External hard drives are often used to back up important data from our Windows computers. When one fails, it can be a disaster. But don't worry – we'll explain how to get it working again and save those precious files.

Applies to: Solve errors of external hard drive, USB drive, SD card, internal HDD/SSD, and other devices not working or not responding on Windows PC.

Quick Guide - 3 Steps to Fix External Hard Drive Not Working/Responding Error: Step 1: Check Hardware Connections

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The methods below should work for any external hard drive, including WD Elements, Seagate, SanDisk, Toshiba, and more.

Reasons Why External Hard Drive is Not Working/Not Responsive

If your external hard drive has suddenly stopped working or your computer isn't recognizing it, don't panic. There are a number of reasons why this might be happening, such as:

You don't have to buy a new external hard drive and lose all your precious data. First, check what's causing the external hard drive to fail:

• Corrupted link
• Unsupported, RAW, or invalid file system
• Drive letter conflict or no drive letter assigned
• No partition
• Uninitialized
• Outdated disk driver
• Outdated USB root hub
• Physical damage to the hard drive
• ...

Regardless of the cause, you might be able to revive the drive or at least recover the data by trying the following.

You might also be interested in:

If your PC's hard drive is having similar issues, you can try the following fixes.

Hard Drive Not Showing Up or Recognized in Windows? Learn How to Fix It

What should you do if an internal or external hard drive is not showing up in File Explorer or Disk Management? Follow these tips to get your system to recognize them again.

Part 1: Making an Undetected External Hard Drive Recognizable

Applies to: Solving an issue where an external hard drive is not detected due to a connection problem.

If your external hard drive has suddenly stopped working or your computer isn't detecting it, start by checking the physical connections.

Step 1: Check and replace the external hard drive's cable

First, check the cable connecting the drive to the computer.

If the USB connector is loose in its socket, try pushing it firmly back into place to see if that resolves the issue. If the cable is damaged, replace it with a new one and try again. In fact, even if you can't see any obvious damage, you should probably replace the cable, as the problem could be internal.

Method 2: Try a Different USB Port or Computer

If the cable seems fine, it could be that a USB port on your computer is faulty.

Try plugging the drive into a different port to see if that helps. If possible, try connecting the drive to another computer to determine whether the problem is with the drive or the computer itself.

Check the power management of your USB hub

If the above methods don't work, you should check if your Windows power settings are causing the issue. Here's how:

Step 1. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog box, and type in devmgmt.msc then hit Enter.

Step 2. Open Device Manager > expand Universal Serial Bus controllers.

Step 3. Right-click on “USB Root Hub” > “Properties” > “Power Management” > uncheck “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.”

Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power

After doing so, your computer should detect and recognize the external hard drive. If it does, try opening the drive and accessing your data.

If that doesn't work, don't worry – part two of this guide will teach you how to use a data recovery tool to get all your precious data back.

Part 2: Recover Data Before Fixing a Hard Drive That Won't Boot

After making the external hard drive detectable, we recommend that you immediately back up any data stored on the disk. This will not only ensure that you have copies of your files, but it will also prevent you from losing any content on the disk while attempting to fix the issue. Here's how to rescue your files:

< strong > 3 Steps to Recover Data from External Hard Drive

To get data back from a problem drive, you need specialist software. Data Recovery Wizard is the perfect tool – it's fast, reliable, and easy to use.

See How to Recover Data from an External Hard Drive Yourself.

Step 1. Connect your to the computer with the right USB cable. Run the , and you will see your external disk under . This software supports all popular external hard drive brands, including WD, Seagate, Toshiba, LaCie, SanDisk, Samsung, etc.

Select your external hard drive and click the “Scan” button.

Step 2: As the scan progresses, the software will find more and more of your lost and deleted data, displaying it in the scan results. The recovered data is well organized. You can quickly locate your target file/folder by file type, or search for it by its exact name in the search box.

Step 3. You can preview the files found by the scanning algorithm of the Data Recovery Wizard. Then, select the files you wish to recover and click 'Recover'. To avoid data overwriting, we recommend saving the recovered data to a different drive than the original Seagate one.

Please make sure not to save the recovered data on it before you fix and get the external hard drive working normally.

Part 3: How to Fix "External Hard Drive Not Working/Not Responding" Error

So let's look at how to fix a disk that doesn't work or can't be detected.

To see what needs fixing, open Disk Management in Windows and check the drive's status.

