Hi, so my USB drive suddenly started acting up. When I plug it into my Windows PC, it doesn’t show up in File Explorer, and in Device Manager it only appears as “Unknown USB Device (Set Address Failed)”. Tried using different ports and even another computer, but the same thing happens every time. Other USB drives work fine on those machines, so it’s definitely just this one.
Not sure if this means the drive itself is dying, if it’s some kind of driver problem, or maybe even corruption. Haven’t formatted it yet because there are still files I’d really like to get back. Anyone know a good way to fix the “Unknown USB Device (Set Address Failed)” error? Thanks in advance.
@TSLinda This normally happens when the computer cannot assign a unique ID to the drive. Since the issue follows the drive itself, we can “assume” the drive as the source of the problem. Best options here are (1) Recover data (2) Replace if in warranty.
That “Unknown USB Device (Set Address Failed)” message usually means the PC can’t properly talk to the flash drive at the USB level. Since you already tried different ports and another computer and only that drive fails, it’s very likely the drive itself is failing (controller problem), not Windows.
A few things you can still try:
Try a different type of USB port
If you were using USB 3.0/blue ports, try a USB 2.0 port (black) or a powered USB hub.
Power reset the PC
Shut down, unplug the PC, hold the power button 15 seconds, boot back up and try again.
Remove the device in Device Manager
Device Manager → Universal Serial Bus controllers → uninstall “Unknown USB Device” → reboot and reconnect.
Check Disk Management
If it shows up there even without a drive letter, don’t format yet. Try assigning a drive letter.
If none of that helps and it still won’t enumerate, the drive isn’t readable through normal software tools. At that point the only real option for the files is professional data recovery (and it can be expensive). I wouldn’t keep plugging it in repeatedly because it can get worse.
First try to input in other port. If this is not working then try to update USB driver and ensure that USB is not corrupted. You can also check USB on other PC to check this one.
