- Browse and navigate to the unrecognized external hard drive and then click on 'OK'. Click on the 'Finish' button to close the window. Restart the computer and then reconnect the drive and see if it works. 2) Try to connect the external hard drive with some other working PC/Laptop.
- Jul 03, 2017 Assuming that the hard drive is installed properly, and is not, (by some horrible dumb luck) defective out of the gate, bringing it online is a very simple process. To do so, you first need to pull up the Windows Disk Management tool. Press Windows+R on your keyboard to launch the Run dialog box. Type diskmgmt.msc into the box and press Enter.
- Can T See External Hard Drive Windows 7
- External Hard Drive Best Buy
- Can't See External Hard Drive On Macbook Pro
Nov 23, 2020 • Filed to: Answer Hard Drive Problems • Proven solutions
When you plug in your external hard disk to your computer, you may find that your hard drive is detected by the operating system, but you're not able to open.
Update or reinstall USB/external hard drive drivers. Connect your USB or external hard drive to your PC, go to Devices Manager Click Universal Serial Bus Controllers. Right-click your USB or external hard drive and click Uninstall Unplug the drive. Plug the USB/external hard drive back in your PC, and enter Device Manager again.
Such a problem can occur due to multiple factors, and if you're worried that you won't be able to reaccess the drive and thinking 'how to fix the external hard drive, not opening?'
There is no need to start panicking! You can follow our complete guide to learn the reason behind your hard disk inaccessibility, and we will also guide you through the process of how to repair that external hard drive and recover the erased data along the way too.
Part 1. Why External Hard Drive Recognized But Not Accessible?
There could be several reasons why your external hard drive may fail to respond to your Windows PC. It can be caused by some technical glitch in your operating system, or it might be due to the drive's internal hardware failure. It can also occur when you fail to plug in the device through the USB port properly.
Most of the time, such an issue gets resolved when you re-plug the drive into the PC or restart the system again entirely. But if such a problem with your hard drive persists and it remains visible on the system but doesn't open, even if you connect it to another computer system. Then there might be a deeper problem at play with the hard drive. Here is the list of issues that could be behind the problem with your external Hard Drive.
- Presence of bad sectors caused by inappropriately removing the drive from PC without following the removal protocol.
- Mechanical failure is caused by dropping the drive on the ground.
- Virus or Malware is caused by opening an ill-conceived website or file.
- Driver issue caused by some software glitch.
Whatever may be the reason behind this problem, in this article, we will help you repair your hard drive, which will allow you to access the important files within.
Part 2. How to Fix External Hard Disk Detected But Not Opening?
Before initiating the process to fix the issues with your hard drive, some external drives have power cables or a physical power switch, which should be ON at all times for you to perform operations on the disk. It is a simple step, but you should check it before anything.
After checking the ON/OFF switch, you can proceed further to perform other solutions to fix the inaccessibility problem.
Solution 1. Check the External Hardware:
Before performing any step, it is advised that you check the health of the external hardware of your system and the drive's accessories, which are as follows:
1. USB port.
2. Power/Data cable.
Please follow these steps to check whether the problem is with your drive or with your computer.
- It is advised that you plug in the external hard drive on some other System to check whether there is some kind of issue with your PC.
- Please try to Re-Plug the device on some different USB port, as the frequent usage of one port might have caused some wear and tear which could have loosened the hinges.
- Try the Data Cable of your external drive on some other device to see that it is functioning correctly. The casual and repeated use of the power cable may cause it to lose its functionality.
Solution 2. Restart your PC:
Restarting is perhaps the most natural solution to our hard drive being unresponsive. This fix usually solves the error half of the time. There are many ways to restart your computer, but we will try it the conventional way, so please follow our guide to perform this solution.
- Open Start menu.
- Click on Restart.
- After restarting the system, try plugging the device into the PC to review the issue at hand. If the problem persists, then hop onto the next solution.
