Almost every computer user has attached a USB device like a flash drive, printer or digital camera to the USB port on their computer only to have a message pop up that says “USB Device Not Recognized!”. This article has several trouble shooting tips that will help you to get your computer to recognize your USB Device.

Computer Power Supply

Computers are just like cars in that they sometimes can have power supply issues that cause them to function poorly. This could be one of the reasons why your computer doesn’t recognize your USB Device. The easiest way to find out if the power supply is the problem is to turn your computer off and unplug it from the wall. While your computer is unplugged, unscrew the panel to your computer and take a can of compressed air or a small vacuum cleaner to clean out the dust and dirt that has accumulated inside your computer. Once you finish cleaning out your computer put the panel back on, plug it back into the wall and power it up again.

Maintenance

Another common reason that causes computers to not recognize USB devices is that there is too much junk on the computer. You should use your virus protection software to clean the cookies off your computer and then run your computers disk defragmenter and scan disk programs to insure that your computer’s hard drive are functioning properly.

Other issues could still cause your computer to not recognize your USB device like having an older version of Windows or an unsupported operating system. Your computer could also be lacking in the latest drivers for your motherboard. If you think this is the case with your computer you should visit the manufacturer website for your computers motherboard and download the latest drivers.

Sometimes you have to become a detective to find out why your computer isn’t working properly but if you follow a process of elimination and the steps in this article you should be able to easily find a solution to your computer problem.