantly pleasing.

Despite all the positive aspects, sometimes situations occur when you cannot read the data due to the flash drive or computer itself. After all, at the most important moment, you may lose access to stored files, and in order to quickly return everything to normal, you need to have certain knowledge. In this article we will analyze all possible problem situations and find ways to solve why the computer does not see the flash drive.

The most common problems why the computer does not see the flash drive:

The flash drive itself does not work

This is the worst situation for a person whose documents are stored on a flash drive, because it is almost impossible to bring it back to life. A flash drive can be damaged by mechanical impact on the device chip or its controller, by shorting electrical circuit, damage to the contacts on the USB board. This is what a flash drive looks like after the electrical circuit is closed or moisture gets inside the drive.

It is quite easy to determine whether this happened to your drive. The very first thing you need to do is check the flash drive for mechanical damage, chips, cracks, etc. If it is completely broken, you can look for a replacement at a computer peripherals store. If you doubt its inoperability, you can check it using a practical method.

Connect the flash drive to the USB connector of the computer, if the LED on it lights up and you hear a sound on the computer that is typical for connecting a new device, then everything is in order, it makes sense to look for the problem further. If this does not happen, the flash drive is most likely no longer suitable for use.

You can try to take the flash drive to service center, where the technician will try to resolder the contacts or replace the controller, but it will be very expensive, and this action will be justified only if you store important documents on it. If no fatal malfunction was detected and the flash drive shows signs of life, try the methods to restore its functionality, which will be described below.

The USB port on the front panel of the computer is de-energized

This problem is very common among desktop PC users. Most computer owners are accustomed to inserting a flash drive into the front USB ports, because it is fast and convenient.

But there is a situation when, during PC assembly, for some reason the front panel is not connected to the power system; usually this happens due to the forgetfulness of the computer technician. Accordingly, your flash drive will not be displayed, despite its full serviceability.

This problem can be solved in two ways. If you urgently need to use information on removable media, you can connect it to the back panel of your computer. The front connectors will still remain inoperative, but you will have access to documents. Such manipulations cannot be called a full-fledged solution, so let’s consider the second option.

Method No. 2 involves connecting the power cable on the motherboard to the front panel of the computer. Depending on the computer case model, the connection connectors may differ. But don’t be afraid, they all have markings and you won’t be able to connect the wrong connector due to design features. The most common wire types are “VCC”, “D-”, “D+” and “GND”. Moreover, the color markings of the cable and the connector on the motherboard are the same, but it is better to keep a guide by the inscriptions.

The first step is to gain access to the motherboard; to do this, unscrew the mounting bolts on the case and remove the cover. Find the cable that leads to the front panel and find the same connector on the motherboard. In the image below you can see what the connector should look like.

It is not recommended to make the connection yourself; it is better to call a specialist. If you connect the cable and connector incorrectly, you can burn these contacts and even devices. If you decide to connect front USB connectors, then it is better to tell us the model of your case and motherboard, and we will tell you how to do it correctly and explain what the connector and cable look like.

The USB port on the computer is faulty or disabled

Sometimes the problem of unreadability of information on removable media is not related to the problem of the flash drive itself, but to the connector into which it is connected. A certain USB port may not be working, and this condition can be caused by simple damage to the connector contacts. Then not only the flash drive, but also other USB devices will not work in this port.

You can solve this problem by arming yourself with a regular soldering iron and minimal knowledge of circuit design. If you don’t have such knowledge, skills and equipment, then it can be fixed at the nearest service center for a low fee.

However, if no response to connecting a USB device is observed on all connectors, then the problem may lie deeper. Ports can be disabled in BIOS settings.

In order to connect ports in the BIOS menu, you need to get there initially. To enter the BIOS in the first seconds of booting the computer, you need to press the corresponding key on the keyboard, which is responsible for calling up the menu. Most often, the default key is F2 or Del, but depending on the motherboard brand and BIOS version, it may be different. It is indicated in the first image that pops up when loading.

After you have entered the BIOS itself, we need to go through the following route: “”.

