{"id":25179,"date":"2020-01-09T00:48:51","date_gmt":"2020-01-09T00:48:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/?p=25179"},"modified":"2025-01-28T17:33:24","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T17:33:24","slug":"external-drive-not-recognized-windows-html","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/external-drive-not-recognized-windows.html","title":{"rendered":"External Drive Not Recognized? 7 Ways to Fix It in Windows"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Usually, after connecting your external hard drive, there\u2019s some sort of visual or audible indication that it\u2019s connected to your PC. Only this time, nothing has happened. After opening File Explorer, you find that the external hard drive is not showing up.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>There are a number of reasons why this can happen, ranging from mechanical issues to system errors. At this point, it\u2019s hard to say how severe the issue is. Rest assured that we have several proven ways of solving the issue where your computer is not recognizing your external hard drive.<\/p>\r\n<p><img class=\"border-gray border-radius-10 aligncenter wp-image-25201 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/hd82teu1_image016.jpg\" alt=\"external hard drive not showing up\" width=\"660\" height=\"279\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/hd82teu1_image016.jpg 660w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/hd82teu1_image016-300x127.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/hd82teu1_image016-500x211.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"why_is_my_external_hard_drive_not_showing_up\"><\/span>Why Is My External Hard Drive Not Showing Up?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p>When an external hard drive is not showing up, the type of problem you\u2019re dealing with will fit into one of two categories: physical or logical.<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>&#x1f4bd; A <b>physical problem<\/b> is hardware-related, which includes a bent pin, faulty HDD casing, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Head_crash\">head crash<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Stiction#Hard_disk_drives\">stiction<\/a>.\u00a0<\/li>\r\n\t<li>&#x1f47e; A <b>logical issue<\/b>, on the other hand, is software-related. Common logical problems include a corrupted file system, missing drive letters, incompatible file systems, and partition loss.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"how_to_tell_if_the_problem_is_physical_or_logical\"><\/span>How to Tell If the Problem Is Physical or Logical<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>Depending on the point at which the issue occurs, it\u2019s possible to assume what type of problem (physical or logical) you\u2019re dealing with. Additionally, you can tell based on whether the drive appears in both Device Manager and Disk Management with the correct size.<\/p>\r\n<p><b>1. Drive is missing or showing incorrect capacity<\/b><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>If you can hear or feel the drive spinning but it doesn\u2019t appear in Disk Management or Device Manager, this points to a physical issue, likely with the drive or port. One of the Reddit users on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/computer\/comments\/1c58pgj\/problems_in_detecting_external_hard_drive\/\">r\/computer<\/a> described a similar experience.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Likewise, if the external HDD was recognized, but the capacity shown in Disk Management is inaccurate, this indicates it&#8217;s likely hardware failure. Another Redditor on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/computerhelp\/comments\/1ayv2u1\/why_is_external_harddrive_not_showing_up_as_a\/\">r\/computerhelp<\/a> experienced this with their external HDD, even stating that the capacity showed as 1145 TB when connected to a PS4 \u2013 clearly an error.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<div class=\"alert alert-info\" role=\"alert\">&#x2139;&#xfe0f; You can&#8217;t rely on sound or vibration for SSDs, since they don&#8217;t contain moving parts. Instead, you must look for any LED indicators on the drive.<\/div>\r\n<p>Such symptoms indicate a physical problem and your best option here is to contact a recovery service.<\/p>\r\n<p><b>2. Drive shows correct size but is not initialized or RAW<\/b><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>If the drive shows up in Disk Management with the correct size but as Not Initialized or RAW, you\u2019re probably dealing with a logical issue.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/techsupport\/comments\/1bdv152\/external_hard_drive_not_appearing_on_file\/\">r\/techsupport<\/a> user on Reddit reported that their external HDD was visible in Device Manager but labeled as RAW in Disk Management, meaning Windows recognized the drive\u2019s hardware but not its file system.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p>If you encounter similar problems, then you have a good chance to recover data with the solution we provide later in the article.<\/p>\r\n<p>In the table below, we will look at additional scenarios and the most effective solutions to the problems.<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"table_wrapper table_heading\"><p><\/p>\r\n<table>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Problem<\/td>\r\n<td>Solution<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>An external hard drive powers on, but nothing happens after.<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><a href=\"#fix1\">Fix 1: Diagnose the hard drive connection<\/a><\/li>\r\n\t<li><a href=\"#drc\">Fix 2: Contact a data recovery service<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>There are sounds (indications) when an external hard drive connects, but it doesn\u2019t appear anywhere.<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><a href=\"#fix1\">Fix 1: Diagnose the hard drive connection<\/a><\/li>\r\n\t<li><a href=\"#troubleshooting\">Fix 2: Perform methodical troubleshooting<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>An external hard drive is not showing up in File Explorer but appears in Disk Management<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><a href=\"#fix5\">Fix 1: Assign a drive letter<\/a><\/li>\r\n\t<li><a href=\"#fix7\">Fix 2: Format the hard drive<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>External hard drive appears in File Explorer but as a not-recognized device or without a file system (RAW)<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><a href=\"#fix4\">Fix 1: Run CHKDSK<\/a><\/li>\r\n\t<li><a href=\"#fix7\">Fix 2: Format the hard drive<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>External hard drive appears in Device Manager but not in Disk Management<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><a href=\"#fix6\">Fix 1: Reinstall the drivers<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>The external hard drive not showing up on Mac<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>See our guide on <a href=\"\/howto\/recover-external-hard-drive-not-showing-up-on-mac.html\">fixing external drives that don\u2019t get recognized on Mac<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>I connect it to the PC, but the external hard disk is not detected at all.