The computer does not see the external hard drive. External HDD not detected? Tips on how to fix

External HDDs and SSDs are becoming more and more popular every day. This is not at all surprising, because this small box can contain a huge amount of information - up to 1-6 terabytes! For comparison, today not every PC even has an internal 1TB hard drive.

But what to do when your computer or laptop does not see the external hard drive? In this article we will look at why this happens and how to properly solve this problem.

If the new external hard drive is not detected

In this situation, we mean a portable drive that you just purchased for your PC. First thing to do:

1. Go to Control Panel/Make sure that “Small Icons”/Administration is selected in the “View” menu.

3. In the left column, go to the “Disk Management” menu.



4. Wait 5-10 seconds for the configuration to update, after which both internal and external media that are connected to the computer or netbook will be displayed. Quite often, a PC may not read media due to incorrect letter assignment.

This is what needs to be changed. To do this, you need to right-click on our device and select “Change letter”.

Another option why the laptop does not recognize the new hard drive is that it is not formatted

In this case, you won’t even be able to change the name to something else. You need to right-click on the disk again, a menu will appear, and then click “Create Volume”. However, be careful! In this case, all information will be deleted from the HDD.

A not so common problem is that the chip on the motherboard responsible for the functionality of the USB ports has failed. In 99% of cases, the solution to the problem is to repair the board.

Lack of drivers is another most common reason

If the hard drive is not visible either in Disk Management or in My Computer, but at the same time functions fully on other equipment, this is precisely the problem. Of course, modern Windows 7, 8, 10 are smart operating systems that search for and install drivers themselves in a fully automatic mode. However, sometimes they also make mistakes.

In this situation it is necessary:

1. Check the operation of the USB ports (2.0/3.0). If other devices work through them, then the problem is not with them at all.

2. If everything is fine with the USB ports, but the hard drive still doesn’t work:

Go to Control Panel/Make sure that “Small Icons”/Device Manager is selected in the “View” menu and select the “Other Devices” and “Disk Devices” sections.

There you can find out whether the drivers for the connected media are installed.

If there are red or yellow identification icons next to the name of the connected device (see screenshot above), it means that the drivers were not installed or were installed with errors; to fix this, you need to do one of the following options:

1. Click “Update hardware configuration”, after which the installation will occur automatically.

2. Use a special program to install the necessary drivers “DriverPack Solution, Driver Booster or others”

3. Reinstall Windows OS.

After completing simple steps, the HDD will operate as usual.

If the old external HDD is not displayed

In this case, we are talking about a hard drive that was previously functioning on your PC, but it stopped seeing it. In such a situation you should:

Now you know how to find out the reason why the computer does not show the removable drive, and you can solve it yourself!

This problem happens The computer does not see the removable disk. It doesn't show up anywhere, even though it worked fine until recently. The information there is very important and needs to be saved, so I want to restore access to the removable hard drive without contacting specialists at the service center.

Read the article carefully and perhaps it will help solve the problem.

The easiest way to check the serviceability or save information on another medium is to connect a removable hard drive to another computer. If the hard drive is detected on another computer, then the problem is in your computer.

Another way is to try recover removable hard drive on your own using your computer. To do this, right-click on the “My Computer” icon and select “Manage” from the context menu.

In the window that opens, select “Disk Management”, here you will see all the disks connected to the computer and if your disk is working, it will definitely be displayed here.


To open a removable hard drive, it is enough to rename the drive and restore access to it. To do this, right-click on the desired drive and select “Change drive letter or drive path” from the context menu.


In the window that opens, select a letter and click “OK.” Sometimes a reboot is needed, but most often it is not.

If your removable hard drive is not visible in Disk Management, then there is probably a problem with the hard drive itself or a conflict between the controller and the computer.

Here's a little about the design of a removable hard drive. Simply put, it's a regular hard drive in a box. The box also contains a controller responsible for input and output of information.

If you have skills in working with computer components, then the health of the hard drive itself can be checked. To do this, disassemble the removable drive and disconnect the HDD, then remove the cover from the system unit and connect the hard drive directly to the motherboard. Practice shows that the motherboard detects disks many times more consistently than controllers. We turn on the computer, if the disk is detected, then the controller is at fault.

If the above remedies do not help, then it is better to contact a service center

And finally, if you decide to buy a removable hard drive, buy devices from well-known companies, their failures are much less frequent.

19 thoughts on “ The computer does not recognize the removable hard drive”

1. Nobel

   I have a problem that the computer does not see the removable hard drive, but the laptop does. Can I reinstall the operating system?

