«
»

Windows Vista / USB device detection problems

During the initial installation of a USB device (most often external drives, although not always), Windows Vista does not locate or install drivers for the device.

Windows Vista might report that there is “no driver found for you device” and/or will not display the pre-installed Vista OEM drivers. Even by manually selecting the driver, you will still get the “no driver found…” error.  This is most likely caused by a corrupted INFCACHE.1 file. This file stores the location of drivers and their INF files. This file is hidden, has restricted access, and can be found in “c:\windows\inf”.

Delete the INFCACHE.1 file and it will force Windows to rebuild the INFCACHE.1 file the next time Windows searches for drivers. To delete this file, you have to set the security permissions of it to allow Full Control for the User Group Administrators or full control for your user account. Please follow the directions below:

  1. Open a Windows Explorer window by right clicking on Start and then clicking on Explore.
  2. In the address bar, type C:\windows\inf and press Enter.
  3. Find and then right click on the file named INFCACHE.1.
  4. Select Properties.
  5. Click on the Security tab.
  6. Click on Edit to edit the permissions of the file.
  7. Click on Add to add User Groups.
  8. Type Administrators in the User Groups field and click on OK.
  9. Set Administrators to Full Control and click on OK.
  10. Move or delete the file INFCACHE.1.
  11. Reinstall a device to force Windows to rebuild the INFCACHE.1 file (DO NOT reinstall the same external hard drive that you were having issues detecting before. Please connect another USB device other than the one that Vista had an issue detecting).

This detection issue can happen several times in a row, but repeat the steps 1-11 and try again until this works.

UPDATE: To clarify a couple emails I received, this *only* applies to Vista (all editions, x86 and x64) but not to XP, or any other version of Windows.


Related posts:
  1. Starting an administrative/elevated program on bootup under Vista
  2. USB drive letters won’t stay put?
  3. How Palm has lost (another) loyal customer
  4. iTunes – 604MB of memory
  5. Blackberry outage

Tags:

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 5th, 2008 at 2:07 am and is filed under Geek . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

57 responses to “Windows Vista / USB device detection problems”

  1. Windows Vista has USB Device Detection Problems « ServerBeach Blog

    7th Jan, 08

    [...] morning on the ServerBeach Forums about blogs. I ventured over to his blog; The Dave, and found an interesting post he had made about Windows Vista and USB device detection [...]

    at

  2. jai

    4th Mar, 08

    I tried like this but i dint get…..The same problem …….If i am putting usb device it is not detecting….My is windows vista home edition………please help me..

    at

  3. thedave

    4th Mar, 08

    Jai, this “fix” only works if Vista has the correct drivers in place to begin with, that’s probably where I’d start looking.

    What type of device? Did it ever work? Is it listed as being Vista compatible?

    at

  4. thomas

    18th Mar, 08

    Actually i have the same problem with Jai.. My device always worked and faced this problem 3 days ago.. I tried to plug my usb driver on my pc and an error for drivers was on the screen! I was like “WTF?”

    Any other suggestions?

    i tried everything.. I think i tried this “fix” for like 6-7times. Also tried searching in the whole Drive C:..

    Just Nothing..

    Cheers

    at

  5. thedave

    20th Mar, 08

    Vista SP1 is now available — Grab it, then go to any USB devices which are still not recognized and uninstall them, then reinstall them.

    If this particular issue is causing you grief, that should fix you up. If it’s another issue altogether, then this may not help.

    at

  6. Lakshmana Perumal

    30th Mar, 08

    Hi,

    Thanks for the help. This fixed the problem I had.

    at

  7. krazee dave

    16th Apr, 08

    USB mouse used to work KB938371 update seemed to have killed it, tried the fix above no help, next step I suppose is to restore to before the KB938371 update, seems this update messes up alot of usb things, my monstor 2gig ide to use doesnt work nor does my 8gig flash drive,,
    any other ideas?

    at

  8. Sebahuar

    19th May, 08

    I have a Thinkpad T60p and a Lenovo webcam, after I installed SP1 it stopped working (“device not found”) so I uninstalled SP1 and installed again the drivers but now it didn’t recognize it anyway. I’m totally frustated, I surfed the web and nobody seems to have any clue or solution to the problem.