<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>See our guide on <a href=\"\/howto\/recover-data-external-hard-disk-not-detected.html\">how to recover data from an external hard drive that\u2019s not detected<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<p><\/div>\r\n<h2 id=\"troubleshooting\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"ways_to_fix_a_drive_that_wont_show_up_in_windows\"><\/span>Ways to Fix a Drive That Won&#8217;t Show Up in Windows<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p>Given there are a range of problems that can cause your external hard drive to stop showing up, we\u2019ve included a number of proven solutions to fix an external hard drive not showing up on Windows 11, 10, as well as older versions. These fixes are designed to be performed in a logical sequence, so we recommend starting from the top and working your way down.<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"alert alert-info\" role=\"alert\">&#x1f530; If your external hard drive still contains data, it\u2019s recommended that you <a href=\"#fix3\">recover the data<\/a> first. Every action you take puts stress on the drive, increasing the risk of some data becoming unrecoverable. Therefore, recovering the data ensures it\u2019s safe and sound while you troubleshoot the drive.<\/div>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"fix_1_diagnose_external_hard_drive_connection\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Fix #1:<\/span> <span id=\"fix1\">Diagnose External Hard Drive Connection<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>You would be surprised how easy it is to miss this obvious step. Checking the physical connection can help you confirm where the issue resides, as there are many points of failure to consider.<\/p>\r\n<p>Start by connecting the drive to another USB port. Ideally, you want to connect it to a port that\u2019s directly connected to the motherboard. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/techsupport\/comments\/1foplxu\/external_hard_drive_keeps_disconnecting_on_usb\/\">Avoid USB hubs<\/a> and USB 2.0 ports, as they may not be able to deliver enough power to boot the drive and keep it spinning, especially if you\u2019re using a USB 3.0 external HDD. You may also want to switch out the cable in case the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/DataHoarder\/comments\/12mz5e5\/is_it_possible_an_external_hdd_usb_cable_causing\/\">issue resides there<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"alert alert-success\" role=\"alert\">Confirm the drive is actually powered and spinning, as some drives do not have light indicators. Simply put your hand on the drive and you should be able to feel the vibrations caused by the disks spinning inside.<\/div>\r\n<p>Should the external drive still not be recognized, you can try it on another PC. This rules out the possibility of the problem <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/techsupport\/comments\/ul7kl3\/comment\/i7uj3lc\/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web3x&amp;utm_name=web3xcss&amp;utm_term=1&amp;utm_content=share_button\">residing with your computer\u2019s USB ports<\/a>. If the external hard drive is still not recognized, move on to the next fix.<\/p>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"fix_2_use_disk_management_to_check_the_drive\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Fix #2:<\/span> <span id=\"fix2\">Use Disk Management To Check The Drive<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>Verifying the status of the external HDD that\u2019s not recognized through Disk Management gives you a pretty good understanding of what your next steps are. It could be that the drive is recognized but <a href=\"#fix5\">missing a drive letter<\/a>, or it has an incompatible file system and <a href=\"#fix7\">needs to be formatted<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n<p>Connect your hard drive to your Windows PC, then open <b>Disk Management<\/b>. You can do this by right-clicking <b>Start<\/b> and clicking <b>Disk Management<\/b>.<\/p>\r\n<p><img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10  aligncenter wp-image-52656 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/check-drive-in-disk-management.jpg\" alt=\"external drive not showing up\" width=\"1895\" height=\"1179\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/check-drive-in-disk-management.jpg 1895w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/check-drive-in-disk-management-300x187.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/check-drive-in-disk-management-500x311.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/check-drive-in-disk-management-768x478.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/check-drive-in-disk-management-1536x956.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1895px) 100vw, 1895px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p>Your external hard drive should appear below your system drive somewhere in the bottom half of the window. If the drive is visible but showing as uninitialized or RAW, it indicates that something occurred to the drive to affect its partition table or file system. Or, if it\u2019s showing as unallocated space, something could have deleted the partition that was there.<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"alert alert-warning\" role=\"alert\">&#x23ed;&#xfe0f; If your computer still won&#8217;t recognize the external hard drive, you need to move to the next stepin hopes of finding out why your external hard drive is not showing up.<\/div>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"fix_3_use_a_reputable_data_recovery_tool\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Fix #3:<\/span> <span id=\"fix3\">Use a Reputable Data Recovery Tool<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>Following on from the last step where we checked the status of our drive in Disk Management, if the external HDD was visible and reading the correct size you should recover the data right away. As the rest of the fixes in this article are going to involve interacting with the disk in some form or another, you should recover the data now so it\u2019s protected.<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"alert alert-warning\" role=\"alert\">&#x26a0;&#xfe0f; It\u2019s important to note, however, that not all data recovery software is the same.<\/div>\r\n<p>Disk Drill is our preferred <a href=\"\/hard-drive-data-recovery.html\">hard drive recovery software<\/a> tool as has a demonstrated history of being able to recover data from a multitude of situations, where you cannot access data in the traditional way. Disk Drill is able to recover data from the external hard drive that\u2019s not showing up, or if the drive is identified as not initialized, RAW, or unallocated by your system. In addition, you&#8217;ll find the program&#8217;s interface convenient and easy to use.<\/p>\r\n<p>To recover data from an external hard drive that is not recognized:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li><a href=\"\/download.html\">Download<\/a>, install, and launch Disk Drill on your Windows PC.