[SOLVED] – External Hard Drive Not Showing Up On a Computer

Written By Jyoti Prakash
Approved By Rohit Arora
Updated on 16 Jul, 2024
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Summary: Your external hard drive may not be detected on computer for many reasons, such as no drive letter assigned, outdated disk driver, or bad sectors on the drive. Since the external hard drive and its data becomes inaccessible in this case, keep a professional data recovery software handy to recover your files from the drive.

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External drives can be easily connected to your system to help you transfer or backup files. However, there are times when you connect your external hard drive to your system, but it’s nowhere to be found in the file explorer.

An external hard drive may not be detected for several reasons, including missing drive letters, corruption, or bad sectors on the drive. The issue may affect not just old, but newly purchased hard drives and prevent one from accessing their data on the drive. Fortunately, the problem can be solved with the best workarounds shared here. Understanding the underlying causes can also help you learn more about the issue and solutions to overcome it.

Reasons Behind External Hard Drive Not Showing Up on Computer

Numerous reasons tend to make external hard drives undetectable by a computer, such as:

The unexpected system shut down due to a sudden power surge while the external hard drive was still in use.
Physical damage due to mishandling or dropping the external hard drive
Virus/malware infection
Prolonged or excessive usage of hard drive
External hard drive nearing the end of its lifecycle
Bad sectors
Outdated/corrupted drivers
Unsupported file system
Insufficient power supply
Drive appearing RAW/Unallocated in Disk Management

Methods to Fix External Hard Drive Not Showing

Now that you know the causes behind external hard drives not getting recognized by your system, try solving this issue using the methods discussed here. Before moving on to the methods, let’s try a couple of quick fixes:

Quick fixes:

Method 1: Check the USB cable and drive connectivity

Try to connect the external hard drive to the same system using a different SATA to USB cable to plug in the external drive and see if it appears. If it doesn’t appear, try to use a different USB cable to connect the external hard drive. Your hard drive might be loosely connected to the motherboard and thus not getting detected by the system.

Method 2: Check USB Port

Even after changing the SATA to USB cable, the hard drive is not detected on the computer. Try connecting the external hard drive to another USB port on your computer. If it works, then it was probably a dead USB port issue. If you use a USB hub, connect the drive directly to the computer instead, as some USB hubs don’t provide sufficient power to the external drive to function properly.

Advanced Methods:

If the quick methods don’t help and the drive fails to appear in Disk Management, the drive itself may be faulty. Let’s try some advanced methods to fix the issues with the hard drive, thus solving the External Hard Not Showing Up problem.

Method 3: Check for the External Hard Drive in the BIOS

Looking into BIOS can help determine whether the computer detects the connected external hard drive. Carefully follow the steps:

Restart your computer and continuously press the designated BIOS key to enter the BIOS. The key is usually displayed on the screen. You can also try pressing ESC, DEL, F2, or F8.
Once inside the BIOS, navigate to the Boot tab.
Locate the boot drive and see if the external hard drive shows up.
If it is displayed, then exit the BIOS and reboot your computer.

If your external hard drive is not showing up in the BIOS, it could be due to a faulty cable or loose connection. This could also happen if your external hard drive is uninitialized or unallocated. For this, move to the next solution.

Method 4: Initialize and Assign a Letter to the External Hard Drive

If you’ve purchased a new external HDD, it might not be listed in the file explorer or computer and needs to be initialized. You also need to assign a letter to the external hard drive so that the Logical Disk Manager can access it and show it in the File Explorer. To initialize a drive –

Press WINDOWS + R, type diskmgmt. msc in the box, and click OK.

Locate your external hard drive in Disk Management. It should be visible as an ”Unknown” drive with the ”Not initialized” tag.
Right-click on it and select ”Initialize Disk.”

select the partition style and initialize the disk to recover data from an external hard drive that is not detected

You will see a pop-up window. In this window, select the partition style you want for the drive and click OK. The external hard drive is now initialized.

Assign a Drive letter –

Since the drive is still unallocated and doesn’t have a drive letter or file system, it will not appear in the File Explorer. Here’s what to do now –

In Disk Management, locate the unallocated external hard drive and right-click on it.
Click on New Simple Volume.
You will see the New Simple Volume wizard. Click Next.
The following window will ask you to specify the volume size. Enter the value and click Next.

enter the volume of the hard drive which is not showing up

Choose a drive letter from the drop-down in the next window and click Next.

In the Format Partition window, select the ”Format this volume with the following settings’ option and choose the File System, Allocation unit size, and Volume label.
Choose the Perform a quick format option and click on Next.

select the file system and format the initialized hard drive and recover data from the hard drive which was not showing up

On the final window, click on Finish to format the drive and assign a letter to it.

Method 5: Update Storage Controller Drivers

If your external hard drive is not showing up in the file explorer but is visible in the Disk Management utility, it could be due to outdated or corrupt storage controller drivers. Try to update the storage controller drivers using the following steps and see if the issue gets fixed.

