How to disable or enable USB ports in Windows. The USB port of a computer or laptop does not work, what should I do? What is temporary disabling a USB port?

Talk about what function to temporarily disable USB port in Windows 10- this is something super natural, it’s just not worth it, and it’s all because this option itself appeared relatively long ago (back in the edition of Windows 7), but just at that moment, there were rumors about this kind of opportunity there were few programs, and therefore, most PC users learned about the new option only when the “top ten” appeared.

What is the purpose of temporarily disabling the USB port in Windows 10?

• The original purpose of this option was to automatic settings power plan (this is especially true for laptops), so that by disconnecting several USB ports, you can significantly increase the time battery life laptop batteries. It is precisely disabling USB ports that allows your hardware not to constantly waste electricity in order to maintain 100% functioning of USB ports that are currently not in use.
• Also, this option in Win 10 can be used to disable the USB port for a while, provided that you are trying to connect some device to it, but when connecting, you see an error.

The process of deactivating a USB port is as follows

Initially, you will have to open the “Control Panel” of your OS; to do this, you need to enter the phrase “Control Panel” in the OS search bar located on the taskbar, and then select the appropriate item. Now, find the “Power Options” icon and click on it to get to the corresponding section of the program.

Please note that if you cannot find the “Power Options” item, then you most likely have the category display mode turned on and, accordingly, you will have to first click on the “Hardware and Sound” item and only after that, on the section to which you need to get in.

In the new window, there is nothing to select except the “Change advanced power settings” item.

And now, the home stretch, because this is where it turns on and off USB port feature in Windows 10. In order to deactivate a USB port, follow the following path: initially select “USB Options” -> then click on “Option to temporarily disable USB port” -> select the item “Prohibited” -> click on the “Ok” button.

In order to enable the USB port, you can make a similar log of actions described above, but only at the end, you must select “Allowed”.

It is worth understanding that this method saving power and turning off the USB port when errors occur related to its operation is not a 100% panacea that will always and everywhere help you, but be that as it may, in some moments of the laptop’s life, this function works 100%.

Sometimes it becomes necessary to turn off USB ports on a computer or laptop 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:

1. Disabling USB through BIOS settings
2. Changing registry settings for USB devices
3. Disabling USB ports in Device Manager
4. Uninstalling USB controller drivers
5. Using Microsoft Fix It 50061
6. Usage additional programs
7. Physically disconnecting USB ports

1. Disabling USB ports through BIOS settings

1. Sign in BIOS settings.
2. Disable all items related to the USB controller (for example, USB Controller or Legacy USB Support).
3. After you have made these changes, you need to save the settings and exit the BIOS. This is usually done using the key F10.
4. 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 to various USB drives (for example flash drives), but other devices such as keyboards, mice, printers, scanners will still work.

1. Open the Start menu -> Run, enter the command " regedit" and click OK to open the Registry Editor.
2. Continue to next section
   

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\USBSTOR

3. 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

1. Right-click on the " Computer» and select in context menu"Properties" item. A window will open on the left side of which you need to click on the link “ device Manager».
2. In the device manager tree, find the item " USB controllers" and open it.
3. 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 this 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 scope 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 noted that this method is 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 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 versions of Windows, it is possible to restrict access to removable storage devices (including USB drives) using the local editor group policy.

1. Run gpedit.msc through the Run window (Win + R).
2. Go to the next branch " Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System -> Access to Removable Storage Devices»
3. On the right side of the screen, find the “Removable drives: Deny read” option.
4. Activate this option ("Enable" position).

This section Local Group Policy allows you to configure read, write, and execute access for different classes of removable media.

If you encounter a situation where your computer stops responding to commands entered using a connected USB keyboards or mouse, check parameters USB in settings power plan. Sometimes Windows Maybe turn offUSB devices during downtime, which contributes computer energy saving, but not always justified and convenient in terms of work.
Prevent temporary shutdown USB ports, if you are faced with a similar situation, in power plan should be changed power settings. To do this, click the "Start" button and in the "Search programs and files" field, enter the word "Power Options" and press "Enter". The "Power Options" icon will appear, click on it with the left mouse button.

Open power plans You can also from by going to it in a way convenient for you and, if necessary, switching to the “Small Icons” view mode and selecting the “Power Options” item.

The "Select a power plan" window will open, in which, opposite current energy saving plan Click "Set up power plan".

In the next step, click "Change advanced power settings."

In the window that opens, find the item “USB Settings” and first expand it, and then “Option to temporarily disable USB port” by clicking on +.

Click Allowed and a drop-down panel will appear with options to choose from. There are only two of them, select “Prohibited”.

In fact, this function has been available since Windows 7 and, by and large, the procedure has not changed since then. Let's look at it using the example of a current Windows versions 10. As a rule, by default, the USB port temporary disabling function is activated at least for the power saving mode. Actually, in order to save battery, the system pauses the operation of USB ports during idle moments, so the corresponding settings can be found in the “Power Options” section of the system Control Panel.

We have already discussed how to open the Control Panel in Windows 10 Creators Update. The most convenient way is to use the search bar on the taskbar, where you just need to type “Control Panel”, in which go to the “Power Options” section (if the category display mode is turned on, then first You must click on “Hardware and Sound”). In the window that opens, go to the settings of the desired power supply scheme.

On the next screen, you need to click on “Change advanced power settings”.

A new window will open with full list additional parameters, in which you need to find the item USB Options > Temporarily Disable USB Port Option and set the value "Forbidden", then click OK to save the changes. The function is turned back on in the same way.

It is worth noting that the above example is not a panacea for all possible problems, related to the operation of USB devices, the reasons can be very different, but nevertheless it can help in situations where the problem is related to the operation of this function.