<div class=\"relative bottom download__block\">\r\n            <div class=\"d-flex align-center download__block__inner\">\r\n                <div class=\"download__block__image-wrapper\">\r\n                <div class=\"download__block__image\">\r\n                    <img src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/sidebar-ban-96.png\" srcset=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/sidebar-ban-2x-1.png 2x\" alt=\"Disk Drill\" width=\"96\" height=\"96\">        \r\n                <\/div>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"download__block__announce\">\r\n                    <b>download-block-title<\/b><br>\r\n                    download-block-text\r\n                <\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"download__block__action\">\r\n                    <a href=\"\/\/download.html\" data-href-mac=\/\/disk-drill-mac.html data-href-win=\/\/disk-drill-win.html class=\"button button-green btn-md osreplace\">\r\n<svg width=\"16\" height=\"16\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\r\n<path d=\"M11.9546 7.293C11.8736 7.114 11.6956 7 11.4996 7H9.49957V0.5C9.49957 0.224 9.27557 0 8.99957 0H6.99957C6.72357 0 6.49957 0.224 6.49957 0.5V7H4.49957C4.30357 7 4.12557 7.115 4.04457 7.293C3.96257 7.472 3.99457 7.681 4.12357 7.829L7.62357 11.829C7.71857 11.938 7.85557 12 7.99957 12C8.14357 12 8.28057 11.937 8.37557 11.829L11.8756 7.829C12.0056 7.682 12.0356 7.472 11.9546 7.293Z\" fill=\"white\"\/>\r\n<path d=\"M13.5 11V14H2.5V11H0.5V15C0.5 15.553 0.948 16 1.5 16H14.5C15.053 16 15.5 15.553 15.5 15V11H13.5Z\" fill=\"white\"\/>\r\n<\/svg>\r\ndownload-block-button-text\r\n<\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n        <\/div><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Ensure that your external drive is plugged into your computer. Select the drive from the list of devices, then click <b>Search for Lost Data<\/b>.<img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10  aligncenter wp-image-52609 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/scan-unrecognized-hdd.jpg\" alt=\"Scanning the unrecognized HDD\" width=\"1357\" height=\"789\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/scan-unrecognized-hdd.jpg 1357w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/scan-unrecognized-hdd-300x174.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/scan-unrecognized-hdd-500x291.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/scan-unrecognized-hdd-768x447.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1357px) 100vw, 1357px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Click <b>Review found items<\/b> at any point of the scan to see what Disk Drill has found. Alternatively, when the scan is finished you can click <b>Recover all<\/b> to immediately recover everything on the external hard drive.<img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10  aligncenter wp-image-52608 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/review-hdd-data.jpg\" alt=\"Reviewing the external HDD data\" width=\"1358\" height=\"789\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/review-hdd-data.jpg 1358w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/review-hdd-data-300x174.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/review-hdd-data-500x291.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/review-hdd-data-768x446.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1358px) 100vw, 1358px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Go through the search results and select the data you wish to keep. Previewing the data at this stage is critical, as it serves as a way to confirm your files are intact. When you\u2019re ready, click <b>Recover<\/b>.<img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10  aligncenter wp-image-52611 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/recover-selected-files.jpg\" alt=\"Choosing what files to recover\" width=\"1361\" height=\"793\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/recover-selected-files.jpg 1361w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/recover-selected-files-300x175.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/recover-selected-files-500x291.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/recover-selected-files-768x447.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1361px) 100vw, 1361px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Finally, choose the recovery location. When you\u2019re ready, click <b>Next<\/b> to confirm recovery.<img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10  aligncenter wp-image-52610 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/complete-hdd-recovery.jpg\" alt=\"Recovering the data\" width=\"1362\" height=\"792\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/complete-hdd-recovery.jpg 1362w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/complete-hdd-recovery-300x174.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/complete-hdd-recovery-500x291.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/complete-hdd-recovery-768x447.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1362px) 100vw, 1362px\" \/><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"fix_4_use_chkdsk\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Fix #4:<\/span> <span id=\"fix4\">Use CHKDSK<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/learn.microsoft.com\/en-us\/windows-server\/administration\/windows-commands\/chkdsk?tabs=event-viewer\">CHKDSK<\/a> \u2013 short for CheckDisk \u2013 is a command line utility built into Windows that can help troubleshoot issues with your drives. The problem is that CHKDSK only works on drives with a working file system. However, there is a very specific situation in which it can be used to help us here.<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"alert alert-info\" role=\"alert\">&#x1f4ac; If your external hard drive was NTFS but became RAW due to a damaged boot sector, it will appear in File Explorer as a USB drive without a disk size. CHKDSK may be able to scan the drive and restore the boot sector from a backup. In doing so, it will restore access to your data.<\/div>\r\n<p>Here\u2019s how to fix an external drive that\u2019s not getting recognized because it\u2019s showing as RAW:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Right-click <b>Start<\/b> and click <b>Terminal (Admin)<\/b>.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Run the following command, replacing * with the letter assigned to yourdrive that\u2019s not getting recognized.\r\n\r\n\r\n<pre>chkdsk \/f *:<\/pre>\r\n<img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10  aligncenter wp-image-36177 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/chkdsk-win11-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"using chkdsk in cmd\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1125\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/chkdsk-win11-scaled.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/chkdsk-win11-300x165.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/chkdsk-win11-500x275.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/chkdsk-win11-768x422.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/chkdsk-win11-1536x844.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Wait until the operation is finished.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<div class=\"alert alert-warning\" role=\"alert\">&#x26a0;&#xfe0f; Exercise caution when using CHKDSK with faulty drives. The added stress of the scan could cause the drive to degrade faster, potentially interrupting the scan and causing more damage.