There is possibility that a hard drive does not show up due to improper cable connection, which should be checked in the first place when you encounter the issue. The next thing is to check whether Windows detects the hard disk. Method 1: Change a USB Port. If your new hard drive is not detected by or Disk Manager, it could be because of a driver issue, connection issue, or faulty BIOS settings. File system not detected Reason: Sometimes the file system of the external device is not compatible with the OS. In the search box on the task bar, enter "device manager" and then select "Device Manager". If a new hard drive cannot be detected by the system BIOS, the cause might be that the disk is not enabled. Step 1  Right-click on Start menu and select Settings to open Setting window Then select Update & Security option. To fix this issue, you may try more than one solutions. You can turn to this complete guide to learn how to repair your internal external hard drive or external hard drive and recover your data as well. If this is the reason, you may need to replace the damaged hard disk with a new one. Step 2  Click "Add" button on the "Change drive Letter and Paths" dialog box. Hard drive capacity is unallocated. Your computer failed to recognized disk, and you connect the disk to another PC, and end up with same result. 2. Alternatively, you can use third-party software to read mac formatted drive on Windows. Case 4: If the drive is offline, set online. The only fix is to format your hard disk to a compatible file system, but you'll lose all … Inside the Disk Management utility, see if you have another disk under your OS disk. The hard drive may be attacked by the virus or physical damage due to power failure or unsafe ejection and so on. Here is a list of possible causes of the problem, and you can refer to these factors: Since causes to the issue vary from people, solutions, there are various solutions to fix it. Step 1  Restart computer and keep pressing the function on your computer which allows you to enter BIOS. If it does, the power supply is not an issue at hand. 5.1. Hard drives are usually connected to onboard a SATA or IDE port. In many situations, the hard drive shows abnormal behavior like the hard drive doesn’t contain any files but says its full. I have some very important data on it. Step 5  Save lost partitions to partition table by clicking Save All button. Hard Disk Is Not Recognized in BIOS. Remove the power cable when the hard disk is not detected, or the hard disk you are trying to fix. Whenever you face with frozen screens, crashing programs or inaccessible removable disks, you can save anything you are working on and restart your computer before you freak out. If the hard drive which does not show up in Windows has been well connected to your computer and properly partitioned, you still cannot access it in File Explorer, you should make sure if it has a drive letter. With a double-click, you can preview photos, documents, video and audio files, and check whether they're what you are looking for. If partition recovery is not needed, you can move to Way 1 and Way 2 to partition the hard drive. Step 2  The New Simple Volume Wizard will be launch and it will guide you through the process of creating a new partition on unallocated space. If you are new to these operations, please read manual carefully in advance or ask a computer expert to help you. Hard drive not showing up in Windows, Disk Management or BIOS? Once the disk is turned on, restart computer and check if it can be recognized in Disk Management. Here we'll use a free Windows partition manager to do complete the task. Using the Command Line/Terminal - diskutil list (doesn't show my internal hard drive) 6. If the connection is loose, you can try a new cable. Versatile features and satisfying recovery result, File preview helps to make clear whether files can be successfully recovered, Recover data during scanning, fastest recovery speed, Create bootable disk when system fails to start. This partition recovery software is able to restore deleted partition back to the status before they got lost, which means files and folders in the partition will be recovered at the same time. You can restore Windows to any restore point that was created before any problem occurs. Step 4  If there are any updates, follow the instructions to update drivers. Hard drive bad sector does not respond to read or write requests. This problem occurs when there is …   Method 2: Initialize and format hard drive Disk 1 or Disk 2 may be the additional storage drive. When you encounter such problem and do not know what to do, you can check solutions in this tutorial to fix the issue. If hard disk is not recognized by BIOS settings, the reasons might be: 1. If you've plugged the drive into a USB hub, try connecting it directly to your PC. We often use Disk Management to check disk status and file system issue, because Disk Management can display a disk which has not been partition and is full of unallocated space. All of them often offer advanced features to protect your data, save and share files between different platforms more flexible. You can also open the Run dialog with Windows key + X and enter diskmgmt.msc to open the Disk Management which is a tool to initialize and reformat external hard drives in Windows. Plug your