Windows 10: Description of External Drive Changes when Disconnected

My question is why does the description of an external drive that is pinned to Quick access lose the description when it's disconnected?

I have 2 external drives (D & E) which I alternate for backups. Both are pinned to Quick access. Up until about 3 days ago, when I disconnected one, it would still read, e.g. Passport1 (D with a question mark over the drive. I understand the question mark is because the drive is not attached.

What confuses me is that the description no longer says "Passport1" when the drive is disconnected, although that description does come back when I reattach the drive. It does keep the correct drive letter.

I've attached the images of what I now see when 1 drive is attached & 1 isn't & what shows in the Properties dialog box.






Thank you in advance.

:)

 

External hard drive disconnecting

Hi,

I realize the inconvenience caused to you regarding the external hard drive as it is disconnecting. I will certainly assist you.

Please answer the below questions to assist you better.

• What is the make and model of the external hard drive?
• Are you getting any error messages in the device manager?

Follow the below methods and check if it helps.

Connect the external hard drive and perform the following methods.

Method 1: Run the Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter.

Windows 10 has a built-in troubleshooter to check and fix issues with hardware and devices. I would suggest you to run this troubleshooter to check if the issue is with the Bluetooth adapter. Refer these steps:

• Press Windows key +X, select Control panel.
• Change the view by option on the top right to Large icons.
• Click on troubleshooting and click on the view all option on the left panel.
• Run the Hardware and devices troubleshooter.
• Restart your computer and check if the issue is resolved.

Method 2: Check if you can see the device in Device Manager

• Press Windows key + X.
• Click on Device manager.
• Click on View Tab, Select Show hidden devices.
• Click on Scan for Hardware changes.
• Check if the devices show up in Device Manager in the device list.

Hope this information is helpful. Please do let us know if you need further assistance, we’ll be glad to assist you.

 

External drive

Hi Richard,

There are several factors that can cause your external drive to not read DVDs even though the system is recognizing the device. This could be caused by a driver that needs to updated or corrupted files. For us to resolve your concern, kindly answer the questions
below:

• Just to confirm, the device that is not working properly is a external DVD optical drive?
• Were there any recent changes or updates installed on your computer?
• Have you tried to plug the external drive to a different port on your computer?

As a initial recommendation, we suggest that your run the built in troubleshooter in Windows 10. Kindly refer to the steps below:

• Type “Troubleshooting” in the Search bar and press Enter.
• Click on “View All” in the top left corner.
• This will display the list of troubleshooters which are built-in in the computer. You can click on
  Hardware and Devices from the list and you can run the troubleshooter.

This will check for common errors that affect hardware on your computer and attempts to correct them.

We look forward to your response after completing the steps.

 

unrecognised external hard drive on Windows 10

Since you already reinstalled the drivers of the External Hard Drive, let's run the
Hardware and Devices troubleshooter as it can resolve your concern. You can do that by following these steps:

• 
  Press the Start button.
  
• 
  Type and select Troubleshooting.
  
• 
  Click on View all on the left panel.
  
• 
  Select and run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter.
  

If the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter doesn’t resolve your concern, we suggest that you change the letter of the External Hard Drive. You can do that by following these steps:

• 
  Press the Start button.
  
• 
  Type and select Control panel.
  
• 
  Select System and Security.
  
• 
  Select Administrative Tools, and a new window will appear.
  
• 
  Double-click Computer Management, and a new window will appear.
  
• 
  Select Disk Management that is located under
  Storage in the left pane.
  
• 
  Right click on the External Hard Drive that is not showing on the File Explorer.
  
• 
  Select Change letter and network path, and a new window will appear.
  
• 
  Select Change, and choose the letter that you want for the External Hard Drive.
  

After changing the letter of the External Hard Drive, we suggest that you reboot your laptop for the changes to take effect.



Let us know how it goes.



Regards.