"USB Device not Recognized"

[Brahme]

Hello,
I have Vista with Service pack 2 installed on my pc and I am frequently getting a message in the taskbar, that a USb device is not recognized. Even unplugging all devices connected to one of the 4 USB ports, the message persists.
By clicking on the error message, windows says:
- USB ROOT HUB (2 Ports)
Port unused
-Unknown Device
I actually disabled the device, but I like to understand why am I getting this message again and again.
Can anyone help me out.

[ApPy10]

Perform the following procedure:

1. Turn off your PC normally;
2. After that disconnect the power cord that is connected to the PC;
3. Keep pressing the power button of the PC for about one minute;
4. Turn on the PC.

Normally, after restarting Windows, the problem will disappear.

If that doesnt work, then follow the below steps:

1. Go to Start and then type -> regedit
2. Follow the path -> "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\microsoft\windows\current version"
3. Just click on devicepath!
4. Right click on itand you change that value -> C:\WINDOWS\inf

[techman]

This type of issues normally happen due to driver malfunction or corrupt driver that is installed and to solve this issue we have to download the proper driver for the concerned type of usb drive plugged into the computer, which can be found at its manufacturer's website. After we have installed its proper driver then we will need to restart our pc.

If this still doesnt work then there is another solution that we can try, follow the below method:

1. Right click on My Computer, then go to Properties >> Hardware Tab >> Device Manager >> Expand the Universal Serial Bus (USB) >> look for the "Enhanced PCI to USB host controller", right click on it and disable it. If you have connected the USB device to instantly recognize in the computer then let it always be disabled because it will not work.

2. Agan right click on "My Computer" then go to Properties >> Hadware tab then click on Device Manager. Create a capture device manager to get a picture of the usb drivers which is the most important thing here: uninstall everything that says "Universal Serial Bus Controllers (USB)" and then restart the pc let windows install the drivers. In case the drivers appear different then right click on the driver and click Driver update, a window will appear where you have choose the option "Install from a list or specific location" and then press on the following list that appears and select the controller that is the right one and finally disable the "Enhanced PCI to USB host controller" and keep it aci ready and hopefully the problem will be gone.

[Addis]

The issue is with the registry... When I first encountered this issue last week I searched all over the internet for a solution and no one had a permanent fix. Being the troubleshooter that I am I decided to take deep look into the problem and you'll be surprised at what I found.

I first tried the power down and remove/reconnect all USB devices and sure enough they came back working but over night I ended up having the same issue the next morning.

I tried repairing the registry but all of a sudden I had no access to make changes to it and I remember I never had an issue before so why now???

So this is what I did:

1.) You must first enable the administrator account in order for you to be able to do this by doing the following --> Open the command prompt in administrator mode by right-clicking and choosing “Run as administrator” and type the following command and finish by pressing enter:

net user administrator /active:yes

You should see a message that the command completed successfully. Log out, and you’ll now see the Administrator account as a choice. (Note that this also works on Windows 7.)

2.) Now log in as the administrator and remove the USB related items/drivers from "Computer Management".

3.) Go to "Control Panel" and double click "Power Options", then click on (depending on what you have it set to - mine is set to high performance) "Change plan settings", then "Change advance power settings" and scroll down "USB settings" and expand it, also expand "USB selective suspend setting" and set them to "Disabled", click "Apply" and then "OK" to close the popup window.

4.) Go to the "Windows" folder and locate the "regedit.exe" file, right click it and select properties. Go to the "Security" tab and take full ownership of it. Apply or save changes you just made and close all windows.

5.) Now hold the button down a few seconds until the unit powers off. Once off wait a few seconds and turn it back on. Log back in to windows and you should see or notice the USB drivers installing or loading.

6.) Once it has finished, test your ports, they should work with no problems.

7.) If they are okay, make a backup of your registry just in case you ever run across this problem again.

8.) Also make sure to run a deep virus scan to make sure you do not have a java scripts viruses running in the background. I use "Microsoft Security Essentials" because who else knows their system better than anyone else??? That's right, Mr. Bill Gates himself and I trust his product to the max and besides, it is completely "FREE"!!!

Enjoy and I hope this helps... any questions feel free to respond. Have a nice day, OTAY!!!

[joefrank]

just incase anyone still has this problem i have found the simplest solution (worked for me) just switch the usb port to either one in the back or front. just offering one possible solution

[sudharshan25797]

i am vicky. in my computer,on the right side corner, shows usb not recognized without plugging any usb device except mouse and keyboard.when i open the usb not recognized option it shows "unknown device" and "hid complaint mouse" and etc. some times it stops mouse function. how can i fix this problem if anybodt knows how to fix it pls tell me.

[2milehigh]

AHHHH! I FOUND IT! (well, for me only, maybe for you?!)

So I've been doing my research on this topic because I've had this conflict happening for the last couple of weeks. My problem was that my Toshiba laptop wasn't recognizing my SAMSUNG CAPTIVATE. I was unable to put music or download pics from my phone (it was able to before).

