Summary:Have you ever come across a situation where you connect a USB flash drive to your computer, it is recognized but when you try to open it, you get an error message: "Please insert disk into removable disk"? Read this post to learn how to recover your photos, videos or audio files from a USB drive that shows Insert Disk error.
contents
- How to recover files from a USB drive after inserting a disk into a removable disk error
- Methods to recover media files from USB drive with disk insertion error:
- conclusion
USB flash drives are portable, easy to use, and offer more space to store media files. However, USBs can often become quite problematic when unexpected errors interrupt their normal operation. But the good news is that if you know the causes of these errors, you can quickly recover the faulty USB and recover your photos, audios or videos. In this post, we will focus on a common USB error:'Insert a disk into the USB drive'.
To fix the problem, try to format or partition the USB, but both options usually don't work. Also, when you view the USB properties, the 'disk space occupied'mi'free space' in drive are represented as 0 bytes.
What does the "insert disk" error mean?
The Insert Disk error message appears when Windows cannot access or read your USB flash drive or flash drive due to one of the following reasons:
- The USB device is not properly connected to the computer.
- Your computer's operating system cannot load the manufacturer's firmware from the USB; Windows can't see the drive; or the USB drive letter shows as No Media in Disk Management.
- The USB drive is trying to get a drive letter that is already assigned or reserved.
- Your USB drive or partition is damaged.
- The USB device is physically damaged or the drive slot is faulty.
How to recover files from a USB drive after failurePlease insert the disk into the removable disk'
One way to recover photos, videos or audio files from USB is to fix hard drive error with the help of the below-given methods. You can also directly use a USB drive recovery software that can recover media files lost in such a situation.
During troubleshooting, you may need to format your USB drive before it can be used again. To recover lost photos and videos from formatted USB, you can always use the software solution mentioned here.
Surveillance:Before trying any of these solutions, make sure that the first boot device on your computer is not the USB drive. You can check and change the boot device priority by going into setup (connect the USB and reboot the computer; press "Del" or F2 to enter setup).
1. Use a different USB port
2. Try to warm or cool the device manually
3. Use reliable third-party software for recovery
4. Update Windows Driver
5. Assign a unique drive letter to the USB
6. Reinstall drivers
7. Try using the manufacturer's repair utility
8. Look for hardware changes
9. Fix USB drive insertion error with Diskpart
10. Format the USB drive
1. Use a different USB port
The problem could be caused by a faulty USB port. Try connecting your drive to an alternate port on your computer. If your system does not have another port, try accessing your USB on another computer.
2. Try to warm or cool the device manually
Heating or cooling the USB is a trick you can try. This is not a secure solution, but sometimes it works.
- Connect the USB to the computer.
- Heat the USB with a hair dryer.
- Wait a minute. Remove the USB and plug and unplug it a few times.
- If it still doesn't work, try the same thing with compressed air to cool it down.
- If it works, copy the data immediately because it suddenly stops working again.
3. Use a reliable USB recovery software - Stellar Photo Recovery
Stellar Photo Recoveryhelp yourecover photos and other media files from damaged or broken USB drives.This smart photo recovery tool recovers photos and media lost due to formatting, accidental deletion, physical damage, or damage from hard drives, memory cards, external storage devices, digital cameras, and pen drives. It works seamlessly with a variety of image, audio and video formats and can scan devices with storage capacities greater than 5TB. You can restore your media files and keep the backup in a separate location to access these files.
just download itStellar Photo Recoveryand follow the steps below to recover media files:
- Comience con Stellar Photo Recovery.
- Connect the faulty USB to the computer and launch the software.
- Select the drive or storage media to scan and recover.Click Scan
- A dialog of 'Scan completed successfully!'All found files and folders are listed in the left pane of the main window. The box at the bottom right lists the files stored in the selected folder. Select a file and preview it in the right pane.
- If the required photos, videos, or audio files are not in the list, selectDeep analysisin the background.
- Select one or more files to recover and click on them'Memory'
- Navigate to specify the location where you want to save the photos and click "OK'.
Please watch this video for photos and videos deleted with Stellar Photo Recovery:
Note: If the recovery software does not recognize your USB drive, try the following methods to fix the problem and access your files.
4.Update Windows Drivers
Make sure your PC drivers are up to date. Windows 10 driver updates are downloaded and installed automatically through Windows Update. Go to your computer settings and check for updates.
5. Use USB Manufacturer Repair Utility
Some USB manufacturers like Transcend and HP offer repair programs on their websites that can fix some known issues with their USB drives. They are useful when your PC no longer recognizes your flash drive or it is not working properly. These utilities use the Internet and the manufacturer's proprietary algorithms to solve problems.
Just download the utility from the website and run the executables as per the instructions.
Surveillance:Most of the time, when you try to repair your USB drive, the manufacturer's USB repair utility can restore it to factory settings, which can lead to data loss. In this scenario, you can use Stellar Photo Recovery software to recover files from USB media.
6.Assign a unique drive letter to the USB
Insert the USB drive into the removable drive before starting the computer. However, make sure that the first boot device in the BIOS is not a USB drive, otherwise the computer may not boot.
- Sign in as administrator accounton your system or in another account with administrator rights.
- PressTecla power Windows + Xand clickDisk management.
- Right click on yourremovable disk partitionand selectChange drive letters and pathsin disk management.
- Change the drive letter to P: or X: or another drive letter that is not assigned in Windows.
7. Reinstall all drivers
Corrupted USB drivers can also cause flash drive detection issues. Try reinstalling the USB drivers through Device Manager.
- Right click onMy Computer / This PC. Cliquemanage.
- Cliquedevice administrator
- double clickuniversal serial bus controller.You will see several USB driver options. Right click on your USB driver and select ituninstall device.Surveillance:You can also do the same for all USB controllers listed
- You will see several options for USB drivers. Right click on your USB driver and select ituninstall device.