Press WINDOWS + X and click on Device Manager

Locate Storage Controller and expand it.
Right-click on the entry under it and click on Properties.

update hard drive drivers of the hard drive that is not showing up to fix the issue and recover data from it.

Go to the Driver tab and click on Update Driver.
Follow the steps as prompted by the wizard.
Restart your computer.

Method 6: Run Hardware and Device Troubleshooter using CMD

This is a typical situation where the external hard drive connected does not show in either Disk Management or File Explorer. In such a situation, you can troubleshoot device-related issues by running the hardware and device troubleshooter via CMD. To do this –

Press WINDOWS + R and type cmd. Press CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER to open it with administrator privileges.

open command prompt with administrator rights

Type the following command – msdt.exe –id DeviceDiagnostic and press Enter.

type the command and run it to open hardware troubleshooter

It will open the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter.
Click on Next.

run the hardware troubleshooter to fix the hard drive that is not showing up on the computer and recover data from it

Let the wizard detect the issues. If it displays any problems, click on them individually and follow the steps as prompted to troubleshoot them. Restart your computer.

Note: Also, expand the ”Disk Drives’ entry and update the drivers of your storage drive.

Recover Data from RAW/ Unallocated/ External Hard Drive

A severely corrupted or bad sectored hard drive may not appear in the File Explorer. However, when you access the Disk Management utility, it may appear as ‘RAW’ or ‘Unallocated’. If so, fix it by formatting it with the NT file system and drive letter to make it accessible. However, formatting the drive will result in data loss.

But don’t worry! You can always rely on Stellar Data Recovery Professional, a powerful yet easy-to-use DIY data recovery software that extracts all types of data types, including documents, files, photos, and more. This DIY software efficiently recovers the data from deleted, formatted, or corrupted hard drive partitions. The software scans the affected hard drive and lists the scan results for you to preview first and then proceed with recovery.

Final Words:

Whether you face external hard drive detection issues with a new or old hard drive, you can fix it using the methods discussed in this blog. However, remember that if the hard drive is physically damaged or severely corrupted, it may not be detected at all. In those circumstances, you’ll not be able to regain access to your hard drive data even after using professional data recovery software. It is recommended to take the physically damaged hard drive to data recovery service providers to restore your lost data.

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About The Author

Jyoti Prakash

Problem solver and Data recovery specialist. Usually share informative articles on data recovery, database corruption and ways to recover lost data.

144 comments

Luiz Mauricio Matos dos Santos says:

February 19, 2019 at 7:08 pm

Hello,
May you help me please?
I own some dead HD e and there is a message saying :couldn’ t open drive multi(o) disk(o) rdisk(o) partition(o) rdisk(o) partition(1).
I gave a Computer tecnicician, He recovered my files but a dawn China made extern hd is not open the files só. I have tô start over again, if this term is correct.
What are my chances to try Re-do it once More?
How many times after formatting or not can a dead hd recover files again?
I am looking forward for your reply.
Sincerely,
Mr.Santos

Reply
1. Satyeshu Kumar says:
  
  February 22, 2019 at 7:10 am
  
  Hi Luiz,
  
  Data Recovery is dependent upon a lot of factors like data loss reason, the severity of corruption, overwritten activities, status or condition of the drive etc. Logical recovery is only possible through the Stellar software if the drive is mounted and getting detected by the software.
  
  We recommend availing Data Recovery Services for the dead hard drives. We have class 100 clean room labs where the data is recovered physically from the drive by expert technicians.
  
  Reply
Sun krishna says:

January 28, 2019 at 10:45 am

hi my seagate external hard disc is not detecting and blinking led light only. no sound.. i tried to check with other computers and cables. but no use. the led light is blinking only. i also tried the different instructions showing in this site.
once it will connect to system led light is stable and after some seconds light blinking.

Reply
1. Satyeshu Kumar says:
  
  January 30, 2019 at 3:49 am
  
  We recommend going for data recovery services, in which you need to send a hard drive to our lab. We will analyze it and let you know whether recovery is possible or not.
  
  Reply
Lisa Roberson says:

January 17, 2019 at 11:13 am

Similarly mine Seagate hard drive is not detecting by Acer Windows 10 laptop couple of weeks back. With so much important official files. I need to retrieve the files in any case and having no backup makes the situation got tenser. But Thanks to Stellar Data Recovery Professional version I recover all my data using Deep Scan mode.

Reply
1. Satyeshu Kumar says:
  
  January 18, 2019 at 4:59 am
  
  Hello Lisa,
  
  Thanks for trusting Stellar Data Recovery Pro version.
  