Solution 3. Update Driver of the Disk:
If you continue to remove your device casually from the computer, it may cause some sort of damage to the driver of your hard drive. This hassle can be fixed by reinstalling or updating the external hard drives, which can fix any problem with your storage device.
The Hard Drive's Driver:
The driver of the external disk is very similar to, the internal HDD on a computer, which consists of a rotating platter with a magnetic surface that rapidly stores digitally encoded data. It also provides the means of communication between the drive and the computer to which it is connected. It functions by giving the hard drive's serial/model number as well as physical information (sectors, heads, and the storage capacity) to the operating system so that it can recognize it.
Follow our step-by-step solution guide to check your drivers.
- Open Device Manager on your computer by entering the name in the search bar.
- Right-click on your Hard Drive's driver.
- Click on Properties.
- Click on the Driver tab and click on Update Driver.
- Click on 'Search automatically for updated driver software', or you can click on 'Browse my computer for driver software' if you have the driver file on your PC.
- The system will start searching for your diver software, you can also uninstall the device and reinstall it, using the same utility.
- Your PC will automatically update the software if there is a new update. Otherwise, it will notify you that 'The best drivers for your device is already installed'.
- If the issue persists after that, click on Close and jump to the next solution.
Solution 4. Fix it by Disk Management and Format it:
You will be able to access the properties and storage of your external storage drive with the help of the Disk Management utility. It can create a new partition within the device, if there is unallocated space and assign it a new letter to enable access. Follow our solution below:
- Open Disk Management through the Start menu.
- Right-click on your external drive's icon.
- If you find unallocated space, then click on New Simple Volume and click on Next.
Can T See External Hard Drive Windows 7
- Assign a letter to the drive and click on Next.
- Select the Do not Format option and push Next.
- Click on Finish.
- You can also format the device by right-clicking on the icon of the drive and selecting Format.
Solution 5. Run Windows Troubleshooter:
You can fix specific problems through the Windows troubleshoot utility, which automates the diagnosis and repairs the problem with your computer system. Follow our guide to use the windows troubleshoot utility, which may fix the hard drive inaccessibility issue.
- Open the Start menu and click on Settings.
- Click on Troubleshoot and find Hardware and Devices.
- Click on Run the Troubleshooter.
- The troubleshooter will start scanning for irregularities in the PC.
- It will notify you after finishing the scan and will advise you to apply the fix if any problem is detected. Choosing the option will prompt you to restart the computer.
Solution 6. Run CHKDSK to Repair Disk:
You can use the CHKDSK facility by using the command prompt on your PC. Before using the check disk command, it is important to know what type of functions it performs to fix specific disk-related problems.
1. It scans the integrity of the file system and file system metadata on a disk volume.
External Hard Drive Best Buy
Https get adobe com. 2. It fixes all types of logical file system errors that it finds during the scan.
3. Through its disk scan, CHKDSK detects the good and the bad sectors of the selected disk.
Follow our procedure to run the check disk command on your external hard drive to detect problems.
- Open Command Prompt on your PC through the Start menu.
- Run the program as an administrator.
- Your Command prompt window will open, type the following command inside the display, and hit Enter.
chkdsk X: /r /f where X is the external hard drive letter and /r & /f are the parameters of CHKDSK.
- The command will run its scan. Once the scan is complete, remove the drive and re-attach it again with the PC to see whether the procedure worked or not.
Part 3. How to Recover Data from Hard Drive Not Detected?
If you select the solution of formatting the external drive, then it will erase all the data. If the files inside your hard drive are irreplaceable and you intend to use those again, then you can recover all of your data. The data can be recovered until you overwrite the drive's memory with new data. To retrieve the files, you are required to perform a recovery operation by using a data recovery tool for Windows, and there is none better than Recoverit Data Recovery Tool by Wondershare.
Features of Recoverit:
- Works on every type of portable device (USB, HDD).
- It recovers data in more than 1000 file formats known in the tech world.
- Recoverit supports all types of File system formats like exFAT, FAT32, HFS, NTFS.
- It keeps your data secure and retrieves it with 96% efficiency.