    at

  9. Windows Vista / USB device detection problems: How-To-Fix « Smokey’s Security Weblog

    31st May, 08

    [...] Source: thedave.ca [...]

    at

  10. sdw

    7th Jun, 08

    check out http://www.webtlk.com/2008/05/05/usb-stops-working-after-installing-windows-vista-sp1/
    for the answer. Quoted is the essential part:
    ” 1. Go to Control Panel –System and Maintenance — System — Device Manager.
    2. In the Device Manager, expand the tree of Human Interface Devices.
    3. Update the driver for all Unknown Device.
    4. Of course Windows Vista won’t find any new device. When prompted select Browse my computer for driver software.
    5. Enter or browse to C:\Windows\winsxs as the driver location and press the Next button.
    6. If the system warns you about unsigned driver, just go on.
    7. At this point windows Vista should install the right driver for your device.
    8. Done!”

    It worked for me with all my problem usb devices, though I did it three times in a row to fully recognize my device

    at

  11. mike

    12th Jun, 08

    SDW, you are the man! That fixed the problem I had with my Kingston 4GB flash drive.

    at

  12. Big Paul

    16th Jun, 08

    YOU ARE THE MAN!!!! Your last suggestion corrected my issue without me having to replace the infcache.1 file! Thank you so very much!!!!

    at

  13. Gin

    1st Jul, 08

    When I Enter or browse to C:\Windows\winsxs as the driver location and press the Next button, the system didn’t warn me about unsigned driver, instead it said that my unknown device is already updated.

    at

  14. VK Nagam

    9th Jul, 08

    thank you very much!!!

    I have deleted the file INFCACHE.1 and then again connected my device, then in the browse for software window I have selected c:\windows\winsxs and drivers got installed!!

    Hurray!!
    This solved my problem

    at

  15. Blong

    21st Jul, 08

    I agree with Gin above, this recommendation does not work for me. I ran into the BIOS password issue a few months back. Unfortunately it was too little, too late and I didn’t install the update before it kicked over into the BIOS password. So I forked over $200 for someone to fix. Ever since then, my USB ports don’t work, USB device not recognized. Every forum seems to have a solution, but none of them work.

    at

  16. USB Vista Bug Hunter

    7th Aug, 08

    Nothing new to Vista. There are serveral bugs out in the system with different usb devices. But the solution via winsxs is good. Thanks!

    at

  17. mark

    6th Sep, 08

    Thanks for the effort, but it doesn’t work.

    at

  18. zune fixed! « thirdrow

    22nd Oct, 08

    [...] to find a solution, I’ve been to forums, tech sites with no success. I tried so many things like rebuilding my INFCACHE.1, Manually installing the drivers, completely wiping out the Zune software  and even resetting [...]

    at

  19. Kaylyb

    5th Nov, 08

    I had this very problem. After two days of searching WD’s website and reading forums I realized that I was not using the correct power cord (ac charger) supplied with the hard drive and once I put the correct one to use it worked like a charm. Make sure you are using the ac charger Switching Adapter made by Honor Electronics.

    at

  20. Vista USB fail « It’s blog, it’s blog, it’s big, it’s heavy, it’s wood.

    28th Dec, 08

    [...] Unfortunately, I cant directly link back to the pages that helped me (I can’t find them again) but I can link to pages that describe the same solutions in a bit more detail. Solution 1: Device Manager Solution 2: INFcache [...]

    at

  21. Golani

    6th Jan, 09

    Hi i had this problem with my USB mouse … earlier the mouse was detected automatically and it was working fin e… but after 2-3 days when i connected it again vista showed .. cant recognize the device .. not only that out of 4 ports of my sony lappy only 2 seem to be working … please help as to what might be the problem and will the method mentioned in the post solve it .. i am a noob .. please help me out here …. thanks…

    at

  22. sdw fix

    6th Feb, 09

    The fix sdw mentioned here worked for me! yes!

    at

  23. Paul

    15th Feb, 09

    I’m using Vista 32 bit on service pack 1 i’m trying to install and use a two year old WD My book that has all my files on it….sometimes vista recognizes it…but cant’ find the drivers for it….my 3rd gen nano ipod won’t work either. crashes my computer everytime….???
    paulswifka@att.net

    at

  24. Shane

    16th Apr, 09

    Just formatted back to vista from xp, and your fix saved the day

    much appreciated

    at

  25. max

    24th Jun, 09

    Your fix saved me from having to reinstall vista.
    My machine was held prisoner by this small but crippling problem as no usb hard drives or pens were detected.

