External Hard Drive Not Showing Up in File Explorer: How to Resolve

External hard drives safeguard your essential files, but what happens when they malfunction? If your external hard drive is not appearing in File Explorer, the issue might be due to a missing drive letter. This could lead you to wonder why your hard disk isn't showing up and how to retrieve data from it.

Some of you might encounter the same issue as the user mentioned above. In this article, we will explain how to recover essential data from an inaccessible hard drive and how to make your computer detect the hard drive.

Running the troubleshooter will help in detecting and identifying the issue, and in some cases, it will resolve the problem to enhance system performance. I suggest running the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter by following the steps below to see if the issue is addressed.

• Press the Windows logo keys on your keyboard, type troubleshooter, and choose the top search result.
• From the left-side panel on the screen, select "View All."
• Choose "Hardware and Devices" > "Advanced," then check the box for "Apply repairs automatically."
• Follow the on-screen instructions and wait for the troubleshooting process to complete.
• Once troubleshooting is finished, review the status, close the window, and assess if the changes have been effective.

How to Recover Data from an Unrecognized External Hard Drive

When your external hard drive is not showing up in File Explorer, you may seek answers in the Windows Community. Somebody would tell you to format the unrecognized external hard drive. However, don't follow this kind of advice. All data on the hard drive would be lost.

Swiftly extracting crucial data from the inaccessible hard drive and then formatting it would be ideal. A disk data recovery tool would be useful for recovering data from the RAW drive. The most efficient solution for hard drive recovery and retrieving data from any data loss situation is Data Recovery Wizard. It enables you to recover deleted data with just a few straightforward clicks.

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Follow the steps to easily recover lost files from the hard drive that are hidden or inaccessible on your PC:

**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. Run 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

• The data recovery software will instantly scan the selected drive for all data, including deleted, corrupted, and existing files.
• You can utilize the Filter feature to swiftly locate specific types of files, such as Pictures, Word documents, Excel sheets, PDFs, videos, emails, etc.

Step 3. Preview and recover data

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

Many PC users have attested to the effectiveness of the recovery tool. If this method successfully resolves the issue of the external hard drive not appearing in File Explorer, please share it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms!

How to Display an External Drive in File Explorer

There can be several reasons why an external hard disk does not show up in File Explorer. Here are some of the most common causes:

• USB driver issues
• Device status not initialized
• Unallocated disk space
• USB port not functioning

Before proceeding to display the external drive in File Explorer, please观看此视频first. It offers further information regarding the issue.

• 00:32 - Control Panel
• 01:25 - Enable and Format the Drive
• 01:35 - Format Hard Disk Partitions
• 01:58 - Assign a Drive Letter

1. Fix 1. Enable the Hard Drive via Device Manager
2. Fix 2. Format the Drive in Disk Management
3. Fix 3. Update or Reinstall the Drive
4. Fix 4. Assign a Drive Letter
5. Fix 5. Initialize the Disk

Fix 1. Enable the Hard Drive via Device Manager

If the external hard drive doesn't show up in File Explorer, it might indicate that the hard disk is disabled. In such a case, you can promptly enable it using the Device Manager.

Follow these steps to enable a hard disk in Windows Device Manager:

Step 1. Press the Start key.

Step 2. To open the program, search for Device Manager and choose the top result.

Step 3. Right-click the hard drive in question and select "Properties."

Right-click the hard drive and select Properties.

Step 4. Navigate to the "Driver" tab and click on the "Enable Device" option.

Step 5. Press the "OK" button.

Once you've completed the instructions, the hard drive and data on the computer should be accessible.

Fix 2: Format the Drive in Disk Management

If you have a hard disk connected to your device, it should show up in File Explorer. If not, you can use the Disk Management tool to locate it. Follow the steps to activate the hard drive in Disk Management:

Step 1. Launch the Start menu.

Step 2. Type disk management and open it from the search results.

Step 3. Select "Create and Format Hard Disk Partitions".

When Disk Management loads, scroll down to see if your disk is listed. If it does, ensure that it is online and properly formatted.

