How to Fix the "Device Not Ready" Issue on a USB Flash Drive/HDD

"I encountered an issue where I couldn't open my USB flash drive and some other external hard drives after a major Windows 10 update. The error message reads the device is not ready. However, the hard drive light is blinking, and I can see the drive letter in Disk Management. How can I access the data and quickly fix this error?"

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How do I fix the "Device Not Ready" error?

"The device is not ready" is a common error message in Windows 10/8/7, usually associated with flash drives, CD/DVD media, external hard disks, internal HDDs, Virtual Disk Manager, or Diskpart. Although the solutions to "device not ready" may differ depending on the device, the causes behind this error tend to be similar. The "NOT READY" error mostly implies damage to the digital device, hardware failure, compatibility issues, connectivity problems, or sometimes corruption of the Windows file system. For instance:

USB flash drive or external hard disk drive - Location is unavailable. The device is not ready.

If the problem is with a removable disk, such as a USB stick, flash drive, memory card, or external HDD, the “Device Not Ready” error when you try to open it means that Windows is unable to connect to it. We would usually advise users to first check for connection issues.

The device is not yet ready.

2. Built-in hard disk drive - Location not available. The device is not ready.

Though the error message is the same, if it's located on a local hard drive installed on your computer, the current drive might be the issue. In most cases, bad sectors are considered to be the main culprit behind the “device not ready” error on a hard drive.

3. Virtual Disk Manager - Device not ready

"Virtual Disk Manager" reports "Device is not ready"

The "Device not ready" error in the Virtual Disk Manager could be due to insufficient permissions, or an issue with the drive mapping between your operating system and the virtual machine manager.

4. Diskpart - Diskpart encountered an error: The device is not ready.

If your hard drive fails, or the storage controller on your motherboard fails, you get a specific error message.

All the scenarios discussed involving the “device not ready” error lead to an inaccessible internal or external drive. As we've analyzed, both hardware and software issues can cause a Windows PC to fail to read a connected hard disk, despite it being recognized and displayed on the computer. When such an error occurs, there's no need to panic. Follow the troubleshooting steps provided to recover your data and resolve the issue effortlessly.

# 1. Recovering Data from an Inaccessible Hard Drive

When you get the “Device not ready” error on your hard drive or USB flash drive, you won't be able to access the data on it as you normally would.

Download HDD Recovery Software Tool

If this happens, do not hesitate to download the tool Data Recovery Wizard Pro. This is the most qualified recovery software that supports unformat access to the hard drive and data recovery.

Step 1: Select the inaccessible hard drive on your computer. Click “Scan” to allow the Easy Recovery Wizard to scan and locate your lost data from the hard drive.

Step 2: After the scan is complete, you can preview and check the found files in the scan results window. Your lost files are all included in the "Deleted Files" and "Other Lost Files" folders. You can also click on "Filter" to quickly find files of a specific type. Then, preview the files and select the ones you want to recover.

Step 3: Finally, select the items you want to restore and click on “Recover”. Choose a secure location (like a healthy physical drive on your computer or another external storage device) and click on “OK” to start the recovery of all lost data from the inaccessible hard drive.

#2. Try everything to check the connection

First, rule out foolish errors caused by loose or bad connections. When your hard drive isn't working properly, make sure it's connected correctly.

1) Unplug the device. After a few seconds, insert it one by one into all USB ports until the peripheral device functions properly in the operating system. 2) Otherwise, switch to another USB cable compatible with your device and reconnect it to the OS. 3) Connect the storage device to another computer. If the issue is resolved, you should fix the non-functional USB port on your own computer.

# 3. Reinstall Device Drivers

In Windows 10/8/7 systems, a common software issue is "Device Driver Not Installed, Damaged, or Missing." Attempt to reinstall the device driver to resolve the "Device Not Ready" warning.

1) Open the Device Manager, right-click on your device's name, and select "Uninstall." 2) Keep the device connected. Restart your computer, and Windows should attempt to reinstall the driver.

Uninstall and reinstall the device driver to resolve the "Device Not Ready" issue

# 4. Run a disk check to fix hardware issues

Please run a disk check to look for disk errors; this error is often caused by a problem with the file system or bad sectors on the hard drive, and Windows' built-in disk checking tool can help.

1) Right-click the disk you want to check, and select Properties. 2) Click the Tools tab. Under Error checking, click the Check button. This option checks for file system errors on the disk.

3) Follow the wizard to complete the disk error checking, and then restart your computer to fix the errors found. 4) You can also use an administrator command prompt to remove bad sectors from hard drive with CMD. 5) Alternatively, there's a more user-friendly option that checks and repairs bad sectors with more powerful features. Give it a try.