    Thank You very much!

    at

  26. WES

    25th Jul, 09

    None of this worked. i have no clue why…its not recognizing anything, I used a utilites optimize software, it messed up all, bcomputer wouldnt boot, got to safe mode,tried to restore point, it did it, but now it recognizes nothing and says all the drivers are up to date…vista home premium 32 but…any advice please.

    at

  27. Singha888

    18th Aug, 09

    I have the same problem with my WD 250 GB hard drive but it shows same in all computers with different usb cables. Tried both INFCACHE.1 method and the device manager method still no joy. Could it be my external HD is fried up?:(

    at

  28. thedave

    18th Aug, 09

    Singha888,

    Can you test the same USB drive on another machine, or another USB drive on your machine to try and rule out whether it’s your machine/OS or the drive?

    at

  29. Ares-The-Wreckless

    26th Dec, 09

    SD I FRICKIN LOVE U MAN U SAVED MY PC

    at

  30. David

    16th Jan, 10

    You say works for Vista (all editions, x86 and x64): how about 32-bit?

    at

  31. thedave

    16th Jan, 10

    x86 is 32-bit…

    at

  32. Chippy

    19th Jan, 10

    I have this frustrating problem. I’ve tried deleting the Infcache.1 method and the device manager method, I’ve recovered my computer to the factory settings (out of the box). Using Vista Home Premium. USB ports stopped one day. Any other ideas?

    at

  33. thedave

    19th Jan, 10

    Chippy, if your USB ports still don’t work after restoring to factory settings, I’d guess hardware problems. Any idea if USB keyboards work during the bootup?

    at

  34. Chippy

    19th Jan, 10

    Everything works except the USB ports. Tried to connect a new out of the box mp3 player but nothing. I’m on a laptop.

    at

  35. thedave

    19th Jan, 10

    Do you have any USB keyboards? — I’m trying to identify whether or not the USB ports are working from outside Windows. In other words, is the problem Windows specific?

    A USB keyboard works on most laptops during the boot sequence, pressing F2/F12/DEL (or even numlock) might give some clues to whether the keyboard can communicate with the laptop.

    at

  36. Chippy

    19th Jan, 10

    No keyboard to try but I tried a Logtech webcam and still no dice.

    at

  37. thedave

    19th Jan, 10

    You could try a Linux LiveCD to see if booting from CD into another OS works to see a webcam…

    Beyond that, I don’t have any other suggestions beyond to say that my guess is that it’s a hardware issue here.

    at

  38. Pat Jeffery

    23rd Jan, 10

    Thanks for this fix.
    I also have had problems with both a USB hard drive and Logitech remote, neither of which would recognize their drivers during installation. I’ve followed these instructions and fixed both problems first time.
    As Logitech support raised this issue to a Tier 2 support agent after being unable to fix this, I’m very grateful for your post.

    at

  39. thedave

    23rd Jan, 10

    Keep your fingers crossed that Tier 2 can help, but let me know what you find?

    at

  40. SANDY

    26th Feb, 10

    Having had a long exchange of emails with the maker of my external drive, and they still could not advise me in simple terms how to solve the problem of my drive not being reconised by Vista.
    I find your website and problem solved in 2 minutes, many many many thanks.

    Thanks Sandy

    at

  41. Kylie Sanchez

    9th May, 10

    Windows Vista is good but it can hog your CPU and Memory.*-:

    at

  42. Keri

    9th May, 10

    I have the same problem with my WD 500 GB hard drive. It worked a month ago but it was not hooked up again till 2 days ago. Tried both INFCACHE.1 method and the device manager method still nothing ggrrrr. I have checked the drive on another computer and it works fine! :( Please help!

    at

  43. Munavvar

    20th Jun, 10

    Thanks man your trick is realy working.thanks.

    at

  44. kadu

    29th Jul, 10

    thx god the c:windows/winsxs way work for me
    its the unique thing i make solve this problem
    thx soo much!