If it's offline, right-click the disk's name and select "Online". If the disk hasn't been formatted and says "Unallocated" under a black bar, right-click it and select "New Simple Volume". This will also fix the issue if the drive was formatted for another operating system, as mentioned earlier.

Fix 3: Update or Reinstall the Drive

Outdated drivers can prevent an external hard drive from appearing in Windows File Explorer. Updating the drivers might resolve the issue and make the device visible on your PC.

If the external hard drive malfunctions after testing the connection to the PC, you can update the drive using the methods below to prevent the error from recurring.

Step 1. Press the Windows key + X and choose "Device Manager."

Step 2. Open the "Disk drives" menu.

Step 3. Choose "Update driver" from the context menu of the external hard drive.

Step 4. Follow the on-screen instructions to update the drivers.

If your hard disk is still undetected in BIOS, you won't be able to update the driver by right-clicking on the device and selecting "Update driver." Instead, visit the official support website of the hardware manufacturer and download the latest driver for the product you have purchased.

Fix 4: Assign a Drive Letter

As straightforward as it may sound, assigning or changing the drive letter can enable you to access your hard disk. To do this, follow these steps:

Step 1. To open the Disk Management interface, search for "disk management" in the Start Menu and select "Create and format hard disk partitions".

Step 2. Right-click on the hard disk and select "Change the drive letter and paths."

Step 3. Choose "Add" to assign a new drive letter or "Change" to modify the current drive letter.

Step 4. Choose a letter from the dropdown list and click "OK" to close the window.

Fix 5: Initialize the Disk

You can activate your hard drive by initializing it. This should remove any obstacles preventing your hard drive from showing up in File Explorer.

Step 1. Right-click your external hard drive in Disk Management.

Step 2. Choose the option "Initialize Disk."

Step 3. Select the drives to be initialized, choose either MBR or GPT partition style (ideally GPT for Windows 10 or 11), and click "OK".

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How to Fix an Undetected External Hard Drive

You can opt for methods without formatting the hard disk to repair undetected external hard drives.

The Best Methods to Repair External Hard Drives without Formatting -

• Open the Command Prompt to check for file system errors.
• Run Antivirus software on your Hard Disk.
• Execute the SFC Scan to identify bad sectors.
• Run CHKDSK.

On the other hand, formatting an external hard drive is also employed when the disk has been divided into multiple partitions. If one of the partitions on the external hard drive is not typically visible or recognized by Windows, it is probably due to a corrupt or absent file system.

Moreover, if you use an Apple APFS hard drive on a Windows 10 computer, Windows won't be able to read it since APFS is a file system specific to the macOS system. These factors can lead to Windows failing to recognize the external hard disk you've connected. However, changing the file system might solve the issue.

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Upon reading this article, I hope you've found a solution to your issue. The initial step in fixing the problem of an external hard drive not appearing in File Explorer is to check if your external hard drive or USB is recognizable. Next, select one of the five solutions provided to address this issue. Lastly, utilize the hard drive recovery software - Data Recovery Wizard to recover data from your hard drive.

FAQs: External Hard Drive Not Appearing in File Explorer

Here are 4 more questions regarding the issue of an external hard drive not appearing in File Explorer. Find the answers here.

1. How do I locate my external hard drive in File Explorer?

Press the Windows logo key + X on your keyboard and select Disk Management from the context menu. Check the window to see if the external hard drive is displayed. If the files are visible, try opening them in File Explorer by right-clicking and choosing the Open option from the context menu.

**2. Why isn't my external hard drive appearing in the folder?**

There are numerous reasons why a computer might not recognize an external hard drive.

• Inadequate or unstable power supply
• Missing or conflicting drive letters
• File system corruption and a malfunctioning USB port

3. How do I recover an undetected external hard drive?

1. First, use the Data Recovery Wizard tool on your computer and select the internal or external hard drive. 2. The hard drive recovery software will commence scanning the disk for erased data and files. 3. After the scan, you can preview and recover any desired file.

4. How do you fix a hard drive that is not showing up?

If the old one is damaged, replace it with a new USB drive and connect it to the computer. If the external hard disk doesn't show up, try changing the USB port and reconnect the device to the PC.