Removable disk drives—similar USB flash drives, SD cards, and external hard drives—should exist like shooting fish in a barrel to use with your figurer. But in some cases, you may connect your bulldoze to a Windows PC or some other device with a USB port and detect the external hard bulldoze isn't showing upwards.

This problem has several possible causes: partition issues on the external bulldoze, using the incorrect file organisation, dead USB ports, or driver bug in Windows. In a worst-case scenario, the drive itself may be expressionless.

Permit's have a wait at what to do when your external difficult drive is not showing upward in Windows. Note that this guide is besides available as a video:

1. Make Sure Your External Drive Turns On

This is a preliminary stride, simply nevertheless one worth checking. Nearly every flash bulldoze, and many external difficult drives, don't require a separate power source—they receive power over USB. However, some desktop external drives do accept defended power cables, or at least a concrete power switch.

If this is the example and your external hard drive is not showing upwardly, you could have an issue with the device'due south power cablevision. Endeavor plugging it into another ability outlet, or bandy the cable if possible. Cheque for signs of activity, similar flashing lights on the unit or movement inside the bulldoze, before moving on.

If yous don't see whatsoever signs that the drive is working no matter what y'all do, the device might be dead. Be sure to know the signs that your hard drive is failing so you can take hold of it early if this happens again.

Assuming that your bulldoze turns on just still doesn't show up, walk through the below points in order.

2. Check the Bulldoze in Deejay Management

You should first check whether Windows detects the difficult disk when you plug it in. Plug your removable drive into your computer, if it isn't already.

Next, open the Disk Direction tool. To do and so, press Win + 10 (or correct-click the Start button) to open the Power User carte and select Disk Direction from the list. You can besides open the Run dialog with Win + R and enter diskmgmt.msc to open this utility.

Windows Open Disk Manager

As the proper name suggests, Deejay Management lets you see all the difficult disks connected to your estimator. It allows you lot to review sizes, partitions, and other disk information.

You should see your external drive listed in the Disk Direction window, likely below your primary and whatsoever secondary disks. Even if it doesn't appear in the This PC window considering it doesn't incorporate any partitions, it should show upward here as a Removable volume.

Removable Volume Disk Management

If you do see the drive here, spring down to department #5 below. There, you lot'll sectionalization and/or format your drive properly and then Windows and other devices tin can access it.

If your external drive is still not showing up in Deejay Management, continue on. You'll need to determine why your drive isn't recognized. Information technology's possible you accept a hardware issue, driver problem, or a dead bulldoze.

3. Try Some other USB Port and Figurer

The reason your external drive isn't detected may non lie with your device, simply instead with the port you're using to connect it to your estimator.

Unplug the bulldoze from its electric current USB port and try plugging it into another port on your computer. Should it work in i USB port but not another, you may have a dead USB port. See how to diagnose and ready expressionless USB ports if you doubtable this.

If you've plugged the bulldoze into a USB hub, try connecting it directly to the estimator instead. Some USB hubs don't provide plenty power for your external bulldoze to part.

What if the bulldoze doesn't show up in Disk Management fifty-fifty after trying both of these steps? It's tough to know for certain whether the drive is bad or your reckoner is having a problem. If you accept another computer nearby, try plugging the external deejay into that to bank check whether information technology'southward detected.

If the bulldoze doesn't piece of work on any computer you plug information technology into, the bulldoze itself is probable dead and you'll need to replace it. When you try another machine, exist certain to bank check whether information technology appears in the computer'southward Disk Management window, equally discussed to a higher place.

Even if it's working, the drive might non announced in the This PC panel of File Explorer if information technology lacks a volume that Windows can place.

4. Troubleshoot Device Driver Issues

If the drive does show up on other computers—or you don't take some other reckoner around to test it on—Windows may have a driver problem with your device. Y'all can cheque for this using the Device Manager.

Y'all'll find a shortcut to the Device Manager under the same Win + X card mentioned earlier. You can as well enter devmgmt.msc into the Run dialog to open it.

In the Device Manager, aggrandize the Deejay drives category and check for any devices with a yellowish exclamation indicate next to them. It's a skilful idea to bank check the Universal Serial Bus controllers section too.

If you run across the error symbol for any entry, that device has a driver trouble. Correct-click the device with the upshot, select Properties, and look at the error message under Device status. This info can help you fix the problem.

Device Manager USB Status

We've explored how to fix the "This Device Cannot Outset (Code 10)" error every bit well as fixes for "Unknown USB Device", which provide expert troubleshooting steps for driver problems. There are some more than full general steps you can take if those guides don't work for your effect, though.

Driver issues can be tricky to ready. If the trouble started recently, endeavor running Organization Restore to ringlet back the changes. If that doesn't help, you tin can right-click on the afflicted device in the Device Manager and use the Update Commuter button to install an updated driver.

