hard drive not showing up in disk manager

#HARD DRIVE NOT SHOWING UP IN DISK MANAGER HOW TO#
#HARD DRIVE NOT SHOWING UP IN DISK MANAGER INSTALL#
#HARD DRIVE NOT SHOWING UP IN DISK MANAGER PC#
#HARD DRIVE NOT SHOWING UP IN DISK MANAGER WINDOWS#

#HARD DRIVE NOT SHOWING UP IN DISK MANAGER HOW TO#

How to Fix Your External Hard Drive Not Showing Up by Trying Another USB Port or ComputerĬomputers usually come with up to 3 USB ports, or at least 2. If this is the case, you should make sure the USB cord fits in correctly, or you can try another USB port. If this light isn't turned on, it means the hard drive isn't receiving power. If you're using one that gets power through a USB port, it'll have a light (usually blue) that indicates that it's receiving power. Your hard drive might not show up because it has little or no power supply to it.Ī lot of hard drives are optimized to receive their power supply through USB ports, while some others have separate power sources. How to Fix Your External Hard Drive Not Showing Up by Plugging it In In this guide, I will show you 5 ways you can fix an external drive not showing up. There are several possible reasons for this, like lack of power, faulty drivers, or hardware issues. With external drives, you can also easily move files from one computer to another - especially when you get a new computer.īut sometimes when you're trying to back up or retrieve files from an external hard drive, the drive might not show up. External enclosures are available relatively inexpensively online - just make sure you get one that matches your drive's physical size (2.5 or 3.5 inches.External hard drives let you back up your files. Alternatively, you can transfer the hard drive to a different external enclosure, if you're not comfortable with opening up your computer.

#HARD DRIVE NOT SHOWING UP IN DISK MANAGER WINDOWS#

Once connected, you may need to enable the drive in Windows using the Disk Management tool, as detailed in Step 3 above.ģ. Then, connect the drive to your desktop or laptop, following the manufacturer's instructions.Ģ. Open the enclosure and disconnect the drive.

This only applies to external hard disks or SSDs it won't work with thumb drives.ġ. If anything, this will allow you to copy its contents to another drive, or upload it to the cloud, in case it fails completely. If all else fails and you possess the technical know-how, you can triage your hardware by removing it from its enclosure and hooking it up to a computer the old-fashioned way.

#HARD DRIVE NOT SHOWING UP IN DISK MANAGER INSTALL#

(Image credit: Future) Install your hard drive directly into your computer or a new enclosure

#HARD DRIVE NOT SHOWING UP IN DISK MANAGER PC#

Since Windows and Mac computers have compatibility issues with certain types of drive format, you may find that your drive works in a Windows PC if you're running a Mac, and vice-versa. Failing this, try connecting your external hard drive to another computer, if you have one to hand. Alternatively, check whether your USB hub has an external power port (such as an AC power supply or USB port), since some hubs need an extra boost of energy to power certain devices such as external hard drives.ģ. If you're plugging your drive into a USB hub, try connecting it directly to its own USB port on your computer instead. It may help to restart your computer if this doesn't work, since this should 'refresh' your ports if they're acting up.Ģ. Try plugging your external hard drive into a different USB port on your computer, to see if this makes a difference.

(Image credit: Toshiba) Try a different USB port or computerįor all their uses, USB ports like to mess with us from time to time, so it helps to troubleshoot the port.ġ. You may also need to press a power button or flip a power switch to an 'On' position, following this. If it does, connect either an external AC power supply (it's recommended to use the one that it originally came with, or one that matches the ratings printed on the enclosure if you don't have the original) or a USB cable to the port, and it should power on. Firstly, check the enclosure of your external hard drive to see if it has more than just a single USB port. While most external hard drives get their power from their single USB port that also provides the data transfer channel, others may require an external power source, such as an AC supply or a secondary USB port.ġ. This may sound like an obvious step to follow, but the simplest faults are often the most common when it come to tech. Check your external hard drive is powered up Read on for detailed instructions regarding each step. Install your hard drive directly into your computer or a new enclosure.Check your drive is enabled and allocated/mounted.Check your external hard drive is powered up.How to fix an external hard drive that's not showing up

Hard drive not showing up in disk manager