A computer that is running Windows XP cannot detect a USB flash drive, an Apple iPod, or an external hard disk drive

You attach a USB-based device to a computer that is running Windows XP. Then, you try to scan for hardware devices. However, the computer does not detect the attached device, and you do not see the device in the My Computer folder.

You may experience this problem when you are using one or more of the following devices:

• USB flash drive
• Apple iPod
• External hard disk drive

Additionally, you may not see the iPod in the iTunes application.

This problem can occur if there are corrupted or incorrect keys in the registry. This article helps you fix the problem.

To have us fix this problem for you, go to the “Fix it for me” section. If you would rather fix this problem yourself, go to the “Let me fix it myself” section.

Note There may be other reasons that a USB device is not detected. For related Microsoft Knowledge Base articles, see the "Similar problems and solutions" section.

To fix this problem automatically, click the Fix this problem link. Then click Run in the File Download dialog box, and follow the steps in this wizard.

Fix this problem

Note This wizard is temporarily in English only. However, the automatic fix also works for other language versions of Windows.

Note If you are not on the computer that has the problem, you can save the automatic fix to a flash drive or to a CD, and then you can run it on the computer that has the problem.

Now go to the "Did this fix the problem?" section.

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: To fix this problem, delete the UpperFilters registry value and the LowerFilters registry value. These values may cause access problems. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
2. Locate and then click the UpperFilters registry value. This value is located in the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E967-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
3. On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then click OK.
   
   Note If you receive an error when you try to delete the registry subkey, you may not have appropriate permissions to edit the subkey. For more information about how to set or change registry editing permissions, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
   310426  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310426/ ) How to set or change registry editing permissions in Windows XP or in Windows Server 2003
4. Locate and then click the LowerFilters registry value. This value is located in the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E967-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
5. On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then click OK.
   
   Note If you receive an error when you try to delete the registry subkey, you may not have appropriate permissions to edit the subkey. For more information about how to set or change registry editing permissions, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
   310426  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310426/ ) How to set or change registry editing permissions in Windows XP or in Windows Server 2003
6. Exit Registry Editor.
7. Restart the computer.

For information about how to contact Apple Computer, Inc., visit the following Microsoft Web site: Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

Now go to the "Did this fix the problem?" section.

For more information about USB devices that are not detected, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about the error message "The camera device is not correctly recognized", click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about USB mouse devices that are not detected, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about how to troubleshoot unknown devices, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about the error message "USB device not recognized", click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about reconnected USB devices that are not detected, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about missing devices, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, about the performance or reliability of these products.