Surveillance:You can also do the same for all the USB controllers listed.
- Reboot your system.
Windows automatically installs USB drivers. Now check if the disk insert error is fixed or not.
8. Look for hardware changes
Your Windows computer can scan for hardware changes, after which it can recognize the connected USB device.
- nostart to lookbox typedevice administratorand press Enter.
- In Device Manager, click on the computer icon to highlight it.
- Cliqueactionand then clickLook for hardware changes.
- Check the USB device to see if it works.
9.Fix USB disk insertion error with Diskpart
Diskpart, a command line utility, can be used to repair removable disk or drive errors.
- Type in the search boxcmd.
- OpenCommand Prompt and select Run as administrator.
- Enter the following commands in order:
ParteDisco
disk list
Select disk No.(N is the unitnumber of your USB drive, present in the table in the CMD window)
Sauber
create primary partition
active
Select partition X(X is your partition number)

Format fs=fat32
- The selected USB drive will be erased and a new partition will be created. Close the command prompt window.
- Then restart your computer.
The bug should now be fixed.
10. Fix the error while formatting the USB drive
Formatting can fix "insert USB drive into removable disk" error.
- Insert the USB drive into the computer.
- the right button of the mouseMy computerois pc
- To chooseManage >Disk Management/Computer Management
- Right click on your USB drive. click
- Rename the USB drive tovolume label
- To chooseFile Systemwithout menu interruption (FAT 32/NTFS/etc.)
- noallocation unit sizeSelect the default option from the dropdown menu.
- Check-in-OptionPerform a quick format.
- CliqueOK
Use above mentioned USB flash drive recovery software to recover files from USB drive.
For more information, see:How to recover files from a corrupted or unresponsive USB flash drive?
conclusion
Failing USBs and other drives can be fixed or replaced, but nothing is as devastating as losing valuable photos and media. Therefore, USB drive recovery after unexpected errors like inserting a disk into a removable disk is the main concern of users. With the help of the above solutions, you can fix USB hard drive errors and recover lost media files. Even if you lost entire data from USB flash drive during troubleshooting, you can get it back with the help of Stellar Photo Recovery software.
Download the free trial version of the software for Windows or Mac and view the recoverable photos and videos from USB before finally saving them to your drive.
About the Author
Sumona Chatterjee
Sumona is a tech blogger, avid photographer, and techie with extensive experience writing tips and tutorials on media file recovery. She has more than 10 years of experience in media file recovery/repair technology. She is passionate about photography, creative design, music and exploring lesser known destinations.
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It does not work. I have tried them all.
respondedor
Hi Sabah,
Have you tried formatting the USB? This can be the ultimate solution to fix USB drive format problem. And with Stellar Photo Recovery software, you can easily recover files from formatted USB drive.See Also(10 Ways) How to Fix USB Flash Drive No Media Error 2022How to recover lost data from USB media without drive?USB error There is no media in the specified deviceWhat to do if your USB drive does not appear?respondedor
Number 9 fixed my flash problem, now it works perfectly. thanks guys for putting it up. I would have bought a new flash.
respondedor
Hello Ludwig,
Glad to know it helped. Command Prompt is always better for fixing drive errors.respondedor
(Video) How to Fix Please Insert a Disk Into Drive Windows 10 [Tutorial]
Can I correct the mistake?
respondedor
Hi Pam,
You can fix the error in the advanced troubleshooter. Just go to advanced troubleshooter option and select hardware and devices, run the troubleshooter and wait. You can correct the mistake.respondedor
Why did this error occur on my system?
respondedor
Corrupt USB drive, USB mismatch and drive letter partition. This is a very common problem. This can happen due to mechanical problems and logic errors. Incompatibility between the USB drive and the computer's operating system, or a damaged disk drive (or card reader in the case of an SD card).
respondedor
Thanks, very useful information. I hope one of these steps will help me.
FAQs
How do I fix please insert a disk into a USB without losing data? ›
- Fix 1: Change the USB Port.
- Fix 2: Try heating up or Cooling the Drive Manually.
- Fix 3: Assign a New Drive Letter.
- Fix 4: Scan Hardware Changes.
- Fix 5: Update Driver.
- Fix 6: Fix Inaccessible USB Drive Using Diskpart.
- Fix 7: Try Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter.
- Fix 8: Delete Partition and Create a New One.
- Right-click "This PC/My Computer > Manage > Disk Management".
- Right-click on the hard drive, USB/SD card > Format Volume > Reset File System (NTFS/FAT32), and rename the device.
- Click Finish to complete repairing devices with 'please insert a disk into removable disk' error.
Select the USB disk with the right mouse button. Now click on the “Change drive letter and path” tab. Rename the drive letter to any letter that does not exist already on the computer. After that, restart the computer and check if the error 'please insert disk into removable disk' disappeared.
How do I fix a malfunctioning USB drive? ›- Fix 1: Reconnect the USB Drive.
- Fix 2: Try Another USB Port.
- Fix 3: Disable USB Selective Suspend Settings.
- Fix 4: Run Hardware device Troubleshooter.
- Fix 5: Remove Power Supply.
- Fix 6: Uninstall and Reinstall USB Device Driver.
- Fix 7: Update USB Drives.
- Click the Start button and type "device manager" or "devmgmt. ...
- Click "Universal Serial Bus controllers" to see a list of USB ports on the computer.
- Right-click each USB port, then click "Enable." If this does not re-enable the USB ports, right-click each again and select "Uninstall."
- To enable write protection, change the WriteProtect value to 1 and click OK. To disable write protection, change the WriteProtect value to 0 and click OK.
- Close the Windows Registry Editor and restart your computer.