Find the line “USB Controller”, so that you are allowed to use the ports, the value opposite should be “Enabled”.

Once you have enabled the USB ports on your computer, press the F10 key. This will save your settings and exit the BIOS.

The USB flash drive connector is dirty

A flash drive is a mobile information storage device and is therefore often carried in pockets, briefcases or as a keychain. Due to such operating conditions, dust and small debris may accumulate in the connector. This does not happen often, but it can cause the flash drive to malfunction. Dust and small debris accumulate on the contact and prevent connection from the contacts in the port on the computer. Such a flash drive may not only not be displayed at all, but also freeze, transfer or read information slowly and may not be detected the first time.

To clean the USB connector of a flash drive, arm yourself with a match and a cotton swab. Using a match, remove all debris from the connector, and then moisten a cotton swab with alcohol and wipe the contacts of the flash drive. This way you will rid it of debris and oxidation.

Virus infection

Nowadays, the issue of storage device security is becoming more and more urgent, because viruses are in full force. You can visit your usual site social network on the Internet and get infected, not to mention downloading files from unverified sources.

Modern computer viruses can also reproduce, no matter how strange it may sound. They infect files located on your flash drive or computer hard drive, and their number grows exponentially.

Very often, the problem of a flash drive not working is infection with viruses. The drive is detected by the system, you can hear the characteristic sound of connecting the device to the system, but when you try to read the information, you will see the message “” or “ Application not found».

Before solving this problem, you should install anti-virus software on your computer and conduct a full diagnostic of the files. To access the data on the drive, we need to delete the file with the virus and scan it. To do this, go to the “Start” menu and enter the following phrase “” in the search line.

Click on the found element with the left mouse button. It will appear in front of you open window with the name “Folder Options”, here you need to do the following:

• Uncheck the " Hide protected system files»
• Check the box ""

After this, be sure to press the “Apply” button and only after that “Ok”, otherwise the changes will not take effect. It should look like this.

After that, go to “My Computer” and go to the folder of the drive itself. There you will see the “Autorun” file, you need to delete it, and check the flash drive for viruses with one of free antiviruses, the Dr.WEB Cure It utility can handle this perfectly.

Now you can fully use the flash drive and no problems should arise. If nothing has changed, then the problem lies in the lack of drivers; we’ll look at it below.

Drivers failing or using outdated drivers

A very common problem is when the computer does not want to display the flash drive due to outdated drivers or their system failure. The failure may occur due to a jump electrical voltage or unexpected shutdown of the operating system. Or older computer models may not work with drives with a capacity of 32 GB or more. One thing can be said, the problem can only be solved by updating the drivers.

The first thing you need to do is go to "". You can do this in several ways, for example, through “My Computer" or find this section in the system search, which is what we will do.

We go to this menu, after which we connect the flash drive to the computer, after which we open the “USB controllers” subtab. Select the line " Memory device", right-click to open the system menu and click “Delete".

Such manipulations allow you to remove the drivers installed on the system for your storage device. As soon as you remove it, feel free to remove the flash drive from your computer and connect it again. Then the driver for the flash drive will be installed again and the problem will be solved.

If the problem is not solved, you may need to update the drivers for all USB chipsets; this is quite easy to do. You can use the special disk that came with the motherboard, it contains all the necessary drivers. If you don’t have it, download the DriverPack program, it will automatically select all the drivers for which there is an update and carry out this procedure after your agreement.

Moreover, most users have doubts about the correctness of their actions when they learn about the different USB formats. Don't be scared!

Drivers for USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 are installed according to the same principle. And the only difference between the ports is the maximum speed of reading and writing information.

File system errors

The computer may also not recognize your flash device due to file system errors. Let’s check if this is true, go to “”, how to do this was described above. Now you need to open the subtab " Disk devices “If you see your flash drive there, it means it is working, and the file system does not perceive it as it should, and, accordingly, does not display it in Explorer. In my case, the flash drive was displayed, which means it is working.

To fix this problem, you must format your flash drive, but this action has several nuances, so we will consider this process in the next paragraph of the article.

