"HDD not showing up or detected in Windows? Learn how to fix it"

• Reading Time: 3-5 minutes
• Applies To: Fix an unseen or new hard drive on a Windows PC, whether it's an internal or external HDD/unrecognized SSD issue.

Is your hard drive internal or external? New or old? Does it not show in File Explorer or Disk Management? Follow this guide to find out why your hard drive is not showing up, and how to make it visible again in Windows 10/8/7 without losing data:

Please provide the English content you would like translated, and I will do my best to translate it into Chinese.

Why isn't my hard drive showing up in Windows?

Note: If your hard drive is physically damaged or broken, send it to a local repair center or the manufacturer for assistance. The methods below are only for resolving logical issues that prevent the hard drive from showing up on your computer.

If your hard drive is not being detected or is not showing up in Disk Management, it may exhibit one or more of the following symptoms. It could be a connectivity issue, a driver problem, a wrong BIOS setting, or something else as outlined below:

All issues can be resolved. Follow the solutions in the next two sections to get your internal or external hard drive showing up again in Windows. We also have a video tutorial on how to fix the hard drive not showing up issue in Windows 11/10/8/7. You can refer to both the video and text solutions simultaneously.

 

Part 1: Fix for HDD (Old/New) Not Showing Up in Windows 10

Applies To: Fix the issue of an internal or new hard drive not showing up, not being recognized, or not detected in Windows 10/8/7.

Here, we've rounded up 6 methods for you to try. Depending on the current state of your hard drive, choose the appropriate method and follow the instructions to get it showing up again:

• #Solution 1. Change the Disk Connection
• #Solution 2. Format Hard Drive to NTFS
• #Solution 3. Recover Data and Create a New Partition
• #Solution 4. Change the Hard Drive Letter
• #Solution 5. Update Hard Disk Drive Drivers
• #Solution 6. Initialize Disk, Create a Volume, and Enable the Hard Drive in BIOS

For a used hard drive, try fixes 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. If your new drive isn't showing up, try fixes 3 and 6.

Let's start fixing the “hard drive not showing” error on our own:

Fix 1: Change Disk Connection – Resolves the issue of the hard drive not showing up in File Explorer

Applies to: Fix issues where an internal hard drive or new hard drive isn't showing up in File Explorer or Disk Management.

Connection issues are usually due to faulty cables or loose connections. Here's how to fix your hard drive connection so it shows up on your computer, and you can also resolve the issue of not seeing files or folders on an external hard drive in Windows 10.

Step 1: Check the cables. If the power cable or SATA cable is damaged, replace it.

Step 2: Firmly disconnect and reconnect the hard drive with its SATA cable and power cable.

Step 3: Restart your computer and check if the drive appears.

Solution 2: Format the hard drive to NTFS – Fixes issue with undetected hard drive with RAW or corrupted file system

Applies to: Fix the hard drive not showing up issue due to unsupported, RAW, or corrupted file system.

When your hard drive shows up as RAW or “*Other” in Disk Management, it means that your hard drive has a file system error.

In this case, the best solution is to format the drive to a supported file system. To do this:

Step 1: In Windows 10/8, press Windows + X and click on 'Disk Management'.

In Windows 7, right-click the Start icon and select “Search.” Type in disk management, then click it.

Step 2: Right-click on your drive and select “Format.”

Step 3. Choose NTFS as the file system, check the "Quick Format" box, and then click "OK" to begin formatting the drive.

Note: Since formatting will lead to data loss, do not forget to use a data recovery tool to retrieve all your hard drive data after Step 3.

Solution 3: Recover Data and Create New Partition - Fix Unallocated Hard Drive Not Showing Issue

Applies to: Resolving issues where the hard drive is not showing up but appears as unallocated or unknown, or a new hard drive shows as uninitialized in Disk Management.

If your hard drive suddenly becomes unallocated, it might be due to accidental deletion, a virus attack, or some unknown reason that led to the loss of partitions on the disk.

You should attempt to recover data from the unallocated space first, and then create a new volume on the disk so that the drive becomes visible again.

Method 1: Recover Data from an Unallocated Hard Drive

Professional hard drive data recovery software like Data Recovery Wizard can thoroughly scan for lost partitions and recover your files from unallocated disk space.

The software will mark unallocated space on the disk as a lost partition, so you can simply select it for scanning and find everything that was on the drive:

Step 1: Select the disk where you lost data and click on “Scan”.

Step 2: After the scan, use the "Filter" or "Search" option to look for the lost files.

