Sometimes, when you connect the USB flash drive to the computer, the USB flash drive disconnects and reconnects every few seconds, which causes you to not be able to copy and transfer files normally, which is really annoying. There may be a problem with the hardware or drivers.
In this case, you need to make sure that this USB flash drive works properly with other computers. If yes, then there is nothing wrong with your drive. If not, don't worry. Now, let's start learning what to do if USB flash drive keeps disconnecting and reconnecting on Windows 10?
Connect the USB flash drive to a different USB port
As we all know, you won't have only one USB port on your laptop or desktop computer. So, if the USB port you are using keeps disconnecting, why not try connecting the USB flash drive to another USB port? In some cases, your problem can be easily solved by connecting the USB flash drive to a different USB port. However, if this method doesn't work for you, try the following different methods.
Reinstall the Universal Serial Bus Controller driver
If your USB port keeps disconnecting and reconnecting on Windows 10, you can try reinstalling the USB flash drive or Universal Serial Bus Controller driver. This method can help you solve this problem.
1. Press Windows+X at the same time, and then click Device Manager.
2. Go to the Universal Serial Bus Controller on the left panel of the Device Manager window. Double-click on it, find your USB stick, right-click on it, and select Uninstall from the drop-down menu.
Note: If your USB flash drive is a regular USB flash drive, it will appear as a USB mass storage device. If it is a USB 3.0 device, it appears as a USB 3.0 Scalable Host Controller.
3. Click "OK" in the dialog box to confirm to uninstall it. Then restart the computer with the USB flash drive connected. Windows will automatically install the driver after a reboot. Then you can check if your problem has been solved.
Turn off the Energy Saving option
1. Navigate to Device Manager > Universal Serial Bus Controller, right-click on the USB flash drive and select Properties.
2. Switch to power management and uncheck the box that says "Allow the computer to turn off the device to save power". Then click OK.
3. Restart your computer to check the results.
Disable the USB selective pause setting
The reason why the USB keeps disconnecting and reconnecting may be in the power saving feature. Computers are usually configured to turn off USB devices after a certain period of time to save power. So, you can try to fix the problem by turning off this feature.
1. Press Windows+X at the same time, then select Power Options in the menu.
2. Click "Change Plan Settings" under the "Preferred Plan" section on the right panel.
3. Click "Change Advanced Power Settings" in the interface below.
4. Find the USB setting and double-click on it, select the USB selective pause setting and change the setting from "Enabled" to "Disabled". Click the Apply button and then click the OK button to save the changes.
5. Restart the computer and see if the problem of USB keeps disconnecting has been solved.
Run the hardware and device troubleshooter
If you're having some hardware or device issues with Windows 10, you can run the Hardware and Device troubleshooter. It will help you solve these problems.
1. Go to "Settings> Troubleshoot Update and Security >" and click on "Hardware & Devices".
2. Then the hardware troubleshooter will open. You can choose to fix the detected issues automatically or just the ones you want. Then click "Next" to run it.
3. Select the target you want to repair and click the "Next" button. The Hardware & Device troubleshooter will do its best to help you fix it.
Try to scan and repair your USB stick
1. Open "This PC", right-click the USB flash drive you want to check, and then click Properties.
2. In the Properties panel, select the Tools tab and click the Check button under the Troubleshooting section.
3. Click Scan & Repair Drive to scan and repair your USB flash drive. Then follow the on-screen instructions.
Use CHKDSK or SFC to fix disconnect errors
The problem of USB disconnection and reconnection can be caused by the failure of the USB flash drive itself or a problem with the file system. Therefore, you can use CHKDSK or SFC to solve this problem. No matter which one you try, first, go to the Start menu and type in "cmd" to launch the command prompt, then:
1. Use CHKDSK to fix errors
In the command prompt, enter the chkdsk drive letter: /r /f command, replace the drive letter in the command with the drive that needs to be repaired, and press enter. Finally, reconnect the USB flash drive to check the problem.
2. Use SFC to fix errors
Enter the sfc /scannow command in the command prompt and press enter to execute. Once the scanning process is complete, restart your computer to see if it is working properly.