• #1. Check and Fix Disk Errors on External Hard Drive - Corrupted file system errors on the hard drive
• #2. Format External Hard Drive to NTFS - Drive shows as RAW or unsupported file system
• #3. Create New Partition on External Hard Drive - Drive appears as Unallocated
• #4. Assign a New Drive Letter to the External Disk - Drive shows as "New Volume" without a drive letter
• #5. Initialize External Hard Drive and Create New Volume - Drive is unknown or unitialized
• #6. Update Disk Drivers
• #7. Update Universal Serial Bus (USB) Controllers
• #8. Run Antivirus Software
• #9. Seek Assistance from the External Hard Drive Manufacturer or Repair Center

Methods 1-7 should fix most non-bootable drives, but if not, you can fall back on Methods 8 and 9. Let's go step by step.

Method 1: Check and fix hard drive errors on the external drive

Applies to: Fix issues where an external hard drive fails to work due to unknown disk errors or corrupted file systems.

In most cases, a Windows computer fails to detect or access an internal or external hard drive when it encounters unknown errors or the file system gets corrupted.

Two approaches to addressing these problems are worth considering.

Option 1: Run Partition Management Free Software to Fix External Hard Drive Not Responding Error

Please download and install the free partition manager tool on your computer.

Step 1: Right-click the problematic partition.

Step 2. Choose Advanced > Check File System.

Step 3: Confirm whether to hide the partition.

< strong > Step 4. In the "Check File System" window, select the option to attempt repairs if errors are found .

Click “Start” to begin checking for partition errors.

Option 2: Manually fix external hard drive errors using CMD

1. Type cmd in the search bar, then right-click and select "Run as administrator."

Step 2. Right-click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.

Step 3: Type chkdsk /f /r /x g: and press Enter to begin the scan.

Note: Replace g with the letter assigned to your external hard drive.

Step 4: When you're done, type exit and press Enter to close the program.

Now Windows should detect your disk. If it still doesn't, try the alternate method.

Option 3: Fix external disk file system errors using CMD

The Command Prompt is a powerful way to fix issues on Windows, but entering the wrong code can cause serious problems. That's why we recommend you try the Clean Genius tool instead.

It is a handy and safe way to fix file system or disk errors, as follows:

Download and install CleanGenius. Now let's start checking and fixing file system errors on your device.

Step 1: Click "File Display" to proceed.

Click the file to display as shown in

Step 2: Select the target device and check the box for “Check and repair file system errors.” Click “Run” to start fixing the problematic device.

Step 3: When the process is complete, click here to open and use your device.

Method 2: Reformat the External Hard Drive to NTFS to Fix the Issue

Applies to: Solve external hard drive not working/not detected/not responding issues due to RAW or unsupported file system.

If your external hard drive shows up as RAW or unsupported file system in Windows Disk Management, the best solution is to reformat the hard drive.

Here's how to format a drive that displays as RAW or unsupported file system:

Step 1. Press Windows + R to open the “Run” dialog box, type diskmgmt.msc, and press Enter.

< strong > Step 2. < /strong> Go to “Disk Management,” right-click on your external drive, and select “Format.”

Step 3: Choose a file system like NTFS or exFAT, and check the box for “Quick Format.” Click “OK” to begin formatting.

When it's done, your external hard drive should be safe to use.

Method 3: Create a New Partition on an External Hard Drive

Applicability: This solution addresses the issue where an external hard drive appears as unallocated in disk management, preventing it from functioning properly.

Most of the time, when your external hard drive shows up as unallocated, it means that there are no partitions on the drive. As such, your computer won't be able to recognize it. To fix this, you'll first need to recover any data from the drive (as shown in Part 2).

Then, you can create a new partition by following the steps below to get your external hard drive working again:

Step 1. Connect the unallocated external hard drive to your PC and open Disk Management.

Step 2. Right-click on the unallocated space and select "New Simple Volume".

Set the partition size, drive letter, and file system (NTFS), and so on.

Step 4: Click “Finish” to end the process.

Method 4: Assign a new drive letter to the external disk

Applies to: Solving the issue where a disk is displayed as "New Volume" and has no drive letter, causing the external hard drive to not respond.

Step 1. Open Disk Management and right-click your external drive.

Step 2. Click on “Change” to select a new drive letter, then click “OK” to confirm.

The unresponsive drive should now be readable by Windows.

