Why doesn't my computer recognize my phone, camera, or USB flash storage when I insert the USB connector to the device and the computer?

[Microsoft Windows]

I never used to have a problem. I have two USB ports on the top of my computer. In the past, I would connect my camera or my phone and it would recognize the device, show it on my file explorer and allow me to transfer files from my device to my computer. Recently though, I have connected these devices and all I get is that they are charging and I cannot see them in my file explorer. Since I cannot see the device, I am unable to transfer my photos from my device to my computer. Why did my computer stop recognizing these devices as storage devices allowing me to transfer files?

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