- It is available on both macOS and Windows PC.
To recover all of your files, you are required to follow our three-step process to recover deleted files after installing the app.
1. Select the Location:
Please follow the steps mentioned below to begin.
- Launch it from the Start menu.
- Select the 'Location' of your external hard drive.
- Click on the 'Start' button for the process to begin.
2. Scan for Lost Data:
- The scanning process will start. It will take some time for the scan to finish, depending on the storage space of your external hard disk.
- A scan completion pop up will appear on the screen with a beep tone.
- There is also a Pause and Stop button, which enables you to stop the scanning process.
- The results will be displayed, which you will be able to view them from the File Type and File Path section.
- You can pause or stop the disk recovery scan by clicking the Pause/or Stop button.
3. Recover the Lost Data:
- Recoverit allows users to Preview the recovered files, which will enable you to check the authenticity of the erased data.
- You can select your files and retrieve them by clicking on the 'Recover' button to reclaim your data back.
Closing Words:
It is entirely up to your personal maintenance, and handling of your computer's hardware and how you keep your PC protected by using some good antivirus. You are advised to check the way you plug in the drive inside the USB port. You are also required to press the eject button before removing the disk from the computer. It is also important that you check the health of your external storage device regularly by scanning it through the CHKDSK utility.
Now you know six possible solutions to fix the hard drive if any such issue ever arises. However, if you still aren't able to access your files or have formatted the drive entirely, then you can recover those files by using the Recoverit Data Recovery program to gain access and recover all the important data.
What's Wrong with Drive
- Recover Your Drive
- Fix Your Drive
- Format/Wipe Drive
- Know Your Drive
Typically, an external hard drive is shown in File Explorer under the list of all disks available on the computer.
However, that's not always the case. If you are having an issue with your USB not showing up in File Explorer, then read on to discover some reasons why this happens and try our recommended solutions to fix it.
Pro Tip: Using the PC Repair tool by Outbyte is the easiest way to optimize your PC. The tool will scan your files to check if any of them are broken and cause your computer to work incorrectly.
This tool is also quite handy for resolving corrupted installations or system files, such as msvcp140.dll origin error. All these issues will be automatically repaired by this utility so you don't have to lift (or press) another finger.
It will also delete junk files. Moreover, the tool works with Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP.
Why Is External Hard Drive Not Showing Up in File Explorer?
When you open the File Explorer – the application of the Microsoft Windows operating system – you get the Quick access view that allows you to see the most commonly used folders and recent files. As you move to the This PC section on the left sidebar, you will see all disks connected to your computer.
If your hard drive is connected to your device, it should appear here. If not, you can find it using the Disk Management tool. There are several reasons why the external hard drive not showing up in File Explorer. These include:
- USB driver issues
- unallocated disk space
- device status not initialized
- connection issues – USB port not working
Checking the latter is easy. Just plug your USB device into another port on your PC or another computer. If you see your disk now, congratulations because the issue is solved. But if nothing has changed, you may want to try several other methods listed below.
File Explorer problems also occur after you encountered an error that forced your computer to restart. For example, if you got the api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll is missing error, some of your drives might fail to load or be recognized by the operating system. Glyph vs g drive.
If File Explorer keeps opening, you might also have trouble accessing your drive because the computer's file system is faulty.
Can't See External Hard Drive On Macbook Pro
Rebooting your PC again usually fixes this problem with your drive.
Check If the USB Is Not Showing Up in File Explorer Only
Before you proceed, you need to make sure the issue relates to File Explorer only. In other words, you need to check whether your external hard drive appears in the Disk Management tool. Follow these steps to do this:
- Connect your external hard drive device to the USB port on your computer.
- Right-click on the Windows menu button and choose the Disk Management option.
You should see a list of all disks and devices connected to your PC. If your device is not listed there, try these steps:
- Connect your external hard drive device to a different USB hub on your computer.
- Go to Disk Management by either right-clicking on the Windows menu button or pressing Win + X on your keyboard. You should see your external hard drive listed as a removable disk.