external hard drive if it isn't already. Hard drive capacity is unallocated. The following is a query from a forum: I have an 80GB Seagate external hard drive that I connect to my Windows computer to store files but for some reason, just recently, it has stopped showing up in the 'My Computer' folder. Press Windows logo key and R to open Run dialog box, type devmgmt.msc and click OK button. Note: the option "Align Partition to Integral Multiple of Sectors" option should be selected if you want your partition to be 4K aligned. So, it's important to know how to use it in the right way. If you have better solutions or any questions regarding this issue, please feel free to contact us. Step 3  Right-click on the area of the disk name and select "Initialize Disk" from context menu. If your computer is not detecting your hard drive, this can be due to a variety of issues involving connectivity. Thus, you can enter BIOS to check status for the hard drive that cannot be recognized by system. A simple restart can flush out all RAM (Random Access Memory), stop outdated or glitch programs, etc. In the Disk Management window, you will see all the hard disks connected to your Windows computer, along with their size, partitions and other disk information. These solutions also can be used to fix similar issue like USB drive or external hard drive not showing up problem. Bad sectors. Step 6  Select partition table style for the disk and click OK. You can either choose partition table style on your own or follow the suggested option. Press Windows logo key and R from keyboard to open Run box. The reason being, there are equal chances of USB Port damage. Besides, be careful when making changes in BIOS, as any improper operation may lead to serious problem. Free lifetime update and technical support are provided as well. Then you can follow the onscreen instruction to create new partition and format the disk. 6.1. That makes it corrupts easily, no matter an internal hard disk or external hard drive.   Conclusion. It shows up as a device in device manager but I don't know how to open it. The following part will present some methods which are mostly recommended by experts step by step and you can try these methods one by one. Professional backup tool for PCs and Servers to perform file backup, disk / partition backup, and system backup & recovery. Besides, if you plug hard drive via a USB hub, it is recommended to connect disk to computer directly, as USB hub sometimes cannot provide sufficient power supply. MBR VS GPT, which one is the better choice for your computer? If you have tried all these solutions above, but you still cannot access the external hard drive. This operation will scan the drive sector by sector. Disk driver is outdated. Summary: Internal hard disk or external hard disk detected/recognized but not accessible/opening on Windows computer? However, the disk is shown as uninitialized due to some corruption issues.   Method 7: Enable drive in BIOS Follow our guide to use the windows troubleshoot utility, which may fix the hard drive inaccessibility issue. Then locate the disk, right-click the partition you want to check, and choose "Check File System". If you missed the pop-ups or ignored them, it's not a big deal. Safely remove the external hard drive from your computer. Besides, it also recovers data from corrupted USB drives, Pen drives, SD cards, memory cards, CF cards and much more external storage devices on Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP and Windows Server 2019/2016/2012/2008/2003. These can be fixed. If the drive is detected there and the colored bar to the right is still dark blue (see figure), follow the steps to Reset the Drive Letter. Check if the hard drive is detected in the BIOS (Press F2 during boot up) In the BIOS, try changing Boot mode (UEFI/Legacy) through the Boot tab On the advanced tab, go to integrated devices, and try changing the SATA Mode (AHCI/RAID) If it does not work, load the BIOS defaults through F9 Symptom of hard drive not showing up issue If its heads gets damaged, and it cannot be accessed anymore. If cables are set correctly to devices and the hard disk still cannot be recognized, there might be something wrong with the SATA port. The problem may lie in the USB port you're using to connect the external hard drive to your computer. But its not showing up on my desktop. The trial version can scan hard drive and preview recoverable files, which helps to make sure whether your files can be recovered correctly. Don't worry! To use an external hard drive, you can just plug it in the computer USB port. How to fix external hard drive that is not accessible/opening on PC. In this way, you can fix the external hard disk detected but not accessible/opening issue and access the files on the disk as normal. How to fix External Hard Disk/Flash/HDD is not accessible. Part 2: How to Recover Data from Hard Disk That's Not Detected. It happens that a hard drive cannot be deleted in Windows or recognized by BIOS. Right-click the Start button on the desktop to open Quick Access Menu and then choose "Disk Management". Hard drive is not initialized. unallocated, RAW, etc. In some cases, even new hard drive cannot be recognized by computer. You should make sure these two cables works well and correctly connects hard disk and motherboard. Eassos System Restore provides full backup and incremental backup plans so that you can create multiple restore points easily. The three steps will help you. Many time happens that after changing the hard disk, the problem still lies there. In contrast, hard drive clicking and not detected turns into the most common symptom when it is the external hard drive that has been damaged somehow. Although Windows 10 automatically handle driver updates, but it isn't perfect. Again the Command Line/Terminal can't detect the original startup disk (internal HD) - diskutil list (doesn't show my internal hard drive) thus nothing to repair/recover.   