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10 Cases: External Hard Drive Not Showing up & Best Fixes
10 Cases: External Hard Drive Not
Showing up & Best Fixes
By Rodin | Follow  | Last Updated March 25, 2021
English

External hard drive not showing up? Windows doesn't recognize external hard
drive? How to make such drives appear in Windows so as to access the �les in it?
In this post, we show you the most feasible solutions as well as more approaches
that could help you recover data from external hard drive not appear.
On This Page :
• Case 1. The hard drive is not initialized
• Case 2. The hard drive has no drive letter
• Case 3. Hard drive is hidden
• Case 4. Partitions are lost
• Case 5. Unsupported or RAW �le system
• Case 6. Drive not enabled in the BIOS
• Case 7. Faulty cable or port
• Case 8. Troubleshoot drivers
• Case 9. Virus attack
• Case 10. Faulty hard drive
• Summary
• External Hard Drive Not Showing Up FAQ
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While scanning forums, we �nd
so Policy.
many users
are bothered with the external hard
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drive not showing up issue. Here is one typical case we extract from ccm.net:
Q: Seagate external hard drive not showing up in my computer
My 320 GB Seagate external hard drive is detected but not showing up in
my computer. In cmd> diskpart> list volume it does not show up. In Device
Manager it gets detected. In Disk Management it shows up as
‘unallocated’. If I initialize it, will I lose all data on the drive? It had 4
partitions. In My Computer also it does not show up. Even BIOS recognizes
it. What to do? I don’t want to lose any data on the drive. If I initialize it in
device manager will I lose data?
Are you also troubled by hard drive not showing up? Have you got the effective
workaround? If not, we give you 10 possible reasons as well as solutions to help
you address this issue.
A USB �ash drive may also fail to be recognized by Windows 10, but don’t worry,
you can �x the problem and recover data from it in most cases.
You might also be interested in Hard Drive Space Is Missing? Take These Ways to
Find It out
Tip: The content below also applies to hard drive/USB/�ash drive not
showing up. We strongly recommend you download and install free
partition manager- MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition, which will be of
great help for Case 1 – Case 5.
Case 1. The hard drive is not initialized
This usually applies to new hard drive not showing up. If you are using a brand new
hard drive, please check out if this hard drive needs initializing. You may go to
Windows Disk Management and have a check. If Disk Management shows the
disk as “unknown/not initialized” and pops up a window asking you to initialize it,
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have to create new partitions on
it to
make the
new hard drive appear on
computer.
To make things easy, use MiniTool Partition Wizard to help you. Detailed steps are
shown below:
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Step 1. Run MiniTool Partition and choose Create Partition.
In this main interface of this free partition manager, distinguish the new hard drive
by viewing the hard drive information. Since a new drive has no partition, please
select the unallocated space and choose Create Partition from the action panel.
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Step 2. Customize the new partition.
In the pop-up window, specify the partition label, partition type, drive letter, �le
system, cluster size, and partition size. Then click OK.
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Step 3. Click Apply on the top left corner to start.
Tip: In MiniTool Partition Wizard, all new drives are regarded as MBR disk
by default. Hence, you can go ahead and create new partitions on the
external hard drive. But if you want a GPT disk, you can select the brandnew external hard drive and employ Initialize to GPT Disk feature at �rst.
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When you have created new partitions on the new drive, go to File Explorer to
check. These should remove new hard drive not showing up error.
Case 2. The hard drive has no drive letter
External hard drive not showing up also occurs when the partition on the external
hard drive has no drive letter. To make the hard drive show up, you just run
MiniTool Partition Wizard and add a drive letter to it.
1. At the disk map, select the partition that has no drive letter and choose
Change Drive Letter from the action panel.
2. In the pop-up window, drop down the drive letter box and choose a drive letter
you like. Then press OK button.
3. Back to the main interface of MiniTool Partition Wizard, Click Apply on the
tool bar to put this operation into effect.
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Case 3. Hard drive is hidden
If the hard drive is hidden by some partition manager, it won’t appear in File
Explorer. However, this time you cannot �x this issue by simply add a drive letter to
it. You should use that speci�c partition manager or MiniTool Partition Wizard to
unhide that partition.
But how do you know the hard drive is hidden or not? Usually, hidden drives also
have no drive letter, but cannot be �xed by adding a drive letter. You can open Disk
Management, right-click the partition that has no drive letter, and see whether the
feature “Change Drive Letter and Path…” is greyed out.
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If this feature is greyed out indeed, you can use MiniTool Partition Wizard to help.
1. In the main interface of MiniTool Partition Wizard Free, select the hidden
partition and choose Unhide Partition from the action panel.
2. Select a drive letter from the pop-up window and then click OK. Step 3. Press
Apply at the tool bar.
Case 4. Partitions are lost
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If all partitions on the external hard drive are lost due to some reasons like virus
attack and corrupted partition table, the external hard drive not showing issue
occurs. In this case, the �rst trying is to recover all lost partitions by using MiniTool
Partition Wizard Pro (not supported in the Free Edition).
Step 1. Go to Partition Recovery feature.
Run MiniTool Partition Wizard to the main interface. Then right-click the external
hard drive and choose Partition Recovery from the tool bar.
Tip: Please observe the partition style of the hard drive which suffers
from partition loss. MiniTool Partition Wizard shows all empty drives as
MBR disks. If the hard drive should be GPT disk in fact, please use Convert
MBR Disk to GPT Disk to turn the drive back to GPT before you choose
Partition Recovery.
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Step 2. Choose scanning range.
Select the scanning range such as the full disk, the unallocated space only or
specify the scanning range and click Next. It is recommended to choose “Full Disk”
or “Unallocated Space” if you do now know the speci�c starting LBA and ending
LBA for the lost partitions.