Step 3. Select all the files you want to recover and click on “Recover.” Next, browse and choose a different secure location to save them.

Before you make the drive appear again and ensure that it's safe to save files to, make sure to save the recovered files to a different secure location. If you can't fix the issue yourself, you could also turn to a professional Data Recovery Service.

Please provide the English content you would like translated, and I'll promptly translate it into Chinese for you.

Hard Drive Data Recovery Service

Contact our experts for a free evaluation.

Consult with our Data Recovery Tool experts for one-on-one manual recovery services. After a free diagnosis, we offer the following services:

• Fix issues with HDDs, SSDs, external hard drives, USB flash drives, and pen drives
• Repair disks that are unreadable or inaccessible due to bad sectors
• Repair disks converted to GPT protected partitions
• Recover damaged RAW drives that require formatting (supporting BitLocker encrypted drives)
• Erase data, format hard drives, install/uninstall software or drivers, etc.

Method 2: Create a New Partition to Show the Hard Drive

After you've recovered all your important files, you can create a new partition so that the hard drive appears again on your computer and is usable.

Step 1: Right-click "This PC," select "Manage," and then click "Disk Management."

Step 2: Right-click on the “Unallocated” space and select “New Simple Volume…”

Step 3: In the New Simple Volume Wizard, click Next to continue.

Step 4: Specify the size of the volume, assign it a drive letter, set the file system to NTFS, and click “Next.”

5. When Disk Management shows that it has created a new volume on the hard drive, click “Finish.”

Fix 4: Change the Hard Drive Letter - Resolve disk not showing issue due to drive letter conflict

Applies to: Fixes an issue where a hard drive doesn't show in File Explorer due to drive letter conflict or no drive letter assigned to the hard drive.

When your hard drive letter conflicts with another drive on your computer, it will show up as "New Volume" in Disk Management. As a result, it won't appear in File Explorer.

The best way to make a hard drive show up, then, is to change its drive letter. Here's how:

Step 1: Right-click on the unallocated hard drive partition, or the one marked as “New Volume,” in Disk Management.

Step 2: Select "Change drive letter and paths". In the new window, click "Change".

Step 3. Assign a new drive letter to your external or internal drive, and click “OK.”

Fix 5: Update Disk Drivers - Resolve hard drive not showing issue caused by outdated disk drivers

Applies to: Fix the issue where a hard drive is not showing up in File Explorer. There's a yellow exclamation mark on the hard drive in Disk Management.

If you see a yellow exclamation mark on your hard drive under “Disk Drives” in “Device Manager,” it means that the driver is outdated. As a result, the hard drive won't show up in File Explorer or Disk Management.

The only solution is to update the driver, and here's how:

Step 1: Right-click on "This PC" and select "Manage".

Step 2: Click on “Device Manager,” and then expand “Disk Drives.”

Step 3: Right-click on the external or internal drive in question and select “Update driver.”

Step 4: Click on Search automatically for updated driver software online.

Wait for the driver update to finish, and then restart your computer. After that, you can check if the hard drive appears.

Fix 6: Initialize the disk, create volumes, and enable in BIOS – Fix for new hard drive not showing up issue

Applies to: Fixes an issue where a new hard drive doesn't appear in File Explorer.

Most of the time, if you have a new hard drive, you need to initialize it first and then create a new partition on it, and enable it in BIOS so that your new hard drive will show up in Windows 10/8/7.

Step 1: Initialize the disk and create a volume on the new hard drive

Step 1: Right-click on "This PC" (in Windows 10) and select "Manage."

Step 2: In Disk Management, right-click your new drive and select Initialize Disk.

Step 3: Select the disk, then choose MBR or GPT as the partition style, and click "OK" to begin.

4. Right-click on the “Unallocated” space on your new drive, and select “New Simple Volume.”

Step 5: Set the volume size, drive letter, and NTFS file system for the new hard disk.

Step 6: When you're done, click Finish.

Step 2: Enable the hard drive in BIOS

If the hard drive is disabled in the BIOS, the operating system won't detect it, causing it to not show up in Windows. Therefore, it's necessary to check if the hard drive is disabled in the BIOS.

Step 1: Restart your computer and press F2 or Del to enter the BIOS.

Step 2: Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to select Integrated Peripherals and press Enter.

Step 3: Use the arrow keys to highlight “USB Controller”

If it's disabled, change this option to Enabled.

Step 4. Save the changes and exit the BIOS.

Then restart your computer and see if it detects your hard drive.