If you don’t see your drive there, then the problem lies in the malfunction of the flash drive itself, which means either the controller is burned out or the contact has become unsoldered. Specialists at service centers can try to bring it back to life. However, this is an expensive exercise; it’s easier to buy a new one, of course, if the faulty one was not recorded important information and you need to recover the data on the flash drive.

File system conflict

Quite often, the contents of a flash drive are not displayed due to a conflict between the file systems on the computer and the removable media itself. For example, if the computer operates on the NTFS file system and the flash drive uses FAT32, a conflict situation cannot be ruled out. Moreover, this problem is common not only in Windows, but also in Mac OS. For example, if you format a flash drive on your Mac device to ExFAT or the standard MacBook file system, the flash drive is unlikely to be readable on Windows devices.

The very first thing you need to do is find a computer that uses a different file system, open the flash drive and save the information that is important to you, because after formatting it will be lost.

To solve this problem, we need to carry out the process of formatting the flash drive. First you need to find out what file system is used on your computer. Go to “My computer”, right-click on the hard drive, open the submenu and select “Properties” in it.

In the window that opens, you will see information about the free and used amount of disk space, and also find out what file system is used. In my case, the NTFS system is used.

After you know the file system of the computer, we need to format the flash drive into the same system. To do this, right-click on the flash drive and open the “Format” tab.

In the tab that opens, select the file system into which we will format, check the box next to the “Fast” attribute and click “Start”.

A few words about why we use the “Fast” attribute. Firstly, formatting a flash drive will happen much faster. But there is another side to the coin. If there were any documents on the flash drive, then only with quick formatting will you be able to recover this data using special utilities. If you do not check the box, then the information that was on the flash drive will be lost forever.

The flash drive is not formatted

A fairly common problem is when you insert a flash drive into your computer (usually a new flash drive and its first use), and the operating system gives you a warning that states that the removable drive needs to be formatted before use. And if the flash drive has been used before and there is data recorded on it, then there is no way to access it. Moreover, the volume of the flash drive becomes 0, i.e. as if there was nothing there at all, not even a storage device.

If you have already used a flash drive and this is not the first time you have connected it, then try connecting it to another computer, perhaps the problem will go away and you will be able to save the data. But in any case, the flash drive must be formatted. How to do this was discussed in detail in the “File system conflict” section.

But I want to draw your attention to two points. To avoid problems with the file system (FS) after formatting, find out what FS is used on the computer and install the same one for the drive. And secondly, if the flash drive had the information you needed, then be sure to use the “Quick” attribute, so the flash drive will be formatted only according to the table of contents, and the lost information can be returned using special utilities.

There is a problem with the partition or the flash drive is automatically assigned a busy letter

There are situations when the operating system does not correctly detect your removable media. Everything seems to be fine, the device connection is displayed and a flash drive icon appears in the tray, but there is no way to use it for its intended purpose.

The problem may be that the system has not assigned the partition a letter under which the removable drive will appear, or it has assigned it, but this letter is already occupied, and this results in an address conflict.

The solution to this problem will be to force the assignment of the partition letter that we choose; everything happens manually. So let's get started.

First of all, you need to hold down the key combination “Win ​​+ R", a window will open in front of you with the name “Run".

In the line we need to enter a simple command diskmgmt.msc, which will take us to the disk and storage management section.

In the storage media manager that opens, we need to identify our USB device. This can be done simply, disconnect the flash drive and connect it again, the partition that first disappears and then appears is what we need.

In my case, the flash drive is a drive with the name “20151114_17”, you can also identify it by a special icon. Now you need to right-click on it and select “Change letter” in the menu that opens.

Now one more thing will open before us additional window, slightly less. In it you need to click on the button “Change” and “Ok”.

Now another auxiliary window will open, where you must select any letter of the English alphabet, and after clicking on the “Ok” button, the letter will be assigned to the section.

It is worth paying attention to one important point! When choosing a letter to assign to a partition of your flash drive, look at which letters are already in use by the system. This is very important, because we may not fix the problem, but leave it. This will happen if, for example, you designate a flash drive partition with the letter “D”, which is already assigned to the local disk.

