How to fix an external drive that doesn’t show up in Windows

Check physical connections

Power, cables, and another computer if possible

Source: Western Digital

The first thing to check with any external drive when Windows doesn’t recognize it is the power source. Larger external drives often have a supplementary power cable, and some also have a physical power switch. If you have this type of drive, the power cable could be the reason it isn’t showing up in Windows, so try using another power outlet, paying attention to any indicator lights on the external drive’s enclosure or the hum of movement inside the drive. Also, try a different power cable if possible, to rule out issues. Some drives come with a USB cable with two plugs, so make sure you use the one that came with it, so it gets the power that it needs.

Some USB-powered drives also have indicator lights, and it’s one of the features I look for when I want to buy a new USB drive. This is because the flashing indicator light tells me that the drive is getting power, and that it’s working on some level, so there is another issue which is preventing it from mounting.

If you’re not getting any indication of its presence on your Windows PC, and you have a second computer around, try plugging the external drive into that one. There’s always a chance that the USB port on your computer could be the reason the drive is not showing up in File Manager. If you don’t have a second computer, try a different USB port on your computer, or one from the front I/O panel if it was plugged into the rear, or vice versa. And, of course, check the cable connections between the drive and the computer to make sure they are snug.

Also, check Disk Management as the next step if you are using it on another computer, because it may not be showing up because it doesn’t have a volume that Windows can read.

Check Disk Management

When you plug an external drive into a Windows computer, it should detect it and add a link to the drive in File Explorer. If it’s not doing that, the first thing to check is Disk Management to see if Windows is even seeing the drive at all.

1. Right-click on the Start icon, and select Disk Management from the list.
   

2. Scroll through the disks to see if your external drive is showing. In the example below, it’s drive letter G:.
   

If your external hard drive is showing up in this list, that’s good news, because even if it doesn’t have a partition assigned to it, it only takes a few more steps to get it working correctly again.

If you see unallocated space:

1. Right-click on the drive, and select New Simple Volume.
   

2. The New Simple Volume Wizard will pop up. Click on Next to continue.
   

3. Specify the volume size in MB. For external drives, this will often be the total capacity of the drive, but you can create multiple volumes if your drive is large enough. Click on Next once done.
   

4. Assign a drive letter with the top option, then click on Next.
   

5. Finalize the volume by choosing the settings that make the most sense for your external drive. You can use NTFS if you only use Windows computers, or exFAT for cross-platform usage. Leave Allocation unit size as Default, and put your own Volume label in if you want, then click on Next.
   

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