    at

  45. lauro

    21st Aug, 10

    thanks bro, its works more power to the site

    at

  46. SolomonsSeal

    4th Oct, 10

    Hi and I am not technical
    Already posted this on Vista Forums but nor response
    I am trying to restore some pics I took on my Samsung SGH-F480 mobile phone and then deleted. On the phone’s own memory, not extension card. There’s plenty of data recovery software but I need a drive letter for the phone on my PC or the software can’t see it. I can connect the phone to my PC via USB and Samsung PC Studio 3 Phone Explorer sees my PC, but I can’t make the PC see the phone. There is no conflict with any other drive letter I think – there is no other USB device attached. If I go into Windows Explorer there is no sign of attached device.
    If I go into Windows Explorer/Computer/Manage/Storage/Disk Management I can see C drive, D drive (Hewlett Packard recovery), and E (DVD drive), but no sign of anything else, not even with no drive allocated.
    But if I go into Computer Management/Device Management/USB controllers I can see a Samsung USB composite device driver.
    Can I somehow make use of the fact that there is a driver there to allocate a drive letter?

    at

  47. jeaneaj

    10th Oct, 10

    thanks!

    at

  48. Rolf

    2nd Nov, 10

    I have a Dell inspiration 1200, running Vista

    previously working USB memory stick produces error “you need to format this device before you can use it ”

    previously working iPod produces “your ipod is corrupt and need to reformat it ”

    both worked fine befor ein this PC and continue to work fine in another PC

    when I try to delete the USB devices in Devicwe manager, they reappear automatically in the devic emanager upon re-boot

    Do I need to move the infcashe.1 file for this problem ? or what am i doing wrong ?

    at

  49. Rolf

    4th Nov, 10

    Update on USB

    Printer continued to work

    removing the INFCACHE.1 file (renamed xxINFCACHE.1) did not result in a new INFCACHE.1 file being created

    elsewhere on the WEB i have seen the suggestion to copy the INFCACHE.1 from another fuctiong Vista PC and paste it into my inf file ?

    problem seems to be with any USN device that has memory ie , memory stick, Ipod, camera

    at

  50. Cannot Connect to CPU - Android Forums

    4th Dec, 10

    [...] I downloaded and installed the latest Samsung drivers. Restarted CPU. Performed this :Windows Vista / USB device detection problems – The Dave (Hate Vista!) Rebooted CPU. Let everything reinstall and rebooted cpu again. Applied USB [...]

    at

  51. Wayne Harrison

    3rd Jun, 11

    Thank you so much. The winsxs solution worked for me. I’ve spent many hours searching the Internet and yours is the only solution I’ve found that worked.

    at

  52. Milan

    14th Jul, 11

    Very helpful! Thanks a ton

    at

  53. Nick Giafes

    28th Oct, 11

    Thank you for the INFCACHE.1 info…

    However, my problem is that Mozilla Firefox 7.01.1 will not work with the Logitech Setpoint Vertical Options. When I ‘left click’ on the Vertical Bar nothing appears. In IE9 it displays a drop down box to ‘Scroll Here’, or ‘Top’. I tried reloading, but to no avail. Would you have any suggestions. It is not covered in the Q and A or FAQ at Logitech.

    Thanks!

    at

  54. thedave

    28th Oct, 11

    Sorry Nick, but I’ve got no idea at all about that one.

    at

  55. happy

    24th Nov, 11

    finally a fix that worked. Much appreciated

    at

  56. Dean Philpot

    3rd Dec, 11

    Just a quick query…

    I have a USB wired retractable mouse which i have used for a good while on this laptop.

    Started up my laptop today, and mouse ‘is not recognise’ yet the mouse is fine in terms of cable condition etc.

    I have followed these steps, should i really delete this InfCache file though, or just try restarting my laptop. Basically, I want to know if deleting the said file will cause any other problems/changes, and seek more information on stuff i should be aware of regarding this change e.g. will ALL other usb devices/drivers ALL need to be reinstalled? =/

    Would appreciate some feedback/help, thankyou

    at

  57. thedave

    3rd Dec, 11

    Reboot first, or try another USB port before worrying about infcache.1

    Should that fail, deleting infcache.1 is harmless, it’s just a cache and will be rebuilt (with correct data) when needed.

    at

Leave a reply

(Required)
(Required, but never shared)