Windows 10: Disconnect or Unmap External Hard Drive

I have an external hard drive to which I do routine manual backups. I would like to be able to disconnect this drive without having to "pull the plug."


The reason for this is that Ransomware will infect ALL connected drives. So I would like to disconnect it when not in use, connect it long enough to do my backups and then disconnect it again without plugging and unplugging the USB cable.


I found a ton of articles on how to disconnect a flash drive and one article that says to use diskpart which is a command unknown to Windows 10.


Can this be done?

:)

 

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 Hard Drive

Hi John,

We suggest that you try the troubleshooting steps below:

• Open your External Hard Drive file in File Explorer.
• Type the name of the file you want to search on the search box and click Enter.

The file will show up in Search Results and you will be able to move it to the correct folder.

Let us know if you need further help.

 

External hard drive not recognised

Thanks for this. I've done what you suggested and been through all the steps mentioned in the article. The hard drive works fine on a Mac computer, and I've managed to copy the information on it. It must be a Surface issue so I'll try to get a chat line tomorrow.