The computer does not see the system disk. The hard drive does not show up on my computer. More detailed instructions

This article will help you understand what to do when the computer does not see the disk. Perhaps it will give you an idea of things that you did not know about, but “heard”. The main thing is that it will help you take concrete steps towards solving the problem or protect you from rash actions. To ensure this is the case, please do not try to treat this text as a step-by-step instruction. First, read the entire article, think about it, and only THEN start (or don’t start) acting.

1. How it happens

1.1. Alarm messages

– often this is the message that users see when they decide that their computer “does not see the disk.” Depending on the platform and type of equipment (computer, laptop or some kind of multimedia device), other alarm messages are possible: “ Correct hard disk not found», « WARNING! HARD DISK NOT FOUND! PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE!», « Internal hard disk drive not found», « Hard Disk Drive Failure», « …did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer" And so on. There is no point in listing everything. Their essence is clear - the computer does not see the disk. In addition to HDD, we can also talk about CD/DVD, flash media or ssd. But in the first part of this article we will dwell in detail on the hard drive, as a more widespread source of problems.

1.2. The hard drive may not be visible in the BIOS

If this is the only disk in this computer from which the operating system must boot, then you will probably see the following message on a black screen: .

Logical. Since the disk is not detected in the BIOS, it is impossible to boot from it.

If you boot from another device (another HDD, CD or flash, it doesn’t matter), then in the Computer Management -> Device Manager menu (depending on the version of the operating system this may look different) among the disks the disk we need is not defined.

In both of these cases, by going to the menu " Standard CMOS Features» BIOS‘And you can make sure that the disk you are looking for is not among the detected devices.

1.3. List of suspects and search for the culprit

So, the following may be suspect: power and data cables, the motherboard and the HDD itself. Connect the hard drive to other free cables to eliminate the first suspects.

Then, if you have another hard drive that you know is good, plug it in in place of the problem one to make sure it's not the motherboard. If there is none, then you can connect the disk itself to another computer and see that the picture is the same.

Naturally, this article is not addressed to specialists in data recovery or computer setup and repair. And if you have read this far, I dare to assume that you are not a specialist of this kind. Therefore, I will not describe possible ways to further study your drive by measuring the resistance on various parts of the electronics board with a tester or connecting the drive to special software and hardware systems, like the PC-3000. But on the other hand, for some reason I want to believe that smoke and a pungent smell, rhythmic tapping, grinding or other extraneous manifestations from the system unit or laptop would have long since seemed suspicious to you, and you immediately turned off the computer’s power. Thus, if any of the above occurred, then all the diagnostic steps described above are irrelevant. Your disk is faulty. And you yourself already understood this. It is worth noting that in this case you are probably dealing with a malfunction of the electronics or mechanics of the disk.

In this case, you should not perform unconscious actions: once again supply power to the disk, try to test it with some programs, disassemble it to find out what’s inside, unscrew and change the board, and so on. Stop and think carefully about your main goal. It is important to understand what scares you most in the current situation: the need to spend money on a new hard drive or the lack of access to important data. If you suddenly had to choose: a working disk, but without data, or data from this disk on another medium (yes, unfortunately, you will have to buy it). Which would you choose? Of course, one may not exclude the other, but you still need to ask yourself this question. The answer to it will help you understand what is important to you and what is secondary. And which part of this article will be more useful to you.

1.4. The system does not see the disk

It happens that the disk is detected in the BIOS, but not in Windows. More precisely, Windows cannot work correctly with this disk (or flash drive). For example, in the device manager you can see quite peaceful:

But if you look at the properties of this flash drive in this case, right-click on it and select the appropriate item in the drop-down menu, you will see:

And in the disk manager there is such a strange picture:

The OS does not see any properties of this disk, including its size. You may have suspected something was wrong when you saw that your E: and F: drives had disappeared from the system, and these are the letters that were assigned to the partitions of the hard drive that you connected second. Well, if the partitions of such a disk are not assigned letters when it is connected second, then it’s easy to guess what will happen if you try to boot from it. That's right, nothing will happen. The OS will not boot, and you will read one of the inscriptions listed at the very beginning of the article on a black screen. It is likely that this drive has problems with service information - firmware that was hardwired at the factory. Without it, the disk can be considered faulty, even if you saw that it was found in the BIOS. The same diagnosis can be made in almost all cases when the disk outwardly behaves as if it is fully working (that is, it is not silent, but spins up correctly and unparks the heads and does not make any extraneous sounds), but is not detected in the BIOS.

1.5. The system does not boot or slows down

Another situation is also possible. The disk is visible in the BIOS, but the system boots from it extremely slowly or does not boot at all. Moreover, even if such a disk is connected as a second one, even in this case Windows refuses to boot within a reasonable time. Sometimes, if in this case you listen to how the disk behaves, you can understand how it unsuccessfully tries to count the sectors it needs. And if Windows manages to boot, then with any movement it slows down terribly or freezes. The simplest operation of copying a small folder with data can turn into flour or lead to a nervous breakdown. There are probably bad blocks on this disk. And to tell the truth, trying to boot to it, much less from it, is harmful to this drive, especially to the data that is stored on it.

1.6. Logical drive not visible

Sometimes the user says that his computer does not see the disk even in situations where physically there is nothing wrong with the disk. As a device it is completely functional. It’s just that suddenly, when accessing familiar sections, inscriptions like “ The disk is not formatted. Should I format it?»

Or the disk began to be seen as an unallocated area. Sometimes such problems can be the result of bad blocks that have arisen unnoticed (not everything is in order with such a disk), but more often than not, some kind of program malfunction or a virus is to blame. The main thing in such a situation is not to do too much. It’s paradoxical, but it is precisely in such simple cases, when the disk is working, that users are most tempted to do at least something themselves, using available tools. The most common nonsense (Attention: none of the listed operations helps to return data!!!) - initialization, deleting partitions and creating new ones, full or quick formatting. And it’s really strange when this is done to save data. Allegedly, these are some kind of recovery programs that “force you to format the disk before using them.” It is likely that restoration in such cases will go to the same section, which is prohibited by all earthly laws.

2. What to do?

I will try to help you understand this issue. After all, people often don’t quite understand what they want. They were just scared. They pressed some buttons in some windows with some messages. The messages disappeared and were never read. Some processes have gone through. Has it gotten better or worse? How is it better?

2.1. We decide on the goals: repair or restoration

To ensure that your actions are conscious and do not cause you harm, let's first decide what your goal is. You have to choose - data recovery or repair. Yes exactly CHOOSE. And I have to write about this because it has been explained orally thousands of times. However, “Do you repair disks?” - one of the most popular questions. At the same time, people most often want to know something other than what they are asking. You have to “choose” because restoration and repair are not at all the same thing. What is the difference? In order of priorities. I propose that data safety and disk performance be considered two possible goals.

Then data recovery is a sequence of actions aimed at returning access to data from a problem disk by saving it on a known good (easily accessible to the user) medium. In this case, the subsequent operating state of the “problem” disk is a possible, but not necessary, side consequence of these actions.

