When opening the Device Manager, a screen similar to the example picture should appear. All categories should have +'s or arrows pointing to the right next to each of the device categories with no Other devices or Unknown devices listed. However, when problems occur, you may have one or more of the errors below.
How to fix unknown device problem on Windows 7/ 8/ 8.1/ 10, in this quick video learn how to easily find drivers for Unknown Devices in Windows.If you’ve jus. As mentioned earlier, this is a driver problem. For whatever reason, Windows 10 didn’t install drivers for the device. This may be a simple error where it was unable to find drivers or it wasn’t able to correctly identify a device. Regardless, to fix the problem, open Device Manager and right-click the unknown device. Check to see if the “Windows encountered a problem installing the driver software for your device” error still appears. If you have chosen to troubleshoot your computer in the Step 4, you should see a list of errors after the troubleshooter gathers the data. Choose the problematic device by clicking its radio button and choose Next. Sometimes Bluetooth may not appear in Device Manager if the driver isn’t compatible with the version of the operating system. You can find out if it’s compatible using these steps: Open Start. Search for Device Manager and click the result. Expand Other devices. Select the unknown device, right-click it, and select Properties. Click on the Details tab.
NoteIf you receive an error when trying to open the Device Manager, this may indicate there are corrupt files in Windows. It may be necessary to run a Windows repair process, using the Windows CD or DVD, to correct this issue.
Exclamation mark or other devices
When a device has a yellow circle with an exclamation mark under Other devices, this indicates that the device is conflicting with other hardware. Or, it may indicate that the device or its drivers are not installed properly.
Double-clicking and opening the device with the error shows you an error code.
What to do with exclamation mark or other devices
Remove all devices with an exclamation mark and any Other devices from Device Manager by highlighting them and pressing the delete key on the keyboard. Once they have all been removed, reboot the computer and allow Windows to re-detect the devices.
If, after rebooting the computer, the Device Manager remains the same, Windows is not installing the devices because it lacks the proper driver support. You need to download the latest drivers for that device or use the original installation disc that came with the hardware.
Red 'x'
The device is disabled, removed, or Windows cannot locate the device.
What to do with red X
If you want this device enabled, double-click the device with a red x. At the bottom of the General tab, click the Device usage drop-down box where it says Do not use this device (disabled) and select 'Use this device (enabled)'.
If this is not available or is already enabled, highlight the device in Device Manager and press delete on the keyboard to remove the device. Reboot the computer and let Windows re-detect the device.
If, after rebooting the computer, the Device Manager remains the same, Windows is not installing the devices because it lacks the proper driver support. You'll need to download the latest drivers for that device or use the original installation disc that came with the hardware.
Down arrow
In Windows Vista and later, if you see a small down arrow next to the device (shown in the picture), it indicates the device is disabled.
What to do with down arrow
To resolve this issue, double-click the device, click the Driver tab and click the Enable button. After it is enabled, restart the computer, if prompted to do so.
Missing hardware or Unknown device
Missing hardware
If you don't see the device you are trying to install in Device Manager, and there are no 'Other devices' listed, the device is not detected by the computer. Even if Windows does not have the proper driver support for the device, it should still put that device under Other devices or Unknown device.
Try turning off the computer, disconnecting and reconnecting the hardware device, and turning the computer back on. If Windows still does not detect the device, either that device is not compatible with your version of Windows, or it is bad.
Unknown device
If devices are detected but showing as an Unknown device, this indicates that Windows doesn't have the proper driver support for that device.
Sometimes identifying an Unknown device can be difficult if you have not installed anything recently and have no idea what the Unknown device may be in the computer.
If you have recently reinstalled Windows many times, you could get more than one Unknown device in the computer. Installing the computer's chipset drivers from the driver disc or a download should solve most, if not all, Unknown devices. Also, going through the setup on your driver CD can solve many Unknown device problems.
If you are trying to install a new device for your computer, make sure to run the setup or install the drivers from the included disc. If you do not have a drivers disc, the drivers can be downloaded from the manufacturer's website.
Additional information
- See our Device Manager definition for further information and related links.