Malfunction of the power supply or excessive current overload of the USB portal

This problem is very common these days. The fact is that the computer may simply not see the flash drive due to a faulty power supply. Let's look at it in order, the power supply consumes electrical energy from the network, and then converts and distributes it to all nodes of the computer. It has a power limit, for example, a 400W power supply will not be able to give you 600W. This means that the consumption of the entire system must be balanced.

This problem may appear if you have recently replaced some important component in the system, let it be the processor. Now it consumes much more energy compared to the past, which means it simply doesn’t reach somewhere, and in this case, that “somewhere” is the computer’s USB network. Accordingly, the energy consumption parameter must be calculated in advance, and if such a situation has already occurred, you will have to replace the power supply with a more powerful one.

Moreover, the problem may lie in a malfunction of the power supply; it may produce much less power potential than stated, and than it produced before. You will not be able to solve this problem, since you risk the performance of the entire computer. The only solution is to replace the power supply.

There is one more feature to this question. Recently, USB devices for computers have become very common, let’s say the following devices are now powered: a mat for heating a cup, desk lamp, wireless mouse, removable HDD, and in addition, the smartphone is also charging. And you want to connect a flash drive, but bad luck, the computer sees it. The fact is that there was an overcurrent on the USB ports. Those. all your devices are already consuming maximum amount current and you won’t be able to connect one more. Therefore, to use a flash drive, you need to disconnect several devices from the computer’s USB ports and then the problem will disappear.

If the computer does not see the flash drive in Windows XP

There are many reasons why a flash drive may not be detected in Windows XP. Moreover, the problem may lie in the operating system, and in a faulty flash drive, and even in the computer hardware.

If the problem is related to the operating system, then it can only be eliminated by making additional changes in the settings; this is best done manually, despite the abundance of special utilities that can help in this matter.

However, if the drive itself is faulty, then the only thing you can do is try to save the data recorded on it. And after that, purchase a new and more reliable device.

If your computer cannot detect the flash drive, it notifies the user with the following signals:

• Your flash drive is inserted and you try to access the data on it, the message “Insert disk” pops up.
• The system notifies you that the drive must be formatted for further use.
• Errors appear about the impossibility of gaining access to data.
• The system may freeze as soon as you plug the USB flash drive into the computer's USB port.

In this section we will look at all the most common reasons for the non-functionality of a flash drive in Windows XP and give practical recommendations by their decision. Carefully read the description of the problem, if it is not similar to yours or its solution did not help you, move on to the next point until the problem goes away. The first thing you need to do is try to determine whether the flash drive is working. This is indicated by a light indicator located on it. If you connect the drive and it blinks or lights up, then the flash drive is working and the problem lies either in the system or hardware of the computer.

Try changing the port into which you connect the flash drive or even the computer; perhaps only the port or the entire system is faulty, but on another PC the flash drive will work properly. For example, if, when connecting a flash drive to a port, you observe a complete system freeze, this means that this port is faulty and it is better not to use it.

If you are using USB hubs or extenders and the flash drive is not displayed, perhaps the problem lies in the device itself, and not the flash drive. If this turns out to be the case, you can take the hub to a service center or try to repair it yourself. To do this you will need a soldering iron, solder and a little experience, because most often you just need to solder one or two contacts and everything will work as expected.

Perhaps the problem lies in the lack electric current in the USB port system. To check this, you need to disconnect all USB devices on the computer (camera, printer, lamp, etc.), leaving only the keyboard and mouse. If after such manipulations the flash drive appears in the system and you can access it, then the problem lies in a weak power supply. This problem can only be solved by replacing the power supply with a more powerful one, but using a USB hub with its own power source will help delay the purchase of a power supply.

However, if the problem is not resolved after disconnecting all other devices, it may still be actual problem with insufficient power supply and an outdated USB port. In other words, on older laptops you will not be able to open a flash drive with a capacity of 36 GB or larger. There is no way to solve the problem; you can only buy a more modern laptop or computer.

