Can't see external hard drive. External hard drive is detected but won't open (doesn't show up in explorer)

In this article, we will try to figure out why operating systems of the Windows family from Microsoft quite often they do not want to recognize various usb devices. There are many reasons for this phenomenon, so let's try to consider each case in more detail.

If your computer does not see a USB flash drive in windows 10 (7) - what should I do? What exactly is happening and how does it manifest itself?

The following situations are possible:

• You connect a flash drive, and the system displays the message “insert usb device”
• We inserted a USB flash drive into the computer, there is a tray icon, there is a connection sound, but the file manager does not see it
• We connected a USB flash drive, the system in response warns about the need to format the device
• When you connect a flash drive, the system signals a data error

Below in the comments, write what problem you have with a flash drive or external hard drive when connected via USB. By describing the situation in detail, users of the site will be able to help you faster ...

Before you start solving problems with the invisibility of a usb flash drive, be sure to check for physical damage to it and check for errors with a special utility, for example, from Kingston or Sandisk.

Checking the USB flash drive for visibility in Disk Management (Disk Management)

First, we launch a utility that manages all usb devices. For this:

Go to the START menu - RUN or call the key combination WIN + R and enter the command in the field diskmgmt.msc

Or run through the Control Panel: Administrative tab, then Computer Management-Disk Management.

After you have opened the "Disk Management" tab, you need to connect and disconnect your USB flash drive several times. If a usb device appears in the list, then you will receive a notification that each partition is working, there is only one on the flash drive. And at this stage, it will be much easier to fix the flash drive invisibility error on your computer.

Make the section active by right-clicking on it. If you wish, you can assign a letter from the list to the flash drive. After that, the system should see the flash drive.

If the utility shows that there is an “uninitialized” USB device in the system, then it’s worth upsetting you, because your flash drive is damaged.

We take the following simple steps

Let's take a look at all USB devices installed in the system through the Device Manager. Note for yourself exactly how your flash drive is designated. If the computer does not recognize the USB device, then it may be labeled as "USB mass storage device".

It is necessary to select and remove the flash drive. Then go to the Action tab and select Update hardware configuration.

In most cases, this is enough for the file manager to display the USB flash drive.

Some situations in which the system does not see usb devices

Make sure you don't connect your USB devices through an extension cable or USB hub. Try connecting them directly to the usb port one by one, maybe just one of them will be faulty.

There is another option for checking the performance of usb ports. Disconnect all devices connected via usb to your computer. Keep only the bare minimum. If the system sees your flash drive, then the problem is solved. In your case, it turned out that the usb port is receiving negligible power. The problem is solved by buying a new power supply or usb hub with additional power.

The computer does not see the USB flash drive in windows 10 (7) after installation or update

After updating your Windows system, it is very likely that you may encounter such a problem. In this case, it is clearly that there are no fresh drivers in the system for usb, or outdated data about usb devices remains in the registry.

In the latter case, you must use the USBOblivion program. Download it from the official website of the author and delete all obsolete data. But be sure to create a restore point before deleting it so that in case of an error in the operation of the program, you can return to the original settings.

Before you run the program, do not forget to turn off all flash drives and usb devices. After that, feel free to run the utility, after saving all the data.

After the utility cleans the registry, reboot the system and reconnect your flash drive. If the system does not recognize it again, then follow the steps listed above. Those. remove the device, then update the configuration and reconnect it to the system.

In the Windows 10 operating system, an error often occurs when the drivers are completely incompatible. If this is the problem, then you will see a mark in the form of an exclamation mark.

In this case, you need to download the latest versions of drivers on the official pages of manufacturers and developers. Never use third-party sites to search and download drivers to avoid problems with the security of your system.

External HDDs are a popular storage option. The volumes of built-in drives in modern PCs are huge and users, without hesitation, save all the photos, movies, music on them. But time passes and the volume of the built-in HDD becomes insufficient. What to do if there is no desire to delete data? The answer is simple - buy a portable hard drive and throw everything you need on it. Fortunately, the price of them has fallen and everyone can have a 1 terabyte external hard drive.

But when connected, the device may not be correctly detected and it will not work with it.

