Windows 10: 'The device is not ready' Error on external HDD

So just this morning, my Seagate external HDD started showing a 'The device is not ready' error when I try accessing specific folders or files. It worked fine yesterday and even works fine on a PC with I'm assuming is an old version of Windows 10. It hasn't been damaged recently or anything like that, so I'm not sure what's going on.

:)

 

Reading External HDD from Command Prompt - Device Not Ready

My HP will not boot to Windows, so I am trying to copy files from my laptop HDD to an external HDD. However from the Command Prompt, when I attempt to switch to the External drive, I get a "The device is not ready" error. I am able to read all drives
on the laptop HDD. Do I need to load a driver to read the External HDD? If so, how do I do that? If not, any idea why I am getting this error? Thank you.

 

external HDD

Hi,

Usually, this problem occur due to software incompatibility or corrupted USB drivers. For us to better assist you, we would like to clarify the following:

• Have you made any recent changes on your computer prior to the issue?
• Which driver did you uninstall? Have you reinstall the driver? If yes, how did you reinstall the driver?
• Have you check if the external HDD is visible in Device Manager?

If the issue still persists after uninstalling some games, we suggest that you run the troubleshooter for hardware and devices. If you're using the latest Windows 10 version, follow these steps on how to run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter:

• Click the Start button and select the Settings
  icon.
• Choose Update & Security from the list.
• Click Troubleshoot in the left pane of the window.
• Under Find and fix other problems, select Hardware and Devices and click
  Run the troubleshooter.

We're looking forward to your reply.

 

Quirky behaviour with external HDD

Since you have already checked Device Manager and did not see any errors, we suggest that you manually uninstall the device drivers for your external drives. Doing this will allow the system to install the driver for your external drive automatically and
correct any error. You can follow the steps below to uninstall the device driver:

• Search for Device Manager via Cortana and hit the
  Enter key.
• Go to View, and click Show hidden icons.
• On the Device Manager, check under Universal Serial Bus Controllers (if the drive is connected via USB). The drive should appear as a USB Mass Storage Device.
• Uninstall the USB Mass Storage Device listed in the Device Manager.
• Restart your PC.
• After restarting, allow the default USB Mass Storage Device drivers to be automatically downloaded by windows. Make sure that you are connected to the internet for this process to push through.
• Reinstall all other drivers from the support website of your External drive.

We look forward to your response after completing the steps.