A very common situation occurs when the user connects a flash drive to the front port of the PC, but the system does not see it. This means that the ports are not connected to the power supply on the motherboard, or too little power is allocated to them. You can connect the front panel yourself using the instructions located above in the section of the same name.

Can't see the flash drive due to Windows XP errors. Troubleshooting

The flash drive may also not be detected due to operating system errors. For example, Windows XP SP2 lacks updates and software packages that ensure the normal operation of USB devices. Moreover, it is possible that only several USB devices can work in one port.

The solution to this issue will be to update the system to SP3 and install the necessary updates. Even a new user can do this, since we only need a couple of clicks, and the system will automatically download, install and launch the update. So, let's get started, we can move in two ways - this is an official download from Windows Update or installing SP3 from a disk or flash drive. The first step is to check which package you already have installed.

Click on the “My Computer” icon with the right mouse button and select “Properties”. The following window will open in front of you, where information about your system will be indicated.

To install SP3, we need to allow the operating system to search and update the computer system. To do this, just go from the Control Panel to Windows Update.

As soon as you do this, the system will begin searching for updates, after which it will offer you to update everything at once or select only the ones you need. If you don't understand what update changes what, then it's better to let the system update completely.

After downloading all the updates, the operating system will require you to restart your computer to apply the new settings. Click “Ok” and wait patiently. That's all, now you can connect the flash drive and use it.

If you decide to choose the updates that should be installed, and not download them all automatically, then here is a guideline that will help improve the system's perception of USB drives.

Driver conflicts in Windows XP

There is also the problem of driver conflict. The fact is that some outdated drivers can cause errors at the system level, moreover, they can prevent the normal operation of new drivers. A striking example of such a problem is a situation when a user inserts a flash drive into a computer, tries to access the data on it, and the system immediately displays an error message asking to insert the disk. Or, the system simply freezes, and even assigning an existing letter to a flash drive partition is possible.

The reason for such errors is as follows. Let's say you have two flash drives, you connected one of them to the system. In automatic mode, all necessary drivers for this device are immediately installed. You made necessary manipulations to write or read files and remove the drive. After that, you insert a second flash drive, which is completely working, and one of the above errors pops up. This means that the system is trying to use the already installed driver from the first flash drive to launch the second, but they are not compatible.

Reinstalling Windows XP drivers for USB devices

This problem can be easily resolved in several ways. Reinstalling drivers automatically or manually. Let's look at a little theory: a driver from one USB device can be mistakenly used by the system to launch another USB device. To eliminate these problems, we need to first remove all existing drivers for USB drives, and then reinstall them.

Such a problem may display the message “USB device not recognized,” or unexplained processes occur at the system level that block access to data or cause the system to freeze.

Remove via DriveCleanup

You can effectively remove all existing drivers for USB devices using the DriveCleanup utility. Its advantage is that it searches the entire system for installed drivers and only then removes them.

First of all, turn off the computer, disconnect all USB devices from it in order to avoid conflict situations while the program is running. Turn on the PC, go to the official website of the program and download the executable file. The utility is compatible with any version of Windows, including different bitmaps. When downloading, pay attention to the file version.

Automatic installation

You have removed all drivers from your computer. In order for a device to function normally, the operating system must have drivers for it. Process automatic installation The driver is incredibly simple, you just need to connect the USB flash drive to the USB port, after which the installation will begin immediately. A window will pop up that will display the installation progress; on some systems this may occur in a mode invisible to the user. Within one to two minutes, the installation will be completed and you will be able to use the device.

Manual installation

Under manual installation This means installing drivers not directly from the storage medium itself. We can also install drivers for a flash drive from third-party Internet resources, but to avoid conflict situations, we will install drivers for a flash drive using another computer.

So, we take our problematic flash drive and insert it into another computer, where it is recognized. A prerequisite for this process is that the versions of Windows on both computers match. We use the system search and find two files.

We transfer them to the problem computer by any means, be it sending by mail or using other removable media. You need to place these files in a folder with the same path that was on the first computer and confirm the replacement when the corresponding window pops up. We reboot the computer and enjoy its performance with FLASH disks.