<\/div>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"fix_5_assign_a_drive_letter\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Fix #5:<\/span> <span id=\"fix5\">Assign a Drive Letter<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>An external hard drive not showing up in File Explorer but other places points towards a drive letter issue. The same is true if a flash drive is not showing up \u2013 it can happen to any storage device.<\/p>\r\n<p>Follow these steps to assign a drive letter to your external hard drive that is not showing up:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Right-click <b>Start<\/b> and click <b>Disk Management<\/b>.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Right-click the volume and click <b>Change Drive Letter and Paths<\/b>.<img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10  aligncenter wp-image-52613 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/add-drive-letter-1.jpg\" alt=\"Choosing the drive\" width=\"1118\" height=\"719\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/add-drive-letter-1.jpg 1118w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/add-drive-letter-1-300x193.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/add-drive-letter-1-500x322.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/add-drive-letter-1-768x494.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1118px) 100vw, 1118px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Click <b>Add<\/b>.<img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10  aligncenter wp-image-52612 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/add-option.jpg\" alt=\"Adding a drive letter\" width=\"1121\" height=\"725\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/add-option.jpg 1121w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/add-option-300x194.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/add-option-500x323.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/add-option-768x497.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1121px) 100vw, 1121px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Click <b>OK<\/b>, then <b>OK<\/b> again.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"fix_6_reinstall_drivers\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Fix #6:<\/span> <span id=\"fix6\">Reinstall Drivers<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>Sometimes the issue could be caused by missing or corrupted disk drivers, especially if it uses custom drivers from the manufacturer. If you\u2019ve found that your external hard drive is not showing up in Disk Management, but find that an unrecognized device is showing in Device Manager, it could be a driver issue. Thankfully, fixing a corrupted driver is much easier than needing to <a href=\"\/howto\/repair-corrupted-external-hard-drive.html\">repair a corrupted external hard drive<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n<p>Here\u2019s how you can update or reinstall the necessary drivers:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Right-click Start and click <b>Device Manager<\/b>.<img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10  aligncenter wp-image-52658 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/open-device-maanger.jpg\" alt=\"opening device manager windows\" width=\"2149\" height=\"1286\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/open-device-maanger.jpg 2149w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/open-device-maanger-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/open-device-maanger-500x299.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/open-device-maanger-768x460.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/open-device-maanger-1536x919.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/open-device-maanger-2048x1226.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2149px) 100vw, 2149px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Find your drive on the following screen. It should be under <b>Disk Drives or Universal Serial Bus controllers<\/b>.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Right-click the drive and select <b>Properties<\/b>.<img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10  aligncenter wp-image-52659 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/open-drive-properties-1.jpg\" alt=\"accessing the properties of your disk\" width=\"1805\" height=\"1061\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/open-drive-properties-1.jpg 1805w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/open-drive-properties-1-300x176.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/open-drive-properties-1-500x294.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/open-drive-properties-1-768x451.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/open-drive-properties-1-1536x903.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1805px) 100vw, 1805px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Go to the <b>Driver<\/b> tab.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Click <b>Update Driver<\/b>.<img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10  aligncenter wp-image-52657 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/click-update-driver.jpg\" alt=\"updating the disk driver from disk management\" width=\"1805\" height=\"1061\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/click-update-driver.jpg 1805w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/click-update-driver-300x176.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/click-update-driver-500x294.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/click-update-driver-768x451.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/click-update-driver-1536x903.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1805px) 100vw, 1805px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Click <b>Search Automatically for Drivers<\/b> and wait for the process to finish.<img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10  aligncenter wp-image-52660 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/search-automatically-for-drivers.jpg\" alt=\"searching for drive updates\" width=\"1805\" height=\"1061\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/search-automatically-for-drivers.jpg 1805w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/search-automatically-for-drivers-300x176.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/search-automatically-for-drivers-500x294.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/search-automatically-for-drivers-768x451.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/search-automatically-for-drivers-1536x903.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1805px) 100vw, 1805px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>If this didn\u2019t fix your issue, go back to the screen from step 4, and select <b>Uninstall Device<\/b>.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Once the disk\u2019s drivers have been uninstalled, disconnect and reconnect the drive to your computer.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<div class=\"alert alert-info\" role=\"alert\">If the device is recognized, this should trigger a fresh installation of drivers.