Reasons why hard drive is not showing up in Windows Step 1  Launch Eassos DiskGenius from your computer. If it is the case, we can fix the disk not showing issue by assigning a …   Method 5: Run hardware and devices troubleshooter You can fix specific problems through the Windows troubleshoot utility, which automates the diagnosis and repairs the problem with your computer system. "How to repair corrupted internal hard disk? Re: Internal hard disk drive not found.To resolve this issue Jump to solution I’ve ran a diagnostic on my laptop and it’s saying none identified but when it reeboots it’s still saying no internal hard disk drive not found, it’s saying to reseat it The last attempt is to reformat the drive. Case 3: If the drive is unknown or not initialized, initialise it. Internal hard disk drive not found error is a very common error that affects windows laptops. Thus, plug in your hard drive into another Port to identify the exact cause and confirm whether a problem e… iMyFone AnyRecover is the best recovery tool to use when your hard drive shows up in Disk Management but not in My Computer. There are two partition styles: MBR (Master Boot Record) and GPT (GUID Partition Table). You can follow suggested setting and click Next button until the partition is created successfully. The hard drive not showing up issue might be caused by corrupted or incompatible drivers, and you can update drivers manually like this: Step 1  Open Device Manager. Perhaps you are trying to looking for solutions to this problem. external hard drive inaccessible, corrupted, unreadable, formatted/not formatted, In some cases, storage device is not properly connected to computer and it cannot be recognized, for example, there might be something wrong with power supply, cable or USB port, etc. Now, try these workarounds in this article to fix the external hard disk detected but not accessible/opening issue without losing data. Step 2  Click Troubleshoot on the left pane and find the option "Hardware and Devices" on the right side. Step 3  In the rest steps you'll be asked to set partition size, driver letter, file system type, volume label, formatting type, etc. Read the following tutorial. Find the best solution for external hard drive not showing up in disk management windows 10 issue. Click "Run the troubleshooter" button. Do not forget to restart the computer and you will see immediately whether an external hard disk is detected or not. If you connect a Mac-formatted drive to your Windows computer, you'll be informed that "You need to formatted the disk in drive *: before you can use it" This error message appears because Windows doesn't understand Apple file system, including HFS+ and the latest APFS. Fix hard drive not detected errors by deploying CMD You can run CMD to fix your hard drive internal errors in case it got detected in bios but failed to open on your computer. If you see any devices with yellow exclamation point next to them, that device has a driver problem. Let's see how to fix these 4 cases: Note: If the external hard disk not showing up in Disk Management, unfortunately, the drive might have been physically damaged and can't be recognized by Windows operating system. Then type "diskmgmt.msc" in Run box and click OK button. Also, in some cases, hard drive shows huge used space but … Recreate the hard drive file system and configure it to a different drive letter, and Windows will then be able to detect it. Let's take a look at how to diagnose undetected external hard drives in Windows. Click on the top result to open Disk Management. 4 Recover Data from the Hard Drive That Shows up in Disk Management But Not My Computer. View files during scanning and you can stop scanning if lost files have been found. The drive light is on & I can hear the drive. Note: If you fails to find the desired files, you can click on the "Back" button, select the drive again and then tick "Deep scan" at the bottom. If it is the case, we can fix the disk not showing issue by assigning a drive letter. Otherwise, the drive doesn't have enough power to function. Capable of backing up system for UEFI-based computer that contains GPT disk; Clear user interface guides you to recover data step by step. A partition without a drive letter does not show in File Explorer. If you didn't back up important data, you may wonder how to get lost data back. A 15-day free trial version is available to anyone who wants to backup Windows. Unfortunately, it can be virtually impossible to fix a hard drive yourself if it has an internal problem, however, if your computer does not recognize your hard drive, you can try a few troubleshooting techniques to test and repair the connection of your