How to Refresh USB Ports

Techwalla may earn compensation through affiliate links in this story. Learn more about our affiliate and product review process here.

Devices such as external hard drives and flash drives require USB ports to transfer data with a computer. You can use the Device Manager in Windows 7 to monitor USB ports as well as USB devices attached to your computer. If your computer cannot detect a USB device, try refreshing the USB port that you attached the device to by using the Device Manager.

Advertisement

Step 1

Click the "Start" button, type "devmgmt.msc" without quotes and press the "Enter" button.

Video of the Day

Step 2

Expand the option labeled "Universal Serial Bus Controllers" by double-clicking it.

Advertisement

Step 3

Right-click a USB port and click the "Properties" option.

Advertisement

Step 4

Click the tab labeled "Advanced."

Step 5

Click the button labeled "Refresh" to refresh the USB port.

Video of the Day

Advertisement

Advertisement

references

Report an Issue

screenshot of the current page

Screenshot loading...