2. Nikolay

   Disassembling the removable disk and connecting it to the motherboard helped.

3. Azamat

   Thank you! Previously, such a problem seemed simply insoluble to me.
   It helped!

4. Alexander

   Thank you!!!

5. Kamil

   Thank you! Everything worked out!

6. Dmitriy

   I can’t initialize the hard drive, it says: The request was not completed due to an I/O error on the device

7. admin

   Dmitry, here’s what they write about this on the Microsoft website:

   “This problem may occur if Windows is using a transfer mode that is not supported by your CD-ROM drive.
   To resolve the issue, you need to change the transfer mode for the CD drive in the IDE channel properties. To do this, follow these steps:
   From the Start menu, right-click My Computer and select Manage.
   In the Computer Management (Local) group, select Device Manager.
   In the right pane, expand IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers.
   Right-click the channel that your CD-ROM drive is connected to and select Properties. This is usually the Secondary IDE Channel.
   On the Advanced Settings tab, select PIO Only in the Transfer Mode field for the CD drive. This is usually Device 1. Then click OK.
   If you change the transfer mode for Secondary IDE Channel Device 1 and the problem persists, it is probably not the correct device for the CD drive. Use the following procedure to change the transfer mode back to DMA if available. Then repeat the steps to change the transfer mode for IDE devices in the following order until the problem is resolved.
   Primary IDE channel, device 1
   Secondary IDE channel, device 0
   Note. Primary IDE channel, device 1 corresponds to the boot disk. This is a hard drive on which the operating system is usually installed.”

8. Andrey

   The 4TB removable hard drive works non-stop for the second day, regardless of whether the computer is turned on or not, whether it is connected via USB or not. Not a single computer sees it (I logged in with both XP and 8; I searched through “disk management”, turned on the display of hidden and system files, even restored the system just in case, rebooted the computer several times: I can’t stop it). If I disconnect it from the network, I’ll kill the hard drive (judging by the sound and temperature, it’s working as hard as it can). How can you stop it so that it does not lead to mechanical damage?

9. admin

   Andrey, why are you so sure that you will kill the disk when disconnected from the network? It is also possible that there is nothing left to kill.

10. andrei

    Thank you!!! It helped!!!)))

11. Sergey

    It wouldn’t help if it were all that easy), the computer also doesn’t see the hard drive, although when connected to the computer it detects it and the light is on (works), there’s a virus on it, I threw the films onto the hard drive and stopped opening, the same films were thrown onto the Windows laptop a little did not fly, the antivirus saved it. Maybe there is some other way to open it or format it?

12. Uncle Apo

    Thank you. Renaming helped!

13. Irina

    I switched it to another usb port and it helped - he sees it!

14. Denis 02/10/2015

    Good afternoon Problem with External Drive Seagate FA GoFlex Desk USB Device. In the “Devices and Printers” menu, the computer sees the disk; when you call up the context menu, it says that it is working normally and that drivers do not need to be updated. The disk cannot be seen through “Computer”. Through “Computer Management” in the “Disk Management” field in the upper part it is also not there (that is, you cannot change the letter), but it is in the lower part with the status “Not initialized”. When I try to initialize it gives an error. It is also displayed in the “Device Manager” in the “Disk Devices” submenu.
    I tried to connect it to a different connector and to an old computer - no result. When you try to turn it off and on again, it starts to make noise, as if something is twisting and cannot turn it all the way, and then goes quiet.
    I tried, as written above, to deploy the controllers, I only have one: Intel (R) 8 Series.... and in its properties there is no “Advanced parameters” tab, and in those tabs that exist, they do not have “Transfer mode”.
    Please tell me what can be done.

15. Tatiana

    Good afternoon Problem with External Drive ADATA HDD CH94 USB Devise
    In the “Devices and Printers” menu, the computer sees the disk; when you call up the context menu, it says that it is working normally and that drivers do not need to be updated. The disk is not visible through “Computer”... And it is also displayed in the “Device Manager” in the “Disk Devices” submenu.
    When I try to turn it off and on again I get no results. I updated the drivers. Please tell me what else can be done. It doesn't open on another computer either. It shows that the disk is working, but I can’t open it. It requires formatting when loading, but I have important information there, I'm afraid it will be erased. Help me please. And also about the shutdown it writes: “the device is not removable and cannot be removed”

16. Irina

    Thank you so much!!! You helped me a lot! Everything was explained simply, clearly - and everything worked!!!

External hard drives (portable HDDs) are becoming more and more popular every day. This is understandable; a huge amount of memory and relatively small sizes are the main advantages of such devices. And when connected to a computer, they are no different from a regular flash drive.