Consider the main reasons why an external drive does not work:

1. nutritional problems;
2. the necessary drivers are not installed;
3. faulty USB ports or cords;
4. viruses;
5. physical damage.

It is difficult to restore a hard drive after a crash, this will require contacting service center.

The situation is similar with other physical injuries. Only in case of software damage, specialized utilities will help restore an external hard drive.

IF THE NEW EXTERNAL HDD IS NOT VISIBLE

When buying an external hard drive, users hope that it will immediately start working and will not require additional configuration.

Often this is what happens. Windows latest editions enough smart system and will automatically try to install the hard drive driver and activate it.

If this did not happen or the computer stopped seeing the hard drive, the first thing to think about is power. Characteristic features that there is not enough power on the USB port:

• noise, crackling, vibration;
• periodic loss of HDD;
• indicator errors.

Try plugging the screw into a different port and using the cable that came with the kit rather than another manufacturer. Sometimes an external hard drive is detected only when connected to two USB connectors at the same time.

For new hard drives, this behavior is uncharacteristic. The main reason that the screw is not detected is in the absence of markup. It is performed independently by the user. Consider how disk partitioning is performed:

• The first thing to do is go to disk management.

fig.1. To do this, go to the PC settings and open the control panel

fig.2. We find the section Administration in the system configuration and open the item "PC Management"

• Open the drive management item from the left column. The OS will display a list of all storage devices, including external ones.

Advice. Often the OS does not see the drive due to the wrong drive letter, which can be changed through the context menu in the hard drive management.

fig.3. For a new HDD, you will not be able to change the drive letter

• Select "Create Regular Volume" from the context menu. The data will then be erased.

fig.4. After creating a new volume, you need to format the external hard drive

• We select the appropriate item from the context menu and set the NTFS file system in the window that opens.

Another option due to which a new HDD may not be detected is a problem with device drivers. You can fix it like this:

• We check the operation of the USB port by turning on the phone, USB flash drive or other drive.

fig.1. From the control panel, go to the device manager and look at the devices marked with a yellow exclamation mark

fig.2. From the "Actions" section, update the configuration

Driver packs are an alternative to solve the problem, but it is recommended to work with them only if you have experience in troubleshooting. In some cases, you will have to reinstall the OS.

Advice. Avoid Windows builds. They are the main cause of problems with the definition of equipment.

IF THE OLD EXTERNAL HARD DISK IS NOT VISIBLE

Problems with drives already working in the computer also sometimes happen. They are often not caused by hardware problems and it is really possible to reanimate a hard drive without contacting service centers.

Consider the actions that a normal user can take:

1. Change drive letter. To do this, follow the instructions for the new HDD.
2. Check the drive for viruses. Malicious software disables access to the hard drive and sets locks for individual files. Maintaining up-to-date anti-virus databases will help to avoid this problem.
3. Verify that all devices in the OS are functioning correctly. To do this, open the device management and make sure that there are no yellow or red warning signs. If necessary, update the drivers from the manufacturer's website and inside the OS.
4. Reinstall Windows. This may help if the HDD is working correctly on another computer.
5. Check the cords and try changing the port. Some USB ports may have reduced voltage. After changing the port, the drive returns to normal. This problem is relevant for Acer laptops and others.

Category: 11 November 2017 10919

In the era of digital storage, users are increasingly expanding their computer memory with the help of additional devices - external hard drives, which allow you to add from a few gigabytes to several terabytes of auxiliary storage. In this article, we will take a closer look at the options for solving the problem when an external hard drive connected via USB is not detected by the computer.

Problem connecting external hard drive over USB can occur for a variety of reasons, maximum amount which will be covered in this article.

Reason 1: USB cable malfunction

First of all, if the device does not want to be detected by USB in any way, you should make sure that the USB cable connecting the computer to the hard drive is working. The easiest way to do this is to connect any other device to the computer through this cable - if it is not detected, the cable should be replaced.

Reason 2: Driver problems

If the problem is not with the cable, you should make sure that the external hard drive drivers are working correctly.