You might also be interested in:

If you're experiencing similar issues with a USB flash drive or external hard disk, all of the above fixes should apply. You can also seek help via the links below.

Part 2: Fix External Hard Drive Not Showing Up - 4 Solutions

Fix issues with external hard drive not showing up or not being detected by a Windows PC.

Most of the time, when your external hard drive is not showing up in Windows 10/8/7, make sure that your new hard drive is properly connected to the PC.

After that, you can choose a suitable solution to fix the external hard drive so that it shows up and works normally on your computer:

1. #Solution 1: Replace the USB cable/USB port and reconnect the external hard drive
2. #Solution 2: Format the external hard drive to NTFS/exFAT
3. #Solution 3: Reinstall the external hard drive disk driver
4. #Solution 4: Update the Generic USB Controller Driver

So, the solution is clear now. You just need to make your new hard drive detectable the right way and get it shown on your computer again.

Solution 1: Try a different USB cable, USB port, and reconnect the external drive

通常，只需更改外部硬盘到电脑的连接方式，就能让它显示出来。

Step 1: If your old USB port is damaged, replace it with a new one and connect your hard drive to the computer.

If your external drive doesn't show up, try plugging it into a different USB port and reconnecting it to your computer.

Step 3: Connect the external hard drive to another computer

If it doesn't appear here, your computer isn't detecting the external hard drive. Try the three solutions below to get it to show up again.

Fix 2: Format the external hard drive to NTFS/exFAT

If an external hard drive shows up as “RAW” or “*Other,” it may not display properly on your computer.

Step 1: Connect the external hard drive to your computer.

Step 2: Right-click on the external hard drive that shows RAW or unknown file system in Disk Management.

Step 3: Select “Format” and set the external hard drive's format to “NTFS” or “exFAT.”

Step 4: Click "OK" to complete the formatting.

If you lost files after formatting, turn to a data recovery wizard tool. It will scan and find all your lost files.

Fix 3: Reinstall the disk driver - to resolve the issue of an external hard drive not showing with a yellow exclamation mark

Applies to: Solves the issue of an external hard drive not showing up in Disk Management or having a yellow exclamation mark.

When the driver for an external hard drive is out of date, it will not show up in File Explorer. It will have a yellow exclamation point over it in the Disk Drives section.

The only solution is to update the driver. Here's how:

Step 1. Right-click the Start button and select Device Manager.

Step 2: Expand "Disk Drives" and find your external hard drive.

Step 3: Right-click on the problematic peripheral and select “Uninstall device.”

Step 4. Click “OK” to confirm. Restart your computer and reconnect the external hard drive to it.

Fix 4: Update outdated BUS controller drivers on the external hard drive

Applies to: Fix issues where an external hard drive is not showing up or not detected on a Windows computer.

If the external hard drive works on one computer but is not recognized on another, try updating the USB controller drivers on the computer that isn't displaying the drive.

Step 1: Right-click on "This PC" and select "Manage."

Step 2: Click on Device Manager, then expand Universal Serial Bus controllers.

Step 3: Right-click on “USB Root Hub (USB 3.0)” and select “Update Driver”.

Step 4: Choose “Search automatically for updated driver software,” then restart your computer.

More help:

If the above solutions fail to resolve your issue with the external hard drive not showing, don't worry. You can get more assistance from the tutorial pages below. Browse through to find the solution that best suits you.

11 Ways to Fix Toshiba External Hard Drive Not Working

A Toshiba external hard drive may fail to work on Windows, showing as not displayed, unrecognized, or with missing files. Follow this guide to identify your issue and fix your Toshiba HDD.

Please provide the English content you want translated, and I'll do my best to translate it into Chinese.

Part 3: Extra Tips to Fix Hard Drive Not Showing Files Issue

Sometimes, a hard drive might not show files that are present. Note that files lost from a hard drive can still be recovered. Files might disappear due to the following:

• The files are hidden by malware or a virus.
• The files were accidentally deleted.
• The computer is unable to recognize the file system on the hard drive.

To address these issues, you can follow these steps:

Step 1. Recover hidden or deleted files from your hard drive.

A reliable data recovery tool like Data Recovery Wizard can help you get all your files back from the hard drive in three easy steps, as shown in Method 3, Part 1.

Step two: Run an antivirus or malware removal tool to get rid of any viruses or malware.

Step 3: Format the drive to restore its full capacity and set the file system to NTFS.

You can now use the drive and save files on it. For more information, refer to the article on Pen Drive not showing data files for assistance.

