Windows 10: External Hard Drive Only Reads as "Local Disk"

Hello,


I was able to fix one of my hard drives with a simple step, hopefully, I can fix another!

I have a WD Easystore HDD that has a lot of good graphic design material I can't lose. However, when I plug it in, the File Folder freezes up, and Disk Management hasn't loaded up all the way either. Normally with Disk Management, you see a list of drives to work on. It currently still says "Connecting to Virtual Disk Service."

When I click on the drive I want to access, it takes a long time to load, as if it doesn't want to, and File Folder freezes. What can I do to repair this? Or is my External HDD permanently damaged?

:)

 

External hard drive is showing up as local disk drive

Hi,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



As you have mentioned that the external hard drive is showing as local disk drive instead of a USB drive, it is because the file format for the external hard drive is same as the internal hard drive and that’s why it is showing
up as a local disk drive and not a USB drive.



Also, since you are facing issues while changing the drive letter of the drive, for further clarity on the issue and to guide you accordingly, respond to the questions listed below:

1. What is the make and model of the hard drive?
   
2. Were you able to save or create a file on the hard drive previously?
   
3. What happens when you try to copy and paste the data from the hard drive?
   
4. What was the result of check disk performed on the drive?
   

Since you are receiving the access denied error, I would suggest you to check if the user has appropriate permissions to read/write data on the external hard drive. Refer the article

"Access Denied" or other errors when you access or work with files and folders in Windows, refer the section
I cannot access, change, save, or delete files and folders.



Note:
The above article applies to Windows 10 also.



Please get back to us with the above information to assist you further with the issue.



We await your response.



Regards,

Prakhar Khare

Microsoft Community – Moderator

 

external hard drive connects as local disk

The hard drive(s) check out perfectly, including using the troubleshooting methods you cite. I can repeatedly remove, reconnect, read/write/delete/restore files to these drives, yet ... they appear as "local disks" and can not be changed otherwise. As
I mentioned, this is a problem for software that requires an "external disk" device for certain processes.

This morning, I checked several other similar portable external hard drives mounted on numerous computers at my work place and found "local disk" to be the case for every system that utilizes Win7, Win8, or Win10 as the OS (maybe WinXP, but I didn't have that
OS to look at). Google searches for this topic allowed me to discover that Microsoft has made this "local disk" bit configuration in the external drive hardware a requirement for Microsoft certification. Is this true?

Thanks for your assistance.

 

external hard drive connects as local disk

Two 2T WD-Passport Ultra external/portable hard drives (only 3-4 months old) connected via separate USB ports to a new laptop running Windows 10. Out of the box they appear in disk manager as "type: external drive." After an OS update in late September,
they suddenly appeared as "type: local disk." A second laptop (one yr old) running Windows 10 with a 1T WD-Passport external hard drive experienced the same issue post OS update. I use a fee-based off-site backup/recovery program that uses one of the external
drives on the first laptop for a mirror image of the internal drive and can not function properly if the disk is seen as a "local disk."

Is this a WD hard drive problem or a Windows 10 issue? How do I fix it? The drives are working properly, have the current drivers, etc. With the exception of this single issue, everything with the OS as well as the drives checks out ok.