What to do if the computer does not see the external hard drive? First, it is advisable to carefully examine the situation and try to understand the cause of the malfunction.
If it is large enough, then the reason for its absence in the File Manager may be insufficient power. The USB interface, depending on the type, produces different power. You can first try inserting the connecting cable sequentially into different USB sockets. As a rule, the current strength in them varies slightly and it is quite possible that one of the USB connectors will be able to provide sufficient power for normal operation of the device.
Today there is a wide range of such accessories on the market. They all have different parameters and may have a completely different connection. Some have a separate cable for connecting power. This needs to be checked against the technical description. The possibility is that this is exactly the point - the disk was connected as usual, using USB, but they forgot about the additional power cable.
If there is not enough electricity, the disk may partially work, vibrate, and everything will seem to be normal. Sometimes the USB cable itself is a slightly different type - if there is a replacement, you need to try different connectors.
It is advisable to choose a cord for connection that is as thick and short in length as possible. All this significantly affects power transmission. Sometimes the problem with insufficient power can be solved by connecting a cable with two connectors at one end. These two contactors are connected to different sockets on the system unit case and thus receive electricity from two sources.
If manipulations with the USB connection do not produce results, it is useful to check the functionality of the device by connecting to another computer. It may be faulty.
Settings problem
Log into the management interface and see if the drive doesn't have a name, so the computer can't identify it. Then you need to give it a letter.
It happens that a device is not detected due to an incorrectly assigned configuration in the BIOS. Go to the BIOS settings and if there is an external drive there, try changing the configuration to another one from the proposed list. After this you need to restart your computer.
Problems often arise after working with programs such as Alcohol, Acronis and similar applications for managing and creating virtual disks. Sometimes, while working with such programs, the computer switches to communicating with virtual disks, and stops seeing real physical drives. The danger of using such powerful applications is that they penetrate very deeply into the system registry and change the internal settings of the computer.
In this situation, it can help to roll back the system to a previous state, when the disk management program was not yet installed and did not have time to change anything in the system. Or so – completely remove the program along with all settings. And don’t forget to check whether the previously created virtual disks remain in the computer system. They also need to be removed. After this, restart the computer and reset the CMOS settings to default settings.
File system conflict
Problems often appear after updating the operating system. Especially when switching from Windows XP to Windows 7 or 8. If the device worked normally with Windows XP for a long time, and after a new installation of Windows 8 was no longer detected, the computer’s file system may have changed and now the disk and the operating system seem to speak different languages.
In such a situation, if you forcefully assign a name to it and try to start doing something, the system will most likely say that the disk is not formatted and will offer to format it immediately. If the data on the disk is not particularly important, you can do this. Then the new operating system itself will set the recommended configuration for the external hard drive.
The situation is especially unpleasant if it contains important work documents or valuable files. The simplest solution is to reinstall the previously installed operating system, rewrite information from the external drive, format this drive and change the file system.
After that, install the Windows update again and then it will work with the computer without any problems.
Another option is to change the file system using a special utility, which can be downloaded from one of the software portals. Or use the same aforementioned Alcohol or Acronis applications to change the file system.
A malfunction can sometimes be determined by ear.
- If you don't hear any movement when you turn it on, but the power indicators are lit, the drive may be faulty.
- If you hear unusual sounds, knocking, ticking, or intermittent knocks, something has happened to the internal mechanism.
If the device behaves suspiciously, it must be immediately disconnected from the computer and taken to a workshop for inspection.
External hard drives have become increasingly popular these days, beginning to overtake flash drives. Indeed, given the size of a small mobile phone, such models can have a data capacity of up to 2 TB. But they are not immune from sudden breakdowns. So what should you do if your external hard drive is not detected?
The computer does not see the external hard drive
If this is your first time connecting this device to a laptop or personal computer, then you need to do some simple manipulations. Click “Start”, there we go to “Control Panel”, there we look for “System and Security” (for Windows7), then “Administration” and “Computer Management”. Click on the line “Disk Management” and find our external HDD in the menu that opens on the right.
Most errors in such cases occur due to conflicts in media names. Therefore, we change it: right-click on the name, and in the context menu select the item “Change drive letter...”, in which we calmly set the desired letter of the English alphabet (which is not yet used in the names of other devices).
If you do not have such an item in the context menu, this means that the new media needs formatting. You need to right-click on it and select “Create simple volume”.
Hard drive does not work: what to do?
If the HDD has already been used several times and connected to this laptop or personal computer, then you need to check the following options.
- Enter Disk Management as described just above and change its name, if possible.
- Go to “Device Manager” and make sure that the HDD is detected correctly and there are no exclamation marks (red or yellow) on the device icon. This will indicate problems with the drivers. Call the context menu and select the line “Update drivers”. If this does not help, then you can remove the hard drive, reboot and try to connect the HDD from a “clean slate”.