We looked at only the most common reasons why a flash drive is not visible on the computer. In fact, there are many more of them. Moreover, there are problems that are expressed by other system messages, and their solution is already described in the paragraphs of the article.

The “Insert disk” message appears even if the flash drive is already connected to the USB port

This system error occurs if drivers overlap each other and interfere with the normal functioning of USB devices. In order to fix this error, you need to remove all drivers for USB devices and install them again. This process is described step by step in this article.

Message about the need to format the disk

This message appears if you are using a flash drive for the first time or if it has experienced a system failure. In addition to the message, you can verify that it is not suitable for use, because it does not display any free space, neither busy. The solution to this issue is described in detail in paragraphs 8 and 9.

Data error message

This problem occurs in 3 cases. This is a driver conflict, a file system conflict, and a failure of the flash drive itself. It can be solved by reinstalling the drivers; if that doesn’t help, then do a quick format to preserve the ability to recover data on the flash drive. Step-by-step instructions are above.

Complete system freeze immediately after connecting the flash drive to the computer

This issue has already been discussed in the article, but I would like to point out that this error can occur for two reasons:

1. Driver conflict.
2. Faulty port.

It’s easy to check what problem you have, insert the flash drive into another port, if the freeze continues, it means there’s a problem with the drivers. Instructions and tips for reinstalling them were given as part of this article.

Why does the computer not see the flash drive when the indicator on it is lit?

The contact on the flash drive, which is responsible for transmitting information, may be damaged. A driver conflict and the assignment of a busy letter to a partition cannot be ruled out. If the problem does not go away after connecting the flash drive to another computer, try checking the availability of the partition. If everything is fine here, then reinstall the drivers and the flash drive will work.

Error 43 / Error 43

This error immediately stops reading information from a removable device, which means we won’t be able to immediately access the data. There are several problems that can cause Error 43.

• Malfunction of the device itself is the first of them. Check on another computer to see if this situation happens again.
• Driver conflict - solution described above.
• Updating the hardware configuration - simply roll back the driver version in the Task Manager.

conclusions

We have reviewed in detail the reasons that may prevent a computer from reading a flash drive and the information on it. The described solutions with step-by-step instructions will definitely help you get rid of this problem. An unreadable flash drive can be a death sentence only if the flash drive is faulty. In other situations, this is an easily reversible process. If you have any questions or couldn’t find a solution to your problem in the article, leave a comment and we’ll try to clarify the situation together.

Today, one of the most popular types of media is a flash drive. And no matter what anyone says, the age of CD/DVD discs is coming to an end. Moreover, the price of one flash drive is only 3-4 times more than the price DVD disc! True, there is one small “but” - it’s much more difficult to “break” a disk than a flash drive...

Although not often, one unpleasant situation sometimes happens with flash drives: you remove the microSD flash card from your phone or camera, insert it into your computer or laptop, but it doesn’t see it. There can be many reasons for this: viruses, software errors, failure of a flash drive, etc. In this article, I would like to dwell on the most popular reasons for invisibility, as well as provide some tips and recommendations on what to do in such cases.

Types of flash cards. Is SD card supported by your card reader?

Here I would like to dwell in more detail. Many users often confuse one type of memory card with another. The fact is that there are three types of SD flash cards: microSD, miniSD, SD.

Why did the manufacturers do this?

It's just there different devices: for example, a small audio player (or a small mobile phone) and, for example, a camera or photo camera. Those. The devices are completely different in size with different requirements for the speed of flash cards and the amount of information. This is why there are several types of flash drives. Now in more detail about each of them.

1. microSD

Size: 11mm x 15mm.

MicroSD flash cards are very popular due to portable devices: players, phones, tablets. Using microSD, the memory of the listed devices can be increased very quickly by an order of magnitude!

Usually, when purchasing, they come with a small adapter so that this flash drive can be connected instead of an SD card (more on them below). By the way, for example, to connect this flash drive to a laptop, you need to: insert micsroSD into the adapter, and then insert the adapter into the SD connector on the front/side panel of the laptop.

2.miniSD

Size: 21.5mm x 20mm.

