Good afternoon, dear readers of the blog site, today I want to tell you how to delete data on USB flash drives in the Windows registry. This article is a continuation of the article. All information about any USB drives ever connected to a computer is stored in the system registry. If many flash drives of different models and manufacturers are connected to the computer, then over time a lot of garbage accumulates in the registry. As a result, the process of identifying and connecting a new device begins to take a significant amount of time and slows down the system.
There is only one way out. You need to periodically clean the registry keys that store data about plug-in flash drives and other USB drives. Clearing these partitions will speed up the connection of new USB devices and the system as a whole.
Cleaning must be done using the Regedit system program. It starts like this.
Start - Run - Regedit
Registry sections that store data about any USB drive ever connected to a PC - Flash drives, external hard drives, as well as cameras, phones, flash players and other devices that, when connected to a PC, were recognized as an external USB drive. All subsections with the Disc prefix can be deleted here.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Enum \ USBSTOR
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ ControlSet001 \ Enum \ USBSTOR
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ ControlSet002 \ Enum \ USBSTOR
The screenshots show that the hubs and HDDs were also connected via the hub
If you don't want to clean it by hand, then there is free software, for example USB Oblivion. Run the utility
Check the box Perform real cleaning
We see that everything is complete and many entries have been deleted from the registry. Let's check the registry. Please note that there is no USBSTOR folder.
Well, let's look at the sequence with the USBDeview program, everything is also clean.
Here are dear readers where the data on your flash drives is stored, so if something needs to be deleted then start.
The older the system running in the PC, the more unnecessary and sometimes interfering files and programs accumulate in the memory.
To avoid conflicts during the installation of new equipment and, in general, to optimize the operation of the computer, it is recommended to promptly clean it from the software of already unused hardware.
Removal procedure
The mass of unnecessary and outdated programs only interferes and reduces the performance of the computer, and sometimes users install drivers from third-party resources, which leads to serious failures in the OS, for example, such as the appearance of a blue screen or system error messages.
Therefore, owners of computers running Windows 7 need to know how to properly remove the driver from the system. Before starting the execution of the instructions below, it is recommended to create an OS restore point so that in case of unsuccessful attempts to interfere with the system software, you can use the "Seven" rollback to a working state.
Method 1: Via Device Manager
To remove the drivers, you must perform the following sequential steps:
- In the search box, type "cmd" and then call the context menu from the console icon;
- Click "Run as Administrator";
- In the displayed command line, type "SET DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES = 1";
- Then execute the request "devmgmt.msc", which will open the "Device Manager (DU)";
- Also, the remote control in Windows 7 can be called through "Start" by right-clicking on the "Computer" line;
- Click on "Properties";
- Then, in the displayed menu, click "DU";
- Enter the "View" tab;
- Set a check mark in the line for showing devices hidden in normal mode;
- Expand the section in which the component to be removed is located;
- For example, as you can see from the screenshot above, several different drive models were connected to the computer for a long time. Although, usually, at the moment only one name of the accessory device is used. This applies to all sections of the connected equipment: printers, mice, USB devices, etc. Obviously, computers with a long lifespan require a thorough cleaning. But even the owners of new PCs just need to estimate how many different external storage media they have already used, and each new flash drive requires its own drivers for full operation;
- If the user replaced the graphics adapter in the computer, then it would be advisable to clean the corresponding section;
- It is necessary to select one of the already unused devices and press "Enter";
- Then go to the "Driver" tab;
- Click on the virtual button "Information";
- In the menu that appears, the user will have access to information about the location of the software of interest to his equipment. Drivers are stored in the system directories in the important Program Files directory, as well as in the Windows directory (if the OS is 32-bit, then in the System32 folder. When - x64, then in SysWOW64);
- In order to completely get rid of unnecessary ballast, you need to click RMB on the device;
- Click "Delete";
- Check the box indicated by the red arrow in the screenshot below and click "Ok";
- Ready. Now the software of the missing equipment has been removed, and if it is necessary to connect it someday, it will be possible to reinstall fresh drivers from the resource of the device manufacturer.
Following the instructions described, you can consistently get rid of all the drivers of unused devices, but you should be careful not to uninstall software, the purpose of which the user is not one hundred percent sure of. Incorrect interference with the integrity of the system can lead to negative consequences for it.
If the user cannot apply the given technique due to objective reasons, then the methods using the Windows 7 Control Panel and third-party programs are described below.
Method 2: Using the built-in tools of the Control Panel (CP)
You will need to do the following sequential actions:
Method 3: Using third-party applications
If the PC is running Windows 7 or a more modern version of the OS from Microsoft, then a special program "Threexy Driver Fusion" will help you with the task.
It is free and allows you to safely remove unnecessary drivers without affecting your PC's boot software.
The application has support for the Russian-language interface, however, only in the English-language version it works without failures, therefore it is recommended that all actions to uninstall the software be performed in the English shell.
Follow these steps:
If the user wants to use a program with a Russian-language interface, the "Driver Sweeper" utility will do.
It is also free and safe to use, of course, with a certain degree of caution from the owner of the computer.
It is equipped with a simple interface and will not complicate operation even for a novice user.
There are just a few steps to follow:
Almost every user connects a phone, tablet, reader, flash drives and external HDDs to a computer. When working with these devices, Windows OS installs their drivers. At the end of the operation, they are not deleted from the computer (that is, they gradually accumulate) and, like temporary files, unnecessary entries in the registry clutter up the system.
