BIOS does not read bootable USB stick. What to do if the BIOS does not see the USB flash drive - instructions and solution to the problem. The USB connector of the flash drive is dirty

If the computer does not see the USB flash drive after restarting the computer, then the first thing to do is to check if the USB flash drive is bootable? To make from an ordinary USB drive bootable USB drive it is not enough just to copy data from a computer there.

Also, even if you have previously used this drive, and can confirm that it can be used to install the operating system, this does not solve the problem. Today there is different types boot, so that even there is a USB flash drive and worked on one computer, it is not at all a fact that it will work on another. For everything to be successful, the data must be rewritten according to a different principle, using different software.

Is there a function to support a bootable USB flash drive in BIOS? Is it configured correctly?

In some cases, problems do not arise with the flash drive, but with the BIOS itself. Different versions have different boot types: USB_CDRom, USB_FDD, USB_HDD, etc.

After entering the BIOS, you need to go to the boot partition present in each version. The section names may vary, but the word "BOOT" will be present anyway. The line is important to us: "Boot priotity order", that is, the boot order.

It must be borne in mind that the hard drive is loaded first, that is, what is located after it no longer matters - in this case it is a USB HDD, which does not reach the queue after loading hard disk... Thus, you just need to swap these values.

It is interesting that if you turn on the computer after the USB flash drive has been inserted there, then it will appear in the BIOS with the name.

When exiting the BIOS, be sure to save all changes made.

The note! some older devices do not initially have the option to select USB. This only means that the BIOS simply does not support this technology. This issue is resolved by the firmware.

How to create a bootable USB flash drive for Windows installation

First of all, in order to create installation disk with an operating system, you need to use a flash drive with a total memory size of 8 gigabytes or more. Why is this volume required for the installation disc? Just because today the volume installation files for operating systems varies from two to four gigabytes.

• Windows Seven;
• Windows 8 (8.1);
• Windows 10;
• Ubuntu 15.

Windows 7

It will take 15 to 30 minutes to properly prepare your USB drive for use as the installation source for Windows 7, depending on the speed of your computer.

First download the licensed ISO image of the operating system.

After that download microsoft program Windows USB / DVD Download Tool.

After downloading, execute the file and follow the instructions of the installation wizard.

This free program from Microsoft that runs on Windows 7, Winsows 8, Windows 10, Windows Vista and Windows XP. You will need to format the USB drive first and then copy the contents of your Windows 7 ISO file to the USB stick.

Step 1. Run the program windows boot 7 USB DVD Tool, which is most likely located in the Start menu or on the desktop. You will need to choose iso file: Click Next. Find and select the Windows 7 ISO file. Then open it.

Note! Download image Windows is better directly from the official Microsoft website.

Step 2. Click "Next" , back to the first screen. After that, you will be taken to the next window. Click on the "USB-Device" button , after which you will be transferred to the screen for selecting a USB-drive (flash drive).

Step 3.When the device is selected, click on the "Begin copying" button. This starts copying the installation files to the media. Confirm "Erase USB device" if the dialog box "Not enough free space" pops up ». After that, all files from the drive will be permanently deleted.

Step 4. Then confirm "Yes" to go to the next window.

Step 5. After selecting the required flash drive, click the "Begin copying" button. The process of copying the installation files to the USB flash drive will begin. Also, be careful, as all previously stored files on the USB stick will be erased. A notification about the start of formatting will appear for a few seconds, and then copying of files will begin. This part can take up to 30 minutes, and maybe even longer, depending on which version of Windows 7 the ISO file belongs to, as well as the power of the computer and the USB drive itself.

On this screen, you will see Status: Backup completed, which means that the bootable USB device has been successfully created.

Windows 8 (8.1)

In the case of Windows 8, you need another utility - it's called the Media Creation Tool, and you can download it from the official Microsoft website.

Step 1. When you start this program, a window will open in which you will need to select the operating system, its language, version, and architecture.

Step 4. Moving on to the next window, you will come across a loading screen and a notification that a file is downloading. Uploading files to a USB flash drive can take a long time, and of course the flash drive will be formatted.

Step 5. When the download is complete, a notification screen will appear indicating that the bootable USB flash drive is complete. Close the window by clicking the "Finish" button.

