Windows 10: External Hard Drive Issues

So a while back I had to have my laptop sent off to be fixed. My internal hard drive was not fixable so they recover my data onto an external hard drive. Since I have had it back, I cannot access the files. My laptop makes the sound to say it is connected but cannot be seen in File Explorer. It can be found in Devices & Printers, Device Manager and Disk Management. No errors are showing in Devices & Printers or in Device Manager. But in Disk Management, it is showing as not initialised. It is not allowing me initialise it and come up with an error about the I/O device. I have tried multiple things to get it to work but I have had no luck. Please 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.

 

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.

 

Seagate External Hard Drive

Hi Barbara,

Hardware failure or corruption within your system files are some of the possible reasons why you are experiencing an issue with accessing your external hard drive. For us to provide an accurate solution, we would need you to answer the following questions:

• Which build, version and edition of Windows 10?
• Are you experiencing the same issue when you are trying to access the external hard drive using another PC?
• What troubleshooting steps have you done so far?

In the meantime, we suggest running the automated troubleshooter for hardware. Follow these steps to do so:

• Open the Control Panel.
• Using the search box at the upper right corner of the window, type troubleshooting.
  
• From the search results, click on Troubleshooting.
• Click on Hardware and Sound and then choose Hardware and Devices.
• Once done, restart your computer and then check if the same issue persists.

We are looking forward to your response.