USB ports may stop functioning if the drivers are lost, the BIOS settings are damaged, or the connectors are mechanically damaged. The second case often occurs among owners of recently purchased or assembled computer, as well as those who decided to install an additional USB port on the motherboard or those who previously reset the BIOS settings.
BIOS is divided into several versions and developers, therefore, each of them may have a significantly different interface, but the functionality for the most part remains the same.
Option 1: Award BIOS
This is the most common developer of basic I/O systems with a standard interface. The instructions for it look like this:
Option 2: Phoenix-Award & AMI BIOS
BIOS versions from developers such as Phoenix-Award and AMI have similar functionality, so they will be considered in one version. Instructions for setting up USB ports in this case look like this:
Option 3: UEFI interface
UEFI is a more modern analogue of BIOS with a graphical interface and the ability to control using a mouse, but in general their functionality is very similar. The instructions for UEFI will look like this:
Connecting USB ports is easy, regardless of the BIOS version. Once they are connected, you can connect a USB mouse and keyboard to your computer. If they were connected before, their operation will become more stable.
First, you need to figure out why you might need to disable USB ports on the computer. Everything is quite simple here. With the advent of miniature data storage devices operating via USB, a need arose to prevent data leakage from computers. Using a regular flash drive or portable hard drive, you can easily steal any information. To prevent such incidents, it is necessary to completely disable USB ports. Of course, everyone may have their own reasons for disabling ports, but this is not so important. Below are several ways to disable USB ports on your computer.
Disable USB ports in BIOS settings
In fact, everything is quite simple: go to BIOS settings and disable all ports, or those that are necessary. The nuance is that on at the moment There are several versions of BIOS, and port disabling is sometimes different in each.
BIOS Award. Go to the BIOS settings and select the item Integrated Peripherals. Let's go to this menu. Next, we simply find the points: USB EHCI Controller, USB Keyboard Support, USB Mouse Support and Legacy USB storage detect and disable them by selecting the option Disabled. Then we simply save the settings and restart the computer;
Phoenix Award And AMI BIOS. Go to settings and select the item Advanced (sometimes some versions may have a Peripherals item) or Advanced BIOS Features. Next we go to the menu USB Configuration. Next, turn off all USB items, save the settings and restart the computer;
UEFI. More modern panel. Go to the menu Peripherals or Advanced. Selecting items Legacy USB Support And USB 3.0 Support and turn them off. Next, save the settings and restart the PC.
Note! In some versions, the menu items may have slightly different names, but that's okay, just go through all the menus and find the USB settings.
Disable USB using the registry
This is a more suitable way. You can disable it in the registry USB access ports to specific devices, not the ports themselves. At a time when almost everything is connected via USB, including a mouse and keyboard, this method will be preferable. You can simply disable port access specifically to flash drives, but at the same time computer mouse will work fine.
Open the registry editor: keyboard shortcut Win+R, enter the command regedit and click OK. Next, move on to the next section:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\USBSTOR
Find an item Start. Open it and enter the value 4 . Save the settings and restart your computer. This section blocks access external drives to the port.
Note! If USB controller drivers are not installed on the computer, then the value Start will automatically change to the value 3 as soon as the device is connected to the port.
Disable USB via Device Manager
Open device Manager: right click on My computer, open Properties, further device Manager. Open the menu USB controllers. Right-click and context menu select an item Disable. 
Important! The option of removing drivers for USB controllers will not work, since the first time you connect the device to the port, Windows will begin installing the drivers.
Disable USB using Windows files
Denying access using the Local Group Policy Editor
You can also ban reading and writing.
Additionally
It is also worth mentioning that there are two more ways to restrict access to ports: restrict access using third party programs and physically disabling ports.
There is plenty of third-party software on the Internet, and each one is configured differently, so there is no point in describing this method in the article. All you need to do is find the desired program and instructions for it.
As for physically disabling ports, this method will only work with ports on the front panel of the system unit. Open system unit and carefully disconnect the wires going to the ports.
Bottom line
Whatever the reason for the need to disable USB ports, now you know how to do it.
Sometimes it becomes necessary to disable USB ports on a computer or laptop in order to limit access by connecting flash drives, hard drives and other USB devices. Disabling USB ports will help prevent the connection of any drives that could be used for theft important information or cause your computer to become infected with a virus and spread harmful software By local network.