Reason 3: lack of nutrition

A hard drive is a much more complex device than a flash drive. Due to the fact that it has a lot of mechanical elements, it, accordingly, needs more power. As a rule, a similar problem manifests itself if you connect an external hard drive not directly, but through splitters (USB hubs). In some cases, the problem may occur due to the use of a cheap Chinese USB cable.

In this case, you should connect the device to the computer directly. If you are unsure of the quality of the cable, replace it, preferably using solutions from well-known manufacturers.

Reason 4: Hard disk failure

The hard drive itself is a fragile device, so it is highly likely that it has mechanical damage which cannot ensure its correct operation.

If the device was just purchased, we recommend that you return it immediately under warranty. If the hard drive began to behave this way all of a sudden, you should hand it in for diagnostics under warranty.

Reason 5: USB port conflict (USB port failure)

If you connected an external hard drive to USB 3.0, try reconnecting it to a different USB 2.0 port. The same applies to the likelihood that the port is faulty.

Reason 6: USB support disabled in BIOS

A rare cause of the problem, because in this case, no USB storage device will work for you.

If this is the case in your case, you will need to go to BIOS settings to perform USB operation activation.

1. To do this, you will need to turn on your computer or send it to reboot. At the very early stage of turning on, you should start repeatedly pressing the button responsible for entering the BIOS (in most cases, F1, F2 and Del are used as such keys).
2. The further course of BIOS setup depends on the version installed on your computer. In most cases, you will need to find a section "Integrated Peripherals" and activate the parameter in it "USB EHCI controller" or "Legacy USB storage detect". If you have made any changes, be sure to save your settings before exiting.

Reason 7: Wrong drive letter assignment

There are situations when Windows mistakenly assigns a drive letter to a hard drive that is already assigned to another drive on the computer. In this case, the device will be detected as connected via USB, however, you will not be able to use the storage.

Reason 7: The hard drive is not formatted

If the device is detected by the computer normally, but the storage cannot be used, it can be concluded that the device is not prepared for use by the computer.

These are the main reasons that affect the operation of an external hard drive connected to a computer via USB. If you know other ways to solve the problem, share them in the comments.

Usually, the suspects in this case are software failures, incorrect operating system settings, outdated drivers, malfunctions of the computer's USB ports, adapters, or the drives themselves.

Depending on the causes in each case, the problem manifests itself in different ways. It happens that the computer does not react at all to a USB flash drive or hard drive. In other situations, the sound of connecting a new device is heard, but the drive icon does not appear in the explorer. And sometimes the computer just freezes immediately after contact with the USB device.

What to do if a Windows computer does not see a USB flash drive or external hard drive

First, figure out what exactly the problem is: with a computer, an adapter (if the connection is via a cable), or a drive. Try connecting the USB device through other ports. If that doesn't help and you're using a cable, try replacing it with a spare one. If unsuccessful, check if the drive can be opened on other computers.

If the device works on another PC or you do not have the opportunity to check it

Connect your hard drive or flash drive to your computer and follow these steps in order. If the first fails, move on to the next, and so on.

If another PC also does not see the drive or all of the above tips did not help

In this case, most likely, the problem is in the drive itself.

If you have a flash drive and not a hard drive, you can use special utilities to fix software errors. Such software can usually be found on the manufacturer's website. For example, the JetFlash Online Recovery program is for Transcend drives. And USB Flash Drive Online Recovery is for flash drives of the ADATA brand. But keep in mind that during the recovery process, these utilities erase all data from flash drives.

If none of the above helped, then the problem is probably a physical malfunction of the hard drive or flash drive. Then it is better to show the device to a specialist or return it to the store under warranty.

What to do if Mac does not see a flash drive or external hard drive

On Apple computers, the verification procedure is somewhat different, but follows approximately the same algorithm. We will assume that you have already tried restarting the computer, disconnecting and connecting the USB flash drive, and also made sure that the connection is reliable. If this does not help, you need to do the following:

Open the built-in disk tool ("Programs" → "Utilities" → "Disk Utility") and check if the problematic flash drive is displayed there. If the drive is still visible, try it by clicking the "Erase" button and reconnect it. Keep in mind that all data from the flash drive will be permanently deleted.