HDD repair- this is bringing the disk into working condition. Recovering lost access to data is also just possible, But optional, side effect.

We often have to participate in such dialogues:
- Do you repair disks?
- Are you interested in repairs or data recovery?
- The data is fine. My disk is broken. You will help?
- Repair the disk - this means that you receive a working CLEAN, WITHOUT DATA, disk. Are you interested in this option?
- No! I need data too!
- This kind of “repair” of the disk, in which the data is saved, is called data recovery. In this case, the data is transmitted on a known good medium.
- Fine. So I need data recovery.

This is how difficult it can be to figure out your goals. And anyone who, without doing this, starts calling potential saviors risks participating in such nonsense:
- Do you repair hard drives?
- No.

Unbelievable but true! This dialogue, useless for both sides, has already taken place thousands of times. And it will happen many times in the future. (Depends where to call:)

I am sure that now you have clearly figured out what is more important to you.

2.2. If the goal is to repair the hard drive

I think you already understand how I feel about hard drive repair. I don’t care at all. I consider this a pointless exercise, namely a waste of time and money with the risk of subsequent even greater costs. I'm ready to explain. The cost of modern HDDs is so insignificant that repairs are simply unprofitable. Hard drives, unlike a car, are designed from the outset to be more cost-effective to manufacture with no plans for subsequent “maintenance” or repairs. They are riveted on machines in thousands of pieces. In terms of one disk, this is very cheap. And then it will become cheaper and cheaper. As for repairs, this must be the work of a highly qualified specialist with time costs from several minutes to several hours or days, CPU time, loading equipment worth tens or hundreds of thousands of rubles, using expensive or rare spare parts. How much could such work cost? Soooo, we need to think about it... At the same time, you need to fit in 1800 rubles - the cost of a new disk - an analogue of the one being repaired. And be prepared to repeat this work in the event of a warranty claim. No, I don’t even want to think about it. It’s strange that from time to time you have to deal with such “connoisseurs” of other people’s skills and working time, who are surprised that all this work is not done for 1000 rubles, preferably on location. :)

I agree that these are arguments from the repairman. And that the average user - the potential customer of the service - does not care about them at all. Although it would be worth understanding them. I think many specialists in various fields who know the value of themselves and their working time will agree with this.

But there are other, closer to the user, arguments against HDD repair. First, it's always better to get a new drive under warranty. Secondly, your hard drive is the most complex mechanical device in a computer. Suppose it, made at the factory, breaks down, and you cannot claim under warranty. A craftsman was found who repaired it, gave a 2-week guarantee, and verbally promised that “now the disk will work for a long time.” Do you need such a disk? Will you trust him? And now about money. To find out its current value, try advertising the sale of this HDD with a truthful story about its biography. I am sure that you spent more on repairs than you can get for this disk.

But things are not always so bad. After all, not in all the cases described above it can be said that the disk is faulty. And if the problem is purely software, then the problem of choosing between data and repair is not worth it. Sometimes software repair of partitions may be required, but the physical state of the disk does not change. And specialists in data recovery from hard drives can perform such repairs so that you get your data and, for example, do not have to reinstall the system.

2.3. If the goal is data recovery

When the disk is not visible, but data is needed, first of all you should make sure that the HDD is to blame. The first part of the article will help you with this. Let's say it's installed - the problem is in the disk. By the way, later in the article the type of digital media is not of fundamental importance. HDD can be changed to Flash, SSD and so on. Depending on what exactly happened to the media, recovering data from it can be simple or complex. It is clear that such an assessment is very subjective and everyone may have their own criteria. Therefore, I will describe mine.

If the problem can be solved by an advanced PC user (not a data recovery specialist) using the tools available to him, then this is a simple case. As a rule, these are logical problems on FAT and NTFS file systems and problems with the electronics board on some lines of older drives. Logical problems are solved software. Previously, a faulty board could often simply be replaced with an identical one, but a working one. Unfortunately, this is not the case on modern drives.

In other cases, expensive specialized software or equipment may be required, as well as knowledge and practical skills that only a data recovery specialist can have. Investing time and money in all of these tools is unlikely to pay off if you don't intend to turn digital data recovery into your craft.

2.4. I want to save money

If your case is simple and you really want to save a little money, you might be able to do it. Methods for solving some simple problems are the topic of a separate article. And in the near future you will be able to familiarize yourself with it. But I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the savings are small, since data recovery specialists also solve such problems for relatively little money. You have to pay more for data recovery in complex cases, but it is almost impossible to deal with them yourself. This reveals another factor that influences the price of restoration in specialized companies, which is usually not talked about: the availability of the means by which the problem is solved. In practice, this can manifest itself in higher prices, for example, for the recovery of disk service information compared to logical problems. Although the working time and effort of a specialist, restoring a HDD service almost always requires much less than a long, tedious scan of a disk with broken logic. It’s just that for this purpose, a specialist, unlike an “advanced user,” has knowledge, skills and a software and hardware system. But you can’t download this on the Internet.

2.5. How much is your data worth?

In many cases, it will be helpful for you to ask yourself this question. Yes, it can be very difficult to value in rubles something that has not been bought or sold. Perhaps, in addition to the cost of an alternative way to obtain this data, concepts such as nerves, time, memories, work done or upcoming work, and so on will be involved in the assessment. But it’s still worth trying and understanding at least the approximate cost of the data. This will help you avoid confusion and take the right steps.

2.6. Diagnostics won't hurt anyone

Even if the problem seems simple to you, and the cost of data is low and you hope to save money by solving it yourself, I strongly recommend using diagnostics from a specialized company. I think everyone will agree with me that two doctors can treat the same disease differently. And often both will achieve positive results. But no matter which method of treating a particular disease the doctor chooses, the chances of a favorable outcome will be negligible if he made a mistake in determining the disease itself. In the case where the disk is not visible, this also works. Yes, perhaps your skills, computer literacy and luck are enough to solve some simple data recovery problems. But isn’t it better to understand for sure that at least the problem is defined correctly? After all, an error in making a diagnosis is dangerous not only because recovery will not give a positive result, but also because further attempts will be complicated and the likelihood of a successful outcome will be reduced. And no matter how optimistic you are about your chances, it will be better to increase them. Moreover, you don’t have to pay for it, since there are enough companies on the market that provide diagnostics for free.

2.7. Making the right decisions

If You have chosen the right data recovery company, then as a result of the diagnosis you will receive answers to the following questions:

What is the nature of the malfunction?
Is data recovery possible?
How much will the restoration cost?
How soon will you receive your data?

Now you have all the information to make the right decision.

Situation 1. Of course, if the cost of recovery is higher than the cost of the data itself, you will refuse the company’s services. But now you know the correct diagnosis and it’s easier for you to assess your chances when trying on your own. If your assessment is optimistic, then try it. If you understand that you can’t cope, then it may make sense to postpone this problem for several months. Just put the disc away. Suddenly your financial capabilities or market prices, or restoration technologies change. It is possible that the value of lost data will change for you.