Step 3. Set the scanning range.
Choose Quick Scan �rst. If this does not work for you, the go back to choose Full
Scan.
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Step 4. Check all partitions you need.
After a while, MiniTool Partition Wizard will list all partitions it has found. Here you
can double-click a partition in the list to check the �les in it. After con�rmation,
check all partitions you want to restore. Please note that partitions not checked
will be lost and MiniTool Partition Wizard cannot help you that time.
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Step 5. Con�rm the operation by hitting Apply.
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Tip: To make the recovered partition appear in Windows, you still need to
add a drive letter to that partition. Read How to Add Drive Letter to get the
detail.
If MiniTool Partition Wizard fails to �nd the lost partitions for you, you can try
professional data recovery software which helps recover data from lost partitions.
Luckily, MiniTool Partition Wizard Pro Ultimate just comes with such a powerful
function. And you may just follow the guide below to have a try.
Step 1. Go to Data Recovery.
After installing this data recovery software, run it to get the main interface.
Then right-click the partition of the external hard drive to choose Data Recovery.
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Step 2. Check �les you need.
MiniTool Partition Wizard will immediately start the scanning process and list the
found �les as well. During this process, you can unfold each partition folders to
check what �les are the one you need. Please make use of the Preview feature to
help you determine when it comes to TXT �les and images. However, to get the
best disk recovery result, it is recommended to wait for the completion of the
scanning.
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Step 3. Save �les.
Tick the ones you need and press Save to store the selected �les to a safe
location. Note that you should choose another disk instead of the external hard
drive to be recovered.
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When you have �nished data recovery, you can recreate new partition on the drive
to cope with hard drive won’t show up issue.
Case 5. Unsupported or RAW �le system
If the external hard drive has unsupported �les system or hard disk become RAW,
the partition bar won’t show up in Windows File Explorer. You can only see the
drive icon and drive letter there. If you try to access the drive, Windows requires
formatting.
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To �x this issue, you need to recover data from the external hard drive �rst, and
then reformat the hard drive with FAT/NTFS �le system. Please refer to Case 4 and
use MiniTool Power Data Recovery (Damaged Partition Recovery) to help you
recover data. Then use MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition to do the formatting.
“New hard drive not showing up or external hard drive not showing
up in Windows 10/8/7? Here I get the best suggestions for USB not
showing up. You guys may just give them a try.”
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Case 6. Drive not enabled in the BIOS
If hard drive is not showing up in Disk Management and Device Manager, it may be
because it is not enabled in System Setup (BIOS). Some motherboard
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reason for the 2nd hard drive not
showing
upAccept
in Windows 10/8/7. You will need to
enter BIOS to verify their current states and make sure all hard drives are enabled.
Note that different computer manufacturers have different methods to enter
system BIOS, please check your system documentation for speci�cs.
Case 7. Faulty cable or port
If the data cable is damaged or the connection is incorrect, the BIOS will not detect
the SATA cables and can sometimes fall out of their connection. Be sure to check
your SATA cables are tightly connected to the SATA port connection. The easiest
way to test a cable is to replace it with another cable. If the problem persists, then
the cable is not the cause of the problem.
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8. Troubleshoot
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they are the causes of your hard drive not showing up problem. If the
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Case 9. Virus attack
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Some malware or viruses can lead to hard drive not showing up issue. It is
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possible that there are such malware or viruses on your computer. In this case,
please run security software on your computer to scan out and remove these
malicious programs. Then, check if Windows doesn’t recognize external hard drive
issue still persists.
Case 10. Faulty hard drive
If you have completed the above checks and the external hard drive is still not
showing on your computer, you should send the hard drive to repair center and
check
it fails.
it is stillByin
the warranty,
please
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begin
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We also recommend reading our guide Quick Fix “SSD Not Showing up” in
Windows 10 without Data Loss.
Summary
Above are the top 10 situations as well as the solutions for new hard drive not
showing up/external hard drive not showing up. You may just have a try and see if
they are helping. We hope you will never take the last one. If you have any
questions or better suggestions, let us know by tying them in the comment section
below. Or you can contact us via support@minitool.com.
External Hard Drive Not Showing Up FAQ
What do I do if my hard drive is not detected?
1. Check if the hard drive appears in Disk Management and all the
partitions do have a drive letter.
2. Check if the hard drive is properly installed.
3. Check if the hard drive is BIOS detected.
4. Connect the hard drive to anther interface or another computer.
5. Check if the hard drive is physically damaged.
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How do I �x my WD external hard drive not showing up on my computer?
1. Check WD external hard drive in Disk Management. Do all the partitions
seem normal?
2. Try another USB port or another computer.
3. Troubleshoot the driver issue.
4. Format the hard drive.
How do I access my external hard drive?
Usually, you can access any partition of your external hard drive by opening
This PC. Alternatively, you can open Disk Management, select a partition on
the external hard drive and click Open from the context menu.
How do I �nd my external hard drive on Windows 10?
1. Run diskmgmt.msc. In the pop-up window, you will �nd all disks
connected to your computer.
2. Open This PC on Windows 10, then you will see all the partitions on your
hard drives are shown up there. Be aware that only FAT and NTFS
partitions can be accessed normally.
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About The Author
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Rodin
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Position: Columnist
Rodin is an enthusiastic IT writer focusing on Windows trends, disk
partition management and data recovery. She loves to write and share
her idea about the useful tips and tricks on personal computers'
maintenance. If you are looking for methods to improve your computer
performance, manage hard drives and recover data from different
devices, Rodin can provide reliable solutions for data management.
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