Windows 10

If you are having problems with your drive in windows system 10, then its solution will be similar to the solution with Windows 8 / 8.1: first, download the Media Creation Tool program from the official Microsoft website and follow the entire sequence of actions above. If you first run the program on Windows Seven or on the eight, then you will be offered two options: upgrade, or create bootable media. Choose the latter.

Create installation media according to the same principles as for the G8.

Ubuntu 15

Unlike the same interface different versions Windows, Ubuntu 15 is completely different operating system, therefore completely different methods of creating bootable flash drives are applied to it.

In the case of Ubuntu, you need to download from "GitHub" free program UNetbootin.

Methods for booting from a USB flash drive to UEFI

Now let's see how to boot devices in the UEFI_BIOS system from a USB drive. The test object will be an ordinary average motherboard MSI-A58M-E33, which has the latest existing version of UEFI_BIOS.

After restarting, the computer will automatically load the specified device. However, if the flash drive is not recognized by the computer even after that, then the problem may be as follows:

• the image was written to a USB flash drive with errors;
• "Safe boot" safe boot mode works (below it will be presented how to disable this mode);
• there is also the possibility that the problem is in the flash drive itself - for example, since the moment the image was written to it, it was somehow damaged.

Booting a USB flash drive on older BIOS versions

Users using older computers can boot from a flash drive in the same way, although the rules may differ.

Save and restart your laptop. From this moment, the download will be carried out from the specified device. This BIOS model is installed on most older laptops, so it will fit 90% of models.

USB drive for UEFI computer

All newest personal computers support latest versions UEFI_BIOS. Such a system has a huge number of advantages, so when buying a flash drive, make sure that it is UEFI compatible.

When you create an installation flash drive for Windows Seven, 8, or 8.1 using the Media Creation Tool, you can be sure that UEFI will be compatible with it. But windows program The USB / DVD Download Tool designed for the G7 no longer has such guarantees.

How to Create a Guaranteed Bootable Media for Windows Seven

Rufus is a universal program, so it is also applicable to older BIOS versions. Distinctive feature This utility is a fairly high speed of copying and writing ISO files to drives.

This way you can create boot disks for any operating system. Most of the problems will disappear as soon as you download the image to the USB stick correctly.

To disable "Safe boot" you need to do the following:

Most often, the computer stops seeing the bootable flash drive due to the lack of synchronization between the flash drive and the BIOS (UEFI), due to the specifics of their boot modes.

Almost all modern personal computers have basically two boot modes: UEFI (which is usually the default on most machines) and Legacy.

If you try to create a bootable drive for Legacy mode (Windows Seven) when the BIOS only has uEFI boot - the resulting drive will not be detected by the computer and you will not be able to select it in the BIOS.

To solve this problem, you can enable the appropriate boot mode in BIOS. In most cases, you will need to enable Legacy mode. This can be done by entering the BIOS, in the appropriate boot menu (Boot), and enable / switch to the "Enabled" mode of any of the following items:

Also, if you are using a Only Legacy bootable drive, you must turn off Secure Boot.

Further, if the image that is written to the flash drive can boot in both UEFI and Legacy modes, then it makes sense to write it without changing the BIOS settings (although this does not mean that you will not need to disable Secure Boot).

The already mentioned Rufus program is the most convenient boot device in this case. In the settings, you can also select boot types: MBR for machines with BIOS or UEFI_CSM _Legacy, or GPT for machines with UEFI.

Video - BIOS does not see the bootable USB flash drive

Modern laptops are getting rid of CD / DVD drives one by one, becoming thinner and lighter. Along with this, users have a new need - the ability to install an OS from a flash drive. However, even with a bootable USB stick, not everything can go as smoothly as we would like. Microsoft specialists have always liked to throw interesting puzzles for their users. One of them - the BIOS may simply not see the carrier. The problem can be solved by several consistent actionwhich we will now describe.

In general, there is nothing better for installing the OS on your computer than a self-made bootable USB flash drive. You will be 100% sure of it. In some cases, it turns out that the media itself is made incorrectly. Therefore, we will look at several ways how to make it for the most popular versions of Windows.

In addition, you need to set correct parameters in the BIOS itself. Sometimes this may be the reason for the absence of a drive in the list of drives. Therefore, after we figure out how to create a USB flash drive, we will consider three more ways to configure the most common BIOS versions.

