Option to temporarily disable the USB port. Temporarily disabling the USB port


Sometimes it becomes necessary to disable USB ports on a computer or laptop in order to limit access to connect flash drives, hard drives and other USB devices. Disabling USB ports will help prevent the connection of any drives that could be used to steal important information or cause a virus to infect your computer and spread malware across the 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. Using additional programs
  7. Physically disconnecting USB ports

1. Disabling USB ports through BIOS settings

  1. Enter 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 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 the USB controller driver is installed. If a driver has not been installed for security reasons, the Start setting may be automatically reset to 3 when the user connects the USB drive and Windows installs the driver.

3. Disable USB ports in Device Manager

  1. Right-click on the " Computer" and select the "Properties" item in the context menu. 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

While physically unplugging USB ports on a motherboard is nearly impossible, you can unplug ports on the front or top of your computer by unplugging the cable that goes to the motherboard. This method will not completely block access to USB ports, but will reduce the likelihood of using drives by 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 Group Policy Editor.

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

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 “ten” appeared.

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

  • The original purpose of this option implied the ability to automatically configure the power plan (this is especially true for laptops) in order to significantly increase the battery life of the laptop by disconnecting several USB ports. It is precisely disabling USB ports that allows your hardware not to constantly waste electricity to maintain 100% functioning of USB ports that are not currently 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, you won’t have to select anything other than 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 of 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 The function works 100%.

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 current version of Windows 10 as an example. As a rule, by default, the function of temporarily disabling the USB port is activated at least for the energy 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 learned 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 a complete list of 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 associated with 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.


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