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How can I disable a USB port in Windows XP to make it available only for smart phone battery charging?

I don’t want the users to be able to see the USB drive in My Computer, and the USB device should stay disabled in Device Manager.

Is there any way to accomplish this?

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  • depending on the phone, you can disable being able to use it as a USB storage device at the phone, as opposed to the computer.
    – Bon Gart
    Commented Jun 13, 2013 at 1:47

1 Answer 1

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This is a common solution.

Essentially, you disable USB mass storage. What the device is should not be relevant. A smartphone as storage, an external hard drive and a jump drive all pose the same problems, and use the same drivers.

If a USB storage device is not already installed on the computer, assign the user or the group and the local SYSTEM account Deny permissions to the following files:

  • %SystemRoot%\Inf\Usbstor.pnf
  • %SystemRoot%\Inf\Usbstor.inf

When you do this, users cannot install a USB storage device on the computer. To assign a user or group Deny permissions to the Usbstor.pnf and Usbstor.inf files, follow these steps:

  1. Start Windows Explorer, and then locate the %SystemRoot%\Inf folder.

  2. Right-click the Usbstor.pnf file, and then click Properties.
  3. Click the Security tab.

  4. In the Group or user names list, add the user or group that you want to set Deny permissions for.
  5. In the Permissions for UserName or GroupName list, click to select the Deny check box next to Full Control.

    Note: Also add the System account to the Deny list.
  6. In the Group or user names list, select the SYSTEM account.
  7. In the Permissions for UserName or GroupName list, click to select the Deny check box next to Full Control, and then click OK.

  8. Right-click the Usbstor.inf file, and then click Properties.
  9. Click the Security tab.

  10. In the Group or user names list, add the user or group that you want to set Deny permissions for.
  11. In the Permissions for UserName or GroupName list, click to select the Deny check box next to Full Control.

  12. In the Group or user names list, select the SYSTEM account.
  13. In the Permissions for UserName or GroupName list, click to select the Deny check box next to Full Control, and then click OK.
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  • thanks. I just found another way to do it by disable Generic Volume under Storage volumes in Device manager as show in below image. But is there any way to disable generic volume using registry? s3.postimg.org/4bs6vd683/image.jpg
    – crhued1
    Commented Jun 14, 2013 at 2:41
  • Ugh! code blocks are not for that...
    – ADTC
    Commented Dec 5, 2014 at 15:07
  • @ADTC sometimes it is a necessary evil when the alternative is destroyed formatting: Of course if you can make it better then improve it by all means!
    – Austin T French
    Commented Dec 6, 2014 at 2:30
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    @AthomSfere Done! Followed original article's formatting with some improvements. I was on mobile 11 hours ago, so the comment was a note to myself to do it when I get to a PC. :) I don't see code blocks as a way to preserve any formatting sans line breaks. If you meant the preservation of line breaks, you can easily achieve that in regular text (in Stack Exchange markdown) using double spaces at the end of line or the HTML <br> tag.
    – ADTC
    Commented Dec 6, 2014 at 2:51
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    BTW for the sake of correctness: For Android smartphones after ICS (or Honeycomb), the claim "smarphones ... use the same drivers" is not correct, as these newer devices use MTP/PTP protocols instead of USB mass storage drivers. I think Apple products also do not connect as mass storage as they use proprietary protocols embedded in their iTunes software.
    – ADTC
    Commented Dec 6, 2014 at 3:02

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