Method 1. Flash drive with Windows 7 installer

In this case, we'll use.

This method Suitable for Windows 7 and older. To write images of other systems, use our instructions for creating bootable USB drives.

AT following instructions You will be able to see ways to create the same drive, but not with Windows, but with other operating systems.

Method 2: Setting Award BIOS

To enter Award BIOS, press F8 while the operating system boots. This is the most common option. There are also the following entry combinations:

• Ctrl + Alt + Esc;
• Ctrl + Alt + Del;
• Delete;
• Reset (for Dell computers);
• Ctrl + Alt + F11;
• Insert.

And now let's talk about how to properly configure the BIOS. In most cases, this is exactly the problem. If you have an Award BIOS, do this:

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 media. It is hardly possible to overestimate its usefulness of a flash drive, because you can quickly write information or count on it, it does not take up much space in a portfolio or bag, and the price segment is pleasantly pleasing.

Despite all the positive points, sometimes there are situations when the data cannot be read due to the flash drive itself or the computer. Indeed, at the most important moment, you can lose access to the 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 USB flash drive.

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

The flash drive itself does not work

This is the worst scenario for a person whose documents are stored on a USB flash drive, because it is practically impossible to bring it back to life. You can disable a USB flash drive when mechanical stress to the chip of the device or its controller, by closing the electrical circuit, damage to the contacts on USB board... This is what a USB flash drive looks like after the electrical circuit is closed or moisture gets inside the drive.

Determining if this happened to your drive is easy enough. The very first thing you need to do is check the USB flash drive for mechanical damage, chips, cracks, etc. If it is completely broken, you can look for a replacement at a computer peripheral store. If you doubt its inoperability, you can check it with a practical method.

Connect the USB flash drive to the USB connector of the computer, if the LED on it lights up and on the computer you hear a sound 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, most likely the flash drive is no longer usable.

You can try to carry the USB stick to service center, where the wizard will try to rewire the contacts or replace the controller, but it will be very expensive, and this action will be justified only if you have important documents stored on it. If no fatal malfunction was found and the flash drive shows signs of life, try the methods to restore its performance, which will be described below.

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

This problem is very common among desktop users. Most computer owners are accustomed to plugging a USB stick into the front USB ports because it's quick and easy.

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

This problem can be solved in two ways. If you urgently need to use the information on removable media, you can connect it to the back of your computer. The front connectors will still be inoperative, but you will get access to the documents. It is impossible to call such manipulations a full-fledged solution, so let's consider the second option.

Method number 2 involves connecting the power cable to motherboard to the front of the computer. The connection connectors may differ depending on the model of your computer case. But do not be afraid they all have markings and you will not be able to connect the wrong connector due to design features. The most common wires are VCC, D-, D + and GND. Furthermore, color coding the cable and connector on the motherboard match, but it is better to keep a reference point according to 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 bezel and locate 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 the wizard. If you connect the cable and connector incorrectly, you can burn these contacts and even devices. If you decide to connect the front USB connectors, then it is better to tell us the model of your case and motherboard, and we will show you how to do it correctly and explain what the connector and cable look like.

Faulty or disconnected USB port on the computer

Sometimes the problem of unreadable information on removable media is associated not with the problem of the flash drive itself, but with the connector into which it is connected. A certain USB port may be inoperative, and this condition can be caused by trivial damage to the connector pins. Then, not only the flash drive will not work in this port, but also others. USB devicesand.

Decide this problem it is possible, armed with a conventional soldering iron and minimal knowledge of circuitry. If there is no such knowledge, skill and equipment, then this can be fixed at the nearest service center for a low fee.

However, if there is no reaction to uSB connection the device is not 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 the menu. Most often, the F2 or Del key is set by default, but depending on the motherboard company and the 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 along the following route: “”.

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

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

The USB connector of the flash drive is dirty

The flash drive is mobile device storage of information and therefore is often carried in pockets, briefcases or as a key ring. Due to such operating conditions, dust and small debris can accumulate in the connector. This does not happen often, but it can cause the flash drive to malfunction. Dust and debris build up on the contact and prevent connections from the contacts in the port on the computer. Such a flash drive may not only not be displayed at all, but also freeze, slowly transmit or read information and 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 will help remove debris and oxidation.