<\/div>\r\n<h3 class=\"title_sc_bg\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"fix_7_format_the_hard_drive\"><\/span><span class=\"title_shortcode_bg\">Fix #7:<\/span> <span id=\"fix7\">Format the Hard Drive<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p>This may be your next option if all else fails and Windows doesn\u2019t recognize your external hard drive. There is a possibility it is partitioned in a file system Windows is unable to recognize or the external hard drive shows not recognized after a force eject due to a corrupted partition scheme. Likewise, it\u2019s possible that the disk is appearing but it\u2019s unusable because there\u2019s no partition or it\u2019s full of unallocated space.<\/p>\r\n<p>In either case and many others, formatting remains a reliable way of restoring the drive to working order by wiping its contents. In a way, you\u2019re resetting the drive back to factory settings. As such, it will delete everything on your drive. Should you need to <a href=\"\/howto\/recover-unallocated-partition.html\">recover an unallocated partition<\/a>, or <a href=\"\/howto\/raw-drive-recovery.html\">recover data from a RAW hard drive<\/a>, you should do that before formatting the drive.<\/p>\r\n<p>Here\u2019s how you can format a hard drive using Disk Management:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Right-click <b>Start<\/b> and click <b>Disk Management<\/b>.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Right-click the volume and click <b>Format<\/b>.<img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10  aligncenter wp-image-52616 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/format-hdd.jpg\" alt=\"Formatting the HDD\" width=\"1133\" height=\"724\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/format-hdd.jpg 1133w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/format-hdd-300x192.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/format-hdd-500x320.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/format-hdd-768x491.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1133px) 100vw, 1133px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Specify a volume label and select a file system. Ensure <b>Perform a quick format<\/b> is ticked, then click <b>OK<\/b>.<img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10  aligncenter wp-image-52615 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/format-settings.jpg\" alt=\"Format settings\" width=\"1125\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/format-settings.jpg 1125w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/format-settings-300x192.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/format-settings-500x320.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/format-settings-768x492.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1125px) 100vw, 1125px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Click <b>OK<\/b>.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<h2 id=\"drc\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"when_its_better_to_contract_recovery_services\"><\/span>When It&#8217;s Better to Contract Recovery Services<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p>There are times when the issue is so severe it goes beyond any DIY solution. Even if you manage to fix it, you may discover additional issues if you <a href=\"\/help\/monitor-smart-status-disk-health\/\">monitor the S.M.A.R.T. status of the drive<\/a> after it is fixed. If you find yourself with a drive suffering from a physical or mechanical issue, contacting a <a href=\"\/data-recovery-center.html\">data recovery center<\/a> is your best option.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>Using a data recovery service gives you the best chance of recovering your data, as you\u2019re working with experts who have the necessary tools and expertise. Data recovery professionals are even capable of <a href=\"\/howto\/recover-data-from-dead-external-hard-drive.html\">recovering data from a dead external hard drive<\/a> by connecting directly to it. While it is quite costly, you\u2019re paying for peace of mind knowing that you have the best shot at success.<\/p>\r\n<p>Here\u2019s a quick look at what it looks like to enlist a data recovery service:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Begin the process by going to <a href=\"https:\/\/cleverfiles.com\/data-recovery-center\">cleverfiles.com\/data-recovery-center<\/a> and clicking <b>Start Recovery<\/b>.<img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10  aligncenter wp-image-52617 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/start-drc-recovery.jpg\" alt=\"Starting recovery with a DRC\" width=\"1349\" height=\"873\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/start-drc-recovery.jpg 1349w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/start-drc-recovery-300x194.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/start-drc-recovery-500x324.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/start-drc-recovery-768x497.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1349px) 100vw, 1349px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Select the level of service you\u2019d like. This will determine the recovery turnaround time.<img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10  aligncenter wp-image-52619 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/service-level.jpg\" alt=\"Choosing a service level\" width=\"1341\" height=\"867\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/service-level.jpg 1341w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/service-level-300x194.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/service-level-500x323.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/service-level-768x497.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1341px) 100vw, 1341px\" \/><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Fill in your contact information and describe the data loss scenario. When you\u2019re ready, click <b>Complete my work order<\/b>.<img class=\"border-blue border-radius-10  aligncenter wp-image-52618 size-full\" src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/complete-work-order-1.jpg\" alt=\"Submitting the work order\" width=\"1343\" height=\"866\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/complete-work-order-1.jpg 1343w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/complete-work-order-1-300x193.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/complete-work-order-1-500x322.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/complete-work-order-1-768x495.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1343px) 100vw, 1343px\" \/><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"conclusion\"><\/span>Conclusion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<p>The processes above are sure to help you solve the case of a hard drive not showing up on your PC. Keep in mind that it\u2019s common for hard drives to show other signs of failure eventually, as one problem typically indicates wear. Therefore, you should consider replacing the drive once it\u2019s fixed.