Fix Disappeared Hard Drive in Windows 10 Without Losing Data

User Question: After updating to Windows 10, my hard drive is missing

"Does anyone know how to make a missing hard drive reappear in Windows 10? My computer received the latest Windows 10 update last night and installed it automatically. The issue is, after the restart, I couldn't see my second hard drive in File Explorer. I tried restarting the computer, but the hard drive still vanished. Are there any methods that can help me get the missing hard drive to show up in Windows 10?"

When a hard drive on your Windows computer goes missing, you won't be able to access the saved data, leading to data loss and reduced storage space. But what can you do when your computer's hard drive disappears? If you're facing this issue, worry not! There are effective methods that can help you right now.

If the issue is with an SSD not showing up in Windows 10, refer to that page for solutions. Also, some of the fixes from that page, such as rescanning, initializing, and checking disk errors, apply to the hard drive disappearing problem as well.

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Solving the Problem of Disappearing Hard Drives in Windows 10 Quickly

If your hard drive isn't showing up on your Windows PC, try plugging it into a different USB port to see if that helps. If not, try connecting the drive to another computer to see if the problem persists.

If that fixes the problem, you might need to replace your USB cable or hard drive cable.

If the issue still persists, don't worry. Just follow the methods provided below to fix the disappeared hard drive error in Windows 10.

Fix for Hard Drive Disappearing in File Explorer

When you can't see the hard drive partitions, such as D drive, E drive, and other data partitions in File Explorer, try the following two methods for assistance.

Method 1: Run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter to fix the missing hard drive issue

Step 1: Press the "Windows + R" keys.

Step 2: Type “Control Panel” and press Enter to open it.

Step 3: In the search box of Control Panel, type “troubleshooting,” and then open it.

Step 4: Click on "View All" on the left.

Step 5: Run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter, and follow the on-screen instructions.

Method 2: Recover partitions with data recovery software

If a Windows Update deleted your hard drive partition or you accidentally executed “Delete Volume…” in Disk Management, the hard drive will be labeled “Unallocated.” In this case, Windows 10 won't be able to recognize and display the unallocated hard drive partition. You can create a new partition on the unallocated drive to make it reappear, but doing so will permanently lose all data on the drive. Creating a new hard drive will help the Windows system detect the drive as a new one, but your data will be lost.

There are two ways for you to recover the lost partition: use Data Recovery Wizard to recover data from the lost partition, or use Partition Recovery to recover the entire hard drive and the data on it.

Recover Data from Lost Partition

If you choose to create a new partition on unallocated space and need data recovery, you can opt for the Data Recovery Wizard tool to restore your hard drive data. This file recovery utility helps you retrieve photos, videos, documents, emails, and over 1000 other file types from HDD, SSD, USB, SD cards, and more.

Also, if the lost files are corrupted, the data recovery software will automatically try to repair damaged files after the recovery is complete. However, unlike a partition recovery tool, the Data Recovery Wizard cannot recover lost partitions – it can only recover data from them.

Step 1. Select and scan the lost partition

Launch the Data Recovery Wizard, select "Lost Partition," and click "Scan" to search for all lost data. If you have multiple lost partitions, you should be able to identify it by its size.

Note: Since the Windows OS does not support Linux file systems, Ext2 or Ext3 partitions will appear as unallocated lost partitions in the software. To recover data from Ext2/Ext3 partitions, follow the steps below.

Step 2: Refine the scan results

Since there will be many files scanned, you can choose the ones you need by quickly filtering through images, videos, documents, audio, and other file types. If you remember the name of the file, you can also search for it directly in the search bar at the top right corner.

Step 3: Preview and recover data from the lost partition

Before recovering, you can preview the files to make sure they're the data you need. Select all the files you want and click “Recover” to restore them.

Recover Deleted or Lost Partition

Please visit the product page and download the Partition Recovery tool, then follow the instructions to display the missing hard drive and data in Windows 10.

Step 1: Run the Partition Recovery tool on your computer.

Select the disk or device where the lost partition was located, and click “Scan” to proceed.

Select the disk to scan for lost partitions:

Step 2: Wait for the scan to complete.

Have the program scan the selected disk and find the lost partitions.

Scan for lost partitions

Step 3: Preview and recover the lost partitions

Please double click on the partition that is marked as "Lost" but can be "Good" to recover.

Preview the content of the lost partition. Click “OK,” and then click “Continue” to start the recovery of the lost partition.

Step 4: Click on "Start Recovery" to finish the partition recovery process.

Note: If the utility reports conflicts, back up the partition that contains important data to an external drive first. Then proceed with the final step to restore the lost partition.

Solving the Issue of Hard Drive Disappearance/Not Showing Up in Disk Management

If the hard drive is missing or not showing up in Disk Management, the next two steps can easily fix that.

Method 1: Update Device Drivers in Windows 10

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

Step 2: Expand one of the categories, find your device, right-click on it, and select “Update Driver.”

Step 3: Choose “Search automatically for updated driver software.”

If Windows can't find new drivers, try looking for them on the manufacturer's website and follow their instructions. Otherwise, you can try reinstalling the driver by doing this:

< strong > Step 1. < /strong > In Device Manager, right-click the device name, and select Uninstall device.

Step 2: Restart your computer, and Windows will try to reinstall the driver.

Method 2: Change the Drive Letter of the Missing Hard Drive

Step 1: Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog box.

Step 2. Type diskmgmt.msc and press Enter to open Disk Management.

Step 3: Your missing drive should now be detected. Right-click it and select “Change drive letter and paths.”

Step 4: Click “Change” and assign a different drive letter.

Step 5: Save the changes, restart your computer, and check again.