[Solved] Apricorn USB 3.0 External Hard Drive Not Recognized on Windows 10/11 - Troubleshooting Guide

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Quick Guide to Fix Apricorn USB 3.0 External Hard Drive Not Recognized Error:

#1. Reconnect the Apricorn USB 3.0 External Hard Drive
#2. Assign a New Drive Letter to the External Hard Drive
#3. Connect the External Hard Drive to Your Computer
#4. Update USB Controller Drivers and Device Firmware
#5. Uninstall and Reinstall Device Drivers
#6. Clear Properties Blocking External Disk Display
#7. Disable USB Selective Suspend Setting
#8. Recover Lost Data from Apricorn USB 3.0 External Hard Drive

With the wide use of USB, USB 3.0 hard drives have become more and more popular in recent years. Yet, many Windows users come across the common issue that Windows fails to recognize USB 3.0. Does your Windows 10/8/7 system fail to detect USB 3.0 external hard drive?

This page will guide you on how to fix an external hard drive not detected or even not showing up on your PC, using the example of "Apricorn USB 3.0 not recognized", without losing any data. The troubleshooting steps provided also apply to other external hard drive brands, USB devices, or even SD cards.

Page Content:

Reasons for Apricorn USB 3.0 Not Recognized on Windows 10
Part 1: Quick Fixes for Apricorn USB 3.0 Not Recognized on Windows 10 (3 Solutions)
Part 2: Fixing External USB 3.0 Hard Drive Not Recognized on Windows 10 (4 Methods)
Part 3: Recover Data After Fixing Apricorn USB 3.0 Not Recognized Issue

If your Windows 10/8/7 fails to recognize your USB 3.0 external hard drive, stay calm. Here, we will explain why the Apricorn Aegis Padlock USB 3.0 external hard drive (or any other brand storage device) is not detected and how to fix the issue to get your USB 3.0 external hard drive showing up and working again on your PC.

Reasons for Apricorn USB 3.0 Not Being Recognized in Windows 10/11

Among the major USB 3.0 brands, Apricorn USB 3.0 seems to be one of the most common. And the issue of Apricorn USB 3.0 not recognized also ranks high in the list of problems with USB 3.0 external hard drives not being recognized or detected. A common symptom of this issue is that the connected external hard drive doesn't show up in the Windows File Explorer.

Here are the main reasons for this problem:

- Apricorn SATA cable not working/unrecognized - Apricorn SATA to USB 3.0 adapter not recognized - Aegis Padlock 3.0 not recognized - Apricorn data transfer cable not functioning - USB 3.0 external hard drive not assigned a drive letter - Device not mounting - External hard drive driver outdated

 Note:: The reasons listed below may also lead to other brands of USB 3.0 external hard drives not being detected on Windows 10/8/7, such as Lacie Rugged USB 3.0 not recognized, Seagate external hard drive not recognized, WD external hard drive not recognized, etc.

In the next three sections, you'll find the most effective solutions, listed in order from top to bottom. You need only work your way down the list until your problem is solved. You may not even have to try them all.

Part 1: Quick Fixes for Windows 10 Not Recognizing Apricorn USB 3.0 (3 Solutions)

When your Apricorn or other external hard drive isn't recognized, try each of the three quick fixes listed below:

#1. Reconnect the Apricorn USB 3.0
#2. Assign a new drive letter to the external hard drive
#3. Remount the USB 3.0 external drive

Any of these methods should bring your Apricorn USB 3.0 device back to your computer.

#1. Reconnect the USB 3.0 External Hard Drive

Please try each of the following steps in order to see if your external hard drive appears:

< strong > Step 1. < /strong > Unplug the external drive and insert it into another USB port on your computer.

Step 2: Connect the external drive to another computer.

Step 3: Check or replace the USB 3.0 cable.

If you're unsure how to replace the Apricorn USB 3.0 cable, contact their support center for assistance.

#2. Assign a new drive letter to an external hard drive

If an external storage device is not assigned a drive letter, the computer might not detect or recognize the device. If you do not see a drive letter assigned to the device in Disk Management, assign a new drive letter to it:

Step 1. Connect the external drive to your Windows PC.

Step 2: Open Disk Management and find your external hard drive that doesn't have a drive letter assigned to it.

Step 3: Right-click on the external drive and select “Change drive letter and paths.”

Change drive letter to make USB 3.0 external hard drive recognized

Step 4. Assign a new drive letter to the external hard disk and save the changes.

#3. Reconnect the external hard drive to your computer

If an external storage device, like an Apricorn USB 3.0 external hard drive, is not properly connected to your computer, the computer may also fail to recognize it. You can try manually installing the external hard drive to make it detectable again:

Step 1: Connect the Apacer USB 3.0 external hard drive to your computer, and type cmd in the search box.

Step 2: Right-click the Command Prompt and select "Run as administrator." Type diskpart and press Enter.

Step 3. Open DiskPart, and type each of the following commands individually, pressing Enter after each:

Auto-mount
Enable auto-mount
Exit

Mount External Hard Drive to Make It Recognized

4. When you are finished, type exit to unmount the drive.

After that, you can reopen File Explorer and check if the Apricorn USB 3.0 external hard drive appears.