- If the computer does not see the external hard drive, then try connecting the device via another USB port (it may be broken or a system failure has occurred). If this does not work, check whether USB support is enabled in the BIOS.
- Check the connecting cords (if you have an extra one, try changing it).
- Try connecting an external hard drive to another PC or laptop.
- Use an antivirus if you have such a licensed software product. Or find free options on the Internet (in most cases these are trial versions for 30 days).
- It will not be superfluous to use special utilities to optimize the operation of the operating system and delete unnecessary files.
- If everything works on another laptop, but your external drive is not detected, you can try reinstalling Windows.
- It is possible that the problem is with poor power supply of the device. To connect the drive, use the standard cords that came with it and disconnect other USB devices, if any.
If all this does not help, then the problem lies in the HDD itself. If the external drive is completely silent when connected, then most likely there is a problem with the controller. If after connection you hear dull sounds or a kind of ticking or knocking, you should immediately contact the service center.
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Typically, the suspects in this case are software failures, incorrect operating system settings, outdated drivers, malfunctions of computer USB ports, adapters, or the drives themselves.
Depending on the reasons, the problem manifests itself differently in each case. It happens that the computer does not react at all to a flash drive or hard drive. In other situations, the sound of connecting a new device is heard, but the drive icon does not appear in Explorer. And sometimes the computer simply freezes immediately after contact with the USB device.
What to do if your Windows computer does not see a flash drive or external hard drive
First, figure out what exactly the problem is with: the computer, the adapter (if the connection is via a cable) or the drive. Try connecting the USB device through other ports. If this does not help and you are using a cable, try replacing it with a spare one. If unsuccessful, check whether the drive opens on other computers.
If the device works on another PC or you do not have the opportunity to check it
Connect your hard drive or flash drive to your computer and follow these steps in order. If the first does not help, move on to the next and so on.
If the other PC also does not see the drive or all of the above tips did not help
In this case, most likely the problem is in the drive itself.
If you have a flash drive rather than a hard drive, you can use special utilities to fix software errors. Such software can usually be found on the manufacturer's website. For example, the JetFlash Online Recovery program is for Transcend drives. And USB Flash Drive Online Recovery is for ADATA brand flash drives. But keep in mind that during the recovery process, these utilities erase all data from flash drives.
If none of the above helped, then the problem is probably a physical malfunction of the hard drive or flash drive. Then it is better to show the device to a specialist or return it to the store under warranty.
What to do if Mac does not see a flash drive or external hard drive
On Apple computers, the verification procedure is slightly different, but follows approximately the same algorithm. We will assume that you have already tried restarting the computer, disconnecting and connecting the flash drive, and also made sure that the connection is reliable. If this does not help, you need to do the following:
Open the built-in disk tool (Programs → Utilities → Disk Utility) and check if the problematic flash drive is displayed there. If the drive is still visible, try it by clicking the “Erase” button and reconnect it. Keep in mind that all data from the flash drive will be permanently deleted.
Mac diagnostic software provides detailed information about all software and hardware components on your computer, including USB devices. Open the Apple menu, then hold down the Option key, click "System Information" and go to the USB section in the menu that opens.
If the flash drive is there, then the problem lies in the software and you can try to restore the disk by referring to the manufacturer’s recommendations. If there is no information about the flash drive, then the matter is a physical malfunction, and you should contact a store or service center if repairs make sense.
Often there is not enough space on the hard drive installed in a computer or laptop, and users are forced to purchase external drives to store information on them. External hard drives come in a variety of sizes and speeds, and can eliminate the need to expand internal storage. But the user runs the risk of encountering a problem in which the external hard drive does not open. This can be caused by both software and hardware problems, and in this article we will look at what to do if the external hard drive on your computer or laptop does not open.
Insufficient power to the external drive
The larger the capacity and speed of the hard drive, the more demanding it is of the incoming power. If the drive cannot receive the necessary power from the computer, it will not work properly - it will not appear in the system or errors will begin to occur when opening it.
Almost all external hard drives connect to a computer via the USB protocol, with more modern models using USB 3.0 for data transfer. Here are some tips on how to avoid the problem of insufficient power for a USB drive:
When you connect the hard drive to the computer, the indicator on it should light up, and you can hear the magnetic disk spinning up. If the drive does not make any sounds, most likely the problem is in the power supply - it is not enough.
Hard drive failure
In addition to power problems, a hard drive may not show signs of life when connected to a computer due to other hardware problems. The most common drive failures are:
It is worth noting that the average service life of external hard drives is 5-7 years. If the drive is older than this age, it is not recommended to store important information on it, the loss of which could cause problems.
Lack of drivers
If the external hard drive does not open on only one computer, but works on the rest without problems, the most likely reason for this is software. Most often, if the computer does not have drivers for the hard drive, it will not even appear in the list of connected devices. You can install or reinstall external hard drive drivers as follows:
If you encounter problems installing hard drive software during the driver update process, expand the “Disk Devices” and “Other Devices” sections. Pay attention to the items marked with a yellow exclamation mark - these are devices with which there are problems. Right-click on the found devices in the specified sections and select “Update drivers.” 