<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"related_posts\"><div class=\"related_posts__inner\"><div class=\"h4\">Read also<\/div><div class=\"related_post\"><div class=\"related_post_item\"><div class=\"related_post_img\"><img src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/drive-letter-icon-1.png\" alt=\"drive letter icon\" width=\"256\" height=\"256\" \/><\/div><div class=\"related_post_content\"><a target=\"_self\" href=\"\/howto\/fix-usb-device-not-recognized.html\" class=\"related_post_link\">How to Fix USB Device Not Recognized on Windows<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"related_post\"><div class=\"related_post_item\"><div class=\"related_post_img\"><img src=\"\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Frame-62.png\" alt=\"disk\" width=\"140\" height=\"160\" \/><\/div><div class=\"related_post_content\"><a target=\"_self\" href=\"\/howto\/recover-data-external-hard-disk-not-detected.html\" class=\"related_post_link\">How to Recover Files from External Hard Drive Not Detected<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"faqs\"><\/span>FAQs<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<div><section itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/FAQPage\">\r\n<div style=\"border-bottom: 0px solid rgb(213, 217, 217);\" class=\"panel panel-default faq-block\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" role=\"tablist\">\r\n            <div class=\"panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" id=\"headingfaq1\">\r\n                <div class=\"panel-title\" itemprop=\"name\">\r\n                    <a class=\"toggle-link transition-all collapsed\" role=\"button\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-item-faq1\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapse-item-faq1\"><h3 class=\"panel-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"what_to_do_if_my_external_hard_drive_is_not_recognized_after_force_ejection\"><\/span>What to do if my external hard drive is not recognized after force ejection?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>                   \r\n                    \t<svg class=\"transition-all panel-toggle\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\r\n                            <g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\">\r\n                                <path d=\"M7,7 L7,0 L9,0 L9,7 L16,7 L16,9 L9,9 L9,16 L7,16 L7,9 L0,9 L0,7 L7,7 Z\" fill=\"#000000\"><\/path>\r\n                            <\/g>\r\n                        <\/svg>\r\n                   <\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            <div id=\"collapse-item-faq1\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"headingfaq1\" aria-expanded=\"false\" style=\"\">\r\n              <div class=\"panel-body\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\r\n<div itemprop=\"text\">\r\n                <p>Removing the drive without doing so safely (i.e. a force ejection) can result in file system corruption and partition errors, resulting in the drive not being recognized once it\u2019s reconnected.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n              <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"border-bottom: 0px solid rgb(213, 217, 217);\" class=\"panel panel-default faq-block\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" role=\"tablist\">\r\n            <div class=\"panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" id=\"headingfaq2\">\r\n                <div class=\"panel-title\" itemprop=\"name\">\r\n                    <a class=\"toggle-link transition-all collapsed\" role=\"button\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-item-faq2\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapse-item-faq2\"><h3 class=\"panel-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"what_does_it_mean_if_my_seagate_external_hard_drive_beeping_and_not_recognized\"><\/span>What does it mean if my Seagate external hard drive beeping and not recognized?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>                   \r\n                    \t<svg class=\"transition-all panel-toggle\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\r\n                            <g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\">\r\n                                <path d=\"M7,7 L7,0 L9,0 L9,7 L16,7 L16,9 L9,9 L9,16 L7,16 L7,9 L0,9 L0,7 L7,7 Z\" fill=\"#000000\"><\/path>\r\n                            <\/g>\r\n                        <\/svg>\r\n                   <\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            <div id=\"collapse-item-faq2\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"headingfaq2\" aria-expanded=\"false\" style=\"\">\r\n              <div class=\"panel-body\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\r\n<div itemprop=\"text\">\r\n                <p>A Seagate external hard drive that\u2019s beeping and not recognized indicates a physical issue, like insufficient power, mechanical failure, or firmware problems. You should recover data from the Seagate drive immediately.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n              <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"border-bottom: 0px solid rgb(213, 217, 217);\" class=\"panel panel-default faq-block\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" role=\"tablist\">\r\n            <div class=\"panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" id=\"headingfaq3\">\r\n                <div class=\"panel-title\" itemprop=\"name\">\r\n                    <a class=\"toggle-link transition-all collapsed\" role=\"button\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-item-faq3\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapse-item-faq3\"><h3 class=\"panel-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"why_is_my_external_hard_drive_not_showing_up-2\"><\/span>Why is my external hard drive not showing up?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>                   \r\n                    \t<svg class=\"transition-all panel-toggle\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\r\n                            <g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\">\r\n                                <path d=\"M7,7 L7,0 L9,0 L9,7 L16,7 L16,9 L9,9 L9,16 L7,16 L7,9 L0,9 L0,7 L7,7 Z\" fill=\"#000000\"><\/path>\r\n                            <\/g>\r\n                        <\/svg>\r\n                   <\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            <div id=\"collapse-item-faq3\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"headingfaq3\" aria-expanded=\"false\" style=\"\">\r\n              <div class=\"panel-body\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\r\n<div itemprop=\"text\">\r\n                <p>There can be various reasons for your external hard drive not showing up:<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Faulty hardware component.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Unallocated space.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Outdated or corrupt drivers.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Incompatible file system.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Insufficient power or faulty USB ports.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Missing drive letter.