Infection with viruses

In our time, the issue of the security of the storage device is becoming more and more urgent, because viruses are in full swing. You can visit the site you are used to social network on the Internet and get infected, not to mention downloading files from unverified sources.

Modern computer viruses can also multiply, no matter how strange it sounds. They infect files on your USB flash drive or computer hard drive, and their number grows exponentially.

Very often, the problem of the inoperability of a flash drive is a virus infection. 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 information, you will see the message "" or " Application not found».

Before solving this problem, it is worth installing antivirus software on your computer and conducting a complete diagnosis 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. You will see a window with the name "Folder Options" open, here you need to do the following:

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

After that, 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 must delete it, and check the flash drive for viruses with one of the free antivirus, the Dr.WEB Cure It utility handles this perfectly.

Now you can fully use the USB flash drive and no problems should arise. If nothing has changed, then the problem lies in the absence of drivers, we will analyze it below.

Driver failure or outdated drivers

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

The first step is to go to "". This can be done in several ways, for example, through "My Computer" or find this section in the system search, as we will do.

We go into this menu, after which we connect the flash drive to the computer, after which we open the sub-tab “ USB controllers ". Select the line “ Memory device", By clicking the right mouse button opens the system menu and press" Delete ".

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

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

Moreover, most users have doubts about the correctness of their actions when they learn about different formats USB. 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 read and write speed.

Filesystem errors

The computer may also not detect your flash device due to file system errors. Let's check if this is so, go to "", as described above. Now you need to open the sub-tab “ Disk devices", If you see your USB flash drive there, it means it is working properly, and the file system does not perceive it as it should, and, accordingly, does not display it in the 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 do not see your drive there, then the problem lies in the malfunction of the flash drive itself, which means either the controller has burned out, or the contact is unsoldered. Experts in service centers can try to bring it back to life. However, this is an expensive task, it is easier to buy a new one, of course, if it was not recorded on the faulty one. important information and you need to recover data on a USB flash drive.

File system conflict

Quite often, the contents of a flash drive are not displayed due to a conflict between file systems on the computer and the removable media itself. For example, if the computer operates on a file nTFS system and the flash drive uses FAT32, a conflict situation is not excluded. Moreover, this problem is widespread not only in windows environmentbut also Mac OS. For example, if you format the USB flash drive on your Mac device in exFAT system or the standard MacBook file system, then the flash drive is unlikely to be read on Windows devices.

The very first thing to do is find a computer that uses a different file system, open the USB 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, as well as find out which 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 to 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, put a tick in front of the "Fast" attribute and click "Start".

A few words about why we are using the Fast attribute. First, the formatting of the flash drive will be much faster. But there is another side to the coin. If there were any documents on the flash drive, then only with a quick format can you recover this data using special utilities. If you have not checked the box, then the information that was on the flash drive will be lost for you forever.

The flash drive is not formatted

A fairly common problem is when you insert a USB flash drive into your computer (basically, this is a new USB flash drive and its first use), and the operating system gives you a warning, which says that the removable disk needs to be formatted before use. And if the flash drive was used earlier and data is recorded on it, then you will not be able to access them. Moreover, the volume of the flash drive becomes 0, i.e. as if there is nothing at all, not even a drive.

If you have already used a USB flash drive and this is not its first connection, then try connecting it to another computer, perhaps the problem will go away and you can save the data. But in any case, the flash drive must be formatted. How to do this was discussed in detail in the section "Conflict of file systems".

But I want to draw your attention to two points. So that after formatting there are no problems with the file system (FS), find out which FS is used on the computer and install the same for the drive. And second, if the flash drive had the information you need, then be sure to use the "Fast" attribute, so the formatting of the flash drive will only go through the table of contents, and the lost information can be returned using special utilities.

A problem with a partition or a USB flash drive is automatically assigned a busy letter

There are situations when the operating system incorrectly detects your removable media. It seems that everything is fine, the device connection is highlighted and the flash drive icon appears in the tray, but you cannot use it for its intended purpose.

The problem may be that the system did not assign a letter to the partition under which it will appear. removable storage or assigned, but this letter is already taken, and because of this, an address conflict is obtained.

The solution to this problem will be the forced assignment of the partition letter that we choose, everything happens in manual mode... So let's get started.