Dec 16, 2020 • Filed to: USB Recovery • Proven solutions
Computers have become quite unavoidable. Almost every career or work would require you to use a computer. So it is important to have basic knowledge about using a computer. But since there are a countless number of things to learn as far as a computer is concerned, there would be numerous times when an error would pop up. This would slow you down. So make sure that you use the internet to learn about the error. Solutions would also be available on the net. One of the most common errors in the Unknown USB device error. This article would help you out when it comes to solving the issue.
What is the error? (OVERVIEW)
If the error persists, then your USB device would not be recognized by Windows 10. When and if you open the device manager, then you would receive an Unknown USD device(usb device_descriptor_failure) along with the other bus controllers' names. A yellow triangle would be shown along with the error.
How to fix the usb device_descriptor_failure windows 10 error?
There are two basic troubleshooting methods:
- There are chances for the device to be damaged and hence making changes with a computer wouldn't help at all. Hence the first thing to do is to try whether the device works in a different port on the same computer. If the computer has a broken port then the device would work with the other port.
- Now if the device doesn't work on any of the ports on the computer, then the next step would be to try the device on a different computer. This would help you ensure that the problem is with the external device. If this is the case, then repairing or replacing the device is the only option.
The detailed steps to follow for solving the problem:
Solution 1: REPLUG THE POWER SUPPLY:
remove the power supply from the computer and then restart the computer. Once this is done, insert the device for one more time. Then insert the power supply. If the problem is related to some sort of background program or something related to a software that has been used, then the device would get detected perfectly.
Solution 2: REINSTALLING USB DRIVER:
The next step would be to uninstall the USB device driver. Open the device manager and then right-click on the name of the error. This would bring up an uninstall option. Click on this option and the device driver would be uninstalled from the computer. Now that the driver is not present in the computer, restart the computer. When the computer boots up, the computer would reinstall the driver on its own.
Solution 3: DISABLE THE FAST STARTUP OPTION:
Unknown Device Has A Driver Problem Windows 10 Download
1. Press the Windows key and the letter R together.
2. Type 'control' in the Run dialog box that appears. The Control panel will show up.
3. Choose the power options.
4. Click on 'Choose what the power buttons do'.
5. Click the option chance settings that are currently unavailable'.
6. Uncheck the box right next to the Turn on fast startup. Save the changes that you just made.
Solution 4: CHANGING THE USB SELECTIVE SUSPEND SETTINGS:
Follow the previous steps up to open the control panel.
1. Click power options and choose the option 'Show additional plans'.
Hp Unknown Device Windows 10
2. Click on 'change settings that are currently unavailable'.
3. Choose the high performance and then click the 'change plan settings'.
4. Choose 'Change advanced power settings'.
5. Click 'change settings that are currently unavailable'
6. Locate the USB settings and click on it. Expand the USB Selective suspend settings. Disable On battery and plugged in.
Ensure that you apply the settings. The settings would only come into effect after the computer is restarted.
Solution 5: Keeping the Drivers Up to Date Would Also Help
when it comes to solving the driver issue, updating the driver software is the most effective solution. This can be done manually from the device manager. But if you find this difficult, there are numerous application software that can be used to ensure that drivers are always kept updated. One such software is Driver Easy. Once Driver Easy is installed, scan your PC using the software. It would find out all the drivers existing on the computer. It would also check whether all the drivers are updated or not. Once the scan is complete, click the drivers that are flagged. Click the update icon, this would update the driver quite easily. Also, there would be an option 'update all'. This would be useful if you want to update all the drivers on the computer without any effort. Also, the software would notify you if a new update is available for the drivers on your computer.
CONCLUSION:
Unknown USB device error is a very common error. Make sure that you follow all the steps given above carefully. If the problem persists, even after these steps then it would be wise to consult an expert. If your data get lost unfortunately, we sincerely recommend you try Wondershare Recoverit to recover lost data from broken USB drive.
Check Out How to Recover Lost Files During the Repair
Update Unknown Drivers Windows 10
USB Topic
- Recover USB Drive
- Format USB Drive
- Fix/Repair USB Drive
- Know USB Drive