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n              <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"border-bottom: 0px solid rgb(213, 217, 217);\" class=\"panel panel-default faq-block\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" role=\"tablist\">\r\n            <div class=\"panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" id=\"headingfaq4\">\r\n                <div class=\"panel-title\" itemprop=\"name\">\r\n                    <a class=\"toggle-link transition-all collapsed\" role=\"button\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-item-faq4\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapse-item-faq4\"><h3 class=\"panel-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"how_do_i_fix_my_external_hard_drive_not_showing_up_or_getting_detected_in_windows_11\"><\/span>How do I fix my external hard drive not showing up or getting detected in Windows 11?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>                   \r\n                    \t<svg class=\"transition-all panel-toggle\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\r\n                            <g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\">\r\n                                <path d=\"M7,7 L7,0 L9,0 L9,7 L16,7 L16,9 L9,9 L9,16 L7,16 L7,9 L0,9 L0,7 L7,7 Z\" fill=\"#000000\"><\/path>\r\n                            <\/g>\r\n                        <\/svg>\r\n                   <\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            <div id=\"collapse-item-faq4\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"headingfaq4\" aria-expanded=\"false\" style=\"\">\r\n              <div class=\"panel-body\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\r\n<div itemprop=\"text\">\r\n                <p>Suppose Windows doesn\u2019t recognize your external hard drive. In that case, there are several methods available to help you fix these issues. Some of them are:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Ensure that you\u2019ve connected the device to the USB port properly.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Use <b>Disk Management<\/b> to check the drive.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Create a partition or assign a new drive Letter.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Use CHKDSK via CMD.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Reinstall the drivers.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Format the hard drive.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n              <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"border-bottom: 0px solid rgb(213, 217, 217);\" class=\"panel panel-default faq-block\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" role=\"tablist\">\r\n            <div class=\"panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" id=\"headingfaq5\">\r\n                <div class=\"panel-title\" itemprop=\"name\">\r\n                    <a class=\"toggle-link transition-all collapsed\" role=\"button\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-item-faq5\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapse-item-faq5\"><h3 class=\"panel-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"how_do_i_get_my_computer_to_recognize_my_wd_external_hard_drive\"><\/span>How do I get my computer to recognize my WD external hard drive?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>                   \r\n                    \t<svg class=\"transition-all panel-toggle\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\r\n                            <g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\">\r\n                                <path d=\"M7,7 L7,0 L9,0 L9,7 L16,7 L16,9 L9,9 L9,16 L7,16 L7,9 L0,9 L0,7 L7,7 Z\" fill=\"#000000\"><\/path>\r\n                            <\/g>\r\n                        <\/svg>\r\n                   <\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            <div id=\"collapse-item-faq5\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"headingfaq5\" aria-expanded=\"false\" style=\"\">\r\n              <div class=\"panel-body\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\r\n<div itemprop=\"text\">\r\n                <p>A WD hard drive not showing up is due to a physical or logical issue. If your WD external hard drive is not getting recognized, first try it on another PC as external drives like those from the WD Elements and WD Passport range are exposed to more wear than internal drives over their lifetime. If the drive still isn\u2019t working, double-check its visibility in Disk Management and Device Manager, then proceed from there.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n              <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"border-bottom: 0px solid rgb(213, 217, 217);\" class=\"panel panel-default faq-block\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" role=\"tablist\">\r\n            <div class=\"panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" id=\"headingfaq6\">\r\n                <div class=\"panel-title\" itemprop=\"name\">\r\n                    <a class=\"toggle-link transition-all collapsed\" role=\"button\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-item-faq6\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapse-item-faq6\"><h3 class=\"panel-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"how_do_i_fix_windows_not_recognizing_my_external_hard_drive\"><\/span>How do I fix Windows not recognizing my external hard drive?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>                   \r\n                    \t<svg class=\"transition-all panel-toggle\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\r\n                            <g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\">\r\n                                <path d=\"M7,7 L7,0 L9,0 L9,7 L16,7 L16,9 L9,9 L9,16 L7,16 L7,9 L0,9 L0,7 L7,7 Z\" fill=\"#000000\"><\/path>\r\n                            <\/g>\r\n                        <\/svg>\r\n                   <\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            <div id=\"collapse-item-faq6\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"headingfaq6\" aria-expanded=\"false\" style=\"\">\r\n              <div class=\"panel-body\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\r\n<div itemprop=\"text\">\r\n                <p>Suppose Windows doesn\u2019t recognize your external hard drive. In that case, there are several methods available to help you fix these issues. Some of them are:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Make sure there is no physical connection issue between the drive, USB ports, and PC.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Check the drive\u2019s status in <b>Disk Management<\/b>.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Run <b>CHKDSK<\/b> if the drive went from NTFS to RAW.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Assign a drive letter.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Reinstall or update the drivers.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Format the external HDD.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n              <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"border-bottom: 0px solid rgb(213, 217, 217);\" class=\"panel panel-default faq-block\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" role=\"tablist\">\r\n            <div class=\"panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" id=\"headingfaq7\">\r\n                <div class=\"panel-title\" itemprop=\"name\">\r\n                    <a class=\"toggle-link transition-all collapsed\" role=\"button\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-item-faq7\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapse-item-faq7\"><h3 class=\"panel-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"how_do_i_get_windows_10_to_read_my_external_hard_drive\"><\/span>How do I get Windows 10 to read my external hard drive?