But everything is not always so good and wonderful. Often, users of removable USB drives face one very important problem: Hard drive not detected! That is, the user connects the device to the computer, but nothing happens, the computer simply does not see it. And there may be several reasons for this; let’s look at the most common ones.

First let's determine what the problem is?

On the hard drive or on the computer itself. Well, of course, first of all, try connecting the drive through a different USB port. Sometimes it helps. 😉
If possible, try connecting your portable HDD to another computer. If the drive is detected, then it is obvious that the problem is in your computer.

Let's start with the simplest:
1) Let's check driver removable disk. To do this you need to go to device Manager. If you have Windows 8 operating system installed, then it can be easily found through search. Or
Start → Control Panel → Equipment and sound → device Manager.
In the manager, select Disk devices and find your disk. Right-click and select "Update driver". You can try removing the driver, restarting your computer, and installing it again.

2) The next reason is letter assigned incorrectly external drive. When I encountered such a problem, the drive letter was not assigned at all, I had to specify it manually. The solution is quite simple. We go along the following path:
Start →Control Panel → system and safety → Administration → Computer management.
Choose Disk Management and find your disk. Right-click on it and click "Change drive letter or drive path..." Choose any free letter.

3) In the case when the computer refuses to define both flash drives and hard drives, you need to check USB support in BIOS it may have been disabled. Fortunately, this doesn't happen often. And not every user will risk setting up something in Bios themselves. But there will be a separate article about this.

4) Another option is the problem with power supply computer. Either there is too much hardware connected to the computer, or, if the computer is not new, the power supply is simply outdated - in both cases it cannot cope with the drive.

Well, what if the disk is not detected on another computer?

Perhaps the problem is again in nutrition. If you connected the drive via an extension cable, try doing it directly using the USB cable that was included when you purchased it.

If the drive has a second connector or its own power supply, connect them.

But sometimes the problem is mechanical damage portable HDD. This option can be assumed if, when power is applied to the disk, it does not make characteristic sounds. The device simply doesn't work. Of course, in this case you need to contact a service center and under no circumstances try to disassemble and repair it yourself. This could end badly. 😉

I hope this article will help you solve the problem of an undetectable disk. Good luck! 🙂

Almost every computer user has encountered a situation where they purchased an external drive and the computer does not see the external hard drive. Sometimes interaction with the media that has already worked with the PC stops. To solve this problem, there are many ways.

This is a useful device that allows you to store and exchange data with computers. The volume of the device can vary, up to a maximum of several terabytes. The device allows you to safely store various information for a long time.

Why doesn't my PC see my external hard drive?

If the laptop does not see the external hard drive, you should use a certain algorithm of actions. First, in the Control Panel you should find "System settings" And "Administration". This is where you can see the section "Control".

It is important to pay attention to the left column. You need to go to disk management, there you will see the disks currently connected to the system. Often, the system does not see the external hard drive due to the incorrect assignment of its letter. To change the drive letter, you need to click on the external media icon and change the drive letter. Then a letter is assigned that is not yet in the system.

If a new disk is not detected and it is connected to the PC for the first time, it is probably not formatted, and therefore is not visible in the list of working devices. In this case, you should click on the media, creating a simple volume. This action will delete all information on the disk.

If the PC stops seeing the external hard drive, most likely this situation is due to a lack of drivers or a system failure. Modern systems are quite “smart”, and when a new device appears, they quickly search for the appropriate driver. But sometimes, due to accumulated errors in the system, it does not detect the device.

First of all, you need to examine the USB port. To do this, you can connect a flash drive, camera or smartphone. If the system sees the devices, then the port is working.

It is also useful to explore the components of the device manager, it can be found in "Control Panels". The media icon is in "Other devices" or "Disk devices".

PC drivers may be out of date. By clicking on the hard drive (there is an exclamation mark opposite it), select “Update drivers”. Finding drivers is provided by special programs or by searching on the Internet.

Often Windows becomes outdated, this is the answer to why the computer does not see the external hard drive. The system must be reinstalled.

Windows 10 doesn't see external hard drive

Latest generation operating systems may also not detect old or new media. The media may be unformatted and have no partitions, and as a result may not be listed in Explorer.

When you no longer see the Windows 10 external hard drive, you can go to the “Toolbar”, then to the “Security System” and to the “Administration” subsection. Next you should work with the section “Creating and managing hard drives”.

If you enter the command “diskmgmt.msc” in the search, a utility called "Disk Management". In this case, you can see the media, and sections of it will have a blue tint. An unallocated disk will be highlighted in black.