Situation 2. If the cost of the service (A) is approximately equal to the value of the data itself (B), then /B-A/ is a very insignificant value. This is the most difficult case for councils. I suggest you deal with it yourself, since logic is powerless here, and your heart can “tell you” what to do best. At the same time, your self-confidence (if you decide to restore the data yourself) will certainly be proportional to the values of A(=B).

Situation 3. If the cost of the service (A) is significantly less than the value of the data itself (B), in other words, B-A is a very large amount for you, then it is worth ordering this service, no matter how highly you value the possibility of self-recovery. After all, for a non-professional, great chances mean “most likely”. And we are not talking about the fact that you will definitely receive your data, but that you at least will not worsen the situation so much that “now nothing can be restored.” Well, how do you like the prospect of “most likely” not losing a very large sum for you?

2.8. Example from life

For those who really like to play roulette or slot machines for money, thinking of making money in this way, it is better to skip this point. The rest probably have an idea about money and probabilities, and this example will be understood correctly.

Making decisions is easier if the problem can be formalized. In addition, this saves time and nerves. Here's a small sample of how this can be done.

For example, A-B = 90,000 rub. This is what happened if you value your data at 100,000 rubles. (which means the financial assessment of the current situation is minus 100,000 rubles), and the company asked for 10,000 rubles for restoring data from a very damaged disk. Then the financial assessment of alternatives for further behavior will be as follows:

Alternative 1. Use the data recovery service - minus 10,000 rubles. (or +90,000 compared to current position)

Alternative 2. Leave everything as is - minus 100,000 rubles. (that is, we remain in the current position).

The benefits of the first alternative are obvious, so we discard the second. Yes, and in this case the result is negative. But the minus is small. After all, the problem still happened, but was solved. It would be strange to end up in the black. But let’s say you want to improve this alternative too: do it at lower costs or even do everything yourself. Even if the optimistic assessment of our own chances obtained above, which we called “most likely,” is taken as 75%, then the financial assessment Alternatives 3– “Do everything yourself” will be equal to minus 25,000 rubles. And this is worse than minus 10,000 rubles. Here some may argue that 75% is too little. Believe me, 75% is an overestimate. A realistic estimate of the probability of not losing data when trying to retrieve it at home from a disk with a large number of bad blocks is no more than 50%. And a score of 90% is absolutely fantastic. But only if the probability of self-recovery is greater than 90% will the financial assessment of the alternative “I’ll do everything myself” be better Alternatives 1.

Yes, this example uses fictitious but concrete numbers. The problem may be different and it will cost differently. This applies to both the value of your information and probability estimates. But I hope this example will help you formalize your task with your data. Who knows, maybe the result will be different.

conclusions

So we looked at what to do if the computer/laptop/camera does not see the disk. Obviously, the purpose of the article is to help you choose the right path to solve the problem and not make mistakes by choosing this path. The article contains links useful both to those who decide to fight for their data on their own, and to those who will look for professionals. Well, in the text itself, I tried to analyze in as much detail as possible all the arguments “for” and “against” certain steps that should be taken into account.

The need for this article is due to my understanding of what confusion is going on in the minds of numerous victims. We are talking about thousands of processed calls from potential and current clients for data recovery, when the person is in a state of confusion and is wondering what to do. The desire to help them with their problem forced me not only to answer their not always conscious questions, but to ask my own. And now these answers that people gave to themselves were almost always much more useful. And it was they who allowed me to write this article, putting in writing those ideas that have already been discussed orally many thousands of times with people who turn to us for help. Since at the moment thousands of people are already grateful to me, I hope that this article will help you too. In turn, I thank everyone who, having found themselves on this page and having read the recommendation at the beginning of the article, read it to the end. Now take action.

When using the materials of this article in full or in part, an active hypertext link to the site is required.

Recovering data from a hard drive is not a difficult task if you approach it with certain knowledge. But sometimes the problem turns out to be more serious: the disk is not detected by the computer, and therefore it is not possible to read information from it. Is it possible to recover data from a dead hard drive if it is not visible in the system? Let's try to answer this difficult question.

Diagnosing the problem

The first step is to determine why the hard drive is not detected in the system. There are several reasons for this unpleasant situation:

The hard drive is disabled in the BIOS.
The jumpers are set incorrectly (relevant when using an IDE interface).
The data transmission cable or the drive itself is damaged (burned out, the read head is jammed, etc.).

First, you should check the BIOS: if the hard drive is connected via the SATA interface, then you need to make sure that it is detected automatically. If the hard drive is connected via IDE, then you need to manually specify it in the “Primary IDE Master” parameter.

If you can't make these settings yourself, try resetting your BIOS to factory settings. You can do this in two ways:

Remove the lithium battery from the motherboard and wait a bit.
Select the “Load Setup Defaults” item on the “Exit” tab in the BIOS.

If the BIOS does not allow you to specify the hard drive (it is not detected even at the basic level), then you need to check it for mechanical damage.

Mechanical failure

Disassemble the system unit and check the data cable and power cable that are connected to the hard drive. They must be in full working order: no creases, kinks or cracks are allowed. If you see some kind of physical defect, try replacing the cable - sometimes this helps, and the hard drive is then detected by the system.

Another very common problem is oxidation of the contacts under the controller board. You can fix this problem yourself using an eraser and a small screwdriver.

If cleaning the contacts does not help, then the problem lies in the HDA itself. It is not recommended to open it yourself, since at home it is impossible to create the “clean room” conditions necessary to troubleshoot problems inside the sealed unit.

Using recommendations for turning an ordinary bathroom into a “clean room” or advice like “sharply hit the disk case” should not be used on your disk - after such an impact, there is a high probability that the information will never be recovered at all, even in a service center. If the disk burns out, then you won’t be able to repair it yourself.

Hard drive recovery

If the disk is not visible in the system and it is impossible to boot from it, then try restoring it through another computer. Simply put, a faulty hard drive can be connected as a second drive via the SATA interface or an external pocket with a USB output.

It is clear that if the disk burns out, then no amount of pockets will help it - here you need to use more technological recovery methods that are not available to ordinary users. In other cases, a broken hard drive can be detected and checked using utilities such as Victoria HDD, HDD Scan, HDD Regenerator or Norton Disk Doctor.

The first three programs test the surface of a non-working disk, searching for and, if possible, correcting bad sectors. Norton Disk Doctor works with logical structures, eliminating problems identified in them. There is no universal tool, so sometimes you have to use several utilities at once.

Let's look at the procedure for checking a disk using the HDD Scan program as an example:

The scan manager will appear at the bottom, where there is a “Map” tab. Go to it - here the progress of checking the disk surface is shown in graphical mode. Normal sectors are colored in shades of gray, blue sectors are bad blocks that cannot be read.

Return of lost information

If HDD Scan says that everything is bad with the disk, then you need to start restoring damaged important data as quickly as possible. You can use different utilities, but we’ll see how to recover lost information and save it in another location using the R-Studio program:

Once the scan is complete, a complete list of information that can be recovered will appear. Select the files you need and save them on another medium.

easyrecover.ru

Hard drive is not detected - how to fix the situation?

