External Hard Drive Not Showing Up on Windows 10: Fix it Now!

Is your external hard drive not showing up on Windows 10? If ye then don’t fret. We have got some effective ways for you to fix this issue. Let’s get started!

In this particular blog, we will discuss the causes and the methods through which you can resolve hard drive errors.

Why is My External Hard Drive Not Showing Up?

Whether you have a new or old hard drive, it may not be detected by your computer. This may also happen that your hard drive might not show up in the Disk Management or File Explorer folder.

There can be several reasons that are responsible for this error. Below we are listing a few reasons that your external hard drive not showing up on PC.

• Drive file system is corrupted or unsupported
• Connection is problematic
• Damaged USB ports
• Hard drive shows as Unallocated or not initialized
• Outdated hard drive driver
• Malfunctioned USB device
• Drive letter dispute
• The new hard drive is not initialized
• Incorrect file in an external drive
• Damaged hard drive
• Virus-infected computer
• The new hard drive is not enabled in BIOS

If your computer ran into such a problem where the external hard drive not showing on Windows 10 then you need to execute some practical solutions. Therefore, we are going to suggest some methods using which you can fix this issue. Based on the specific problem, you can apply different methods. Let’s get them right now!

How to Fix If Seagate External Hard Drive Not Showing Up on Windows 10?

Most users have been reporting “why is my external hard drive not showing up?” If you have the same enquiry then it’s time to get your answers. Here, we will discuss a number of methods.

First, we will start with the basic ones. For instance, you can try disconnecting the power supply, USB device, and using some other USB port and computer. Due to some reason USB device not recognized in windows find out the reason why.

Users shared their feedback that implementing basic methods help to fix the problem. However, there are instances when you stumble upon a serious hardware problem and to deal with it, you need to perform troubleshooting methods. Let’s go through them one by one.

Method 1: Disconnect Power Supply

If your external hard drive not showing up on Windows 10, the first thing is to disconnect the power supply. All you have to Shut down your Windows computer. Thereafter, you can disconnect your power cable from the PC. After a few minutes, you can connect the power cable and turn on the computer.

Method 2: Disconnect the USB Device

In this method, you are suggested to disconnect your USB device. For this, you are required to remove the USB device from your Windows computer. Then, you can restart your PC(Try the guide if your system stuck during restart). Lastly, you can connect your USB device again. This trick often works and resolves errors related to the hard drive connection.

Method 3: Try Another USB Port or Computer

There are instances when your hard drive is completely fine but the USB port is not working. To detect such situations, you should try using another USB port or another computer so that you can identify that the problem is with your hard drive or port. In case your hard drive does not work in another computer or port then you can continue following other methods.

Method 4: Update USB Device Drivers

If you are concerned about why my external hard drive is not showing up, then you should check your device drivers. The device drivers can be corrupt or outdated. If they are corrupt, you should replace them.

In case your drivers are running the old version then you should update them immediately. Here, you can learn to update the device drivers in the following steps:

• Launch the “Run” box by pressing the “Windows” + “R” keys on your keyboard.
• Then, type in “devmgmt.msc” in the text field.
• Press the “Enter” key or “OK” button.
• Now, expand the “Disk Drives” sections.
• Right-click on your External USB drive that is currently connected.
• Click on the “Properties”.
• Go to the “Driver” tab.
• Click on the “Update Driver Software” and follow the on-screen instructions.

This is how you can update the device drivers. In case, your system has no drivers installed or is corrupt then you can download the latest drivers from the manufacturer’s website. Make sure that you install the compatible drivers for your Windows computer.

If you are thinking about why an external hard drive not showing in my computer on Windows 10, you can solve this problem by installing the correct device drivers.

Method 5: Create New Drive Volume

If your device is shown in the Disk Management then you can generate a new drive volume. When you perform this step, the USB stick may display an Unallocated space. However, you can build a new partition so that your Windows can access this.