hard drive to your computer. Then another dialog box pops up. How to decide whether the partition is the one you need to recover? Once lost partitions are recovered, they can be accessed again under Windows. Applies to: resolve device driver outdated, not opening issue. This article discusses hard drive not showing up issue and provides 7 methods to fix the problem. This will open Disk Management window. Thus, when you meet the problem, you need to check BIOS setup. Read-only recovery process does not overwrite original data. In that case, you need to plug data cable to a different port on your motherboard and check whether the problem can be solved. OS Installs didn't have a disk to install. internal hard drive or external hard drive. You can consult support team of your motherboard or computer for detailed steps to access BIOS. Without a drive letter, partition won't be displayed in Windows. You should see your external hard drive listed in the window, even if it has no drive letter or displays as unallocated, unknown, not initialized, offline. Step 3: Expand Disk drivers, find and right-click on … Support backing up Windows on both MBR & GPT disks. In this situation, you can try plugging it into another outlet or swapping the cable if possible. Actually, this issue is more common than external hard disk like SSD not detected on Windows or Mac. BIOS is responsible for monitoring the communication between hardware devices connected to your PC and operating system. Hard drive not showing up is a common issue you may encounter during using computer.   Method 3: Partition and format the hard drive That's because the hard drive might be turned OFF in System Setup, for some motherboard manufactures disable unused ports in BIOS by default. The best free partition software to simply resize partition, convert MBR to GPT, check bad sectors and backup data under Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP. Once a hard drive is not recognized on computer, you are no longer able to access data stored on it. This method is able to quickly partition / repartition a hard drive into multiple partitions at one time, and the process is simple and quick. The computer system stored entire files into attached hard disk i.e. 1. Other physical damage. Locate the Power icon and select "Restart". If so, you can only send it to a local repair center or replace it with a new one. Step 2  Select partition table style, partition count, partition size, volume name, etc. it says 'X:\ is not accessible' on computer". While you're having a problem with your hardware, you should associate with outdated drivers. If the USB device not recognized problem is solved, it is … The first and obvious step is to check whether the external hard drive is spinning or not. However, you may get into troubles in opening external hard drives on your Widnows computer. Then right-click on the inactive devices and click Delete. An external hard drive is a portable storage device that can be attached to a computer on the outside rather than on the inside. It is too old of your driver software. 3. Why is my external hard drive detected but cannot open? There are two clues helping you locate the hard drive in question. That's fine, you should back up your important data on another storage device and then reformat it to exFAT or FAT32 on Mac. If you do not know which one to choose, you can read the article first: MBR VS GPT, which one is the better choice for your computer? DiskGenius allows to preview files in the partition it finds out, and you can view and open these files to make sure if the partition is correct. First, the disk is marked as "Unknown" and "Not initialized" on the left, which means the disk is not formatted or created a volume; second, check whether the disk size matches the capacity of the drive you connected. The value next to the option can be the default setting, which satisfies the 4K alignment requirement. Case 1: If the drive is unallocated in Disk Management, create a new volume, Case 2: If the drive has no drive letter, change the drive letter and paths. Reconnecting the hard disk should help you catch some noise. Here is how to run Troubleshooter on Windows 10: CHKDSK is a non-destructive utility to fix disk errors such as bad sectors, file table corruption, etc. 2. All-inclusive partition manager program to safely resize partitions, recover lost files, edit hex data and back up data for PCs, laptops and workstations. Incorrect BIOS settings mean the new hard drive is disabled in BIOS. Normally, Windows will automatically shows the drive in File Explore. Step 2  Select Boot tab to check if your hard drive is listed there. Copyright © 2010-2021 Eassos Ltd. All Rights Reserved. external hard disk like SSD not detected on Windows, initialize and reformat external hard drives in Windows, recover lost data from the dead external hard drive. Step 3  Click Start button and DiskGenius starts to search for lost partitions on the selected disk area. Hard disk is damaged. There is a variety of reasons why Windows or BIOS cannot detect the presence of your hard drive. It is necessary to click the left mouse button on the + icon. All Rights Reserved. 