Once popular cards used in portable equipment. Today they are used less and less, mainly due to the popularity of the microSD format.

Size: 32mm x 24mm.

These cards are mostly used in devices that require a large amount of memory + high speed. For example, a video camera, a car video recorder, a camera, etc. devices. SD cards are divided into several generations:

1. SD 1 – from 8 MB to 2 GB in size;
2. SD 1.1 – up to 4 GB;
3. SDHC – up to 32 GB;
4. SDXC – up to 2 TB.

Very important points when working with SD cards!

1) In addition to the amount of memory, SD cards indicate the speed (more precisely, the class). For example, in the screenshots above, the card class is “10” - this means that the exchange speed with such a card is at least 10 MB/s (more details about classes: ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Digital). It is important to pay attention to what speed class of flash card is required for your device!

2) microSD using special. adapters (they are usually written adapter (see screenshots above)) can be used instead of regular SD cards. True, doing this always and everywhere is not recommended (precisely because of the speed of information exchange).

3) SD card readers are backward compatible: i.e. if you take a device that reads SDHC, it will read SD cards of 1 and 1.1 generations, but will not be able to read SDXC. This is why it is important to pay attention to what cards your device can read.

By the way, many “relatively old” laptops have built-in card readers that are not able to read new types of flash memory SDHC cards. The solution in this case is quite simple: buy a card reader that connects to a regular USB port; by the way, it looks more like a regular flash drive. Price: several hundred rubles.

The same drive letter is the reason why flash drives, hard drives, and memory cards are invisible!

The point is that if your hard drive The drive letter is F: (for example) and your inserted flash card is also F: - then the flash card will not be displayed in Explorer. Those. you go to “my computer” and you won’t see the flash drive there!

To fix this, you need to go to the “disk management” panel. How to do it?

In Windows 8: press Win+X, select “disk management”.

In Windows 7/8: press Win+R and enter the command “diskmgmt.msc”.

Next, you should see a window that will show all connected disks, flash drives, and other devices. Moreover, even those devices that are not formatted and that are not visible in “my computer” will be shown. If your memory card is on this list, then you need to do two things:

1. Change its drive letter to a unique one (to do this, simply right-click on the flash drive and select the operation to change the letter in the context menu, see screenshot below);

2. Format the flash card (if you have a new one, or it does not have the necessary data on it. Attention, the formatting operation will destroy all data on the flash card).

Lack of drivers is a popular reason why the computer does not see the SD card!

Even if your computer/laptop is brand new and you just brought it from the store yesterday, this does not guarantee anything. The fact is that the store sellers (or their specialists who prepare the goods for sale) could simply forget to install the necessary drivers, or simply be lazy. Most likely you were given disks (or copied to your hard drive) with all the drivers and you just need to install them.

In general, there are special programs that can scan your computer (or rather, all its devices) and find the latest drivers for each device. I have already written about such utilities in previous posts. Here I will give only 2 links:

1. Driver update programs:
2. Search and update drivers: /li>

Connecting an SD card via USB using some device

If the computer does not see the SD card itself, then why can’t you try to insert the SD card into some device (for example, a phone, camera, camera, etc.) and connect it to the PC? To be honest, I rarely remove the flash card from devices, preferring to copy photos and videos from them, connecting them to my laptop via a USB cable.

Do I need special programs to connect my phone to a PC?

New operating systems such as Windows 7, 8 are capable of working with many devices without installing additional software. Installation of drivers and configuration of the device occurs automatically when the device is first connected to the USB port.

For each brand of phone/camera, there are utilities recommended by the manufacturer (see the manufacturer’s website)…

Situations with memory card damage occur quite often. This article will discuss in detail the issue of restoring a damaged drive using third-party programs.

SD failure can occur for many reasons - it could be damage to the drive itself, or a consequence of a malfunction of the device on which the card is installed.

Why crashes may occur

There are several most common causes, which may result in damage to the memory card:

• physical damage;
• Availability broken sectors;
• wrong extraction storage;
• failure in the operation of the device;
• unknown errors, leading to a malfunction of the SD.