A dedicated Mac diagnostic program provides detailed information about all software and hardware components of your computer, including USB devices. Open the Apple menu, then, while holding down the Option key, click "System Information" and go to the USB section in the menu that opens.

If there is a flash drive there, then the problem lies in the software and you can try to restore the disk by referring to the manufacturer's recommendations. If there is no information about the flash drive, then the matter is a physical malfunction, and you should contact the store or service center if the repair makes sense.

If you have problems connecting an external hard drive (USB HDD) to a PC in the form of the inability to access its data, when Windows does not recognize removable media as usual in Explorer, then the reasons when the computer “does not see” the hard drive can be solve like this:

1. You need to check if your USB hard drive is detected in the Disk Management menu. In order to get into it, click "Start" and select "Control Panel". Switch to small icon view and follow the path "Administration | Computer management. In windows 8, 10, and version 7, you can quickly access this menu by pressing the right mouse button on the “This PC” item in “Explorer”.
2. In the "Computer Management" tab you will find the necessary "Disk Management" menu. On the right side, you will see a list of all connected drives in your PC, their respective partitions marked with colors. If windows "sees" the external drive and it appears in the list, you can only rule out a hard drive or USB cable power failure.

1. Then make sure the connected external hard drive is assigned a drive letter. If there is no letter, right-click on the drive area and select the option "Change drive letter or drive path ...". In the window that appears, click the "Add" button and set the drive to any free letter from A to Z. After confirming the changes made, the USB HDD will become active and appear in the "My Computer" menu ("This Computer", depending on windows version).
2. If the above tips for connecting a portable hard drive did not bring any effect, then the drive is probably not formatted for the file system of your operating system. In this case, right-click on the disk area again and select "Format". Keep in mind that with this manipulation, all data on the disk will be completely deleted.

MediaPure.com

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

Question from a user...

Hello. My Seagate Expansion 1 TB external hard drive (without power adapter) was purchased in 2015. Since then it has been working properly, I have used it as additional memory for music, photos, videos (I have a computer and a laptop - it is convenient to transfer data between them).

The other day I connect it to a USB port and see that the computer does not see the external hard drive at all! I tried to connect to a laptop - the same thing, even the LED does not light up. Do not tell me what could be the reason, how can I fix it (didn’t drop the disc, didn’t hit it, didn’t pour it over, in general I handled it very carefully)? On the disk, so it's not really necessary documents, but a large archive of interesting files accumulated over Lately. Thanks in advance.

Good day!

In general, there are quite a few reasons due to which this could happen: for example, the USB cord has become unusable. In this article I will try to give the most basic reasons due to which this "invisibility" problem occurs. By going through them, you and many other users will be able to fix a similar problem on their own, thanks to which they will save on time and money 😉 . So...

Causes of invisible external hard drive

The first thing I want to start this article with is with "external signs", because it is from them that you can determine if there are problems with the hardware itself. Yes, and you observe them earlier than all other parameters and settings in windows.

When connecting a drive to a USB port, you must:

• light up LED: almost all external drives are equipped with LEDs that start to burn (blink) when they are connected. If the LED does not light up, there may be a problem with the USB cord, USB port (it is recommended to try connecting to another USB port, other devices: computer, laptop). Also, if the LED does not light up, there may be a problem not with the disk itself inside the case, but with the board (controller). If there is no important data on the disk, you can try to open it and connect it directly (how to do this - link below).
• attempt to repair an external hard drive at home - https://ocomp.info/remont-vneshnego-zhestkogo-diska.html
• a characteristic sound is also produced in windows;
• there is a sound of movement inside the disk, a very slight "hiss" (hardly perceptible). Just do not confuse this sound with loud clicks, intermittent beats, ticks, etc. - all this indicates a problem with the mechanics of the disk, and in this case, the disk needs to be taken to the service (especially if it contains important data). Note: some disk models may make slight, barely perceptible clicks during operation (this is the repositioning of the heads). If you already had a disk in operation, then you probably know how "noisy" your device is 😆 .

What is all of the above written for: if, when connecting a disk to a computer, it does not show any signs of life (the LED is not on, the sound of movement inside is inaudible), then it makes no sense to look further for the reason for its "invisibility", because. there is a problem with hardware (with wires, with the disk itself, with USB ports).

