So, you decided to add another drive or connect an external drive to your Windows computer. But, after connecting the new drive, nothing happens, and the drive is not showing up on the File Explorer.
How to Solved: Hard Drive Not Showing Up
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You have probably tried reconnecting the hard drive, but still no luck. Running into this kind of issue is frustrating, especially if you’ve just bought the drive.
What Causes Hard Drives to Not Show Up?
Most of the time, hard drives that are not showing up on your system are due to improper connections. Probably, the SATA or USB connector you use is broken.
For external hard drives, it is possible that the USB drivers for your device are not installed correctly. It is also possible that the problem is caused by a conflict with the drive letter assignment or the volume of your hard drive is not properly allocated. You can also check Mac Cleaner Apps
Fix 1: Initialize the Drive
If your hard drive failed to initialize, it is possible that a temporary error occurred on the MBR or Master Boot Record. Run Disk Management on Windows to fix this problem.
Step 1
Click the Windows + S key and search for ‘File Explorer’.
Step 2
Start File Explorer and right-click on This PC from the side menu.
Step 3
Click on Manage to launch Computer Management.
Step 4
On the side menu, click on Disk Management. Now, choose the Drive you wish to initialize and select MBR or GPT partition.
Fix 2: Allocate the Volume
Drives that are not showing up on File Explorer could have a volume that is not yet allocated. This means no program or application can read or write on that volume until it is allocated. Also review Backup Software
Step 1
Click Windows + S keys on your keyboard and search for ‘Create and Format Hard Disk Partitions.
Step 2
Right-click on the Unallocated Volume of your drive and choose New Simple Volume.
Step 3
On the Setup Wizard, click on Continue and follow the on-screen prompts to proceed.
Fix 3: Use Restoro
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Step 1
Download Restore System Repair Tool on your computer and install it.
Step 2
Hit the Start Scan button to start finding errors that can cause hard drives not to show up.
Step 3
Click on Repair All to apply the suggested fixes for your system.
Fix 4: Check the Connections
If your hard drive is not showing up on File Explorer and Disk Management, the issue may be with the cable you are using. Inspect the SATA or USB cable you are using and make sure that it doesn’t have physical damages like exposed wires.
Even if the connector doesn’t have physical damage, try to use a different cable to connect your hard drive and see if your system will detect it.
Fix 5: Change Drive Letter Assignment
In some cases, Windows might mix up the drive letter assignment on your system. It is possible that your new hard drive was assigned a drive letter that is already being used or wasn’t given a drive letter at all, which is why it is not showing up on File Explorer. You can also review another article Data Recovery
Step 1
Click Windows + R on your keyboard and type diskmgmt.msc.
Step 2
Click Ok to run Disk Management.
Step 3
Right-click on the drive that is not showing up on your system and choose Change Drive Letter and Paths.
Step 4
Click on Change and assign a unique letter to your drive.
Fix 6: Update Drivers (External Hard Drives)
If your external hard drive is not showing up, the issue could be related to your drivers. Possibly, the driver for your external drive was not installed properly, or it has a bug or error that needs to be patched up.
To do this, update the driver for your external hard drive.
Step 1
Click Windows + X key on your keyboard and click on Device Manager.
Step 2
Click on Universal Serial Bus Controllers and right-click on your hard drive driver.
Step 3
Click on Update Driver and follow the on_screen prompts to continue with the update process.
