If you have landed on this page searching for "usblist2.exe download," you are likely a system administrator, a forensic analyst, or a power user troubleshooting USB device history on a Windows machine. You may have encountered a broken link, a suspicious forum post, or a vague reference in an old technical guide.
The truth about usblist2.exe is that it is not a standard Microsoft Windows system file. It is a third-party utility, and finding a safe, legitimate copy can be challenging. This article will dissect exactly what this file is, where it originated, why you should be cautious, and—most importantly—provide safer, built-in Windows alternatives to achieve the same goal.
You can extract USB history using native PowerShell commands. No download needed.
To list all connected USB devices:
Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_USBHub | Select-Object Name, DeviceID
To list USB storage devices with timestamps (deep registry query): usblist2.exe download
Get-ChildItem -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USBSTOR" -Recurse | ForEach-Object
$device = $_.PSPath
$friendlyName = (Get-ItemProperty -Path $device -Name "FriendlyName" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).FriendlyName
$firstInstall = (Get-ItemProperty -Path $device -Name "FirstInstallDate" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).FirstInstallDate
if ($friendlyName)
[PSCustomObject]@
Device = $friendlyName
FirstConnected = $firstInstall
RegistryPath = $device
To get last connection time (more advanced):
Get-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USBSTOR\*\*" -Name "LastArrivalDate" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object LastArrivalDate, PSChildName
If you are looking to list and manage USB devices, you likely do not need the obscure usblist2.exe file. Instead, download USBDeview by NirSoft for management tasks or USBView by Microsoft for diagnostic inspection. These tools are safe, free, and provide the granular control you need over your USB ports.
No. It is highly recommended that you do not download this file from a general search engine. The risk of infection is high, and the functionality it offers is easily replicated by the safe methods listed above.
Recommendation: Use USBDeview if you need a dedicated tool, or use the PowerShell command if you just need a quick check. If you have landed on this page searching for "usblist2
Because downloading obscure .exe files carries a risk of malware, this article focuses on the legitimate tool usually associated with this functionality (USBView/USBDeview) and how to safely manage USB device listings.
If you download the current USBDeview from NirSoft (the successor to the old usblist2.exe), here is how to use it safely and effectively.
You try to run a USB management tool or a registry cleaner, and Windows throws an error:
“The program can't start because usblist2.exe is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem.” To list USB storage devices with timestamps (deep
Cyber hygiene is critical. The moment you type usblist2.exe download into a search engine, you are entering a space heavily polluted with malware. One wrong click, and you could hand over your entire network to ransomware gangs.
If you cannot find a trusted source, assume the file is malicious. Use the built-in Windows tools instead—they are already on your machine, free, and trustworthy.
If you are trying to find a history of USB drives that were plugged in previously (often why people seek tools like usblist2.exe), you can use the built-in Event Viewer or Registry.