It happens that the hard drive on a computer suddenly stops working. This can happen when it is vital for you to get some file from the drive. What to do in such a situation? Let's consider the situation in more detail.

To troubleshoot problems, check that the equipment is connected and configured correctly

Behavior

Before proceeding with repairs and other actions, we advise you to find out why the OS cannot detect your hard drive. Device behavior may vary:

The device is not visible in the BIOS
appearance of strange messages when starting the OS
in Windows interface the memory size is 0 bytes
OS won't load
The logical drive is not visible.

As we can see, there are many factors. If the problem is identified with logic, then the user at some stage of using the PC begins to receive messages when working with one of the partitions “The disk is not formatted.” This indicates that the system has begun to identify the disk as an unallocated area. This is a well-known phenomenon; both a virus program and bad blocks can harm the disk. The problem is completely solvable in the first case, the second means that things are bad with the drive. However, the issue can be resolved realistically; the main thing is not to do unnecessary, impulsive manipulations. Do not create partitions, there is no need to delete old ones, initialize anything or format.

If we talk about inscriptions, this is information like “hard disk drive failure”, “drivers not found”, “disk boot failure” and the like. All these phrases mean that the PC cannot recognize the device. Such messages may also appear when working with DVDs or CDs, SSD drives or a regular flash drive.

You can understand whether the disk is visible through the BIOS if you log into this system at startup and examine the “Standard CMOS Features” menu.

Diagnostics

The device is not visible for various reasons. It is important to check the motherboard, power cables, the device itself and the software. To reduce the list of potential pests, you need to connect the device to a free cable and try to work with them.

If you have another disk at hand, and you know that it is probably working, then plug it in instead of the faulty one. This will help ensure that the motherboard is functioning correctly. It is also better to connect your “invisible” drive to another PC - perhaps the reason is a software component? If this is the case, then there are a number of methods that help return everything to its place without using the services of expensive specialists.

Note! If you do not have experience in repairing computer components, and through the manipulations described above it has become clear that the problem is in the software itself, then take the computer to a service center. They will tell you whether it is realistic (and how expensive) to repair the device. An extreme case is to forget about the lost files and purchase a new hard drive.

First check the settings of this system. Getting into the BIOS is easy; hold down the Del or F2 key while loading the OS. A possible failure of the computer settings is indicated by an incorrect system date in the BIOS. A simple reset will help solve the problem; to do this, remove the battery from the motherboard for a few minutes. Wait half an hour before returning the component. It's funny, but sometimes this is enough to improve the performance of the drive.

The device may also be lower on the priority list. This parameter is checked in the “Boot” section. Make sure the HDD is at the top of the priority list.

Power problem

The disc does not click or crack, but appears and disappears from time to time? In this case, the main problem is probably a lack of power, and a buzzing sound may indicate this (the operating cycles are changing). Buying a powerful power supply will help improve functionality. You can also try to disconnect a less important component.

OS problems

BIOS “sees” the device, but Windows doesn’t? Adjust compatibility manually. To do this, follow these steps:

This method often helps inexperienced users bring their hard drive back to life.

Often a component does not work due to file system incompatibility. NTFS is suitable for adequate operation. In Disk Management, you can examine which option is installed on your PC. If the system is different, then it is better to reformat the disk.

Equipment conflict

If two drives of the same brand are plugged into a PC, then this is what sometimes causes conflicts. Check and configure each drive separately to avoid this situation.

Problem with contacts

A very banal factor is the lack of contacts. Reconnecting the wires will help correct the defect. Remove the cover, disconnect from the power, turn off and plug the cables back into the hard drive. If nothing has changed, then use another pair of wires. Do not forget that the device can be connected to the board through two main connectors (black and blue). The blue connector is responsible for external reading; connect to it.

Tire

SATA II (SATA), which is required for many modern drives, may not be supported by older operating systems. The solution is simple - reinstall Windows. If you do not want to work with a more recent OS, then reinstall the old one by installing special drivers for the required interfaces. You can find out what drivers your system needs on the motherboard developers website. Its type is registered in the properties (right-click on “My Computer”).

NastroyVse.ru

The computer does not see the hard drive: what is the reason and how to fix it

All “advanced” computer users have encountered this situation. It happens that the disk categorically refuses to be detected in the OS.

And it’s good, we only ate in the system. There are several reasons for this disk behavior. The most common is the presence of “broken” sectors. But first things first.

The computer does not see the hard drive. What is the reason and how to fix it?

The answer to this question varies depending on how the hard drive is not detected. If the disk is detected when the BIOS boots and is not visible in Windows, then this is not so bad. Perhaps it's a driver issue.

Or the boot sector, which contains the information necessary for connection, is located in a damaged area. Then the OS does not see the partition table and reports that “The disk is not formatted.” You can fight this.

Moreover, standard functions of Windows OS. It is much worse if the disk is not detected when the computer boots.

In some cases, the HDD is not detected in the BIOS. There are many reasons for this: a glitch in the BIOS itself, damage to the HDD, faulty wires, incorrect jumper position, etc. It is possible to restore the functionality of the hard drive.

But sometimes you have to worry about buying a new storage medium. What should I do to make my computer see my hard drive?

If the disk is not detected in the BIOS

The first priority in this case is to determine the cause of the malfunction. It's not that simple here. If the disk is not visible in the BIOS, then this is a complete problem, because the reasons may be different. And it’s good if it’s not a boot disk with the OS installed.

If the hard drive does not want to be detected in the BIOS, try the following solutions to the problem:

Reset BIOS settings to default. It happens that the basic input/output system sometimes “glitches”. After resetting the settings everything should work fine.
In the BIOS settings related to the hard drive, disable AHCI mode. Sometimes the disk does not want to be detected due to this option being enabled.
Try updating your BIOS. Sometimes new firmware versions fix “bugs” and “glitches” of previous versions. It is possible that after the update everything will work.
Check the connection loops by connecting others. Over time, the wires connecting the HDD to the motherboard fail. Check their functionality by replacing the wires.
Checking jumpers. If two HDDs are connected to the computer and both of their jumpers are in the “Master” position, one of them will not be detected. It is necessary to change the position of the jumper by selection.
Last option. Connect the HDD to another computer. If the disk is not detected there, then it’s time to scrap it.

If the above methods did not help, then everything is very bad with the disk. And here a dilemma arises: restore data or repair the disk. It's not the same thing. When restoring data, the disk is not repaired, but simply thrown away.

When the disk is repaired, the data disappears. Considering the cost of modern HDDs, there is no point in repairing them. And there is no guarantee that after repair it will last long. But the data can be restored. And transfer them to a new HDD. But this is already the worst case scenario.

If the drive is not detected in Windows

Let's assume that the BIOS detects the hard drive. But Windows OS categorically refuses to see it. What to do in this case? The system may not see the HDD for several reasons.

The most common of them: the presence of “broken” sectors and problems with drivers. In the first case, there is little we can do. But in the second, you can try to reinstall the drivers.

If the system greets us with the message “The disk is not formatted,” then this is a sign that the boot sector has been damaged. As a result, the OS is unable to read the information required to connect this disk. There is a solution to this problem. Go to the “Start” menu, select “Run” and enter the combination “cmd”.