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

In the line we need to enter a simple command diskmgmt.msc , which will transfer us to the section for managing disks and drives.

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

In my case, the flash drive is a drive named "20151114_17", you can also identify it by a special icon. Now you need to click on it with the right mouse button, and in the menu that opens, select the "Change letter" item.

Now another additional window, smaller, will open in front of us. In it you need to click on the "Change" and "OK" button.

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 the letter assigned to the partition of your flash drive, look at which letters are already used by the system. This is very important, because we can not fix the problem, but leave it. This will happen if, for example, you designate a flash drive partition through the letter “D”, which is already assigned to the local disk.

Power supply malfunction or excessive overcurrent of the USB port

This problem is very common nowadays. The fact is that the computer may simply not see the USB flash drive due to a faulty power supply. Let's figure it out in order, the power supply consumes electrical energy from the network, and then converts and distributes it to all nodes of the computer. He 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.

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

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

There is one more feature of this issue. Recently, USB devices for computers have become very common, for example, now such devices are powered: a mat for heating a cup, a table lamp, a wireless mouse, removable hard disk, and in addition the smartphone is also on charge. And you still want to connect a USB 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 already consume the maximum amount of current and you cannot connect another one. Therefore, in order to use a USB flash drive, you need to disconnect several devices from the USB ports of the computer and then the problem will disappear.

If the computer does not see the USB 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 both in the operating system itself, and in the malfunction of the flash, and even in the computer hardware.

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

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

If your computer cannot identify the USB flash drive, then it notifies the user with the following signals:

• Your flash drive is inserted, and you are trying to access the data on it, the message "Insert disc" pops up.
• The system notifies about the mandatory formatting of the drive for further use.
• Errors about the impossibility of accessing the data pop up.
• The system may freeze as soon as you plug the USB flash drive into your computer's USB port.

In this section, we will consider all the most common reasons for the non-functionality of a flash drive in Windows XP and give practical recommendations for solving them. Carefully read the description of the problem, if it is not similar to yours or its solution did not help you, continue to the next step until the problem goes away. The first thing to do is try to determine if the flash drive is working properly. This is indicated by a light indicator located on it. If you connected a drive and it blinks or is on, then the flash drive is working and the problem lies either in the system or in the hardware of the computer.

Try to change the port to which you connect the flash drive or even the computer, perhaps only the port or the entire system is faulty, and the flash drive will work properly on another PC. For example, if, when you connect 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 extension cords 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 of electrical current in the USB port system. To check this, you need to disconnect all USB devices on the computer (camera, printer, lamp, etc.), leave 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 be solved only by replacing the power supply with a more powerful one, but the use of a USB hub with its own power source will help to delay the purchase of a power supply.

However, if the problem persists after disconnecting all other devices, the problem with a lack of power supply and an outdated USB port may still be relevant. In other words, on older laptops, you won't be able to open a 36GB or larger flash drive. It won't solve the problem, you can only buy a more modern laptop or computer.

A very common situation is when a user plugs a USB flash drive into the front port of a PC, but the system does not see it. This means that either 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.

Doesn't see the USB 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 to keep USB devices working properly. Moreover, a situation is possible when only a few USB devices can work in one port.

The solution to this issue will be to upgrade 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 the 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 Control Panel to Windows Update.

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

After downloading all the updates, the operating system will require you to restart your computer in order to apply the new settings. Click "OK" and wait patiently. That's all, now you can connect a USB flash drive and use it.

If you decide to choose which updates should be installed, rather than downloading them all to automatic mode, then here's a guideline that will help improve your perception USB drives system.

Driver conflicts in Windows XP

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

The reason for these errors is as follows. Let's say you have two flash drives, you connected one of them to the system. In automatic mode, all the necessary drivers for this device are immediately installed. You have done the necessary manipulations for writing or reading files and pulled out the drive. After that, you insert a second USB flash drive, which is completely functional, 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 run the second, but they are not compatible.

Reinstalling Windows XP USB Drivers

This problem can be easily fixed in several ways. Reinstalling drivers in automatic mode or manual. Let's analyze a little theory, a driver from one USB device can be mistakenly used by the system to start another USB device. To eliminate these problems, we need to first uninstall 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.