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>                   \r\n                    \t<svg class=\"transition-all panel-toggle\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\r\n                            <g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\">\r\n                                <path d=\"M7,7 L7,0 L9,0 L9,7 L16,7 L16,9 L9,9 L9,16 L7,16 L7,9 L0,9 L0,7 L7,7 Z\" fill=\"#000000\"><\/path>\r\n                            <\/g>\r\n                        <\/svg>\r\n                   <\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            <div id=\"collapse-item-faq7\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"headingfaq7\" aria-expanded=\"false\" style=\"\">\r\n              <div class=\"panel-body\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\r\n<div itemprop=\"text\">\r\n                <p>If your Windows 10 system cannot read your external drive, you can go to <b>Disk Management<\/b> and follow these steps to fix the issue:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Right-click <b>Start <\/b>and open <b>Disk Management<\/b>.\u00a0<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Check if you can see the external hard drive. Even if it doesn\u2019t appear in the <b>This PC<\/b> window, it should appear here as a removable volume.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Right-click the drive\u2019s partition and select <b>Change Drive Letter and Paths<\/b> to change the drive letter.\u00a0<\/li>\r\n\t<li>If the device doesn\u2019t already have a letter, click <b>Add<\/b> and choose one. If it does, click <b>Change<\/b> and try another one.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Now, click <b>OK<\/b> and see if you can access the external hard drive.\u00a0<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n              <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"border-bottom: 01px solid rgb(213, 217, 217);\" class=\"panel panel-default faq-block\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Question\" role=\"tablist\">\r\n            <div class=\"panel-heading\" role=\"tab\" id=\"headingfaq8\">\r\n                <div class=\"panel-title\" itemprop=\"name\">\r\n                    <a class=\"toggle-link transition-all collapsed\" role=\"button\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-item-faq8\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapse-item-faq8\"><h3 class=\"panel-title\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"how_to_recover_data_from_an_external_hard_drive_that_is_not_recognized\"><\/span>How to recover data from an external hard drive that is not recognized?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>                   \r\n                    \t<svg class=\"transition-all panel-toggle\" width=\"16px\" height=\"16px\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 16\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\r\n                            <g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\">\r\n                                <path d=\"M7,7 L7,0 L9,0 L9,7 L16,7 L16,9 L9,9 L9,16 L7,16 L7,9 L0,9 L0,7 L7,7 Z\" fill=\"#000000\"><\/path>\r\n                            <\/g>\r\n                        <\/svg>\r\n                   <\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            <div id=\"collapse-item-faq8\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"headingfaq8\" aria-expanded=\"false\" style=\"\">\r\n              <div class=\"panel-body\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\r\n<div itemprop=\"text\">\r\n                <p>You can recover files from an external hard drive that\u2019s not recognized using data recovery software:<\/p>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li><a href=\"\/download.html\">Download<\/a> and install Disk Drill.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Connect your external HDD and scan it.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Preview the data that was found.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Select the files to recover.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Choose a recovery location.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n              <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/section><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Usually, after connecting your external hard drive, there\u2019s some sort of visual or audible indication that it\u2019s connected to your PC. Only this time, nothing has happened. After opening File Explorer, you find that the external hard drive is not&#8230;","protected":false},"author":7903,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2640],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-25179","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-windows-tips-troubleshooting"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Fix &#039;Hard Drive Not Showing Up&#039; in Windows [Solved]<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If your external drive is not getting recognized by Windows, it may be possible to solve the problem with a simple, quick fix.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/external-drive-not-recognized-windows.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Fix &#039;Hard Drive Not Showing Up&#039; in Windows [Solved]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If your external drive is not getting recognized by Windows, it may be possible to solve the problem with a simple, quick fix.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/external-drive-not-recognized-windows.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Data recovery tips. Recover deleted files on Mac, Windows.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/og-cleverfiles.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Stefan Ionescu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"How to Fix &#039;Hard Drive Not Showing Up&#039; in Windows [Solved]\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"If your external drive is not getting recognized by Windows, it may be possible to solve the problem with a simple, quick fix.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/fix-hard-drive-not-showing-up-in-windows-1.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Cleverfiles\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Cleverfiles\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Stefan Ionescu\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"17 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Fix 'Hard Drive Not Showing Up' in Windows [Solved]","description":"If your external drive is not getting recognized by Windows, it may be possible to solve the problem with a simple, quick fix.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/external-drive-not-recognized-windows.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Fix 'Hard Drive Not Showing Up' in Windows [Solved]","og_description":"If your external drive is not getting recognized by Windows, it may be possible to solve the problem with a simple, quick fix.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/external-drive-not-recognized-windows.html","og_site_name":"Data recovery tips. 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