How to Block Access to USB Drives in Windows 11/10 PC – Guide
With Windows 10, if a USB port or other compatible port is available on the computer, users can connect removable storage devices (such as USB flash drives, external hard drives, and other types of mass storage devices) to access or export data. . While it is common to use removable drives, there may be times when you want to restrict access to these types of devices. For example, you might want to disable access to prevent users from connecting third-party devices that may contain malware that could harm your computer or make it difficult for you to install applications from unknown sources. Or if the device is storing sensitive data, disabling read and write access to removable storage devices can help lock down the system to prevent users from making a copy of certain information, improving security — even if the data is stored on the device. network. After completing the steps, Windows 10 will deny access to removable storage classes, including USB flash drives, USB external hard drives, physical disks (e.g. CD and DVD), and other storage that falls under the removable storage class.
Enabling, Disabling USB Drives and Mass Storage Devices Using the Registry
If the administrator is wise, he would do this to ensure a tight lock. It would change the settings via the regedit command in the Run console. Now how do you unlock? You have to go straight to where the admin has been. Here’s how. In the right pane, select Start and change the value to 3. (The value 4 will disable USB storage). Click OK. It will re-enable USB ports and allow you to use thumb drives or USB.
Disable Device Manager USB Ports
If you still can’t find your USB drive working, you may need to consult Device Manager. The admin may have disabled the USB port here. Check any possibilities in Device Manager and enable the disabled port by right-clicking on the selected one and clicking Enable or Disable as per your need.
Uninstall USB Mass Storage Drivers
If the authorities are concerned about safety at the school, they will take the extreme measure of uninstalling USB mass storage drivers. To get things working, install device drivers. Here’s how you do it. When you plug in your USB drive, Windows checks for drivers; if not found, Windows will prompt you to install the driver. This would definitely unlock the flash drive in your school or office.
Using command line
To enable or disable CD/DVD ROM drives, open an elevated command prompt window, type the following and press Enter. You will get the message The operation completed successfully. It will disable the CD DVD drive.
To enable it, use:
Use USB Drive Enable/Disable
You can download and use a free tool, USB Drive Disabler/Enabler, which will allow you to easily enable or disable USB drives on your Windows computer. www.intelliadmin.com to download it.
Prevent users from connecting USB
If a USB storage device is already installed on your Windows computer, you can edit the Windows Registry to ensure that the USB does not work when someone plugs it into the PC, using this Microsoft Fixit 50061 [This has been taken down by Microsoft now]. Check first if it applies to your Windows OS version.
Final note
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