The command line opens. In it, enter the command “chkdsk drive letter: /F /R”. This command runs a disk check. Key "F" - automatic error correction, key "R" - data recovery. The process may take a long time.

Depending on the volume and degree of clutter of the disk. There are 99 chances out of a hundred that after this procedure the OS will see the hard drive.

If it's the drivers, then we need to reinstall them. To do this, go to “Device Manager”, look for the HDD designation and click the “Uninstall driver” button. After this, the computer needs to be restarted.

After the reboot, the system itself will try to install the driver for the unknown device. In most cases this is enough. But if this does not happen, go to the “Device Manager”, click on the icon with the device we need and select the “Update drivers” item. The OS itself will find the appropriate driver and install it.

After this, we restart the computer and rejoice at the determined hard drive.

If all else fails

If the above methods did not give any result, then the HDD has “died”. There is only one thing left to do - try to recover the data. You can do this yourself, but it is better to entrust it to professionals.

If you decide to recover your data yourself, there are several good programs that can help you. However, all of them are good only if the hard drive is detected at least in the BIOS.

Recuva is perhaps the most famous data recovery program. It can recover almost any type of file. A positive quality of the utility is that it is completely free.

However, the percentage of information recovered is not that high. But the application is entirely in Russian and has a simple and intuitive interface. Managing this product is easy.

R-Studio is the coolest data recovery utility. This monster will restore everything without any questions asked. It can retrieve data from a disk even after formatting it.

Flexible program settings allow you to adjust the recovery process depending on the type of files. The program has only one drawback - you have to pay to use it. Because the unregistered version cannot recover large amounts of data.

However, it makes sense to spend money on the full version in order to further protect yourself from the threat of losing all the necessary files.

Seagate File Recovery is a powerful program. It will find and restore everything that is possible even on an undetectable HDD. The utility is undemanding to system resources and is free. But there is one significant drawback.

The application works exclusively with hard drives from Seagate. The utility does not notice HDDs from other manufacturers at all. Considering that most users use hard drives from this manufacturer, the appearance of this utility on this list is quite justified.

Data Rescue PC is an excellent tool designed to work with disks outside the operating system. The program loads as a Live CD and can work even with heavily damaged disks.

This utility can restore everything. It will be especially useful in cases where the system disk is damaged and the OS does not want to boot.

Despite all the professional “goodies” and the Live CD mode, the utility has a pleasant and intuitive interface. The program is completely free and does not require activation.

Using all these programs, you can try to extract at least some information from a damaged hard drive. If they don’t help, then you need to turn to professionals.

Such an appeal will cost a lot, so it’s worth considering whether the information stored on a damaged HDD is really needed. Perhaps the best solution would be to simply buy a new hard drive.

Conclusion

Thanks to this mini instruction on the topic “The computer does not see the hard drive. What is the reason and how to fix it? many users can save time, money and stress. If we summarize everything that is written above, we can say that in most cases, problems with a hard drive are reversible.

Even if it is damaged, there are ways to extract information from it. With the help of specialized programs this can be easily achieved. To prevent such unpleasant situations from arising, use the “Check Disk” system option more often. Checking and fixing errors will help keep your HDD in good health.

vacenko.ru

Hard drive is not detected: instructions for solving the problem

If the hard drive is not detected and this is the drive on which the operating system used to boot is located, then the BIOS will begin to show notifications that it is not installed and it is impossible to start Windows.

The result is that Windows will not work. However, it is still possible to enter the BIOS settings, since the BIOS is not located on the hard drive, but is part of the motherboard. Is the BIOS loading? Now fine. Go into CMOS settings and see if the drive not found is enabled.

If the problem occurs for no apparent reason, it can be assumed that either the device itself is faulty or there is a problem with the BIOS settings. Now you can open the system unit and inspect the drive itself. Perhaps the contacts in the connectors simply came loose. If everything seems fine, you can still try disconnecting and reconnecting the data and power cable.

Hard drive problems

Since the hard drive is a mechanical device, its malfunction is quite common. A problem with the unit itself may be indicated by strange sounds during its operation or their complete absence.

If it does not spin and its body does not vibrate, either the power supply has stopped or the hard drive itself has broken down. The easiest way to check its serviceability is to replace it with a similar one.
If a new drive is detected, then the hard drive is definitely out of order.

Is it worth repairing these devices? The cost of repair may even exceed the price of a new one. Most likely, it does not need to be repaired, but if important documents were stored on it, you can try to restore all this data at a service center.

It may also be that the drive has damaged sectors, logical partitions, or broken data blocks. This could be due to the computer becoming infected with a virus. Such devices should be replaced immediately, otherwise malfunctions may continue on the motherboard and central processor.

If you have recently installed an additional drive

When connecting new equipment, you must set connection priorities correctly. Which hard drive should be considered by Bios as the main one, and which one as the auxiliary one. Priorities are set by correctly placing jumpers on the back of the devices themselves.

As a rule, the master drive must be connected to the outermost connector of the loop, and the auxiliary drive to the intermediate one. An incorrect connection can also cause the hard drive to not be detected. How exactly to insert jumpers correctly - the diagram is located on the top of the hard drive case. The connection diagram is different for different brands of devices.

Bios settings are lost

Why might the BIOS settings change? A viral infection may have occurred. If other problems appear in the BIOS, a virus is quite likely to enter the system.

To reset the BIOS settings to default, you need to find a small battery on the motherboard and remove it for a few seconds, and then put it back in place. After this, a new session on the computer will begin with attempts to detect connected Bios devices. If it was just the settings, the drive should be determined.

Problems with the power supply

If new modules were installed in the computer, the old power supply may not be able to handle the increased power consumption. There is little current supplied to the hard drive, so it does not rotate. And if it doesn’t spin, it’s as if it doesn’t exist. The problem with the power supply is checked by installing a more powerful source. Or, if there is nothing to replace it with, disable the newly added blocks and see if the computer’s functionality will be restored. If everything works again, you need to look for a more powerful power source.

The hard drive is not detected at the device manager level

If the BIOS still detects it, and Windows boots from another drive, you can check whether the drive you are looking for is in Device Manager. The problem may be caused by previously created virtual drives. The system switched to recognizing them, and the physical devices were disabled as unnecessary.

Such a nuisance sometimes arises when using special software on a computer for managing, recording, or creating virtual machines. The management and settings of such programs are quite complex and it is easy to make some erroneous actions.

Sometimes the problem goes deep into the registry and then even deleting virtual devices and the program itself does not help. What to do? As a reasonable solution, you can consider formatting and reinstalling the operating system. This way you can get rid of viruses at the same time. And the updated Windows OS always works faster and better than the old one.

External drive not detected

External devices with huge amounts of memory are increasingly becoming common among PC users. Why can't my external drive be found by my computer? The easiest way to make sure it is working is to connect it to another computer. If it doesn’t work there either, there is a malfunction in the hard drive itself or problems in the power and data cables.