I tried all the solutions, unplug laptop (something customer care will tell you), uninstall and reinstall drivers, reformat pc, download pc fix its and finally dump water over the keyboard. None of these work and I didn't try the water one.

WHat I found is that in my DEVICE Manager I had 3 ATI I/O Communications Processors running, USB 1.1 OHCI controller USB 1.1 OHCI controller and USB 2.0 EHCI controller.

I played with the disabling option and disabled 2 of the 3 controllers. Leaving 1 operatiing. I then tried every usb port to see if it would recognized. After performing this on all the combinations I finally found the right one and now my SAMSUNG CAPTIVATE is working flawlessly.

I'm sure this will work for any other devices.

The only problem I have now is that it won't work on the 2.0port which kinda sucks. But I'm glad everything is working and I can add music and stuff to my phone.

Hope this Helps everyone! good luck!

[iiz2pacreborn]

Certain phone connectivity software from vendors such as Samsung, Nokia, Bora, Novatel, and Sony may cause your device not to be recognized. If you have such software on your computer:

Uninstall your Samsung, Nokia, Bora, Novatel, or Sony phone connectivity software and test

i also did what the dude ^ up there said about the whole registry key thing and it seems to be working, before, sometimes when i plugged in my iPhone it would work like once in a blue moon, i havent unplugged and replugged the USB cable from the computer just incase it doesnt charge. FML i spend roughly 2 hours a day tryna get my phone to start charging maybe i just need to change the cable but i only bought the cable recently and its been working fine. could be my phone is old but i cant be asked to go to Apple and i doubt they will replace it.

[frozentwilight3]

Okay, so I've been searching all over the glorious web to find an answer to a similar issue. My iPhone worked fine until about 2 weeks ago, and now it is considered an "unrecognized/malfunctioning device". I had recently updated the software for Vista and Cydia on the jailbroken phone. Maybe that is coincidence or not. Either way I have tried every step that I can find to fix this extremely annoying issue, including the one below. The only problem with the one below is that I can't seem to change the permissions for regedit.exe even though I am logged in as the Admin. It has one other user listed as having full control of file and that is "Trusted Installer". Not only do I not know how to use that account, but I cannot change the permissions since my access is denied even as Admin.

I've tried all the other solutions and it still isn't fixed. Obviously this thread is quite old. All of the other threads I've found on this subject are also quite old. I know I'm a little behind, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed in hopes that someone can help me out before I take a jackhammer to all my electronics due to being driven insane.

[JAMES_911]

Hi frozentwilight3,

I think that you may not have the permissions to change the ACL on that key by default, even as admin. You could still take ownership of the key and then give the administrators group sufficient access, but if the key is protected this way, there could be a good reason. You'll be modifying its content at your own risks.

[EINSTEIN_007]

You can try to initiate recognition of the USB device by using Device Manager by following the below method:

1. Click Start, click Run, type Devmgmt.msc, and then click OK. The Device Manager window opens.
2. Click to select your computer as the location for the scan.
3. On the Action menu, click Scan for hardware changes.
   
   • Windows XP recognizes the new device.
4. Close the Device Manager window.

[Sheryl001]

Well, yes - sometimes the computer gets hanged out when you attach some of the device. This kind of message gets appeared when your system is not compatible with the device you had attached to it.
Upgradation is needed to your system otherwise such messages will be seen after solving any kind of issues.

[TechInTraining]

I am going ABSOLUTELY NUTS!
Ok, so last night I was synching songs to my Sony Walkman (NWZ-S545), worked perfectly fine last night and today when I went to do more songs my computer (Vista 64-bit) didn't recognize the device at all. When I clicked on the USB malfunction icon and the list came up, nothing was there. I've tried just about everything I can think of...can somebody please help?

[GaganjyotTechie]

I am going ABSOLUTELY NUTS!
Ok, so last night I was synching songs to my Sony Walkman (NWZ-S545), worked perfectly fine last night and today when I went to do more songs my computer (Vista 64-bit) didn't recognize the device at all. When I clicked on the USB malfunction icon and the list came up, nothing was there. I've tried just about everything I can think of...can somebody please help?

There are two possible solutions that you can try out:

• First is updating the updating the chipset driver and make sure that you can get it from the manufacturer website, It is said that the chipset drivers incorporate with the USB controller drivers.
• Second thing that you can try out is go in to the device manager and then expand the "Universal Serial Bus controllers" and after that just right click on the Host Controller and then uninstall the same and then click on ok and also repeat the same for the others item under it.

Just try it out and then let me know if it is helping.

[rtread]

Perform the following procedure:

1. Turn off your PC normally;
2. After that disconnect the power cord that is connected to the PC;
3. Keep pressing the power button of the PC for about one minute;
4. Turn on the PC.

Normally, after restarting Windows, the problem will disappear.

I realize this thread is very old but a search took me to it and it cured a nagging problem with my Dell PC. I'm in a remote area of New Mexico, no help anywhere near, and I've been trying to use this touch pad since my mouse(s) wouldn't work. I am "Touch Pad Challenged".This procedure cured the problem but am left wondering what caused the problem? Anyone?
(My three USB ports worked for everything I plugged in EXCEPT mouses).