Finish Line

In this guide, we explain why your hard drive or external hard drive might not be showing up on your Windows computer. We also provide you with several solutions and fixes to help you get your external or internal drive, as well as a new hard drive, visible again without losing your data.

Sometimes, you might encounter the same issue on a USB drive, SD card, or other devices. These fixes also apply to fixing such errors on USBs, SD cards, and the like.

1. "Hard Drive Not Showing Up in My Computer" 2. "USB Drive Not Detected by Windows" 3. "External Hard Disk Not Recognized by Mac" 4. "Internal HDD Not Visible in File Explorer" 5. "SD Card Not Showing in Device Manager" 6. "Hidden Partition Not Displayed on Desktop" 7. "NAS Device Not Found on Network" 8. "CD/DVD Drive Missing from System Tray" 9. "Unallocated Space Not Shown in Disk Management" 10. "Unknown File System Error on Hard Drive" 11. "Drive Letter Assignment Issue: Drive Not Assigned" 12. "Bootable USB Not Recognized During Boot Process" 13. "Firewire or eSATA Drive Not Detected" 14. "RAW Drive Not Accessible in Windows" 15. "HDD Fails to Appear in BIOS/UEFI Setup Utility" Please note that these phrases are translations of common issues users might encounter with their storage devices, not actual sentences or questions.

Aside from troubleshooting the issue where a new or old hard drive is not showing up in File Explorer or Disk Management, we'll also try to answer some common questions about these problems.

If you have any questions, the following information should help:

1. What should I do if my internal hard drive is not detected?

As mentioned on this page, there are several ways to fix an internal hard drive that isn't being detected.

For a new hard disk, you need to initialize the disk and then create partitions on it.

For used hard drives, try the tips listed in Section 1 above.

• Change the hard drive letter;
• Restore lost partition data and create new partitions;
• Update the hard drive drivers;
• Check the hard drive connections, and enable it in BIOS.

2. How Can I Get Windows 10 to Recognize My New Hard Drive?

Similar to the solutions provided on this page, when a new hard drive is not detected or recognized on Windows 10, you should primarily follow these recommendations:

Check the new hard drive connection > Initialize the new hard drive and create partitions > Update the drive letter > Enable it in BIOS.

Why isn't my hard drive showing up on my Mac?

The reasons for a hard drive not showing up on a Mac are very similar to the reasons a hard drive won't show up on a Windows computer.

Here's a list of possible reasons why a hard drive might not show up on a Mac: 1. **不兼容的文件系统**: 如果外部硬盘使用的是Mac不支持的文件系统（如FAT32或NTFS），它可能无法被识别。Mac OS X原生支持HFS+和exFAT。 2. **连接问题**: 确保硬盘正确连接到Mac。如果使用USB线，尝试更换线缆或使用不同的USB端口。对于Thunderbolt或FireWire驱动器，检查连接是否牢固。 3. **驱动器未初始化**: 如果硬盘未经过初始化或格式化，Mac将无法读取它。打开“磁盘工具”并尝试初始化硬盘。 4. **硬件故障**: 硬盘可能存在物理损坏，导致无法在Mac上显示。这可能需要专业人员进行诊断和修复。 5. **电源问题**: 如果是外接硬盘，确保它有足够的电源供应。某些硬盘可能需要独立的电源适配器，而不仅仅是通过USB供电。 6. **驱动程序或固件问题**: 硬盘的驱动程序或固件可能已过时或存在错误。访问制造商的网站以获取更新。 7. **OS版本不兼容**: 某些硬盘功能可能与特定版本的macOS不兼容。确保你的Mac运行的是最新版本的操作系统。 8. **磁盘空间已满**: 如果硬盘空间已满，它可能不会在Finder中显示。清理一些空间应该可以解决问题。 9. **逻辑错误或坏道**: 硬盘可能存在逻辑错误或坏道，影响其正常工作。使用“磁盘工具”的“验证磁盘”和“修复磁盘”功能来检查。 10. **隐藏或禁用的卷**: 有时，硬盘的分区可能被隐藏或设置为不可见。在终端中使用命令行工具（如`diskutil list`）来查找隐藏的卷。 如果以上方法都无法解决问题，可能需要专业的数据恢复服务或联系硬盘制造商的技术支持。

• Hard drive connection issue
• Desktop or Finder settings problem
• USB port issue
• Damaged hard drive
• Outdated macOS and firmware version
• ...

For a step-by-step guide, you can follow the instructions in USB flash drive not showing up on Mac to fix the issue of Mac not detecting the hard drive and make the drive detectable again.