  Reply
Ravi says:

June 12, 2018 at 6:54 pm

Hi
I have a lenovo external harddisk of 500GB. I was browsing through the files on it, but all of a sudden it made few clicks and stopped responding. I restarted the PC but the disk is not getting listed. though it is detected in the device manager. I tried the Stellar Phonix windows data recovery software but that too doesnt detect the drive. Please suggest how can i recover the data, I tried on other system too but still the same problem.

Reply
1. Isha Rikhi says:
  
  June 14, 2018 at 3:48 am
  
  Unfortunately, recovery by using the application is not possible as the drive is not getting listed inside the application. We recommend you to submit your drive to our lab for Data Recovery Service.
  
  kindly let us know your contact number and convenient time so that we can call you. You can also email to our support team on their below email address:
  
  support@stellarinfo.com
  
  Your reply is awaited.
  
  Reply
World Techpedia says:

May 16, 2018 at 3:48 pm

Great info. It helped in our research. We are working on a similar article, would you like to take a look when it’s published? Thanks.

Reply
Kane Benson says:

April 25, 2018 at 11:12 am

My Toshiba SSD was earlier not detected in the File explorer section. It contains all important official as well personal documents. Stellar’s phoenix software makes my work easy without going anywhere. Deep Scan feature really impressed me.

Reply
1. Jyoti Prakash says:
  
  April 26, 2018 at 6:43 am
  
  Hello Kane,
  
  Thanks for using Stellar Windows Data Recovery software.
  
  Reply
Nje says:

February 5, 2018 at 7:41 am

Hello,
My computer isn’t booting because the hdd cant b detected. I have removed it and cased it as an external drive, on connecting it to another computer, Windows is able to see the partitions, but they are not readable. It hacks when you try to chkdsk it. Is there a way I can recover the data in it? I really need your help. Thanks

Reply
1. Jyoti Prakash says:
  
  February 6, 2018 at 11:13 am
  
  Hello Nje,
  
  We recommend you to try the demo version of Stellar Windows Data Recovery Professional from the below mentioned link:
  
  Download Link
  
  After installing the software, please perform the ‘Deep Scan’ on your drive and check whether you are able to find the data or not.
  
  If you do not find the desired results then please perform scan with ‘Can’t Find Drive’ option to search the lost volume and to check the possibility of recovery.
  
  All the Best
  
  Reply
Chandra says:

January 10, 2018 at 9:36 am

Hi there, my hard disk was faulty due to a faulty connection point. I changed the casing and the HDD could not be recognized. Then I installed the Stella recovery software after reading the post here. Now I managed to recover the files but when I tried opening the files, I get a message that my file is damaged. Any idea why this is so?

Reply
1. Jyoti Prakash says:
  
  January 12, 2018 at 9:55 am
  
  Hello Chandra,
  
  This might happen due to the bad sectors in hard drive. I would recommend that after recovering the files use the Stellar file repair software.
  
  Reply
manju says:

January 3, 2018 at 10:56 am

hello expert, please help me. i have seagate one tb backup plus external hard disk. but it is suddenly not recognising in my laptop. i tryed with other computer and also change the cable. but no use. it is not appearing in diskmanagement also. but only appearing in device manager under device drivers. when i try to trubbleshoot this, it is showing driver working fine. also updated. so what can i do? also tryed uninstalling the driver. but same problem. some noice also comming from this hard disk. i have importent data on it. please help me soon. i need salution to recognise or data recovery.

Reply
1. Jyoti Prakash says:
  
  January 4, 2018 at 9:06 am
  
  Hello Manju,
  
  Sorry to hear about your hard drive.
  
  As informed by you about a noise from hard disk which is a most common symptom of a physical error in a drive. Please immediately stop using this drive.
  We respect your data and understand its importance, we recommend contacting our support team at support[@]stellarinfodotcom to better assist you and help you in data recovery.
  
  Reply
Neha says:

December 8, 2017 at 3:24 pm

Hi
My seagate external hard disk which was working fine suddenly when connected prompted me to format first ! I tried running chkdsk for error and it did appear in disk management as RAW healthy primary partition !
I tried recovering files by using a software and I saw all my data being scanned ! But suddenly after some time the laptop became unresponsive and shut down ! Then I tried switching on laptop and connecting again ! It does make the sound while connecting but does not appear in yeh my computer ! It’s not visible in device management but in devices and printers shows as drivers need to be updated ! I tried updating the drivers but says installation failed !
Help have I lost all my data because of using the software and destroyed my hard disk further ! I haven’t over written or formatted the drive ever ! Can I still recover data !??
Please suggest !

Reply
1. Jyoti Prakash says:
  
  December 20, 2017 at 10:36 am
  
  Hello Neha,
  
  Please perform the below common fixes.
  
  1) Try to reassign a drive letter to the hard drive.
  
  Go to Start -> My Computer.
  In the window that opens, take a note of all the letters already assigned to drives.
  Now click on “Map a network drive” and in the window that opens, click on the “Drive” button.
  From the drop-down, choose a drive letter that’s not in use.
  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.
  
  Reply