Restricting access to USB ports
Let's consider 7 ways, with which you can block USB ports:
- Disabling USB through BIOS settings
- Changing registry settings for USB devices
- Disabling USB ports in Device Manager
- Uninstalling USB controller drivers
- Using Microsoft Fix It 50061
- Usage additional programs
- Physical disabling USB ports
1. Disabling USB ports through BIOS settings
- Enter BIOS settings.
- Disable all items related to the USB controller (for example, USB Controller or Legacy USB Support).
- After you have made these changes, you need to save the settings and exit the BIOS. This is usually done using the key F10.
- Restart your computer and make sure the USB ports are disabled.
2. Enable and Disable USB Drives Using Registry Editor
If disabling via BIOS does not suit you, you can block access directly in the Windows OS itself using the registry.
The instructions below allow you to block access for various USB drives (for example flash drives), but other devices such as keyboards, mice, printers, scanners will still work.
- Open the Start menu -> Run, enter the command " regedit" and click OK to open the Registry Editor.
- Continue to next section
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\USBSTOR
- On the right side of the window, find the item “ Start” and double-click on it to edit. Enter the value " 4 » to block access to USB storage devices. Accordingly, if you enter the value again “ 3 ", access will be reopened.
Click OK, close Registry Editor, and restart your computer.
The above method only works when installed driver USB controller. If for security reasons the driver has not been installed, the "Start" parameter value may be automatically reset to "3" when the user connects USB drive and Windows will install the driver.
3. Disable USB ports in Device Manager
- Right-click on the " Computer" and select the "Properties" item in the context menu. A window will open on the left side of which you need to click on the link “ device Manager».
- In the device manager tree, find the item " USB controllers" and open it.
- Disable controllers by right-clicking and selecting the "Disable" menu item.
This method doesn't always work. In the example shown in the figure above, disabling the controllers (the first 2 points) did not lead to the desired result. Disabling the 3rd option (USB Mass Storage Device) worked, but it only allows you to disable a single instance of the USB storage device.
4. Removing USB controller drivers
Alternatively, to disable the ports, you can simply uninstall the USB controller driver. But the disadvantage of this method is that when the user connects a USB drive, Windows will check for drivers and, if they are missing, will offer to install the driver. This in turn will allow access to the USB device.
5. Prevent users from connecting USB storage devices using a Microsoft application
Another way to deny access to USB drives is to use Microsoft Fix It 50061(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/823732/ru - the link may open near the mituta). The essence of this method is that 2 conditions for solving the problem are considered:
- The USB drive has not yet been installed on the computer
- The USB device is already connected to the computer
Within the framework of this article, we will not consider this method in detail, especially since you can study it in detail on the Microsoft website using the link given above.
It should also be taken into account that this method Not suitable for all versions of Windows OS.
6. Using programs to disable/enable access to USB storage devices
There are many programs for setting a ban on access to USB ports. Let's consider one of them - the program USB Drive Disabler.
The program has a simple set of settings that allow you to deny/allow access to certain drives. USB Drive Disabler also allows you to configure alerts and access levels.
7. Disconnecting USB from the motherboard
Although physically disconnecting USB ports on motherboard is an almost impossible task, you can disable the ports located on the front or top of the computer case by disconnecting the cable going to the motherboard. This method will not completely block access to USB ports, but will reduce the likelihood of using drives by inexperienced users and those who are simply too lazy to connect devices to the back of the system unit.
! Addition
Denying access to removable media through the Group Policy Editor
In modern Windows versions it is possible to restrict access to removable storage devices (including USB drives) using the local editor group policy.
- Run gpedit.msc through the Run window (Win + R).
- Go to the next branch " Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System -> Access to Removable Storage Devices»
- On the right side of the screen, find the “Removable drives: Deny read” option.
- Activate this option ("Enable" position).
This section of local group policy allows you to configure read, write, and execute access for different classes removable media.
This article is devoted to the question of how to enable USB support in the BIOS. As it turns out, not all users know that the Universal Serial Bus functions (in the Russian interpretation - “Universal Serial Bus”) can be enabled and configured through BIOS Setup. In circumstances where you may need to this operation, we will not focus attention - they may be different. For example, you find that the USB devices on your computer are running slower than they should, and you want to check whether your computer's BIOS supports the latest version of this bus standard.