Delete via DriveCleanup

You can effectively remove all existing USB device drivers using the DriveCleanup utility. Its advantage is that it searches the entire system for the presence of 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. We 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 bitness. When downloading, pay attention to the file version.

Automatic installation

You have removed all drivers from your computer. For the device to function normally, the operating system must have drivers for it. Process automatic installation The driver is incredibly simple, you just need to plug the USB flash drive into the USB port, and then the installation will start immediately. A window will pop up that will display the progress of the installation, on some systems this may occur in a mode invisible to the user. Installation is complete within one to two minutes and you can use your device.

Manual installation

Manual installation means installing drivers not directly from the media itself. We can also install drivers for the flash drive from third-party Internet resources, but to avoid conflicts, we will install the drivers for the flash drive using another computer.

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

By any means we transfer them to the problem computer, whether it is sending by mail or using another 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 have considered only the most common reasons why the flash drive is not displayed 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 message "Insert disc" appears, even if the flash drive is already connected to the USB port

This system error occurs if drivers overlap 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 reinstall them. This process is described step by step in this article.

Disk formatting message

This message appears if you are using a USB flash drive for the first time, or if system failure... In addition to the message, you can make sure that it is not suitable for use, because it does not display any free spacenor busy. The solution to this issue is described in detail in paragraphs 8 and 9.

Data error message

This problem pops up in 3 cases. This is a driver conflict, a file system conflict and a failure of the flash drive itself. It is solved by reinstalling the drivers, if it did not help, then quick formatting in order to preserve the possibility of data recovery on the USB flash drive. See above for step-by-step instructions.

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 draw your attention to the fact that this error can occur for two reasons:

1. Driver conflict.
2. Bad port.

It is easy to check what problem you have, insert the USB flash drive into another port, if the hang continues, then there is a problem with the drivers. Instructions and tips for reinstalling them have been given within this article.

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

The contact on the flash drive, which is responsible for the transfer of information, may be damaged. It is possible that there is a conflict of drivers and the assignment of an occupied letter for a partition. If the problem persists, after connecting the flash drive to another computer, try to check the availability of the partition. If everything is in order 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 that we will not be able to access the data immediately. There are several problems that Error 43 can cause.

• The failure of the device itself is the first of them. Check on another computer to see if this situation occurs again.
• Driver Conflict - Solution described above.
• Updating the hardware configuration - you just need to roll back the driver version in the Task Manager.

conclusions

We got acquainted in detail with the reasons that can prevent the computer from reading the flash drive and the information on it. Described solutions with step by step instructions will definitely help you get rid of this problem. The unreadable flash drive can be a verdict only if the flash drive is faulty. In other situations, this is an easily reversible process. If you have any questions or you could not find a solution to your problem in the article - leave comments, we will try to clarify the situation together.

Advances in technology have made it possible to significantly increase the volume of flash drives. During this time, CDs have completely disappeared from our lives, even Microsoft began to distribute Windows 10 on flash drives. But what if the BIOS does not see the bootable USB flash drive that has the software you installed.

Causes and solutions

There are not so many reasons, they are almost all related to the BIOS setting.

Important! First, you need to make sure that the flash drive is working properly. Having connected to another computer or laptop, check if it is displayed.

Incorrect image recording

The installation flash drive is created using special programs, it is not enough just to upload the file to the drive, it must be written correctly.

If you want to record windows image 7, then use the proprietary Microsoft utility.

For other versions of Windows and other programs, it is better to use UltraISO.

BIOS settings

What if the flash drive is recorded correctly, but it does not boot from it? Most likely the problem is in the BIOS settings.

Device startup order

Advice! Connect the drive to the USB port before doing the following. This will make it easier to detect.

Boot Mode

The second reason may be that the flash drive is not visible in the Boot Menu due to a mismatch in the boot mode. Most devices support two boot modes: Legacy and EFI. If the BIOS is set to Legacy mode, and the flash drive is written for EFI (or vice versa), then the system will not be able to recognize it.

The only thing that needs to be done in this case is to specify the desired mode through the Basic Input / Output System.

USB port support

Sometimes there are situations when the PC does not see the USB flash drive through uSB port 3.0 when trying to install a system from it. This is most likely due to the BIOS configuration. To solve the problem, just move the flash drive to USB 2.0.

