Windows 10: External Hard Drive slows down Windows when plugged in and shown as "Local Disk B: with no...

Hi everyone. My Toshiba Canvio Basics 1 TB drive is having some issues. When I plug it in, Windows becomes really slow like File Explorer taking a long time to load when first opened and when I go to My PC, it is shown as Local Disk B: with no storage amount underneath. Can someone help me? Thanks.

:)

 

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.

 

Help with external hard drive

Hi Debbra,

Welcome to Microsoft Community.

I appreciate your interest in windows 10 and also for trying the troubleshooting steps to fix the issue. I understand the inconvenience you faced. I will certainly help you with this.

I would suggest you to plug in hard drive then check in disk management you can see the drive or not.

Follow the steps to check Drive in Disk Management.

• 
  Go to the Control Panel then click on the
  Administrative Tools. .
  
• 
  Under the Administrative Tool Click on Computer Management.
  
• 
  Click on Disk Management and check the External Hard Drive.
  

Also check in BIOS whether External Hard Drive is listed or not.

For help with the BIOS settings, refer to the computer manual or contact the manufacturer.

If it doesn’t work then, I would suggest you to update BIOS for updating BIOS contact Lenovo Support.

Follow the link:

http://support.lenovo.com/in/hi/

Disclaimer :

Modifying BIOS/complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) settings incorrectly can cause serious problems that may prevent your computer from booting properly. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the configuring of BIOS/CMOS settings
can be solved. Modifications of the settings are at your own risk.

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

Thanks.