Cable connectors must be carefully inspected to ensure that the plugs are seated tightly in the ports. Poor contact along the circuits will completely lead to the absence of a disk both in the BIOS and in the system.

If the external drive has a separate cable for connecting power, you need to check whether it is connected. Measure the voltage at the contactor. If there is little energy, the disk will also not work normally.

fsch.com

Recovering lost data from hard drive

Many computer users have encountered (and will continue to encounter) the fact that they may need to recover data from a hard drive. It is enough to imagine a situation where a user is working on a computer and tries to access documents or some important files stored on the hard drive, but, to his surprise, discovers that the necessary data cannot be opened.

This situation may arise as a result of HDD failure. There can be many reasons for a drive to malfunction, and to decide whether deleted data can be recovered and how to do it, you will have to try a little. I’ll say right away that there is no need to panic ahead of time, because many problems can be solved on their own. There are several data recovery methods that you can try yourself before turning to the experts.

3 reasons for erasing information

Loss of information can be due to a number of factors, but 3 of them are considered the most common.

Firstly, sometimes a user accidentally deletes an important folder, empties the Recycle Bin, or even formats a hard drive by mistake.
Secondly, the problem may be software related. In this case, you can try to restore the files in some way.
Thirdly, the cause of data loss may be related to a problem with the hard drive itself. Given the complexity of modern drives, it's not surprising that something might go wrong somewhere. If the HDD suffers from some kind of system or hardware error, then the average user is unlikely to solve the problem on his own. In this case, it is best to contact a special service that can restore files from the disk. However, there are a certain number of errors that you can try to solve yourself.

Data recovery using special programs

Now let's look at how to recover data from a hard drive using various software and utilities. If you lose data, you need to act as quickly as possible. If the drive is connected to a running system, then with every second the chances of its recovery decrease.

The operating system constantly writes and reads data from the hard drive, regardless of whether the user is using the computer or not. Typically, a deleted directory is perceived by the system as free space, which is why it can overwrite this area, reducing the chances of recovering information.

Procedure

You must shut down the computer to which the damaged drive is connected. After this, the archive of files will be safe from overwriting, so you can clone it and try to restore data from an exact copy. There are several cloning methods. Then you will need to use programs to recover information. Many different applications have been developed for this purpose and some of them are distributed free of charge.

Recuva is a good program for recovering deleted files that does not require any investment. A program for recovering files from an external hard drive, called Zero Assumption Recovery, is suitable for those who are willing to spend money on a good application.

Data recovery in case of hardware failures

How to recover deleted files from hard drive? Finding the remaining information using the software is very convenient. But what to do if the erased disk is not even detected by the operating system? Sometimes it happens that the computer sees folders and files, but freezes when trying to access them. In the worst case, the disk may be completely disabled, as a result of which it will not even spin up. It is necessary to study the main components of the drive and try to understand which of its components could break. Different breakdowns may be accompanied by different symptoms:

The PCB is a chip that is attached to the bottom of the drive (usually green). This is where the main controller (equivalent to the processor on the motherboard) is located, along with other electronic components. This interface converts binary code into information that a computer can understand.

Platter is one or more thin round plates. On regular consumer HDDs, they rotate around their axis at speeds from 5900 to 7200 rpm. This is exactly the element on which the data is stored. It is made of glass or various alloys and coated with a magnetic layer, thanks to which it can store up to 4 TB of information.

Head Assembly are special heads for reading and writing data. Interestingly, during their work they do not come into contact with the surface of the plate. These heads are located slightly above the surface of the disk. Typically, each plate has 2 such devices. A large HDD with 3 platters is equipped with 6 heads. Such devices may be damaged by shock or strong shaking. As a result, they stop floating above the plates and come into direct physical contact with them, which is why information on the hard drive begins to be erased at a speed of several thousand revolutions per minute.

Firmware is software built into the HDD, which is a mini operating system that provides access to the data storage. Most of this firmware is stored on platters. A relatively small share is received by the microcircuit, which is necessary to start the drive. The firmware may fail, causing data to become inaccessible.

Unfortunately, hard drive firmware is not the same as for smartphones and tablets, so it cannot be updated or downgraded to a previous version. Each HDD model has its own unique modules and parameters. Programmers sometimes joke that every hard drive has a complex character.

What to do if the disk does not spin

How to recover information from a hard drive if it does not spin. This is exactly the case when the user has a good chance of recovering deleted files. But in this case, some effort and time will be required. If the drive does not make any sounds when connected to power, then with a 99% probability the problem lies in the RSV. For older drive models, it was possible to find a suitable chip from another drive to make a replacement. Technologies and architectures have changed with new disks. Now each HDD contains unique microcode. In modern conditions, replacing RSV has almost no chance of success and can be dangerous for the surviving data.

There are 2 possible reasons for the failure of the IC: the TVS diode (fuse) has failed due to a short circuit, or some other vital component has been damaged. Drive boards often have 2 TVS, which protect the drive from voltage surges. Typically, 1 of them is rated at 5 V, and 2 are rated at 12 V. If the user accidentally connects the wrong power adapter to the hard drive, or there is a voltage surge, the diode may fail. If, as a result of a short circuit, only the TVS is damaged, and the remaining components of the chip are in perfect order, then removing the diode will be enough to restore the HDD’s functionality.

The condition of the diode can be checked using a multimeter. If the meter shows 0 ohms or something like that, then the TVS has indeed shorted. Diode failure may be accompanied by a noticeable burning odor and visual changes similar to burns. It must be borne in mind that once the diode is removed, the drive will remain defenseless, so the power supply must be uninterruptible and reliable.

If the TVS does not smell burnt and shows the correct numbers when measured, then the problem lies with the PCB itself. In this case, the chip needs to be replaced. Most ICs have an 8-pin ROM chip that contains the unique firmware needed to run the drive. The replacement will only work if the element is transferred from the old PCB to the new one. Some hard drives (especially Western Digitals) do not have this 8-pin chip. Instead, the firmware is stored in the main controller, which is virtually impossible to detach.

If you want to replace the chip, it must be suitable. You can find specialists who perform similar operations. Some of them even offer ROM replacement, saving the user the hassle of using a soldering iron. If the RSV is the only damaged component, and all other elements are in order, then after replacement the disk should work again. Another element of the microcircuit that needs to be checked is the contacts. They can corrode over time, but can be easily cleaned with a rubber band.

What to do if the drive makes clicking noises or freezes

How to recover files from a hard drive? Strange sounds are a serious problem associated with read and write heads. If these devices break down, they begin to damage the information plates. In any case, this is a job that only professionals can do. The drive must be opened in a special laboratory and the damaged head replaced in order to get to the deleted data. If the disk makes clicking noises, it is better to turn it off and leave it alone in order to later send it to a special company that specializes in restoring drives. It is not recommended to turn on a HDD with such a failure, as its condition may worsen even further.

How to recover files on your hard drive? Freezing means that the disk has begun to demagnetize. A large number of “bad” sectors appear on it, which the drive unsuccessfully tries to read, which is why it eventually freezes. This type of problem usually occurs over time and can only be solved by using professional data recovery equipment called “Hard Imager”. If you examine the hard drive using SMART technology, you will notice a large number of redistributed sectors to confirm your suspicions. You can save the scan results and send them to experts who will handle the recovery.