There are sometimes quite unpleasant situations when the operating system crashes. And the original disk is required for recovery. If one is not available, you can write the image to a regular USB flash drive. But here's the problem - what to do when there is no boot from a USB flash drive in the BIOS? Many users simply do not know what to do and are lost in this question. Let's try to dot all the i's.

How to enable it in BIOS using the simplest method?

To set these parameters, you first need to decide how exactly the BIOS will be entered. The most common way is to use the Del, F2, F12, etc. keys.

However, on the same sony laptops Vaio is accessed using a special ASSIST button located on the keyboard panel. On some laptops, the BIOS can only be accessed by calling the primary boot menu using the Esc key.

How to set boot from a USB stick in BIOS? It's very simple. After calling the I / O system, you need to go to the boot section (Boot). Here you need to find the boot priority line, which may have different names, depending on the developer and manufacturer of the BIOS ( Boot Device Priority, Boot Sequence, etc.). In any case, something in this spirit will be present. But that's not the point.

What to do if there is no boot from a USB flash drive in BIOS?

It also happens that the bootable USB flash drive is not recognized by the primary I / O system. With what it can be connected? There are usually several reasons for this:

• incorrectly recorded image or installation distribution;
• damage to the USB media itself.

There are a few steps to take to make sure all the steps for booting from a USB flash drive are correct. For now, we will leave the question of how to enable booting from a USB flash drive in BIOS in the background, and will move on to pressing problems.

Checking in the "Device Manager"

Let's start with the last point. When checking the device itself for its functionality, there can be two options: either it is faulty by itself, or the accompanying driver is missing or incorrectly installed, which is responsible for recognizing the flash drive by the operating system.

In case of malfunctions, everything is clear. The device will simply have to be replaced. But here's what to do when it is in working order (at least determined on another computer or laptop)? You need to check its functionality. And to do this, in the simplest version, you just need to insert it into the appropriate USB 2.0 / 3.0 port, and then call the standard "Device Manager" through the "Control Panel" or use the command devmgmt in the "Run" menu bar (Win + R).

Suppose that after insertion into a port In the manager, it may either not be displayed or displayed with a yellow icon on which it is present. In the second case, everything is simple: you need to install or reinstall the driver. It is very possible that the system itself does not find a suitable driver, although it should do it automatically. But this mostly concerns non-standard devices. Flash drives like Transcend are usually recognized immediately.

If the device is not displayed in the corresponding manager, there can also be two reasons: either the corresponding driver of the universal USB controller is not installed, or the port itself is faulty. Again, you should install the driver (the controller is indicated in yellow or is absent in the manager at all), or try plugging the USB flash drive into a different port. It should be borne in mind that if the device is designed exclusively for data transmission only with uSB support 3.0, it will not be detected when connected to a standard 2.0 port.

Formatting partitions of a USB device

We will leave aside the question of how to boot from a USB flash drive in BIOS, and move on to the procedures without which even recording an image for installing the system on a device may be in vain.

First of all, if the device has problems in operation or no action can be taken with it, you should first format it. At the same time, it is undesirable to do a quick cleaning of the table of contents, but it is better to perform a complete formatting. Only in this case will the file system contained on it ensure correct data transfer and reading.

Such an operation is performed in the standard "Explorer". On the device, you just need to right-click and select the appropriate line from the menu. In the new window, be sure to remove the "birdie" from the quick formatting line, and then activate the start of the process. Depending on the total volume, this may take a long time.

Creating a bootable distribution

If we consider the question of how to set the boot from a USB flash drive in BIOS, even more broadly, we cannot ignore the issue of creating a bootable image and transferring it to a drive. This can be done using the UltraISO utility or similar.

However, the source must use the original installation windows disk... Actually, it is not so difficult, so there is no particular point in dwelling on this in detail. And if there is no boot from a USB flash drive in BIOS, then it all comes down to correctly transferring the image or unpacked distribution files to the drive. Here you have to tinker a little.

Preparing the media

In the case of using the system's own resources, even after formatting with a USB device, you need to perform a number of additional actions (it is assumed that the image has already been created from the original disk using the same UltraISO program or even 7-Zip, and the flash drive is in working order and connected to a computer or laptop).

First we call command line (cmd in the Run menu), required as a system administrator. In the console that appears, enter and press the enter button.

