Fix USB Flash Drive When It Is Not Showing Up on Windows Computer

“Hi, I have a 30GB Lexar USB flash drive. Last month it was working fine. Now when I plug it into my Windows 10 computer, it is not showing up in File Explorer. I can’t do anything. Is there any way to fix this issue?” - Bodasa

If you can’t see your connected USB flash drive on your computer, try to use another USB port or plug it into another computer, or/and restart your computer. If it still does not work, you can open Device Manager, update your USB flash drive driver or reinstall the driver.

When the quick methods above can’t help you fix this issue, you can try the methods below to help you fix the unrecognized USB flash drive on your Windows computer (if you are a Mac user, check here >>).

• Method 1. Assign a drive letter for the USB flash drive.
• Method 2. Create new volume on the USB flash drive.
• Method 3. Format the USB flash drive.
• Method 4. Initialize the USB flash drive.

4 methods to fix USB flash drive not showing up issue

Method 1. Assign a drive letter for the USB flash drive.

No drive letter or drive letter conflict will lead to USB flash drive not showing up issue. Go to This PC --> Manage --> Disk Management. Then find the USB flash drive and right-click the USB flash drive. Choose “Change Drive letter and Paths...”, then follow the wizard to assign a new drive letter for the USB flash drive.

Method 2. Create new volume on the USB flash drive.

If your USB flash drive is showing as Unallocated, right-click it and choose “New Simple Volume...”. Then you can create a new volume on the USB flash drive. Open This PC, check if the USB flash drive could be recognized now.

Method 3. Format the USB flash drive.

When your USB flash drive gets crashed or the file system of the USB flash drive is not compatible with your computer, you need to format it. Open Disk Management, and choose Format.

Method 4. Initialize the USB flash drive.

If your USB flash drive is raw or not initialized, just use Disk Management to initialize it immediately.

How to recover lost data from your USB flash drive?

When you can’t find the connected USB flash drive on your computer, the first thing comes into your mind is exporting the data from the unrecognized USB flash drive to a safe location. During the process of fixing the unrecognized USB flash drive, you may need to format or initialize the USB flash drive and that will cause data loss. How to recover lost data from your USB flash drive? Don’t worry, data recovery software - Do Your Data Recovery can help you get all lost data back.

Step 1. Download and install Do Your Data Recovery on your computer. Then plug the USB flash drive in to your computer.

Step 2. Open Do Your Data Recovery on your computer, just select the USB flash drive to start data recovery.

Step 3. Click on Scan button. Do Your Data Recovery will scan the USB flash drive and find all recoverable files.

Step 4. Once the scan is completed, you can preview all recoverable files. Then select the wanted files and save them.

Some useful tips:

• This guide applies to Windows users, if your USB flash drive is not recognized by your Mac, check this guide: fix unrecognized USB flash drive on Mac.
• Do Your Data Recovery offers two scan modes: quick scan and deep scan. If you can’t find all lost files after quick scan, just try deep scan mode to find much more lost files.
• If you want to permanently erase data from your USB flash drive, try data erasure software - DoYourData Super Eraser. Check guide: how to permanently erase data from an USB flash drive?

Final Words:

When your USB flash drive is not showing up on your computer, you’d better try it on another computer. If it still can’t be recognized, try the methods above to help you fix unrecognized USB flash drive. Do Your Data Recovery is a powerful data recovery program. It is able to help you export data from the inaccessible USB flash drive or recover formatted data from your USB flash drive.