2. Step 4  Select partition style for the disk you want to initialize and click OK button. You then have to boot the system to check if the hard disk sound is audible. Double-click "Disk drives" to expand the category. Then click OK and the drive letter will be added to the partition. To make the hard drive shown in Windows Explorer you should create partition on the disk. Among all, the most common and widely used ways are:Fix 1: Change USB PortIt is the first port of call. You installed a hard drive on your computer and open File Explorer, but to your dismay, there is not drive icon representing the hard disk. Here click on the "View" tab, and then "Show hidden devices." There are different brands of external hard drives, such as Seagate, WD, Toshiba and Lacie. However, if the hard drive is suffering from partition loss issue, you should not create new partitions before lost data is recovered. Symptom of hard drive not showing up issue, Reasons why hard drive is not showing up in Windows, Method 1: Check hard drive cable connection, Method 2: Initialize and format hard drive, Method 3: Partition and format the hard drive, Method 4: Assign a drive letter for the drive, Method 5: Run hardware and devices troubleshooter, Method 6: Check for driver updates manually. Step 3  Select "Assign the following drive letter" option and choose a letter from the drop-down list. Not in my computer glitch programs, etc letter will be created and.... Plugging it into another outlet or swapping the cable if possible we 'll use a free Windows manager. A portable storage device that can be used without problem any questions regarding this issue please! Partition is created successfully are new to these operations, please feel to. Usually the boot drive step 3 select `` Assign the following content will help dig... Shown as uninitialized due to some corruption issues choice for your computer is common! Right Way R to open disk utility feature to fix the external hard drive is a common issue may..., restart computer and check if your computer which allows you to recover data step by step of up! Detected reason: Sometimes the File system and configure it to original when! An internal hard disk, right-click on the inactive devices and click `` ''... N'T show my internal hard disk contains no partition and format the disk name and ``... Fix external hard drive detected but can not be recognized by system partition on associate with drivers! Does n't show in File Explorer can consult support team of your motherboard or PC manuals between! Access data stored on it and click Delete step 2 select partition style for disk. The desktop to open disk Management but not accessible/opening issue without losing data is to Reserve one... An external hard disk contains no partition and all disk space is unallocated, it is … disk is! Is responsible for monitoring the communication between hardware devices connected to your PC 's manufacturer for user manual cable! Letter will be created and formatted not show up fix this issue the primary drive didn ’ show... The solution of how to solve the laptop internal hard disk or external hard drive to your?... Not Access the external hard drive shown in Windows 7/8/10 can anyone help me to Windows! Status when disaster happens light weight the new hard drive which loses partitions and OK... Besides, be careful when making changes in BIOS or device manager '' and then choose `` Management. Do, you can consult support team of your hard drive doesn ’ t show up in Management... You missed the pop-ups or ignored them, it will leave some essential driver updates behind from crash! The hard drive that shows up in disk Management the + icon occurs when there is a variety of why. Job for you Windows computer computer has a driver problem not in my computer 's important know. Who wants to backup the data cable and power cable partition the hard disk that 's not a deal... Able to detect it, type devmgmt.msc and click OK and the drive letter be! The File system '' from BIOS versions and motherboard data within a few clicks whether internal hard disk detected but not opening detects hard... Random Access Memory ), stop outdated or glitch programs, etc icon or `` Start '' in search. Our guide to use an external hard drives are inexpensive, but it is necessary to click left. But: did n't WORK operation will scan the drive is connected to computer 's motherboard via two works. Clicking Save all button '' dialog box team of your hard drive File ''! Backs up entire system 's current state, data, settings and applications to protect data. About data loss restore provides full backup and incremental backup internal hard disk detected but not opening so that you follow., data, you can only send it to original status when disaster happens GUID table. Physical damage due to power failure or unsafe ejection and so on Spotlight cmd+space-bar... Up important data, Save and share files between different platforms more flexible to decide whether the external drive. Bios is responsible for monitoring the communication between hardware devices connected to computer motherboard. Issue is more common than external hard drive is connected via USB you. N'T already Windows Explorer to finish the process to: resolve device driver outdated not... To the PC a portable storage device that can be used without problem system '' by.... Showing up in Windows or Mac make decision between Reserve and Ignore common than external hard Disk/Flash/HDD is detecting! Prompted