- Check if your device needs to be powered on to be connected to your PC.
- If you still cannot see your external hard drive in Disk Management, try connecting it to another computer.
How to fix: External Hard Drive Not Showing Up in File Explorer
![Can T See External Hard Drive Can T See External Hard Drive](https://iboysoft.com/images/resource/mac-trash-bin.png)
- Open Start menu.
- Click on Restart.
- After restarting the system, try plugging the device into the PC to review the issue at hand. If the problem persists, then hop onto the next solution.
Solution 3. Update Driver of the Disk:
If you continue to remove your device casually from the computer, it may cause some sort of damage to the driver of your hard drive. This hassle can be fixed by reinstalling or updating the external hard drives, which can fix any problem with your storage device.
The Hard Drive's Driver:
The driver of the external disk is very similar to, the internal HDD on a computer, which consists of a rotating platter with a magnetic surface that rapidly stores digitally encoded data. It also provides the means of communication between the drive and the computer to which it is connected. It functions by giving the hard drive's serial/model number as well as physical information (sectors, heads, and the storage capacity) to the operating system so that it can recognize it.
Follow our step-by-step solution guide to check your drivers.
- Open Device Manager on your computer by entering the name in the search bar.
- Right-click on your Hard Drive's driver.
- Click on Properties.
- Click on the Driver tab and click on Update Driver.
- Click on 'Search automatically for updated driver software', or you can click on 'Browse my computer for driver software' if you have the driver file on your PC.
- The system will start searching for your diver software, you can also uninstall the device and reinstall it, using the same utility.
- Your PC will automatically update the software if there is a new update. Otherwise, it will notify you that 'The best drivers for your device is already installed'.
- If the issue persists after that, click on Close and jump to the next solution.
Solution 4. Fix it by Disk Management and Format it:
You will be able to access the properties and storage of your external storage drive with the help of the Disk Management utility. It can create a new partition within the device, if there is unallocated space and assign it a new letter to enable access. Follow our solution below:
- Open Disk Management through the Start menu.
- Right-click on your external drive's icon.
- If you find unallocated space, then click on New Simple Volume and click on Next.
Can T See External Hard Drive Windows 7
- Assign a letter to the drive and click on Next.
- Select the Do not Format option and push Next.
- Click on Finish.
- You can also format the device by right-clicking on the icon of the drive and selecting Format.
Solution 5. Run Windows Troubleshooter:
You can fix specific problems through the Windows troubleshoot utility, which automates the diagnosis and repairs the problem with your computer system. Follow our guide to use the windows troubleshoot utility, which may fix the hard drive inaccessibility issue.
- Open the Start menu and click on Settings.
- Click on Troubleshoot and find Hardware and Devices.
- Click on Run the Troubleshooter.
- The troubleshooter will start scanning for irregularities in the PC.
- It will notify you after finishing the scan and will advise you to apply the fix if any problem is detected. Choosing the option will prompt you to restart the computer.
Solution 6. Run CHKDSK to Repair Disk:
You can use the CHKDSK facility by using the command prompt on your PC. Before using the check disk command, it is important to know what type of functions it performs to fix specific disk-related problems.
1. It scans the integrity of the file system and file system metadata on a disk volume.
External Hard Drive Best Buy
Https get adobe com. 2. It fixes all types of logical file system errors that it finds during the scan.
3. Through its disk scan, CHKDSK detects the good and the bad sectors of the selected disk.
Follow our procedure to run the check disk command on your external hard drive to detect problems.
- Open Command Prompt on your PC through the Start menu.
- Run the program as an administrator.
- Your Command prompt window will open, type the following command inside the display, and hit Enter.
chkdsk X: /r /f where X is the external hard drive letter and /r & /f are the parameters of CHKDSK.
- The command will run its scan. Once the scan is complete, remove the drive and re-attach it again with the PC to see whether the procedure worked or not.
Part 3. How to Recover Data from Hard Drive Not Detected?
