How to Resolve Issues with a Non-Working/Unrecognized Buffalo External Hard Drive

"I've had this 2TB Buffalo external hard drive disconnected from my computer for several months. The last time I used it, it appeared to be working normally. Today, I intended to transfer more files from my computer to free up space on my internal hard drive, but now I'm faced with an unresponsive external hard drive... It's storing so many important documents, sigh! I'm extremely frustrated, please help..."

Is this issue the same for you? That is, does your external hard drive appear and get recognized normally when connected to your computer? But what if your Buffalo external hard disk doesn't show up? That's frustrating! This page now outlines reliable solutions to fix the "Buffalo external hard drive not working" issue. Let's proceed to the fixes:

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Why Isn't My Buffalo External Hard Drive Appearing?

Check the following reasons for a recognized Buffalo hard drive:

• Damaged USB port or cable.
• Application conflict.
• Outdated driver.
• The computer cannot recognize the format of the external device.
• Driver letter conflict.
• ...

Before attempting to fix the issue in every possible way, try switching the USB port or cable as a quick check. Sometimes, the USB port or cable might be damaged. If your device has multiple USB ports, attempt to use a different port to see if the hard drive becomes detectable. If this resolves the issue, proceed to recover your data first and then explore other potential solutions.

Recover Data Before Performing Advanced Troubleshooting

Unrecognized? Then how to access important data stored on it? And the advanced repair methods may cause data loss, like one of the ways relate to formatting your hard disk. So, before applying any tricks to fix your undetectable problem, you should do data recovery first.

Data Recovery Wizard Tools can retrieve files from any damaged storage devices, encompassing internal/external hard drives, USB flash drives, memory cards, and more. With just three simple steps, you can effortlessly recover your data from an external hard drive.

Click the download button to install the Data Recovery Wizard tool on your Windows or Mac, and refer to the step-by-step guide for assistance:

Step 1. Select and scan the external hard drive

1. Download and install the Data Recovery tool on your PC or laptop. 2. Connect the external hard drive to your computer. 3. Launch the Data Recovery Wizard and select the external drive from the External Drives list. Then, click on Scan for Lost Data.

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Step 2. Review the scan results

• Tools Data Recovery Software will immediately scan the selected drive for all data, including deleted, corrupted, and existing data.
• You can utilize the Filter feature to swiftly locate files of a specific type, such as Pictures, Word documents, Excel sheets, PDFs, videos, emails, etc.

Step 3. Preview and recover data

1. Double-click on a file from the scan results to preview it. 2. Select the files you wish to recover and click "Recover." 3. Choose a different drive to save the recovered files, rather than the original location.

Fix 1: Update the Driver

If your operating system doesn't support this hard drive, then your device definitely won't show up. What you can do is update the driver.

Step 1. Press Windows + X, and then click Device Manager from the context menu.

Step 2. Expand Disk Drives and locate your external device from the list.

Step 3. Right-click on the external hard drive icon and select Update Driver.

Step 4. Choose Search automatically for updated driver software.

Step 5. Wait for the process to complete and then check your disk on the computer.

Fix 2: Create a New Volume (Unallocated Space in Disk Management)

Sometimes, Disk Management can be a helpful tool to assess your device's status, even if it's not displaying or being recognized as before. You can start by checking the Disk Manager. (Press Windows + R and then click on Disk Management.)

If your disk is displayed as unallocated space, follow these steps:

Step 1. Right-click on the unallocated space on the external hard drive, and select New Simple Volume.

Step 2. On the New Simple Volume Wizard window, click Next.

Step 3. Choose the file system, allocation unit size, and volume label.

Choose the file system as NTFS or exFAT. Select the volume size or accept the default one. Assign a drive letter to your volume.

Step 4. Click Next. Review your configurations, and then click Finish.

If your external hard drive appears as RAW in Disk Management, proceed to Solution 3 in the following section.

Solution 3: Format Buffalo External Hard Drive (RAW in Disk Management)

If the device's partition is displayed as RAW in Disk Management, it indicates that there is an issue with your file system, which prevents it from being recognized. In this case, you should format the external hard drive.

Note: Formatting will delete all data on the device. Ensure that you have used the Data Recovery Wizard tool to retrieve your data first.

Step 1. Connect the external hard drive and open Disk Management.

Step 2. Right-click on the external hard drive and select Format from the context menu.

Step 3. Choose the file system and set the volume label. (Make sure to check the Quick Format option.)

Step 4. Click Start to format your drive.

Fix 4: Change Drive Letter

Another possible reason is that the drive letter of the external hard drive might be in conflict with the internal hard drive.

Step 1. Press Windows + X and select Disk Management to launch it.

Step 2. Select the volume and choose the Change Drive Letter and Paths option.

Step 3. Select a new drive letter and click OK.

Fix 5. Other Complementary Methods (Optional)

Temporarily Disable Security Software: Security software might interfere with the detection of the hard drive. You can either pause or uninstall it and then try reconnecting the drive.

Connect the external hard drive to another computer: You can plug the Buffalo external hard drive into another computer. If it is recognized by that computer, it indicates that your original computer is not compatible with the Buffalo external hard drive.

In conclusion

On this page, we have presented one data recovery software and five solutions for your convenience. Regardless of the method you choose, it is highly recommended to first recover your data using the tool Data Recovery Wizard. When addressing issues with your Buffalo external hard drive not functioning or being recognized, you can attempt the first four remedies. If you have any questions or better suggestions, please feel free to reach out to us at support@tools.com or through our online chat service.