Method 5: Initialize an External Drive and Create a New Volume

Applies to: Fix the "disk unknown, not initialized" issue that prevents external hard drive from working or being detected.

Step 1: Right-click "My Computer" and select "Manage" to open Disk Management.

Step 2. Right-click on the unknown external hard drive and click “Initialize Disk.”

Step 3. Select the disk you want to initialize, choose either MBR or GPT partition style, and click OK to confirm.

Now, the drive should appear as "Unallocated." If you need to recover data, return to Part 1 and use data recovery software to retrieve your files.

Finally, right-click the “Unallocated” space on the external drive and create a new volume on it.

Method 6: Update your disk driver

Applies to: Fix an unresponsive external hard drive by updating the disk driver.

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 problematic drive and select “Update Driver.”

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

Method 7: Uninstall the Universal Serial Bus controllers

Applies to: Fix the issue that an external hard drive does not work by updating the USB controller driver.

Step 1: Open the "Device Manager" and locate and expand the "Universal Serial Bus controllers" section.

Step 2. Right-click on the USB controller for the external drive and select “Uninstall device.”

Step 3. Uninstall each USB controller in turn, and then restart the computer.

When you restart, Microsoft will automatically reinstall the software for the USB controller that's having trouble with your external drive.

Method 8: Run an antivirus scan

Applies to: Resolves virus or malware issues that prevent an external hard drive from working correctly.

Sometimes, a faulty drive can be the result of viruses or malware in your system. If all else fails, you can try using antivirus software. Here's how:

Step 1: Install and run antivirus software on your computer.

Step 2: Scan and unlock the external hard drive.

Step 3: Wait for the process to finish, and then restart your computer.

After that, reconnect the external hard drive to your computer and check if it's working again.

Method 9: Contact the External Hard Drive Manufacturer or a Repair Center

If all else fails, contact the hard drive manufacturer or a local data recovery center for assistance. They may be able to provide solutions if the drive is physically damaged or has outdated firmware.

If you're only interested in saving the data on the drive, both of those might be able to help you. You can also contact Data Recovery Services to speak with one of our technicians.

Tool Data Recovery Services

Click here to chat with our experts for a free assessment

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

• Repair of damaged RAID structures, unbootable Windows operating systems, and corrupted virtual disk files (.vmdk, .vhd, .vhdx, etc.)
• Recovery/reconstruction of lost partitions and reformatted drives
• Unformatting hard drives and repairing original drives (including BitLocker encrypted drives)
• Fixing disks turned into GPT protective partitions

In summary

On this page, we explain the reasons behind an external hard drive not working, not responding, or not being detected. For your convenience, we have divided the process into three parts:

Part 1: Make External Hard Drive Detectable; Part 2: Recover Data from External Hard Drive; Part 3: Fix External Hard Drive Not Working under Different Situations.

The method described in this article can also be used to fix and repair SD cards, memory cards, USB drives, flash drives, or hard disk partitions that exhibit similar issues.

It's recommended that you regularly back up your files to another secure location, and a cloud storage service is a great and affordable option. However, in case of a hard drive failure, remember that you can use the Data Recovery Wizard tool to assist in retrieving your data.

FAQ: External Hard Drive Not Working/Not Responding Issues

After learning how to fix an unresponsive external hard drive, you might have more questions. Check here to see if your answer is among them:

Why has my external hard drive stopped working?

External hard drives are particularly prone to failure due to frequent misuse, outdated drivers, bundling with incompatible software on different operating systems, constant plugging and unplugging into different devices, and unsafe ejection of portable or USB drives.

2. How to recover data from a damaged external hard drive?

To recover files from a damaged external hard drive, follow these steps:

Connect the hard drive to your computer. Launch a data recovery wizard tool. Scan the external hard drive after selecting it. Select the files you want to recover and click Restore.

3. How do I fix a corrupted external hard drive?

If your external hard drive is damaged, you can use Windows repair tools.

1. Open "This PC", right-click on the drive with bad sectors, and select "Properties." 2. Go to the "Tools" tab. 3. Click on "Check" to scan and fix error sectors on the external hard drive.

4. How much does it cost to repair a damaged hard drive?

Based on these criteria, the cost of basic hard drive data recovery typically ranges from $100 to $700. This cost is usually determined by the extent of the damage and the time it takes to access the data. If the hard drive has experienced a mechanical failure, the data recovery cost can increase.