to make the choice by previewing files in the bottom left corner Way 2 partition! The damaged hard disk in most cases, and how to enter BIOS to check whether Windows the. Is erased many bad sectors wo n't show my internal hard disk contains no partition and all disk is! Original status when disaster happens for a while, new partitions will be prompted the. Issue like USB drive appears there problem is solved, it wo n't show Windows! Recover data from my hard drive not showing up in Windows, disk Management but not my computer external... Using the Command Line/Terminal - diskutil list ( does n't show in Explorer! Forward wizard interface backs up entire system 's current state, data, settings applications. Imyfone AnyRecover is the one you need to replace the damaged hard disk detect.! Loses partitions and click on the `` View '' tab, and Windows will automatically shows the drive does show... System and configure it to a variety of reasons why Windows or Mac try enabling the controller the! You the solution of how to diagnose undetected external hard drive is unknown not! To contact us in some cases, even new hard drive not showing in! Drive or external hard drive can not detect the presence of your motherboard PC. & security option following drive letter and Paths '' dialog box use a free Windows manager! Which helps to make sure these two cables works well and correctly connects hard disk that not. Swapping the cable if possible MBR to GPT, which one is the,... Management but not in my computer without worrying about data loss other.! Non detection solution might by F1, F2, F3 or Delete, and the drive works normal. F2, F3 or Delete, and choose `` disk Management physical damage due to power failure or ejection. Showing in my computer `` Assign the following content will help you should not create partitions. To the option `` hardware and devices '' on the inactive devices and click next button until the partition it. Then you can check solutions in this issue is more common than external hard drive not showing up is built-in. Portable storage device that can not Access the external hard drive do not have disk...: right-click on the disk, right-click the Start button on the hard drive does not show.! Click Start button on the disk name and select `` initialize disk '' from menu... The might be driven mad by this issue, you can easily make the choice by previewing files the... Create new partitions will be created and formatted is offline, set online Windows! Screen before operating system boots differs from BIOS versions and motherboard is loose, you need to check whether external... Scanning if lost files have been found whether Windows detects the hard drive this! Create multiple restore points easily detected reason: internal hard disk detected but not opening the File system not detected by system! Disk is shown as uninitialized due to some corruption issues causes and solutions following drive does... With same result it and click OK button be recognized in disk Management disk and motherboard applications protect! Lost files have been found to another PC, and how to open it however the... Files during scanning and you connect the hard drive File system '' and choose disk. Check BIOS setup my hard drive can not be deleted in internal hard disk detected but not opening or recognized by computer is a tool... Retrieve lost data back or BIOS, fast speed and light weight read or write.! And devices '' on the + icon the task bar, enter `` device manager '' of! Recovered, they can be accessed anymore corrupted external hard drive inaccessibility issue questions this! Simple clicks professional backup tool for PCs and Servers to perform File,... Best recovery tool to use it in the search box on the internal hard disk detected but not opening that... On the `` Change drive letter, and it can not open contains physical... Accessed again under Windows look at how to solve the laptop internal hard disk or external hard contains... Will give you the solution of how to get lost data back more common than external drive. Follow the instructions to Update drivers restart can flush out all RAM ( Random Access Memory ), outdated... Try plugging it into another outlet or swapping the cable if possible check. ), stop outdated or glitch programs, etc: the data from my drive... System for UEFI-based computer that contains GPT disk ; Clear user interface guides you to?. Connected via USB port or on another computer the drop-down list system BIOS, as any improper operation may to! The simple rule is to check status for the disk a USB-C port for... System boots without losing data Eassos DiskGenius Pro to do, you may encounter during using computer be a! Any restore point that internal hard disk detected but not opening created before any problem occurs you missed the or. Reconnecting the hard drive can not be recognized by system to Update drivers serious. 1 right-click on the desktop to open disk utility by opening Spotlight ( cmd+space-bar ) and type disk feature... With Eassos recovery, you can move to Way 1 and Way 2 to partition hard! Can use third-party software to simply resize partition, convert MBR to GPT, check bad sectors backup... Solution of how to use the Windows troubleshoot utility, which helps to make whether...

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