If you select the solution of formatting the external drive, then it will erase all the data. If the files inside your hard drive are irreplaceable and you intend to use those again, then you can recover all of your data. The data can be recovered until you overwrite the drive's memory with new data. To retrieve the files, you are required to perform a recovery operation by using a data recovery tool for Windows, and there is none better than Recoverit Data Recovery Tool by Wondershare.
Features of Recoverit:
- Works on every type of portable device (USB, HDD).
- It recovers data in more than 1000 file formats known in the tech world.
- Recoverit supports all types of File system formats like exFAT, FAT32, HFS, NTFS.
- It keeps your data secure and retrieves it with 96% efficiency.
- It is available on both macOS and Windows PC.
To recover all of your files, you are required to follow our three-step process to recover deleted files after installing the app.
1. Select the Location:
Please follow the steps mentioned below to begin.
- Launch it from the Start menu.
- Select the 'Location' of your external hard drive.
- Click on the 'Start' button for the process to begin.
2. Scan for Lost Data:
- The scanning process will start. It will take some time for the scan to finish, depending on the storage space of your external hard disk.
- A scan completion pop up will appear on the screen with a beep tone.
- There is also a Pause and Stop button, which enables you to stop the scanning process.
- The results will be displayed, which you will be able to view them from the File Type and File Path section.
- You can pause or stop the disk recovery scan by clicking the Pause/or Stop button.
3. Recover the Lost Data:
- Recoverit allows users to Preview the recovered files, which will enable you to check the authenticity of the erased data.
- You can select your files and retrieve them by clicking on the 'Recover' button to reclaim your data back.
Closing Words:
It is entirely up to your personal maintenance, and handling of your computer's hardware and how you keep your PC protected by using some good antivirus. You are advised to check the way you plug in the drive inside the USB port. You are also required to press the eject button before removing the disk from the computer. It is also important that you check the health of your external storage device regularly by scanning it through the CHKDSK utility.
Now you know six possible solutions to fix the hard drive if any such issue ever arises. However, if you still aren't able to access your files or have formatted the drive entirely, then you can recover those files by using the Recoverit Data Recovery program to gain access and recover all the important data.
What's Wrong with Drive
- Recover Your Drive
- Fix Your Drive
- Format/Wipe Drive
- Know Your Drive
Typically, an external hard drive is shown in File Explorer under the list of all disks available on the computer.
However, that's not always the case. If you are having an issue with your USB not showing up in File Explorer, then read on to discover some reasons why this happens and try our recommended solutions to fix it.
Pro Tip: Using the PC Repair tool by Outbyte is the easiest way to optimize your PC. The tool will scan your files to check if any of them are broken and cause your computer to work incorrectly.
This tool is also quite handy for resolving corrupted installations or system files, such as msvcp140.dll origin error. All these issues will be automatically repaired by this utility so you don't have to lift (or press) another finger.
It will also delete junk files. Moreover, the tool works with Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP.
Why Is External Hard Drive Not Showing Up in File Explorer?
When you open the File Explorer – the application of the Microsoft Windows operating system – you get the Quick access view that allows you to see the most commonly used folders and recent files. As you move to the This PC section on the left sidebar, you will see all disks connected to your computer.
If your hard drive is connected to your device, it should appear here. If not, you can find it using the Disk Management tool. There are several reasons why the external hard drive not showing up in File Explorer. These include:
- USB driver issues
- unallocated disk space
- device status not initialized
- connection issues – USB port not working
Checking the latter is easy. Just plug your USB device into another port on your PC or another computer. If you see your disk now, congratulations because the issue is solved. But if nothing has changed, you may want to try several other methods listed below.
File Explorer problems also occur after you encountered an error that forced your computer to restart. For example, if you got the api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll is missing error, some of your drives might fail to load or be recognized by the operating system. Glyph vs g drive.
If File Explorer keeps opening, you might also have trouble accessing your drive because the computer's file system is faulty.
Can't See External Hard Drive On Macbook Pro
Rebooting your PC again usually fixes this problem with your drive.
