Windows 10: External Hard Drive is not being recognized by create a system image in control panel

I am having problems with my drive being recognised in the 'create a system image'.I wanted to back up my entire computer by creating a system image as I'm currently in Windows 11 Insider Program Dev. Channel and want to downgrade to Win 10.Thus, when I plugged in my external drive to create a system image, it does not show up. I have reformatted the drive and changed the format of the drive from ExFATS and NTFS but none of it works.I have attached a few pictures below.Thanks.Disk Management:System Image:

:)

 

System Image not recognizing hard drive

When I try to create a system image it doesn't recognize my external hard drive. I see it in the file explorer but it will only let me back up to a DVD ROM. I've initialized and formatted the external hard drive but to no avail. I can drag and drop
any file on to the drive but, when it comes to making the system image, no luck. I've rebooted by computer and it still does the same thing. Has anyone else had this problem. I sure would like a solution, the Microsoft website was a no go on the problem,
at least I couldn't find a fix.

 

Toshiba external hard drive not recognized

Hi Philip,

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

I understand that the external hard drive is not recognized by the PC. I appreciate your efforts in trying to resolve the issue.
It would be great if you can answer these questions to assist you in a better way.

• Did you try connecting the Hardrive to different USB Port?
  
• Does the Hardrive get detected if you try connecting it to a different PC?
  
• Are you aware of any changes made to the computer recently?
  

I suggest you refer and follow the steps mentioned in the KB article and check if that resolves the issueError:
“USB Device not recognized” when you try to access a USB external hard drive

Note: Ignore method 2 & 5 from the above article.

Let us know how it goes.

Regards,

Zaki

 

External hard drive no longer recognized

Hello,

This issue could be due to the external Hard driver is outdated.

A quick question before we proceed:

• 
  Are you able to see the hard drive in the Disk management?
  

You may follow the steps below to check that:

• 
  Press Windows + R key.
  
• 
  Type diskmgmt.msc and hit enter.
  

Meanwhile let’s try the simple troubleshooting methods and check if it helps resolving the issue. Follow the below methods.

Method 1:

I suggest you to run Hardware troubleshooter to diagnose the exact issue.

• Press Windows + X keys on the keyboard and select Control Panel.
• Type Troubleshooting in the search bar on the Control Panel.
• Click on Small icon on the left navigation pane.
• Click on Troubleshooting and click on
  Hardware and Device.
• Click on Advanced on the Hardware troubleshooter dialog box and click on Run as administrator (Enter the credentials if required).
• Click on Next and follow onscreen instruction complete the Hardware troubleshooter.

I the issue still persist try the below method.

Method 2:

I recommend you to download the latest updated driver for the External hard drive from the hard drive manufacturer website and install the same.

Note: Make sure you provide the correct model number.

Hope this helps. Post us with status we will be glad to help you