You should click on the tab "Disc 1", then select "Initialize disk". Then you need to click on the black bar, and then on “New Section”. A section is formed in this location, where a free letter is assigned.

Large format discs are divided into several parts. You can format the media with the NTFS file system. When the person presses the button "Ready", the system will display the media.

If the PC does not see the external hard drive, provided that it is new, you can enter the BIOS, turn off AHCI, then reboot the computer and the drive will appear.

Sometimes it is necessary to integrate SATA drivers into the Windows 10 operating system. Only the latest drivers should be installed. It is optimal if this work is entrusted to a competent person.

External media does not show the PC if it has previously been subjected to mechanical stress. If the drive has been in use for a long time, then you can use special utilities to identify errors and bad blocks.

Infection of the media with viruses becomes the reason why the external hard drive is not visible. Windows will block it. Also, the situation often arises due to failures in the motherboard; diagnostics are indicated.

For a device to perform optimally, it must be in DMA mode. When the disk is functioning in PIO, you can open "Device Manager", and then "IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers". Next you should find the category "Extra options" and delete the secondary or primary IDE channels. The final stage involves rebooting the system. In addition, the problem can be solved by purchasing an additional cable.

If the drive overheats, the system can turn it off. If necessary, a cooler is installed and the device is cleaned of dirt.

The power supply that came with the drive may not have enough power. This will cause the system not to see the external hard drive. It is better to use the original cable; it has the required length and metallized latches.

Every day, external hard drives are becoming more and more popular among users. And it’s not surprising, because they are compact, they can be easily connected from one device to another, and they have a decent amount of memory - 1-2 TB. But a situation may occur when the next time you connect, the computer simply does not see the hard drive.

Sometimes this situation occurs when connecting a new hard drive to a computer, sometimes this can happen with your old hard drive.

Your old hard drive

First, let's figure out why the external hard drive that you previously connected to your PC now doesn't want to work.

1. Check the cable that connects it to the computer. The cable must not be damaged and the USB plugs must be properly connected to the cable.

2. Try connecting it to a different USB port on your computer. It also happens that it is the USB port that is faulty.

3. Go to "Device Manager", you can through “Start”, and check if there are yellow exclamation marks or red crosses next to the connected drives. Otherwise, you can reinstall the drivers on the USB ports of your PC or laptop.

4. Check your device for viruses. Sometimes they are the reason it doesn't work.

Then click on the item "Administration".

In the next window, select from the list "Computer Management".

A new window appears, in which we select the item on the left "Disk Management". Now right-click on the external hard drive and select from the menu "Change drive letter or drive path". Select a letter that is not yet in the operating system.

You may also need to change the letter if you bought a brand new external hard drive, but the computer does not see it.

New hard

Now we have smoothly approached the question of why the computer does not see the new external hard drive.

1. Change the drive letter by following the steps above.

2. The hard drive has not been formatted. This could be the reason why it is not displayed in "My computer".

To format it, in the window "Computer Management" on the tab "Disk Management" right-click on the external hard drive and select from the menu "Create Simple Volume". Please note that this will delete all data from it!

3. Lack of drivers. If your hard drive does not appear in any "My computer", neither in "Disk Management", but it works, if you connect it to a TV or laptop, then the problem may be related to the operating system and drivers.

First, check if the USB port is working. Just connect your phone or tablet to it. If the device works, then this is not the problem.

Through the Start menu, as described above, go to "Device Manager". Open two tabs there "Disk devices" And "Other devices". If there is an exclamation mark next to the hard one, this indicates that the drivers for it were not installed.

In operating systems Windows 7, 8, when you connect a new device, drivers for it are installed automatically. If this does not happen in your case, then right-click on the hard drive item, opposite which there is an exclamation mark, and select from the menu "Update drivers".

If you need help on how to install drivers, I advise you to read the following articles: installing drivers in Windows 7 manually, how to install a driver on Windows 7.

After you have tried all the methods described in the article, and the computer does not see the external hard drive, you need to take it to a service center, now specialists will deal with this problem.

Webmaster. Higher education with a degree in Information Security. Author of most articles and computer literacy lessons

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Discussion: 11 comments

thanks for the advice, I just created a new volume and that’s it, the only pity is that it was all gone

Answer

Thank you! I connected the external hard drive that I had connected earlier, but the computer stopped seeing it after installing another hard drive inside the computer. It turns out that the letters simply coincided.

Answer

Alesya, yes, you can put Windows on a portable disk.

Answer

Is it possible to install Windows on a portable hard drive?