In addition to this, if the devices are disconnected from the USB port incorrectly (pulled out without software shutdown by the "Eject" function), then the installed drivers not only remain in the system, but also continue to function. Because of this, they often cause a software conflict in the process of connecting another USB device (the system "does not see" the device, gives errors, hangs).
This article will help you avoid all these troubles: it will tell you how to remove the driver of an unused USB drive or gadget from the operating system completely, how to automatically uninstall all USB drivers.
Removal by standard means
Surface cleaning
1. Open the Start menu.
2. Click with the right mouse button in the appeared panel "Computer". Select Properties from the command list.
3. In the left column, click "Device Manager".
4. In the manager window, in the horizontal menu, open the "View" section and click "Show hidden devices".
5. Open the "USB Controllers" directory.
6. Remove the old or unused driver: right-click on its name → click "Remove".
Deep cleaning
1. Hold down the Win key and press the Pause / Break key. Or open: Start → right-click "Computer" → Properties.
2. In the window that opens, in the left pane, click "Advanced system settings".
3. On the Advanced tab, click the Environment Variables button.
4. In the top block, click Create.
5. In the "New user variable" window:
- in the "Variable name" line enter - devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices;
- in "Variable value" - 1.
6. Click OK in the Variables Panel and in the Environment Variables window.
7. Return to the system properties window (Win + Break) and click "Device Manager".
8. In the manager open: View → Show Hidden ...
9. Click the "Update configuration ..." button (the last one in the panel).
10. The icons of unused drivers in the manager are grayed out (that is, you can uninstall this driver). Open the following directories one by one and remove unnecessary elements (right-click on the name → Delete):
Non-Self-Configuring Device Drivers
Advice! In this directory, you can also remove old drivers installed by programs that have already been uninstalled from Windows (for example, the Comodo firewall package).
This section of devices displays the installed drivers for flash drives, readers, hard drives. Transparent object icons indicate that they are not used (not connected). This means that you can safely get rid of them.
11. After cleaning is complete, restart your PC.
Automatic removal by USBDeview utility
1. Copy this link into the address bar of your browser - http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_devices_view.html#DownloadLinks (the official site of the utility). And then press "ENTER".
2. On the opened page:
- if you have a 32-bit system, click the first link "Download USBDeview";
- if 64-x, the second is "... for x64 systems".
3. Unpack the downloaded archive: right-click on it → select "Extract all ..." → in the "Unpack ..." window, click "Extract".
4. Open the unzipped folder. Run the USBDeview executable file with administrator rights.
5. The utility window displays a list of all drivers installed in the system. Disabled elements are marked with red "chips".
To remove a driver from Windows, select it with a mouse click, and then click the "Trash" icon in the USBDeview panel. Or right-click on it and select "Uninstall Selected Devices" from the context menu.
Note. In addition to the uninstall function, USBDeview provides the user with the ability to disable / enable the driver, view its properties.
Removing all USB device drivers
A global driver cleaning can be performed using the DriveCleanup utility (download link - http://uwe-sieber.de/files/drivecleanup.zip).
1. Unpack the archive downloaded to your computer.
2. If you have 32-bit Windows, open the "Win32" folder, if 64-bit, respectively, "x64".
3. Run the "DriveCleanup" file as administrator.
Once launched, the utility will automatically clean up. At the end of the procedure (when the message “Press any key” appears in the console window) press any key.
Success in setting up the system!
Over time, Windows keeps many backups in the system, temporary files, old drivers, which will gradually take up space on your hard drives. Of course it is possible to free up space on your hard disk, but what if the old drivers of a device interfere with the installation of new versions? Especially problems are caused by wireless mice, keyboards and other USB devices that sometimes do not want to work until we remove the old drivers and install the new ones.
Drivers are the necessary little applications you need to connect any device and make it work. Windows has a very large database of drivers for different types of devices: printers, mice, sound cards, cards, etc. Some manufacturers release their own versions of the driver, which are necessary for work and not always in the windows-based driver can work with a particular device. To do this, we need to remove the old unnecessary driver versions and install new ones from the manufacturer.
How to uninstall the previous version of the driver
Each time the driver is updated over and over again, the old driver backups remain in the system, thereby clogging the hard drive and preventing the installation of new driver versions. To remove previous versions of the driver, write in the "Search" (near Start) Command line or CMD, right-click on it and run from administrator name, then in the window that opens, set the command cleanmgr.
Check the box next to Device driver packages and click OK. All old driver packages will be cleaned up.
How to uninstall old device drivers on Windows
Most often, there are native hidden installed drivers, which the above method will not remove them. Hidden drivers remain in the system even when a new device is detected and install the old version of the driver, not the new one, which causes various errors when installing new drivers and inoperability of devices.
- Press the button combination Win + R and enter the following command devmgmt.msc to open Device Manager.
- In device manager, click View > .
If for some reason they are not displayed, then see below how to fix the hidden display of devices.
We see in the picture above weakly selected devices, these are the hidden drivers that sometimes interfere with us.
- To remove old hidden drivers, just right click on it and Delete.
- If it will be possible to put a check mark, then check the box.
How to identify hidden device drivers in the manager
The command has to do with showing hidden drivers in Device Manager, older versions of Windows XP, 7.
Run Command Prompt as administrator and enter the command:
- SET devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices = 1
You can go to the device manager and try to display the hidden ones.