To generate a new drive, you can follow these steps mentioned below:

• Click right on the “Start” button.
• Select the “Disk Management” option.
• Click right on the “Unallocated space”.
• Then, click on “New Simple Volume” and follow on-screen instructions.

After implementing these steps, you have to make sure that it has a driver letter. This should be done automatically. However, if you remove it manually then the drive will not be detected on Windows. To add or change the drive letter, you can continue reading the next method.

Method 6: Change Drive Letter

In this method, we will learn to change the Drive letter. If the external USB Drive shows up in the Disk Management then you can rename it. For this, you can follow these steps mentioned below:

• Click right on “This PC” or “My Computer”.
• Select the “Manage” option.
• Click on the “Disk Management” option.

• Click right on your external drive.
• Select the “Change Drive Letter and Paths”.

• Click on “Add” and pick a letter (if it does not have any drive letter assigned).

• If it already has a letter, click on the “Change” button. Then, choose a different letter.
• Click the “OK” button.

This is how you can create and change the drive letter. So if you are thinking about why my external hard drive not showing up on Windows 10 then the above-mentioned steps would help you to fix the issue.

Method 7: Fix USB Root Hub

If your PC external hard drive not showing up, this method suggests you fix the USB root hub. To do so, you can follow these steps instructed below.

• Launch the “Run” box by pressing the “Windows” + “R” keys on your keyboard.
• Then, type in “devmgmt.msc” in the text field.
• Press the “Enter” key or “OK” button.
• Expand the “Universal Serial Bus controllers”.
• Click right on the “USB Root Hub” option.
• Now, click on “Properties”.
• Select the “Power Management”.
• Uncheck the checkbox that says “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power”.

Note: For all USB Root Hubs, you can follow the same process. Make sure you save your changes and restart your computer. If your hard drive is still unable to detect then visit the Power Management tab for each USB Root Hub and check every box again.

After applying all these steps, you can check using the hard drive. If the Seagate external hard drive not showing up on Windows 10 then you can change the USB settings. Continue reading to understand better.

Method 8: Modify the USB Selective Suspend Settings

Another method to fix your hardware problems is to change the USB Selective Suspend settings. This method is effective enough to resolve connectivity errors. Let’s know how to get this job done in the following steps:

• Open the “Control Panel”.
• Click on the “Hardware and Sound”.
• Go to “Power Options”.
• Now, under the “Preferred plans” section, click on the “Change plan settings”. This must be located next to the “Balanced (recommended)” option.
• Select the “Change advanced power settings” option.
• Expand the “USB settings”.
• Then, choose the “Disabled” option in the “USB selective suspend settings”.
• Click the “Apply” and “OK” button to save settings.

This will disable the USB Selective Suspend settings. There are chances that you can get rid of the errors and your Windows PC can detect the hard drive easily.

Note: In case you are performing these steps on your laptop, you will see two options: Plugged in and On Battery. At this moment, you can select a Disable option for both settings.

Method 9: Format Drive in Disk Management

After creating the partition, if your external hard drive not showing on Windows 10, this happens because it is partitioned with another file system.

For instance, if you formatted the drive with APFS on a Mac or XFS file from Linux then Windows would not be able to read these files (as they are unsupported). In this scenario, what you can do is to format the drive with the older FAT32 or newer NTFS file system. Doing so Windows PC will recognize the hard drive.

Note: After formatting the drive, your files will be erased. So, make sure that you copy the important files on another device. If you have formatted the hard drive on Mac or Linux then take it to the computer running the same OS and back up your files before formatting it.

Now, let’s know how to reformat a partition in the following steps:

• Click right on the “Start” button.
• Select the “Disk Management” option.
• Right click and choose the “Format” option.
• When you format the drive, you can give your drive a new name.
• Make sure you mark the “Allocation Unit Size” as “Default”.
• Leave the “Perform a Quick Format” option checked.
• Then, you can choose a “File System”.

File System can be selected based on the type of drive and your purpose for using it. However, FAT32 is more compatible as it supports all the devices, cameras, games consoles, media players, and more.