Drive letter conflict

Each storage medium: hard disk, optical disk, floppy disk, etc. - when connected to a computer, a letter is automatically assigned (C:\, D:\, E:\, etc.). It happens that windows, as a result of some kind of failure or conflict, assigns the wrong letter - as a result, the media is not displayed. And it doesn't happen very often...

How to open disk management (windows 7/8/10):

1. press the Win + R buttons;
2. enter the diskmgmt.msc command;
3. press Enter (see screenshot below).

Disk Management - how to open

In the list of drives, select an external hard drive (if it is not there, go to the next paragraph of the article: a problem with drivers), right-click on this line, and in the pop-up context menu, select "Change drive letter or drive path ... (as in the screenshot below).

Change drive letter

Then select any other letters, and click change (see screenshot below).

Letter change

File system problem

In Disk Management, pay attention to how the disk is displayed. If a black bar is "lit" above it and "Unallocated" is written, then the disk is simply not formatted.

If the hard drive is new, then this happens quite often (not all manufacturers format the drive).

To format a disk, open Disk Management (how to do it a little higher in the article), select it in the list, and right-click on it - then select "Create a simple volume" from the menu (see screenshot below).

Note! Formatting will delete all data on the disk! If you had files on it before, then most likely there was a failure, try to fix the errors on the disk first, more on that below.

Disk not formatted

In the next step, you will need to specify the drive letter (choose any free one), the file system (I recommend NTFS), and set the volume size (usually on external hard drives this parameter is not changed, making one single volume for the entire size of the disk).

If your external hard drive has already been formatted and you have already copied files to it, then the "unallocated area" (or RAW file system) display may occur due to:

• improper disconnection of the disk from the USB port (for example, when information was being copied, and you abruptly "pulled out" the USB cord);
• a power outage could occur: for example, during a power outage, its jumps;
• when infected with certain types of viruses;
• in the event of a hardware failure.

Most often, all the same, displaying the RAW file system is associated with improper disk disconnection. In this case, as a rule, it is possible to quickly fix errors and return the disk to life.

How to check the disk (data will not be deleted, everything will remain in place!)

First you need to run command line. How to do it:

1. press the combination of buttons Win + R;
2. in the open line, type cmd, press Enter.

How to run the command line - a universal way for windows 7, 8, 10

Next, at the command prompt, type the command chkdsk e: / f (where e: is your drive letter). Verification takes only a few minutes. In many cases, after such a simple procedure, the computer begins to see the disk, files and folders remain safe and sound.

Check disk // chkdsk

A few words about TV...

In my practice, I came across another interesting reason due to which the disk becomes invisible. New modern TV(with some SmartTV functions) - when connecting a disk, asked the user to agree with its markup. He agreed, and everything seemed to be fine recorded on him. But when you connect it to a computer - he refused to see. The bottom line is that the TV has formatted the drive to a different file system. After formatting to the NTFS file system, everything began to work "as it should" (the problem is being fixed - also, through disk management, no additional programs are required) ...

Conflict or missing driver

If your external hard drive is not visible in disk management - I recommend checking if the drivers are installed on it.

Little note...

In general, windows 7, 8, 10, when a USB flash drive or the same external drive is connected to a computer, automatically install drivers. But in some cases, this does not happen (it’s hard to say why, either the disk is not “normal” and there are no standard drivers for it in the system “stash”, or there is some kind of error and conflict with other drivers, or because for what...).

If the driver for your disk is not installed, then you will not find your disk in disk management !!!

To check the driver installation, open Device Manager. For this:

1. press the combination of buttons WIN + R;
2. in the window that appears, enter the command devmgmt.msc and press Enter (screenshot below, works in windows 7, 8, 10).

How to start device manager

In Device Manager, open the Disk Drives tab. Next, pay attention to:

• Is your device on the list, is it displayed at all;
• Also check the "Other devices" tab - it displays devices for which there are no drivers.
• Is there a yellow exclamation mark in front of your disk (if there is, then the driver for your disk is not installed). An example is shown in the screenshot below.