Hard drive recovery
If updating the drive drivers does not lead to anything, or the hard drive does not appear on all computers to which it is connected, you need to restore the drive. The easiest way to do this is as follows:
After completing the steps described above, the data in the information storage area will be marked, as a result of which the hard drive should begin to work normally with the system.
Troubleshooting hard drive errors
If there is a software failure that causes the hard drive to stop working properly with the system, you may need to check it for errors and fix them, if any. The Windows operating system provides a special utility for this. Do the following:
- Run ;
- Write the following command on the command line to check the hard drive for errors and fix them if any are found: Chkdsk C: /f
Note that the command above specifies checking hard drive C. If the problematic drive is identified by a different drive letter on the system, it must be replaced when you enter the command.
Good afternoon.
External hard drives (HDDs) are becoming more popular day by day, sometimes it seems that very soon they will be more popular than flash drives. And it’s not surprising, because modern models are some kind of box, the size of a cell phone and contain 1-2 TB of information!
Many users are faced with the fact that the computer does not see the external hard drive. Most often, this happens immediately after purchasing a new device. Let's try to figure out in order what's going on here...
If the new external HDD is not visible
Here, new means the disk that you connected to your computer (laptop) for the first time.
1) First what are you doing - go to computer control .
To do this, go to control Panel , then in system and security settings -> administration -> computer control . See screenshots below.
2) Please note to the column on the left. It has a menu - disk management . Let's move on.
All drives (including external ones) connected to the system should be displayed in front of you. Very often, the computer does not see the connected external hard drive due to the incorrect drive letter assignment. You need to change it!
To do this, right-click on the external drive and select “ change drive letter... ". Next, assign the one that is not yet in your OS.
3) If the disk is new, and you connected it to your computer for the first time - it may not be formatted! Therefore, it will not appear in “my computer”.
If this is the case, then you will not be able to change the letter (you simply will not have such a menu). You just need to right click on the external drive and select " create a simple volume... «.
Attention! During this process, all data on the disk (HDD) will be deleted! Be careful.
4) Lack of drivers... (Update from 04/05/2015)
If the external hard drive is new and you don’t see it in “my computer” or “ disk management“, and it works on other devices (for example, a TV or another laptop sees and detects it) - then 99% of the problems are related to the Windows OS and drivers.
Despite the fact that modern Windows 7, 8 operating systems are quite “smart” and when a new device is detected, they automatically search for a driver for it - this does not always happen... The fact is that the Windows 7, 8 OS versions (including all kinds of assemblies from " there are a huge number of craftsmen), and various mistakes have not been canceled. Therefore, I don’t recommend excluding this option right away...
1. Check the USB port to see if it is working. For example, connect a phone or camera, even just a regular flash drive. If the device works, then the USB port has nothing to do with it...
2. Go to Device Manager (In Windows 7/8: Control Panel/System and Security/Device Manager) and look at two tabs: Other devices And disk devices.
Windows 7: Device Manager reports that there are no drivers for the “My Passport ULTRA WD” disk in the system.
The screenshot above shows that Windows does not have drivers for an external hard drive, so the computer does not see it. Typically, Windows 7, 8, when you connect a new device, automatically installs a driver for it. If this does not happen for you, you have three options:
a) Click the “Update hardware configuration” command in the device manager. Usually this is followed by automatic installation of drivers.
b) Search for drivers using special. programs: ;
c) Reinstall Windows (to install, select a “clean” licensed system, without any assemblies).
Windows 7 - Device Manager: drivers for the external HDD Samsung M3 Portable are installed correctly.
If you can't see your old external hard drive
Old here refers to a hard drive that previously worked on your computer and then stopped working.
1. First, go to the disk management menu (see above) and change the drive letter. This is definitely worth doing if you have created new partitions on your hard drive.
2. Secondly, check the external HDD for viruses. Many viruses disable the ability to see disks or block them ().
3. Go to Device Manager and see if the devices are detected correctly. There should be no yellow exclamation marks (or red ones) that indicate errors. It is also recommended to reinstall the drivers for the USB controller.
4. Sometimes reinstalling Windows OS helps. Anyway, first, check the functionality of the hard drive on another computer/laptop/netbook, and then try reinstalling.
It’s also useful to try cleaning your computer from unnecessary junk files and optimizing the registry and programs (here’s an article with all the utilities: use a couple...).
5. Try connecting the external HDD to a different USB port. It happened that for unknown reasons, after connecting to another port, the disk worked perfectly as if nothing had happened. I noticed this several times on Acer laptops.
6. Check the cords.
One time the external hard drive didn't work because the cord was damaged. I didn’t notice it from the very beginning and spent 5-10 minutes looking for the cause...