If you still want to carry out this operation yourself, at the risk of exacerbating the problem and destroying the remaining data, then you can try using Hard Imager yourself. But you need to take into account that such software runs through the BIOS. An alternative option is the free application "dd_rescue", which runs in a Linux environment. It can skip all the bad sectors on the external drive and save the remaining information.

What to do if the drive beeps when you turn it on

A squeak-like sound means the HDD is trying to spin up, but is unable to do so. The problem can only be caused by serious mechanical damage. The most common possible cause is a phenomenon called "stiction". When the disk is not in use, its heads can be located in the center or on the edge. As mentioned above, these devices do not touch the plates, but float above them. Sometimes the head may be in the wrong position, causing the disc to stop rotating. Due to the extremely smooth surface of the plates and heads, they can literally stick to each other. The disk must be opened in the laboratory, where faulty elements must be replaced with new ones.

Another reason may be a breakdown of the motor - the mechanism that spins the plates with information. It may jam if the hard drive takes a hit. Such a failure is quite rare, except for Seagate drives, which have an extremely fragile motor. There are 2 ways to solve this problem, but in both cases you will need professional intervention. You can replace the engine, or vice versa - remove the plates along with the heads and install them on another mechanism.

What to do if the hard drive is not detected

Typically, this indicates problems with the firmware. Several years ago, this error associated with Seagate products was widespread. Many drives running SD15 firmware suffered from internal system failures. This error has caused a large number of hard drive crashes. In those days, such failures could be resolved independently, but modern HDDs, as a rule, require the intervention of professionals.

Let's sum it up

So, in some cases you may need a data recovery program. Sometimes the loss of information may be due to the fact that the user accidentally deleted it. If the disk shows no signs of life at all, then the problem lies in the PCB chip. If the drive makes unusual sounds and generally behaves strangely, you need to hand it over to professionals who will restore the information on the hard drive. Any attempts to independently search for missing information are risky. If the disk being restored actually contained vital data, then it is better to spend a certain amount of money and give the HDD to a recovery service.

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Greetings, dear readers.

Sometimes users encounter a situation where the computer cannot detect the hard drive. Moreover, this situation is accompanied by various symptoms. Today I will try to tell you why Windows does not see the hard drive under certain conditions.

Sometimes computer users encounter a situation where the device does not see the HDD when installing Windows. The problem is mostly due to a lack of the right drivers. This usually occurs when " Conductor"There is no desired partition, but the BIOS sees what it needs. There are several options for solving the disease:

After installation( )

Sometimes the memory may not be shown after installing the OS. Or as a result of connecting to a new computer. In this case, the first thing you need to check is the correct connection.

In addition, the second hard drive can often simply be turned off in the system to speed up work. To change the situation, you need to do a number of actions:

In the first case, right-click on the disk name. Select " Initialize" Specifying the structure GPT or MBR(not always). It is recommended to use the latter. At the end you will get the “Unallocated” area.

Then right-click on this segment again and select “ Create a simple volume».

We follow the wizard's instructions.

After this, the second hard drive should appear in Explorer. Sometimes the device needs to be rebooted.

The last option can be solved by right-clicking on the desired area and selecting “ Format" Sometimes assigning a letter can help.

In AHCI mode( )

The mechanism itself is designed for devices connected via the SATA protocol. It allows you to use additional functions that speed up your work.

Sometimes there are situations in which the device is in AHCI simply not defined. In this case, if you turn it off, everything starts to function normally.

There is a solution to the problem, although it may be somewhat painful for many users. To do this, we need an installation disk with Windows 10 or other latest versions of Microsoft OS. So, we need to do a number of actions:

External device( )

Many users come across a situation where their system for some reason does not accept an external hard drive. As usual, this can be for various reasons.

For example, often a HDD-USB just purchased from a store may simply not be formatted. The solution is simple - using built-in or third-party utilities, we produce everything necessary.

In addition, drivers can also become a problem. You can find this out simply - try connecting the equipment to other units. If everything is fine on them, then the solution is simple:

To do this, right-click on the element and select the desired line. If the system cannot automatically find what it needs, we go to the official website of the removable device or motherboard. We find suitable software and install it.

In addition, you can use a special program that automatically finds and installs everything you need. I have already mentioned it more than once and talked about it in previous articles.

Another, albeit drastic, but effective method is to reinstall Windows.

Moreover, it is worth noting that it is better to find a clean image, without any additions. This often helps when using components with large amounts of memory, for example, 3 Terabytes.

MacOS( )

I would like to separately tell you that similar problems often arise among users who, in addition to Windows, also use Mac OS. The fact is that the latest operating system supports interaction with different hard drive manufacturers. But at the same time, for constant stable operation you need to use only certain ones. And unfortunately, it is not yet possible to solve this situation differently.

There are cases in which a normally turned on computer, after a normal boot process, displays the message “ Operating system not found". This can only tell us that our OS was unable to detect the required system files to boot. If in your practice you have encountered this kind of problem, then thanks to these instructions you can get rid of this problem.

Reasons why Windows 7 will not be able to see the hard drive

There are several reasons why the system does not see the hard drive:

The hard drive is damaged
The Master Boot Record (MBR) of Sector O is damaged or has errors.
Incorrectly set priority of disks responsible for which disk the operating system will be loaded from.
It also often happens that in BIOS There is an error in your computer, and because of it there is no way to detect the hard drive.
Among the hardware reasons, we can name the following: the interface cable that connects the computer and the hard drive is damaged, then it needs to be replaced and checked. And for SATA It is best to choose a cable that has metal latches.
If you just installed a new hard drive and did not have time to properly prepare it and create partitions, then Windows 7 definitely won't see him. To solve this issue, simply download the program Acronis Disc Director and quickly split our disk into partitions. Just don't mix up the discs!

Now let's try to solve the problem. To begin with, we need to find the item "" by clicking on the icon " My computer» using the right button of your mouse.

Then in the paragraph " Computer management", select the sub-item "". Next, feel free to right-click on the required disk and then select an item such as “ Change drive letter«.

You definitely can't go wrong further. In order to swap two disks, you will have to rename them several times. First, you will need to replace the letter on any of the drives with an unallocated one: drive “D”, for example, change to “X”, and drive “E” to “D”, then you can change the former drive “D”, and now "X" - to "E".

Windows 7 does not detect hard drive after system reinstallation

Very often there are cases when, after reinstalling the OS, the hard drive ceases to be visible.Then it will help with this problemthis instruction.

If you have a case in which Windows 7 cannot detect the hard drive due to a conflict coming from the motherboard, then first try downloading the necessarydrivers for your computer's motherboard. Save them to disk and downloadthesedrivers to the root folder of your OS. To do this, insert your driver disk into the drive and after restarting the computer, click the " F6«.

Another way to solve the problem. While the computer is booting, you need to go toBIOS (read how to do this), and in the settings of the system itself, find the parameter responsible for disablingAHCI, and only when you disable this setting will the hard drive be found immediately. You will see how to do this in the pictures below.