Left: driver OK (WD Elements) // Right: no driver (yellow exclamation point) WD My Passport

How to update the disk driver:

Lack of nutrition

Quite often, problems with external drives happen due to lack of power. Especially if you have several devices connected to one USB port at once.

Characteristic, when there is a lack of power: the disk seems to be displayed normally at first, but as soon as you want to copy or read something to it, it becomes inaccessible (or simply freezes).

How to fix the problem: try to buy a Y-shaped cord (photo below) and connect the drive to two USB ports at once. This has happened to me with some drives that become invisible after a few seconds when trying to connect them to the laptop's USB ports.

Advice! If you connect an external HDD to a laptop, try connecting it to a desktop computer (or other device). It is possible that on another device - the disk will work as expected.

USB Y-cord for external HDD connection

Same way good way out can become a USB hub with additional source nutrition. An example of such a splitter is shown in the photo below.

USB hub with power supply

Some types of viruses (and antiviruses, by the way) can block the connection of external media and devices. Therefore, I also recommend:

This concludes the article, I hope you solve the problem (or at least find out what the reason is)!

For additions on the topic - thanks in advance. Good luck!

ocomp.info

Why the computer does not detect a removable hard drive

There are situations when there is a catastrophic lack of space on the hard drive. For PC users, the problem can be solved self-installation second hard drive into the system unit, but if you own a laptop, then you will have to contact a service center to replace the media. One way out of this situation is to purchase an external hard drive.

This is very useful device for storing and exchanging data between PCs, with a decent amount of up to several terabytes and the size of a smartphone. But like any electronic device, it is not immune from errors and malfunctions. The user is faced with a situation where, when connected, the computer does not see the external hard drive.

External hard drive not recognized

Most often, when connecting to a computer, an error occurs that the operating windows system cannot recognize the USB device and it does not work properly. Why does this situation arise?

First, try plugging it into a different USB port. If the external hard drive is recognized by another port, the problem is most likely a USB controller failure on that port.

When the error appears when connecting to a different port, you should check on another computer. If another PC sees a removable drive, you should check if USB support is enabled in the BIOS.

There may be problems with the drivers. You should check the "healthiness" of the drivers in the "Device Manager", which can be accessed from the "Control Panel". Go to the "Disk Drives" tab and see if an exclamation mark in a yellow triangle is displayed against the removable drive. If so, try updating the driver. First, uninstall the removable drive driver by right-clicking on the "Uninstall" item from the pop-up menu. Disconnect and after about a minute plug the device back into the USB port. The driver should be automatically detected.

If the above steps did not bring the expected result, then the windows operating system cannot correctly determine the drivers for the external drive. In this case, download them from the official site. If you have a new external hard drive, then the drivers must be written on it. Extract them on another computer that successfully recognizes the device.

Sometimes the computer does not see removable media due to a lack of power. This problem appears when you use a USB hub that already has multiple devices connected to it. Try connecting it directly to the port. Some external drives have two connectors, you need to connect both, although on a second computer, removable media can work without problems on one.

Sometimes due to lack of power, the device is not recognized when connected to the front USB ports, reconnect it to the rear port. There are situations when the front ports were not connected when assembling the computer.

The computer does not see the external hard drive due to mechanical failures of the device itself or breaks in the connecting cable. If the cable can be changed independently, then in case of mechanical breakdowns, you should definitely contact the service center.

Device recognized but not showing up

Sometimes, after connecting an external drive, an icon appears in the tray, the system sees it, but it is not displayed on the "My Computer" tab or in file manager. Why is this happening? This situation is quite common if the hard drive is "detailed" into local drives. windows can assign an already existing local drive letter to an external device.

You can correct the letter on the "Disk Management" tab in the "Computer Management" section, which in turn can be called from the command line with the compmgmt.msc command.

Right-click on the rectangle with the name of the external hard drive and in the drop-down menu, click on the item "Change drive letter or drive path." The system will display all "unoccupied" letters, you can choose any.

Sometimes a removable hard drive doesn't show up in the My Computer tab because it's not formatted. To do this, on the "Disk Management" tab, right-click on it and select "Format" from the drop-down menu.