After that, we use the list disk command, again, followed by pressing the Enter key, then we look through the available disks and remember the number of the USB device. You can use the diskmgmt.msc command from the Run menu to accurately check the USB drive number.

Now in the console you need to enter the select disk command and specify the number of the desired disk separated by a space. Next, the device should be cleaned of its contents with the clean command.

The next step is to create a primary boot partition. This is done using the create partition primary command followed by input. After the confirmation of the successful operation appears on the screen, use the select partition 1 command, then - active (to activate the selected partition) and finally - format fs \u003d ntfs quick for formatting with a choice If you want to create a file fAT systems32, a similar command format fs \u003d fat32 quick is used.

The next step is to assign a name to the device using the assign command (the name will be assigned automatically). Finally, enter exit and exit. The bootable USB device is now ready for use. It remains only to correctly transfer the distribution files to it.

Transferring data to a USB flash drive

At this stage, no configuration is needed. We don't need a BIOS for booting from a USB flash drive yet, but the 7-Zip program is needed. In the very simple version using it, you can correctly copy the installation files to the media (roughly speaking, extract them from the image).

We launch the Zip File Manager utility from the standard "Explorer", then select the image of the installation distribution that was previously created or downloaded from the Internet, specify the USB flash drive as the target device and confirm the actions by clicking OK. At the end of the process, the media will be completely ready for use.

Start loading

And now we turn to the question of how to install a boot from a USB flash drive in BIOS directly. We reboot the system and at the initial stage press the key or key combination to enter bIOS settings... Usually these are Del, F2, F12 (for ASUS notebooks, BIOS boot from a USB flash drive is carried out in this way), but other keys or combinations described above can also be used. Depending on the manufacturer of the equipment, you may first need to call the main menu. This situation is typical for laptops like HP - booting from a USB flash drive (BIOS) is installed a little differently, although the operations themselves are very similar.

In the Boot section, look for the Boot Device Priority item and look at the line 1-st Boot Device. By pressing the PgDn key, select the desired device, after which we exit with saving the parameters (as a rule, this is done using the F10 key). This is followed by a reboot, and the installation starts automatically.

However, it is not enough to know how to choose a boot from a USB flash drive in BIOS. It is important to remember that you should only call the settings of the primary I / O system when a USB device is connected before starting the computer or laptop. Otherwise, the flash drive will simply not be recognized.

How do I fix the problem?

Now let's look at the situation when the device seems to be working, since all the above actions are supposedly performed correctly, but in fact, there is still no boot from a USB flash drive in the BIOS. How to proceed in this case?

We use the same command line. Suppose the USB device is F in the system, and optical drive - E. Now you need to register the command E: \\ Boot \\ bootsect.exe / nt60 F: (F is a USB flash drive in our case, and E is a floppy drive).

Alternative method

If that doesn't work, we enter the following one by one:

F: \\ Boot \\ bootsect.exe / nt60 F:

After that, everything will certainly work as expected.

Compatibility issues

If none of the above methods helps, first you should pay attention to the state of the drivers. Ideally, you can use programs like Driver Booster that can update drivers automatically.

If everything is OK with them, the reason may be that the user is trying to install a 32-bit system over a 64-bit one. In addition, the file system on the USB-drive and the installation distribution kit can also differ in bitness. Actually, the flash drive itself may not support the USB 3.0 ports into which it is connected. You need to be very careful here.

Instead of a total

That, in fact, is all that concerns how to set the boot from a USB flash drive in BIOS. Of course, many users may have questions about the advisability of using the system's own means for preliminary actions, because automated programs make it much faster and easier. But here I would like to note that such knowledge is extremely important, and programs in case of failures in access to the Internet are also not always at hand.

But a prerequisite, as already clear, is a disk image that is created based on the original or downloaded from the Internet. Without it, nowhere. It remains to add that attention should also be focused on the bitness of the installed system, since the 32-bit version over the 64-bit version will not be installed without formatting the system partition. This is due only to the fact that for OS versions 32 bits are required and for 64-bit modifications - at least NTFS. And on the flash drive itself, the corresponding file systems FAT or NTFS, not UDP, as is sometimes the case. As for the volume, 4 GB will be enough for any system, including even the tenth modification that is gaining popularity.