Address problems with your external storage device. Problems with external hard drive can be exasperating. Therefore, it is beneficial to understand how to resolve the issue of an external hard drive not appearing on your computer.
External hard drives are useful for storage and backup, and frequently, when they fail to operate, it may be attributed to improper connectivity, outdated drivers, or formatting issues.
In this article, we will guide you through the precise steps to troubleshoot issues with external hard drives on Windows and Mac systems. If your current storage is inadequate, we have compiled a list of the top external hard drives available.
Steps to resolve an external hard drive not appearing on Windows
Reboot your computer
Check the physical connection: disconnect and reconnect the hard drive, try a different USB port, or use a different cable to reconnect.
Update drivers: device manager > disk drives > right-click your external hard drive > update driver > search automatically for drivers.
Reinstall drivers: device manager > disk drives > right-click your external hard drive > uninstall device > uninstall. Then, reconnect your hard drive.
Format the drive: Disk Management > right-click your external hard drive > format > ok.
Windows Check Disk: Command Prompt (Run as Administrator) > Type
chkdsk /f x: (where x is the letter of your hard drive)
Press Enter > Wait for the process to complete.
Activate the drive: disk management > right-click the gray box next to your hard drive > choose online.
Unallocated drive: Disk Management > right-click the gray box next to your hard drive > select New Simple Volume.
Assign a drive letter: Disk Management > Right-click your hard drive > Select Change Drive Letter and Paths > Click Add > Assign a letter > Click OK.
Step-by-step guide to resolve an external hard drive that is not recognized by Windows
Before proceeding with the troubleshooting steps below, attempt to restart your computer or the external hard drive. Although it seems straightforward, rebooting devices frequently resolves numerous technical problems.
Verify the physical connection
Ensure that your external hard drive is properly connected to your computer:
Disconnect and reconnect the hard drive to your computer. Reconnect the hard drive to another USB port on your computer.
Use an alternative cable to connect your hard drive to your computer.
Update or reinstall drivers
Outdated or corrupted drivers can hinder the recognition of your external hard drive.
Update the drivers by following these steps:
Right-click the Start button located at the bottom left corner of the screen and select Device Manager. Click the dropdown arrow next to disk drives. Right-click on your external hard drive, select “Update Driver,” and then choose “Search automatically for drivers”.
If this does not solve the issue, please try the following:Return to the device manager and expand disk drives. Right-click your external hard drive and select uninstall device. Confirm by clicking uninstall once more. Reconnect your hard drive to start a new driver installation.
Format the hard drive
Windows cannot recognize hard drives with unsupported formats such as APFS (Mac) or EXT4 (Linux); therefore, it is necessary to format the drive.
Note that formatting a drive will erase all content on it: Right-click the Start button at the bottom left corner of the screen and select Disk Management. lt;br>Right-click on your external hard drive and choose format. Click OK to start formatting your hard drive. Reconnect your hard drive.
Use Windows Check Disk
The Windows Check Disk utility assists in diagnosing problems associated with disks.
These repairs may occasionally result in data loss, so ensure you back up your drive prior to proceeding with the following steps:
Press Windows + S and type Command Prompt. Right-click it and choose “Run as administrator. type:
chkdsk /f followed by your hard drive letter. In my situation, that’s chkdsk /f e:.
Press enter.
Wait until the scanning and examination are complete, and you can observe the total duration. Checkdisk may require time to complete the scan and repair if numerous errors are present, and you may need to restart your computer once it has finished running.
Enable the drive or create a new simple volume
You will need to enable your hard drive if it is offline:
Right-click the Start button in the bottom left corner of the screen and select Disk Management. towards the bottom of the screen, verify if it indicates offline beneath your disk in the gray box.
If it does, right-click the gray box and choose online.
If the term unallocated appears next to your hard drive, adhere to the following steps to format it: Right-click the gray box corresponding to your hard drive > Select a new simple volume and follow the steps in the wizard.
Assign a drive letter
If your hard drive lacks a drive letter in disk management, assign one:Open disk management (right-click the Start button at the bottom left corner of the screen and select disk management).
Under Volume, right-click your hard drive and select Change Drive Letter and Paths. Click add, assign a letter, and click OK.
Step-by-step guide to resolve an external hard drive that is not appearing on Mac
Before implementing the following steps, consider restarting your Mac or external hard drive.
Check the physical connection
Ensure that your external hard drive is securely connected to your mac:reconnect the hard drive to your mac.
Reconnect the hard drive to another usb port on your mac.
Connect the hard drive to your Mac using a different cable.
Update Software
Unlike Windows, you cannot update individual drivers on a Mac; therefore, you’ll need to perform a macOS update instead: Open Launchpad and click System Settings.
Click on General in the left-hand menu and then select Software Update.
Press restart now to initiate the software update.
Format the hard drive
If the hard drive has an unsupported format, it must be formatted.
Remember that formatting the drive will erase its content: Open Launchpad. Search and open Disk Utility.
Select your hard drive under External.
Click “Erase” located at the top right.
Click on the format and choose a new format from the dropdown menu.
Press erase. Reconnect your hard drive after it has been wiped.
Utilize First Aid
Mac’s First Aid feature assists in identifying and rectifying problems with disks:Open Disk Utility.
Select your hard drive under External > Click “First Aid” located at the top right and then select “Run”.
Once completed, click done.
Note that to utilize first aid, the hard drive must be formatted for macOS.
Final Thoughts
Hard drive problems can be worrisome, but they can frequently be resolved through basic troubleshooting procedures. Ensuring an appropriate connection, updating drivers, and utilizing built-in tools such as disk management or disk utility can assist in resolving access issues with your drive.