Method 10: Run the Clean Command

In some cases, formatting the drive does not work efficiently. To regain the capacity of your drive, you can run a Clean command. This will return your drive to the unformatted state.

Note: This method can erase anything. So, perform this method only when you have no other option left. Also, make sure that you clean the correct disk or else you could lose more data.

Now, lets know how to perform a Clean command in the following steps:

• Click on the “Start” menu.
• Type in “diskpart” in the search bar.
• Press the “Enter” key.
• When you see the prompt, type “list disk”.
• Press the “Enter” key. This will show the disks that are plugged into your system.

If you find the drive, pay attention to its size and note down the name. Let’s assume its name as Disk 2 then run the command: select disk 2, using the disk that you wish to clean.

• Then, type “clean” and hit the “Enter”.

This will erase your disk successfully and then you can start from the scratch. Hopefully, your error will be resolved and your Windows PC should detect your hard drive.

Method 11: Run Hardware Troubleshooter

If you are thinking about why an external hard drive not showing in my computer on Windows 10, you can solve this problem by running the troubleshooter. Let’s know how to run the troubleshooter in the following steps:

• Launch the “Settings” app by pressing “Windows” +”I” key on your keyboard.
• Select the “Update & Security” option.
• Click on “Troubleshoot” located on the left pane.
• In the right pane, choose the “Hardware and Devices”.
• Select the “Run the troubleshooter” button.

Once the troubleshooter starts working, you can continue following the on-screen instructions. Then, you can try using the hardware and this should work perfectly.

If you are still facing issues and thinking why my external hard drive is not showing up, then you should uninstall the problematic device drivers. Continue reading in the next step.

Method 12: Uninstall the Problematic Drivers

When the external hard drive not showing up on PC, this can be due to the problematic drivers. To prevent this, you can remove the driver from your computer. To do so, you can follow these steps discussed below:

• Launch the “Run” box by pressing the “Windows” + “R” keys on your keyboard.
• Then, type in “devmgmt.msc” in the text field.
• Press the “Enter” key or “OK” button.
• Now, expand the “Disk Drives” sections.
• Right click on your driver and choose the “Uninstall device” option.
• Then, click right again and this time select “Scan for hardware changes”.

Doing so, your Windows computer starts installing the default drivers for the portable hard drive. Uninstalling the devices under the Universal Serial Bus Controllers will also help you out. However, you have to be sure to perform this step.

Method 13: Download Mass Storage Device Driver

If you are concerned about why this external hard drive not showing in my computer on Windows 10, you can solve this error by installing the mass storage device drivers. Let’s know more:

• Press the “Windows” + “R” keys on your keyboard to launch the “Run” box.
• Then, type in “devmgmt.msc” in the text field.
• Press the “Enter” key or “OK” button.
• Find the portable hard drive and click right on it.
• Select the “Update driver” button.
• Click on “Browse my computer for driver software”.
• Select the “Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer”.
• Go “Next”.
• Click on the “Mass Storage Device” driver to install it.

When these drivers are installed on your computer, the error will be fixed automatically. Thereafter, you can try to connect your hard drive and this should work perfectly now.

Suggestion: Although the aforementioned methods are quite helpful and effective to fix the issues. Yet if you find any trouble connecting your hard drive to Windows PC then you can contact the Data Recovery Service provider.

Conclusion

Hard drive connectivity issues can occur due to minor drive errors. These errors can be fixed easily. Therefore, in this guide, we have provided you the best possible solutions through which you can make your hard drive work efficiently.

For instance, you can update your USB device drivers, create new Drive volume, assign a new Drive letter, change USB Selective Suspend settings, fix USB Root Hub, format Drive, run troubleshooter, and more.

Hopefully, you find this guide helpful!

Do you want to know more about Windows PC errors? If yes, don’t miss out on the following guides:

• DPC Watchdog Violation on Windows 10?
• Fix Service error 1053