If this does not help you, then you need to tackle such a difficult task as integrating driversSATA, or even have to download entire driver packages. Also, there is a possibility that integrating all driver packages along with their updates will help. And they need to be integrated into the OS distribution using any of the methods presented below.

In order to select the necessary drivers and updates, you need to go to the website of your motherboard manufacturer (in order to quickly find out the motherboard model, read).

The solution to this problem is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. In most cases, users who have installed or reinstalled the operating system encounter this problem. Don’t immediately panic and call service centers to have a specialist come to your home, first try BIOS disable option like AHCI, then try to integrate all the motherboard drivers into your computer's distribution.

If the above does not help, then try to determine how the connector is connected HDD, and how correct. This very device, thanks to which it is possible to connect a hard drive to the motherboard, has only two connectors - black and blue, which should be connected to the hard drive, since it works more stably.

Updated: 2018-10-05 / Victor Trunov

The problem when the hard drive does not appear on the computer is extremely common. This can happen with both the built-in and the hard drive.

But before you try to correct the situation and solve this problem, you need to find its cause. Even an inexperienced user can find and correct existing difficulties by strictly following our instructions and acting as carefully as possible.

Possible reasons

There are a number of reasons why the hard drive may not be visible in my computer. Often this problem occurs with new devices that are just connected to a PC. These reasons are often:

To avoid complications, let's take a closer look at each problem when the hard drive does not open, its cause and an effective solution.

No letter specified

When connecting for the first time, a new HDD, whether external or internal, may not be recognized by the system. It will not appear like other local drives, but will be fully functional and intact.

The fix is quite simple:

After the system boots, it will begin to detect the new hard drive in the “My Computer” folder, and you can work with it.

Wrong format

However, what should you do if when you call up the menu there is no “Change drive letter” option. This is usually caused by a file system mismatch. For normal operation in the Windows operating system, it must be in NTFS format. That is, in order to start the hard drive, it must be reformatted.

For this:

After the system boots, the drive will be displayed and available for full operation.

Initialization

As we said above, new HDDs sometimes do not work the first time they are connected. However, there is nothing to worry about, since if the drive does not initialize on its own, then this process must be carried out manually.

We do the following:

We repeat steps 1 and 2 from the first instructions again.
Find the desired hard drive, click on it and select “Initialize disk”.
In the window that opens, mark the disk that is no longer displayed, select MBR and click “OK”.
Right-click again, only on the initialized hard drive, and click “Create a simple volume.”
The Volume Creation Wizard will launch, click “Next”.
Next you need to specify the volume size. By default, the maximum size is set; it is not recommended to change the number set by the system. Click “Next”.
Select a letter and click “Next”.
We find the item “Format this volume..”, and in the “File system” field we set NTFS. Leave the remaining fields as is and click “Next”.
The last window will open in front of you, in which all the specified parameters will be displayed. If you agree with them, click “Done”.

After this, the disk that was installed earlier will be initialized, and all you have to do is restart the computer and begin full-fledged work.

Unallocated area

It happens that due to periodic failures in Windows or system errors, part of the HDD disappears and becomes inaccessible. This is why the explorer simply does not see the hard drive.

The fix is quite easy:

After you restart the computer, Explorer will begin to see it.

However, if this partition contained the data you need, you can do it without any loss.

Contacts and cable

When connecting the drive, you need to be as careful as possible. Your computer may not recognize your new hard drive due to a faulty or damaged cable. If there is no apparent reason why it does not work, then you need to take a similar wire with identical connectors and use it to connect the hard drive to the PC.

This problem, when cables fail and need to be replaced for normal operation, can affect both external and internal storage. Also, do not exclude the possibility that, due to inexperience or carelessness, you simply connected the HDD to the computer incorrectly, and therefore it does not find it. Be sure to check the connection and make sure that the contacts are not coming loose.

BIOS Settings

If you connected a hard drive, but the computer does not see it, then the problem may be related to the settings. There are several possible causes of problems. Let's take a closer look at each of them and find an effective solution.

Download priority

If you connected a hard drive and the computer is connected, then it is possible that the device boot priority is incorrectly set in the BIOS settings. That is, we need to put the new hard drive in first place, so that when the computer starts, it boots first from it.

Let's take a closer look at how to do this:

Thus, after the system boots, the drive will be available for normal operation, and the problem when a new hard drive is connected, but the computer does not see it, will be solved.

Menu items may differ in different BIOS versions. Therefore, if the specified parameters are missing, you should look for the most suitable ones by name.

SATA operating mode

It is possible that my computer does not see the HDD due to the fact that the IDE-compatible operating mode is not specified in the BIOS. To fix this you need to:

Afterwards, the system will boot in normal mode and will be able to recognize and open the hard drive.

Resetting BIOS settings

If you installed a hard drive, but even the BIOS does not see the connected hard drive, then most likely the reason for this is a settings failure. This reason can arise either as a result of incorrect user actions, or due to viruses in the system and power outages. This type of problem is indicated by the system date - if it is not accurate, then it is a failure. To correct the situation, you will have to perform a reset and return to factory settings.

There are two ways to do this. Let's look at the first one first:

This way, the BIOS settings will be reset and the system will be able to detect the hard drive and start working with it.

The second option takes a little longer:

After this, the problem where Explorer does not see the hard drive should be resolved. I would also like to add that both options may require changing the download priority, as described in the instructions above.

Lack of power or cooling

If the hard drive is connected and working, but is not visible in Windows, then you should listen to the sounds it makes. For example, a buzzing indicates a change in cycles, and most likely the problem is a lack of power from the power supply.

You need to act according to the circumstances:

Buy a more powerful power supply.
Disable an unused device.

Motherboard failure

If the hard drive is detected by the system, but does not open, perhaps the reason lies in a malfunction of the motherboard, namely in the “south bridge”. It is he who is responsible for the correct operation of IDE/SATA devices.

To check this, connect the hard drive to a laptop or any other device, if it starts working, then we have found the “culprit”.

Unfortunately, you won't be able to fix the problem yourself. It is necessary to replace the motherboard or take it in for repair.

Damaged sectors

Inaccessible sectors (or so-called “BAD” blocks) are a common reason why a connected hard drive is not visible to the computer.

Before you start checking and, you should know that bads are divided into 2 types:

Logical – system errors. Most often they occur due to incomplete read/write to the sector. They can be fixed programmatically.
Physical – appear when the magnetic layer ages, overheats or physical damage to the magnetic plate. This screw can only be replaced.

If the above methods did not bring any results, then the only correct solution would be to take the HDD to a service center before it completely fails.

Detailed video lesson

youtu.be/17K1fH_G8ug

Professional help

If you are unable to resolve the problems yourself,
then most likely the problem lies at a more technical level.
This could be: a failure of the motherboard, power supply,
hard drive, video card, RAM, etc.

It is important to diagnose and repair the breakdown in time,
to prevent failure of other components.

Our specialist will help you with this.

Leave a request and receive
Free consultation and diagnostics from a specialist!