“Please insert a disk into USB Drive” error: how to fix it

This error is common on flash drives, and in many cases it can be fixed.

If your flash drive is still not recognized, the fault may be physical and every new attempt counts. Before trying again, see how USB flash drive recovery works, starting with a free diagnosis.

These days, it’s very unlikely that you’ve never used a USB storage device, such as a USB flash drive or another flash memory device. So you may well have come across the message “Please insert a disk into USB Drive”.

These devices are extremely common and practical for carrying data around. But there’s also a good chance that one of them has already given you trouble.

In this article, you’ll learn how to deal with a common problem with USB drives, usually shown as the error message “Please insert a disk into USB Drive”.

01What does “Please insert a disk into USB Drive” mean?

If you see this message, don’t panic: it’s a very common error that affects users of several operating systems.

It can be related to the following situations:

• Your removable device isn’t properly connected;
• Your USB flash drive isn’t recognized by the computer;
• Your device is inaccessible;
• The device is damaged (often a failure of its controller or memory chip) or infected with viruses or malware.

02How do I recognize the “Please insert a disk into USB Drive” problem?

It’s very simple. There are three main signs:

1. The message “Please insert a disk into USB Drive” appears when you try to open the drive;
2. The message “Windows was unable to complete the format” appears when you try to format the device;
3. The USB flash drive’s properties show “0 bytes used”, “0 bytes free” or no files, or Disk Management shows it as “No Media”.

If you’ve noticed any of these signs on your flash drive, read on: we’ll show you several ways to deal with the problem. If the drive holds data you need, start with the solutions that don’t write anything to it.

03How to fix the “Please insert a disk into USB Drive” error

Let’s start with some simple checks and precautions and then move on to more specific solutions.

1. Change the USB port

First of all, before trying anything else, check that your USB flash drive is properly connected.

If you’re using a desktop computer, try connecting your flash drive to one of the USB ports at the back of the computer.

The rear USB ports are connected directly to the motherboard, so they tend to be more reliable at detecting devices and reading data. It’s worth doing this test before going any further.

2. Scan for hardware changes

There are a few more basic checks worth doing before moving on to more specific solutions.

Your device may not have been installed, or may not have been installed correctly. As a precaution, follow these steps:

• Right-click “This PC”;
• Select “Manage”;
• Open “Device Manager”;
• Right-click your USB device, which you’ll find under “Disk drives”;
• Select “Scan for hardware changes”;
• Check whether the error has gone.

3. Update the driver

You can follow up on step 2 by checking that your flash drive’s driver is up to date.

• Go back to “Device Manager” and right-click your USB device;
• Right-click your USB device, which you’ll find under “Disk drives”;
• Select “Update driver”.
• Check whether the error has gone.

If the error persists after these checks, the next solutions cover more specific ways of fixing the “Please insert a disk into USB Drive” error.

4. Assign a new drive letter to the USB drive

The error can also be caused by a conflict between your USB flash drive and a partition or network drive on your computer that uses the same letter, which triggers the “Please insert a disk into USB Drive” message when you try to open it.

If another drive on your computer is using the same letter as your USB flash drive, follow the steps below to change the flash drive’s letter manually.

• Press the Windows key + X;
• Select “Disk Management” from the menu;
• Right-click your USB drive;
• Select “Change Drive Letter and Paths”;
• Click “Change” and choose a letter that isn’t already in use;
• Click “OK” and check your device.

5. Fix the drive by formatting it

If the problem happens on a new USB flash drive, or if you don’t need the data on it, you can format it.

Keep in mind that formatting erases all the data on your USB drive and makes recovering the files that were on it much harder, or even impossible.

If your USB flash drive holds important data, don’t format it: skip to the next solutions or contact a data recovery lab. Otherwise, to format the drive, follow these steps:

• Right-click “This PC”;
• Right-click the problematic USB drive in File Explorer;
• Select “Format…”;
• Click “Restore device defaults”;
• Click “Start”.

04If you get the message “Windows was unable to complete the format”, see solution 9

6. Repair your USB drive with the manufacturer’s tool

Another way of repairing the USB drive is to check whether its manufacturer offers its own repair software. Be aware that many of these tools reformat the drive and erase its data.

We recommend visiting your USB drive manufacturer’s website and looking for repair or recovery utilities before moving on to the next solutions.

7. Use the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter

On Windows, you can use the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter to fix problems with external USB devices.

• In Windows 7 and 8, open “Control Panel” (in Windows 10, press Windows + R, type msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic, press Enter and skip to step 4);
• Select “Hardware and Sound”;
• Click “Configure a device” to open the troubleshooter;
• Click “Next” to run the troubleshooter;
• If asked, select the USB drive and click “Next”;
• Once the troubleshooter has finished and tried to fix the problem, check your USB flash drive.

8. Use CHKDSK to check and fix file system errors

This solution uses more advanced tools, but don’t worry: if you follow the steps below carefully, it’s straightforward.

To use CHKDSK to check and fix problems with your USB flash drive, you need an account with administrator permissions. CHKDSK only works if Windows shows the drive’s capacity; if it shows 0 bytes or “No Media”, the fault is in the hardware and CHKDSK can’t help.

This can take anything from a few minutes to several hours, depending on the size of the drive and the number of errors to fix. CHKDSK writes to the drive, so if you need the data, recover it first.

• Press the Windows key + X;
• Press Windows + X and select “Windows PowerShell (Admin)” or “Terminal (Admin)”;
• Type chkdsk E: /f, replacing “E” with your USB drive’s letter, and press Enter;
• Wait for the command to finish and check your flash drive again.

9. Repair the USB drive with diskpart

If the previous solution didn’t work, your flash drive may have file system damage that Windows can’t fix, caused by viruses, malware or corrupted files.

So, if none of the solutions above worked and you just want to reuse the device, this is an advanced alternative for when you couldn’t format it with solution 5.

Warning! If you get this wrong, you could wipe another drive on your computer.

Follow the steps exactly, and remember that this method erases the partition table of the selected drive and creates a new partition, which makes recovering its data much harder. Never use it on a drive whose data you need.

Pay close attention when choosing the disk number the commands will run on: check the capacity shown by list disk to be sure it’s the USB drive.

To repair the USB drive with diskpart, open Command Prompt as administrator and type the commands below one at a time, pressing Enter after each one:

• diskpart
list disk
select disk 1 (replace 1 with your USB drive’s number)
  clean
create partition primary
select partition 1
active
format fs=fat32 quick (on drives larger than 32 GB, use format fs=exfat quick)
  assign
exit

Once the commands have run, your USB flash drive will have a new, empty partition and will be ready to use. If diskpart shows the drive with 0 bytes or reports an error, the drive has a hardware fault and only a lab can recover its data.

05How do I recover data from a USB flash drive showing “Please insert a disk into USB Drive”?

In this guide, you’ve seen several ways to deal with the “Please insert a disk into USB Drive” error. But some cases – such as a failed controller or memory chip – can only be solved by professionals. If you haven’t been able to access your data, Bot is ready to help.

At Bot, we have extensive experience in recovering data from all kinds of devices, including USB flash drives and other flash storage devices, with more than 200,000 cases and a 96% success rate. We offer free collection (islands not included) and a free standard diagnosis.

Still can’t solve the problem? Get in touch with Bot now and let our specialists work on recovering your data from the drive showing the “Please insert a disk into USB Drive” error.