In what cases is recovery possible?

Physical breakdown SD cards may be directly related to case damage. It can crack, and the microcircuits inside are at risk of being damaged. The most common case is loss of retainer Lock. In addition, the interface controller may fail. In this case, restoring work and saving data is, fortunately, still possible.

The presence of broken memory cells is an equally common case. In this situation, the flash drive is not recognized by devices. This type of failure appears over time, because the drive’s memory has several read/write cycles. When they run out, the flash drive fails. It is possible to restore operation using specialized software.

In addition, there are errors that cause SD to malfunction. Such errors include the following system notifications:

• the media is detected, but its size is 0 KB;
• cannot be detected, read or opened on any device.

Errors:

• insert the disc into the device;
• USB device not recognized;
• flash card is damaged;
• this device cannot be started (code 10);
• error when connecting a USB device (code 43).

Each case will require analysis to find the cause of the failure and restore the data.

Device malfunctions occur quite often. In this case, the card is recognized on another device. This is due to connector damage on the gadget itself. In this case, you will have to repair the device itself, and not the flash drive. The same applies to damage to the SD card on Android.

Incorrect extraction is primarily due to user inexperience. If the card incorrectly removed, then the flash memory is damaged. Unfortunately, it is impossible to eliminate such a malfunction. In this case, only purchasing a new SD will solve the problem.

Formatting using special programs

Software that performs low-level formatting of the drive can resolve some problems. The most popular are HDD LOW Format and SDformatter. They are also used when micro SD is not formatted.

HDD LOW Format

An effective program that will help you format SD. HDD LOW Format has in its arsenal special formatting algorithms that will help restore the functionality of the micro SD in a few mouse clicks.

Process:

SDformatter

SDformatter is a small free and functional utility that allows you to perform low-level formatting of a flash drive. Among other things, the program allows you not only to clear the card, but also restore bad sectors . SDformatter's simple interface will allow even a novice user to cope with the task.

The process looks like in the following way:

Using iFlash

To restore a memory card, you can use a special online service iFlash. This resource is a database of flash devices with the utilities most suitable for them.

Search process the required utility on the iFlash resource:

Kingmax (Super Stick and U-Drive)

To recover media from Kingmax, you will need Super Stick and U-Drive utilities. The operating principle of both programs is the same.

You can restore your drive in a few minutes:

• open one of the versions of Super Stick or U-Drive utilities;
• then a window will open (the interface of both utilities is identical);
• click " Update" and wait for the process to complete.

Sandisk (Formatter Silicon Power)

• install and open the program;
• in the utility window select the module “ Recover" and wait for the restoration process to complete.

A-Data (Paragon Partition Manager Free)

For drives from A-Data, Paragon Partition Manager Free is best suited.

The process of restoring a drive using it looks like this:

• open the program and in the main window use the module “ Format Partition»;
• then you need to create a new disk partition; to do this, select “ Create new partition».

There's another one useful program— HDDScan, let’s look at the process of working with it on video:

other methods

If the above methods do not help or it is not possible to use them, you can try to recover the memory card using other tools.

Changing a letter disk:

Let's move on to installing drivers. To do this, you will need DriverPack Solution to automatically install the necessary software. You can also do this step manually and download the driver package from a specialized website.

In addition to using programs and other tools, it is best to start check the map on another device. If it is recognized, then the problem is hidden in your gadget ( android phone, tablet, camera and computer).

How to check a memory card for functionality

In case of failures and errors, it is worth checking the functionality. To do this, you do not need to use special tools; standard operating system tools will suffice.

The check can be done as follows:

How to handle SD card

To avoid data loss due to memory card failure, you must adhere to a number of rules when using it:

• try to keep the card in protected place, avoid getting water on the interface connector, falls and other troubles that could damage the case;
• not worth it touch with hands to the contact connector;
• necessary defragment drive and use it as often as possible. If it is not used, then memory cells degrade over time;
• do not forget make copies files located on a flash drive and transfer them to a PC;
• not worth storing on the map a large number of files, you need to leave some free space;
• at extraction from PC, you must use Safely Remove.