If you're not fond of using the Command Prompt, you can try a command prompt alternative – CleanGenius. With a single click, this tool can fix file system errors on your hard drive.

Step 1: Download CleanGenius for free on your computer.

Step 2: Run the software. Click on “Optimize” on the left, and then choose “File Display.”

Step 3: Click on "Select Disk" and choose the disk with file system errors. Check the option "Check and fix file system errors", then click on "Execute".

Step 4: Wait for CleanGenius to finish the repair process. When it's done, click Here to view the results.

# 5. Run an SFC scan to check for corruption

Critical system files are responsible for connecting your drives to the operating system. It has been found that issues with these files, either damaged or infected by a virus, can cause detection and connectivity problems. Windows provides a System File Checker (SFC) to resolve such errors, and we'll be using it here.

1) Press the Windows + X keys to open the menu, then choose "Command Prompt (Admin)". 2) In the Command Prompt, type sfc /scannow and press Enter.

# 6. Run hardware and device troubleshooting procedures

Since controller issues are considered one of the reasons, you must perform this step to check and fix damaged registry values and any controllers that aren't working correctly. The Windows Hardware and Devices troubleshooter is an inbuilt automatic troubleshooting utility that detects any inconsistencies in hardware and tries to fix them.

1) Go to Control Panel > Troubleshooting. 2) Click View all on the left, and then click Set up a device under Hardware and Sound on the right. 3) Follow the wizard on the screen for the program to check for issues. 4) Choose Apply this fix or Skip this fix as needed. You might need to restart your computer for the fix to take effect.

# 7. Other Methods to Try for "Device Not Ready" Issues

If your hard drive is labeled as “Uninitialized,” “Unallocated,” and “RAW” in Windows Disk Management, and you receive an “I/O device error,” the following three methods may help.

1. Uninitialized: Right click the uninitiaized drive and select "Initialize Disk" > Choose either GPT or MBR partition style, then hit "OK".
2. Unallocated: Right click the unallocated space and select "New Simple Volume" > Follow the wizard to assign a file system and drive letter to it.
3. RAW: Right click the RAW drive and select "Format..." > Choose a proper file system and perform quick format.

Conclusions

The “Device not Ready” error typically comes with various captions depending on the type of storage device. However, when we dig into the underlying factors, it's related to a rather typical hardware or software malfunction that prevents the hard drive from working properly.

With the methods introduced in this article, you have 7 ways to fix the “Device Not Ready” error, and it's particularly recommended to recover data from the inaccessible hard drive at first.

Have you tried all the gathered solutions to fix the Device Not Ready issue in Windows 10, 8, or 7? We hope that at least one of our methods has alleviated your frustration.

1. Recover data from an unresponsive device 2. Attempt various methods to check connections 3. Reinstall the device driver 4. Run a disk check to fix hardware issues 5. Perform an Sfc scan to check for system corruption 6. Run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter 7. Fix uninitialized/unallocated/Raw status in Disk Management

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Resolving the "Device Not Ready" Error

You've learned about several ways to address the "Device Not Ready" error. For more information, you can explore the following questions and answers:

How to fix the "You need to format the disk in drive before you can use it" issue?

There are three ways to fix the “You Need to Format the Disk” error on your computer:

1. Connect the hard drive to another computer.
2. Run an antivirus program.
3. Repair your hard drive in CMD.

Important: Remember to recover your data from a backup before attempting any repairs.

How do I check my device connections?

If you have a disk that's currently failing, try to rule out connectivity issues.

1. Unplug the device, and then plug it into each USB port until it's recognized by your operating system, which should occur within a few seconds. 2. If that doesn't work, try connecting the device to your OS with a different USB cable that's compatible with the device. 3. Connect the storage device to another computer. If it works there, you'll need to fix a broken USB port on your computer.

How do I fix the "Device Not Ready" error?

There are several ways to fix the “device not ready” error:

1. Check the device connections on your computer. 2. Update or reinstall the device drivers on your computer. 3. Run a disk check to detect hardware issues. 4. Use CMD to scan for errors. 5. Run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter. 6. Fix uninitialized/unallocated/raw status in Disk Management.

Can I recover data from an unrecognized hard drive?

You can use the Data Recovery Wizard utility to recover data from a non-working hard drive:

Insert the hard drive and launch tools Data Recovery Wizard. Scan the hard drive and locate the lost files. Restore all selected files to a safe location.