Check If the USB Is Not Showing Up in File Explorer Only
Before you proceed, you need to make sure the issue relates to File Explorer only. In other words, you need to check whether your external hard drive appears in the Disk Management tool. Follow these steps to do this:
- Connect your external hard drive device to the USB port on your computer.
- Right-click on the Windows menu button and choose the Disk Management option.
You should see a list of all disks and devices connected to your PC. If your device is not listed there, try these steps:
- Connect your external hard drive device to a different USB hub on your computer.
- Go to Disk Management by either right-clicking on the Windows menu button or pressing Win + X on your keyboard. You should see your external hard drive listed as a removable disk.
- Check if your device needs to be powered on to be connected to your PC.
- If you still cannot see your external hard drive in Disk Management, try connecting it to another computer.
How to fix: External Hard Drive Not Showing Up in File Explorer
All right, now you have found your removable device in Disk Management but still cannot see it in File Explorer? The next three methods are helpful when there are issues with how the system recognizes an external hard drive. You can try using any of them in no particular order.
Fix 1: Update or Re-Install the Drivers for Your External Hard Drive
One of the reasons why File Explorer doesn't show your external hard drive is because the drivers are outdated and working incorrectly. Fix the issue by following these steps:
- Connect a USB device to your PC and go to Device Manager by either pressing Win+X or right-clicking on the Windows menu button.
- Locate and expand the Universal Serial Bus controllers section.
- Click on your USB or external hard drive, right-click on it, and press 'Uninstall device'. Next, unplug your device from the USB port.
- Plug your external hard drive back into your PC. Return to the Device Manager and locate your device under the Universal Serial Bus controllers.
- Right-click on it and press 'Update driver' from the list.
- Follow the instructions of the Update Driver Software Wizard to finish the process.
Fix 2: Assign Your External Hard Drive a New Letter
Ever noticed that every disk on your PC has a letter assigned to it? For instance, the core internal disk always goes under the letter C, making paths to files on it look like 'C:…' Changing the letter of your external hard drive may help File Explorer to locate and show your device.
- Go to Disk Management (Win + X or right-click on the Windows menu button) and locate your USB device.
- Right-click on it and press 'Change drive letter and paths' from the menu.
- Choose the 'Add' option if there is no letter assigned, or the 'Change' option if there is one.
- Select a new drive letter from the drop-down menu and press the 'OK' button to save changes.
Fix 3: Format Volume or Create a New One on Your Disk
Sometimes, the issue is that the file system is not recognized and has to be formatted, or the disk volume is unallocated.
To format volume, do the following:
- Press Win + X or right-click on the Windows menu button and select Disk Management.
- Locate your external hard drive, right-click on it, and choose the 'Format' option.
- Finally, change the file system to the NTFS format by choosing it from the drop-down menu, and click the OK button.
To create volume, do the following:
- Firstly, press Win + X or right-click on the Windows menu button and select Disk Management.
- Find your external hard drive, right-click on the Unallocated space section (colored black) and choose the 'New Simple Volume' option.
- Finally, you should end up with a new file system. Assign a letter to your drive and check whether it appears in File Explorer.
External Hard Drive FAQ
Why External Hard Drive May Not Show Up in File Explorer?Several reasons can cause the external hard drive not showing up in File Explorer. The external hard drive may be having issues, such as damage, or unallocated disk space. If the device status is not initialized or if there are connection issues such as the USB port not working, you can also encounter the issue of external hard drives not showing up in File Explorer.
How to Check My External Drive is OK?If the external hard drive is appearing in the disk management tool then the problem could be with the system and not the drive. You can further scrutinize the disk management tool to identify the issue that is causing the external hard drive not showing up in File Explorer issue.
How do I Make the External Hard Drive to Show Up in File Explorer?If you cannot see your external hard drive in File Explorer and the Disk Management tool, try connecting it to another computer. You can also update your device drivers, and the issue will be fixed if device driver problems caused it. Assigning the external hard drive a new letter can also solve the issue.