InstComputer.ru

5 reasons why the computer does not see the external hard drive

What to do if the computer does not see the external hard drive? Typically, such drives are easy to use because they are adapted for everyday use by the mass consumer. But there are situations when the HDD is not recognized after connecting to a computer with a windows operating system or to another device with a USB port.

Possible reasons

Most often, a computer or laptop does not see a removable hard drive due to a partition formatting error, using the wrong file system, a broken USB port, or lack of necessary drivers, but there may be other reasons. In the worst case, this may mean that the hard drive is out of order. It should be noted that the principle of operation of large external HDDs and pocket flash drives is identical, so the problems associated with them are usually solved in the same way. Here you can find identical material on the invisibility of memory cards on various devices.

First of all, you need to find out why the external hard drive is not detected. To do this, you need to connect an external drive to your computer. If this is a full-fledged hard drive, then you need to turn on the power on it. Some heavy removable HDDs can even be connected to the mains using a separate cable. After connecting, you need to open the drive management tool. To do this, use the key combination windows + R. In the line that appears, enter diskmgmt.msc and press Enter.

You should now see the external HDD in the list of all available drives. It will appear here even if Explorer on windows XP does not recognize it due to the lack of partitions. If an external hard drive is detected but does not open, then it needs to be formatted properly, after which it will be recognized various devices. In the case when the drive could not be detected even here, the reason may be something else.

What to do if the external hard drive is not detected? This can be caused by a hardware failure of the USB port, the lack of a necessary driver, or the failure of the drive. First of all, you need to try to run the disk through another free slot. If after such a procedure the opened HDD works normally, then the reason was in a broken USB port. It happens that the connectors on the front of the computer case have limited functionality and cannot ensure the normal operation of the external hard drive. It is recommended to use USB ports located at the back.

Computer problems

Why does the computer not see the external drive? If the portable drive does not appear in the disk management manager on windows 7 even after connecting to another connector, then it remains to find out if everything is in order with the PC and the external drive. When the computer does not see the disk, but there is another PC at hand, then you need to try connecting the drive to it. In the case when available computers do not detect an external drive, we can conclude that it is broken and cannot be restored.

If windows 10 does not see the drive, but it is recognized on other computers, then the operating system does not have the necessary drivers to detect it. Surely this can be found out using the device manager on the computer. To open it, you need to call the command line using windows + R, enter devmgmt.msc there and press Enter.

In the window that opens, the user must check all available drives for the presence of an icon in the form of a yellow exclamation mark. If such a picture is found, then the problem lies in the drivers. You need to right-click on the device with a yellow sign, go to properties and read the message that reveals the essence of the error. If you literally copy this inscription into the Google search engine, then with a high degree of probability the results found will help solve the problem, because other users have probably already encountered such a disaster.

Such system errors can be difficult to fix. If the computer stopped seeing the drive relatively recently, then you can start system recovery. In Device Manager, it is also recommended to try to update the driver or roll back to a previous version, as a result of which the HDD may start to open. You also need to try to remove the device from the list in the hope that when you reconnect, Windows XP will be able to configure it correctly.

File system and formatting

Disk Manager can be used to fix problems related to partitions and the file system. If the image visible disk is full and has unallocated space on it, you need to create a new partition on it so that it can open. To do this, you need to right-click inside the unallocated space and create a new partition.

If the HDD is divided into sectors, but the computer has stopped seeing the external drive, then you need to make sure that it has received a designation in the form of a specific letter. The computer that sees the disc should do this automatically, but in some cases the user accidentally deletes a letter, causing the disc to not be recognized. If a letter is missing, you must enter it manually.

Why does the PC not see the external hard drive? There is always the possibility that the drive is unreadable because it is using the wrong file system. The drive can be formatted with ext4 for Linux or HFS Plus for Mac. At the same time, Macbook does not see ext4, and Linux does not see HFS Plus. Even a tablet does not work with such file systems, so the drive will need to be reformatted with NTFS or the older FAT32 in case the computer does not see it. To do this, right-click on the drive and select suitable system. Note that this will delete all files on the drive. When the Macbook does not see the external hard drive, you need to format it with HFS Plus.

