How to Enable or Disable USB Ports In Windows 7

https://blogs.systweak.com/how-to-enable-or-disable-usb-ports-in-windows-7/

You might have noticed that when you attach your USB drive to a computer at your school or office and computer doesn’t respond? It is because the administrator has disabled the USB ports and therefore, USB drives are not recognized.

Disabling access to USB ports is a great way to stop unauthorized users to transfer or steal data from your computer. Some might feel it is a cumbersome process, but do not worry as we have you totally covered.

In this article, we have listed a few ways to enable/disable USB ports in Windows 7.

1. Steps to Disable or Enable USB Drives By Making Changes In Registry –

You can make changes in your Registry files to enable or disable the USB ports in Windows 7. Follow these steps:

• Go to Start Menu, type “Regedit” in the Search box to open Registry Editor.
• Navigate to this key – HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\USBSTOR
• In the right-hand panel, look for Start and right click on it.
• A sub-menu will appear, choose Modify
• A small pop-up window will open, check if the value is 3.
• If yes, then the port is already enabled. Change the value to 4 to disable the port.
• Click OK to apply changes.

Also Read: 10 Best USB Port Blocker Software

2. Uninstall/Reinstall USB Mass Storage Drivers –

Another way to enable/disable the USB ports is, to install/uninstall the USB drivers. If you wish to use your USB device on your work computer or stop anyone from using your computer to transfer data, then follow these steps to uninstall USB drivers:

• Go to Start Menu, type “devmgmt.msc” in the Search box to open Device Manager.
• Click on the Universal Serial Bus Controllers.
• You will get the list of USB ports.
• Right Click on the USB port and uninstall the driver to disable the port.

Note: If you wish to install the USB driver in future,  plug-in your USB drive and Windows will check for drivers. If not found, Windows will prompt you to install the driver.

3. Disable USB Ports from Device Manager

You can disable/enable or disalbe the USB ports through Device Manager. If you wish to use your USB device on your work computer or stop anyone from using your computer to transfer data, then follow these steps to disable USB drivers:

• Go to Start Menu, type “devmgmt.msc” in the Search box to open Device Manager.
• Click on the Universal Serial Bus Controllers.
• You will get the list of USB ports.
• Right click on the USB port and disable/enable the port.

4. Disconnect USB

It is not possible to disconnect all the USB ports from a motherboard, but you can disconnect those which are on the top and front of the computer by plugging out the cable from USB header. Disconnecting these ports can prevent people from easily misusing them for their benefit.

5. Enable/Disable USB Ports Using Third-Party Software –

• SysTools USB Blocker

You can also enable or disable the USB ports by using a third-party tool. There are many free tools available. One of them is SysTools USB Blocker. It allows you to block all USB ports from any machine. All you need is your login credentials for the machine to block or unblock ports. It also provides an option to recover lost user password through your email address. The tool can block or unblock unlimited USB ports of various laptops and computers. The software comes with a rich and intuitive interface.