What To Do If a USB Device Stops Working

Posted: September 20, 2014

When a USB device stops working, it might be possible to fix the problem. First, try to narrow down what's causing the device to not work. After investigating, if you're lucky enough to figure out the issue, it's time to move on and fix the problem. Lincoln Spector, writer for PC World, shares what to do when your USB device stops working.

What to do when your USB device doesn't work

R. Welling can't get a USB device to work properly in his computer. "What could be wrong?" Clearly, something is broken. But is it hardware, software, the device or the computer? That's going to take some experimentation. First, let's get the obvious out of the way: Unplug the device, then plug it again. Did that fix the problem? If not, unplug it again, reboot your PC, and then plug it in again. Did that help? How about trying another port? No? Well, it was worth a try. Since the problem persists, let's get on to more serious tests. Try the same device on another PC, and try another USB device on your PC. If the device fails to work on both PCs, you have a defective device. You might be able to fix the problem with a driver update. USB devices are supposed to install their own drivers when you plug them into a PC, but occasionally that doesn't work. Read the entire article What to do When Your USB Device Doesn't Work on PC World.