First, enter BIOS Setup when booting your computer and laptop. A separate article was devoted to how to do this on our website. It is worth noting, however, that the BIOS section with USB functions is not always obvious to the user. In addition, different manufacturers In different BIOS versions, bus management functions can be placed in different sections. It could be Advanced sections, Integrated Peripherals, Onboard Devices, etc.
It may, of course, happen that the section with setting up USB functions in the BIOS of your laptop or desktop computer just no. This situation can most often occur in laptops, in which the number of options available to the user is not very large at all. In the BIOS of my HP netbook, for example, I did not find such an option, no matter how hard I looked. Well, that means it’s not fate...
Setting USB options in BIOS
The number and range of USB features you can adjust in the BIOS can also vary greatly depending on the version. Often in Setup you can install support for a USB mouse and keyboard, and attached external drives. You can also disable/enable connectivity altogether USB devices or enable support for a specific version, such as USB 2.0.
List of the most common USB options (in different versions BIOS may have different names):
- USB Function – enable/disable the Universal Serial Bus controller
- USB 2.0 Controller Mode – switching the USB 2.0 controller to 1.1 mode and back
- Assign IRQ For USB – assign IRQ to USB devices
- USB Speed – setting the speed of the USB bus
- – USB keyboard and mouse support
- USB Storage Support – support for external drives on this bus
- Emulation Type – setting USB drive emulation modes
Once you have set the option you need, do not forget to save it by selecting to restart your computer BIOS option Setup “Exit and Save Changes”
When setting USB parameters in the BIOS, however, you should remember that they incorrect installation may cause the inoperability of any devices permanently connected to the universal serial bus, such as a keyboard or mouse.
Conclusion
In this article, you learned how to enable USB support, as well as set USB options in the BIOS of your computer or laptop. As a rule, this operation is quite simple and will not take you much time.
On some computers, when you connect hard drive or USB 3.0 flash drive, the error “The device is not recognized" (USB Device Not Recognized) or " Windows stopped this device because it reported a problem.(Code 43)" in Device Manager.
This article provides instructions on how to resolve the following issues:
- USB device not recognized/detected
- USB 3.0 flash drive not recognized/detected
- USB 3.0 does not work on Windows 7/10
How to fix: USB 3.0 port on computer does not work
Before we move on to fixing this problem, you should try the following steps:
- Use a different USB cable if you are connecting a hard drive to the port computer USB 3.0.
- Connect USB 3.0 to USB port 2.0.
- Remove the USB device, turn off the computer, and disconnect the power cord (or battery if using a laptop). Wait at least 2 minutes and then reconnect the power cord. Turn on your computer and reconnect the USB device.
- If you are using Windows 7, Vista or XP, download and run the Microsoft Troubleshooter utility.
- Reset BIOS to factory settings.
Solution 1: Disable Fast Startup feature in Windows 8 and 10
Note: If option quick launch has already been removed, check it and restart the computer. After restarting, uncheck the box and restart your computer again.
- Reboot computer.
Solution 2: Disable USB suspend settings.
Solution 3: Reboot your USB 3.0 device.
- Open device Manager. To do this:
- Press the " Windows» + « R" to open the window " Execute".
- In the window " Execute» enter: devmgmt.msc.
- Click Enter.
2. In Device Manager, expand "ControllersUSB» .
3. Right click on " RootUSB-hub (USB 3.0 ) " and select " Delete".
4. Windows will automatically find and install the latest drivers for your USB 3.0 port. 
Solution 4: Install the latest USB 3.0 drivers.
- Download Intel Driver Update Utility or AMD drivers.
- Run driver update utility and click " Next» on the first screen.
- Accept the license terms and click " Install".
- Wait while the driver update utility is installed.
- Once installation is complete, click " Launch».
- Click " Start scanning".
- When the driver scan is complete, click " Download", to download latest versions drivers for your computer.
- Finally, click " Install".
- After installation is complete reboot computer.
Solution 5: Restore Windows to a previous working state
If the solutions above did not help with the problem of USB 3.0 not working on your computer, you should try restoring your computer to its previous working state. This can be done if you previously activated a Windows restore point.
Please write in the comments below whether you managed to solve the problem with a faulty USB 3.0 port, and what solution helped in your situation.
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