Nonetheless, this rarely finds a new commuter for generic devices similar wink drives. Instead, you may want to check the manufacturer's website for a specific driver for your external hard drive; meet our guide to updating Windows drivers for more aid.

The Commuter tab that appears in the Properties menu for each device in the Device Manager has a few other options. Curlicue Dorsum Commuter volition revert any contempo driver updates (if applicative), which probably won't accept an event if System Restore didn't work.

As a final resort, you lot can employ the Uninstall Device push button to remove the device from your system. Upon rebooting, Windows volition then reinstall the driver and hopefully configure it correctly when you reconnect the drive.

Device Manager Driver Tab

5. Create a New Drive Book

If your device showed up in Disk Management in #2 earlier, or one of the above troubleshooting steps made Windows detect it, you're gear up to initialize the drive and so it's usable. Bated from showing you basic information, the Disk Management tool tin can besides fix partition and file system issues with your drive.

If your removable bulldoze shows but Unallocated space, you lot'll demand to create a new sectionalization on it. This allows Windows and other operating systems to employ the device. To brand a new partition, right-click anywhere on the Unallocated space, select New Simple Volume, and go through the wizard to create a new partition.

In one case the drive has a segmentation on information technology, you lot should be able to see it in This PC and use it as normal.

Windows Disk Management New Simple Volume

If your drive is partitioned (meaning it contains something other than just Unallocated space) and you all the same tin't see information technology elsewhere in Windows, ensure it has a drive letter set. This should happen automatically, but if you lot've manually removed the drive letter for some reason, the volume may not exist attainable in Windows.

To modify the drive letter of the alphabet, correct-click the removable drive's partition and select Modify Drive Letter of the alphabet and Paths. In instance the device doesn't already have a alphabetic character, click Add and choose one. If information technology does, click Alter and effort another ane.

Something later in the alphabet, similar G or J, is standard for removable drives and will piece of work fine. Avoid earlier messages like A andC, which are reserved by Windows for other purposes.

After changing the drive letter, you might want to display all drives in This PC to make sure information technology shows upward.

Windows Disk Management Assign Drive Letter

vi. Format the External Bulldoze

If the drive appears to be partitioned, but Windows still tin can't access it, it'southward probably partitioned with a different file system.

For instance, yous may have formatted the drive with the ext4 file arrangement from Linux, or APFS on a Mac. Windows can't read these file systems. You lot'll thus need to reformat the drive with a file system Windows can admission, such every bit NTFS, exFAT, or the older FAT32, and then Windows will recognize it.

To reformat a segmentation in the Disk Management utility, right-click it and select Format.

Windows Disk Management Format Device

Note that formatting will erase all files on your drive, so you should copy any important files on it to some other device before standing. If the drive is formatted for employ on a Linux or Mac machine, accept it to a computer running that Os to back up the files before you format it.

When you lot format, y'all can requite the drive a new name if you like. Leave Resource allotment unit of measurement size as Default; leaving Perform a quick format checked is fine besides. More importantly, you'll demand to select a file system. Which one you lot should choose depends on the type of drive and what y'all use it for.

Format Flash Drive Disk Management

Which File Arrangement Should I Cull?

If you have a minor flash drive, it probable came formatted every bit FAT32. Despite its age, this file format is still used for small storage devices due to its wide compatibility. Even so, information technology'south not a perfect choice.

FAT32 can't save files over 4GB, and only supports volumes upwards to 2TB. It'due south unlikely that you'll run across either of these issues using a flash drive, but they are still limitations. The primary reason to employ FAT32 is that information technology works with pretty much any device, such every bit cameras, media players, game consoles, and more.

exFAT, on the other paw, is a more modern successor to FAT32. It doesn't enjoy the same level of ubiquity of FAT32, but it's costless from the file size restrictions of the older format. exFAT too performs faster in tests.

Equally a result, we recommend exFAT for small removable devices similar flash drives, unless yous take a specific compatibility reason to utilise FAT32. Nosotros've compared FAT32 and exFAT if you're interested in a deeper await at the differences.

The other options is NTFS. This is the modern file system standard for Windows, but at that place's nothing to gain by using it on a flash bulldoze. Many older devices aren't compatible with NTFS, and information technology has a lot of overhead that's unnecessary on smaller drives.

It'south fine to use NTFS for large external hard drives that you lot will only employ with Windows computers. Just if you e'er plan to use the deejay with other machines, selection exFAT instead.

Now Your External Drive Is Recognized and Showing Upward Over again!

Following this process when external difficult drives don't evidence up should solve near of the disk recognition issues you'll meet. If you've tried the drive with multiple computers and it never shows up in the Deejay Direction window later on these steps, the drive is probably expressionless.

Thankfully, there are lots of slap-up choices for replacement external drives that don't cost a lot of coin.

The 7 Best Portable Hard Drives You Can Purchase Right Now

For expandable storage while on the become, you'll desire i of these best portable difficult drives.

Read Side by side

About The Author