If the external HDD is no longer detected from another device, such as a disk player, smart TV, game console or multimedia center, then the reason may be in the NTFS file system. Many devices refuse to work with it, including the Xbox 360. In this case, you need to remove and format the portable drive using the old FAT32 file system. Keep in mind that this process will delete files on the external drive, so you need to copy them somewhere first.

All of the above recommendations did not help solve the problem, and windows does not see the HDD? In this case, we can conclude that the external hard drive is out of order, cannot be restored, and information cannot be extracted from it. Unfortunately, such equipment quite often breaks down after a few years of intensive use, and this is quite normal. The proposed video will help you understand in more detail the question of why the computer does not see the external hard drive.

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The computer does not see the external hard drive: instructions for solving the problem

What to do if the computer does not see the external hard drive? First, it is advisable to carefully consider the situation and try to understand the cause of the malfunction.

If it is large enough, then the reason for its absence in the File Manager may be insufficient power. The USB interface, depending on the type, produces different power. You can first try to insert the connecting cable sequentially into different USB sockets. As a rule, the current strength in them varies somewhat and it is quite possible that one of the USB connectors can provide enough power for normal operation devices.

There is a wide range of such accessories on the market today. All of them have different parameters and may have a completely different connection. Some have a separate cable for power connection. This needs to be checked for technical description. The possibility that this is exactly the point - the disk was connected as usual, with USB help, but forgot about the additional power cable.

If there is not enough electricity, the disk may partially work, vibrate, it will seem that everything is normal. Sometimes the USB cable itself is a slightly different type - if there is a replacement, you need to try other connectors.

It is advisable to choose a cord for connection as thick as possible and as short as possible in length. All this significantly affects the power transfer. Sometimes a problem with insufficient power can be solved by connecting a cable with two connectors on one end. These two contactors are connected to different sockets on the housing. system block and thus receive electricity from two sources.

If manipulations with the USB connection do not work, it is useful to check the operation of the device by connecting to another computer. It is possible that it is defective.

Problem in settings

Enter the management interface and see if the disk does not have a name, so the computer cannot identify it. Then you need to give him a letter.

It happens that the device is not detected due to an incorrectly assigned configuration in the BIOS. Go to the BIOS settings and if an external drive is present there, try changing the configuration to another one from the proposed list. After that, you need to restart your computer.

Problems often arise after working with programs such as Alcohol, Acronis and similar applications for managing, creating virtual disks. Sometimes, in the process of working with such programs, the computer switches to communication with virtual disks, and it stops seeing real physical drives. The danger of using such powerful applications is that they are very deeply embedded in the system registry and change internal installations computer.

In this situation, it can help to roll back the system to the previous state, when the disk management program has not yet been installed and has not had time to change anything in the system. Or so - completely remove the program along with all the settings. And do not forget to check if the previously created virtual disks are left in the computer system. They also need to be removed. After that, restart the computer and reset the CMOS settings to the default settings.

File system conflict

Often problems appear after updating the operating system. Especially when switching from windows XP to windows 7 or 8. If the device worked fine with windows XP for a long time, and after a new windows installation 8 has ceased to be detected, a change in the file system of the computer could have occurred and now the disk and the operating system seem to speak different languages.

In such a situation, if you forcibly assign a name to it and try to start doing something, the system will most likely say that the disk is not formatted and prompt you to format it immediately. If the data on the disk is not particularly important, you can do so. Then the new operating system itself will set the advising configuration to the external hard drive.

The situation is especially unpleasant if it contains important working documents or valuable files. The easiest solution is to reinstall the previously installed operating system, overwrite information from an external drive, format this drive and change the file system.

After that, install the windows update again and then it will work with the computer without any problems.

Another option is to change the file system using a special utility that you can download on one of the soft portals. Or use the same above-mentioned Alcohol or Acronis applications to change the file system.

A malfunction can sometimes be identified by ear.

1. If you don't hear any movement when you turn it on, but the power lights are on, the drive may be defective.
2. If unusual sounds are heard, knocking, ticking, intermittent beats, something has happened to the internal mechanism.

If the device behaves suspiciously, it must be immediately disconnected from the computer and taken to a workshop for verification.