Part 2: Fixing Unrecognized USB 3.0 External Hard Drive on Windows 10 (4 Methods)

Like most external devices, an outdated USB controller driver, outdated disk drivers, outdated firmware on the device itself, or even incorrect power settings can cause the 'device not detected' or 'device not recognized' error.

If the quick fix doesn't work, try one or more of these four self-help options for your unrecognized Apricorn USB 3.0 issue:

#1. Update USB Controller Drivers and Firmware
#2. Uninstall and Reinstall Disk Drivers
#3. Clear Properties to Show Apricorn USB 3.0
#4. Disable USB Selective Suspend Setting

Method 1: Update USB Controller Drivers and Device Firmware

Applies to: External hard drive not recognized due to USB port not working

Step 1: Press Windows + R to open the "Device Manager," and then select "Device Manager."

Step 2: Next to "USB Universal Bus Controller," click the +. You should see a yellow exclamation point.

Step 3: Right-click on it and select “Update driver software” > Click on “Search automatically for updated driver software”.

Update USB Port Driver

Wait for the driver to install, then restart your computer.

Fourth, reconnect the USB drive to your computer and download the latest firmware from the manufacturer's website. Install it.

After the firmware installs, restart your computer and reconnect the Apricorn USB 3.0 external hard drive. You should now be able to use your USB 3.0 external hard drive and access your saved data.

Method 2: Uninstall and reinstall the device driver

Applies to: External hard drive not recognized or detected due to unknown issues

Step 1: Open Device Manager and expand Disk Drives.

Step 2. Right-click the problematic drive and select “Eject.”

Step 3: Follow the wizard's instructions, and then restart your computer.

Update the disk drive driver

The computer will automatically reinstall the driver that you uninstalled.

Method 3: Remove Attributes Blocking External Disk from Showing Up

Applies to: Checking attributes that hide or prevent a disk from displaying in the computer.

Step 1: Type cmd in the search box, right-click on Command Prompt, and select "Run as administrator."

Step 2: Type diskpart and press Enter to launch DiskPart.

Step 3. Enter the following commands in order, pressing Enter after each:

List disks
Select disk 1 (replace 1 with the number of your external hard drive)
List partitions
Select partition 1 (replace 1 with the number of your external hard drive's partition)
Volume properties
Volume properties clear default drive letter
Volume properties clear hidden

Clear Attributes to Make USB 3.0 External Hard Drive Show Up

Step 4. When the process is complete, type exit, and then restart your computer.

After that, you should be able to detect your USB 3.0 external hard drive on your computer and access your data again.

Method 4: Disable USB Selective Suspend Setting

Applies to: Change power settings plan, disable USB selective suspend setting to make external hard drive recognizable again.

Step 1: Right-click the Windows icon and click Power options.

Step 2: In the Choose or customize a power plan window, click Change plan settings.

Step 3: Click on “Change advanced power settings” in the “Edit Plan Settings” window.

4. In the Power Options window, locate and expand "USB Settings," then expand "USB Selective Suspend Setting." Change the setting from "Enabled" to "Disabled."

Click “Apply” and then “OK” to save the settings.

Disable USB Selective Suspend Setting

After that, you can restart your PC and reconnect the external hard drive to use it again.

Part 3: Recover Data after Fixing Apricorn USB 3.0 Not Recognized Error

If you lost data after fixing the Apricorn USB 3.0 not recognized error on Windows 10/8/7, you can seek help from the tool Data Recovery Wizard. The Data Recovery Wizard tool lets you scan and recover data from inaccessible, raw, or formatted USB 3.0 external hard drives in just three simple steps.

Step 1. Select the USB drive to scan

Run the Data Recovery Wizard, select the USB drive where you lost your important files and click on “Scan” to start.

Step 2: Preview and Check USB Drive Data

After the scan is complete, you can use the filter options and search function to locate specific types of files quickly.

Scan and Find Lost Files from the Flash Drive

Step 3: Recover Data from Flash Drive

Once the scan is complete and lost USB drive files are found, click “ Recover ” to restore them. Save the recovered files to a secure location on your computer instead of the USB drive.

Note: If your computer can read the USB 3.0 drive but cannot open it, don't worry. You can directly format the external hard drive to convert it to the NTFS format so that you can access it again.

Video Tutorial: The Ultimate Fix for the USB 3.0 Not Recognized Error

Here's a video showing you 4 reliable methods that you can follow to get your USB 3.0 recognized right away.

Conclusions

This page explains why an external hard drive suddenly disappears in Windows 10/8/7 and offers 7 or more effective solutions, including using a reliable data recovery tool to fix the USB 3.0 external hard drive not recognized issue without losing any data.

Here are some tips to help you manage your external hard drive and protect your precious data:

1. Update the device firmware, if available. 2. Format the drive to a file system supported by Windows, such as NTFS or exFAT. 3. Run antivirus software regularly. 4. Create backups of important data.

There may be other questions on your minds. Here we have gathered some frequently asked ones, with brief answers, that we hope will provide immediate help and allay any concerns.

Apricorn USB 3.0 external hard drive not recognized