Windows 10: External HDD drive letters appear briefly when connected but then disappear with errors...

Hello all,


I'm hoping that someone here can help me with a serious problem. I would very much appreciate any help. It all started with a big Windows update last week. Afterwards the hard drive was no longer recognised as NTFS and was labelled RAW. I couldn't repair the computer. I was thinking of buying a new computer anyway so I did well not new it's a refurbished Dell Optiplex 7020. I thought I would be able to connect the hard drive of my old computer to my new one with an enclosure through a USB port. The drive is a Seagate Barracuda ES.2 if that's any help. Unfortunately I can't get it to work.


When I turn on the enclosure I get a message saying that I should click to decide what to do with a drive labelled "System Reserved" with the drive letter F. I get the same message soon after for a drive with the letter G. The drive has a partition with a volume for "recovery". The other volume has the operating system Windows 10 and all my data which I would like to recover. Immediately after the messages appear you can see the drives in File Explorer. If you select G drive you see the round processing symbol. After 30 seconds or so a message appears saying something like "The last USB device connected to the computer malfunctioned and can't be recognised" and then the two drives disappear from File Explorer. They don't appear in Disk Management either. In Device Manager under Universal Serial Bus controllers there is an error saying either "Device Descriptor Request Failed" or "Set Address Failed". In the properties for the USB port there is a message "was not migrated due to partial or ambiguous match".


I've googled this extensively and tried every possible fix that I could find to no avail. I've tried turning the computer off and then on again, tried all the USB ports, changed the USB cable, updated USB drivers, uninstall and then reinstall USB drivers, disable USB device and then restart, ran the USB Troubleshooter, deleted USB hidden devices, deselected Fast Startup and others. I didn't do anything with the motherboard. Since the hard drive is recognised initially and then not and considering what Windows Update did to it I suspect the problem is on the drive itself - corrupt system files or something.


If anyone has any ideas I'd be glad to hear them. Also does anyone know of any recover data software that works on a hard drive that Windows doesn't recognise? Every one I've seen needs the drive to show in Disk Management. If I can't get Windows to recognise the drive I would need software like that. Thanks very much for any replies.

:)

 

External Seagate Drive not appearing after Creators Update

We appreciate the feedback, Pete. Getting in touch with Seagate support is one of your options. They may have recent or updated drivers for your external hard drive. In the meantime, since the hard drive is detected again when you unplug and replug it, we
suggest that you try changing the drive letter and its path and see if it addresses the issue. Follow the steps below:

• Right-click the Windows key and click Computer Management.
• Under Storage, click Disk Management.
• Find your Seagate External Hard Drive, right-click it and select
  Change Drive Letter and Paths.
• Click on Change and select the letter for the drive.
• Click OK, close all windows, then restart your computer.

Should the issue persists, then we suggest sharing your experience with us through our Feedback Hub. To access the Feedback Hub, follow the steps below:

• Click the Windows key.
• Look for Feedback Hub, then click it.
• In the left pane, click Feedback.

Let us know should you need further help.

Regards.

Regards.

 

External drive not appearing in File Explorer

Hi,

Thank you for contacting Microsoft Community.

I appreciate your time and effort.

I understand that you are facing the issue regarding external file storage. I will certainly help you with this.

Please provide the below information:

Are you getting any error message?

You may try,

Try to connect a different external drive and check.

Try connecting the same external drive to a different computer.

I would suggest you to go through the below methods:

Method 1: Try to run the Hardware and devices troubleshooter:

a. Press WIN+X.

b. Click on Control Panel.

c. Click on Troubleshooting.

d. On the left pane, click on view all.

e. From the list, run the troubleshooter Hardware and Devices.

Method 2: Try to check the drive in disk management.

• Press WIN+X.
• Click on disk management.
• Check if the drive is listed or not.

If listed,

Method 3: Try to give a drive letter to external drive

To change, add, or remove a drive letter

• 
  

[*]Open Computer Management by right click on
Start button.

[*]In the left pane, click
Disk Management.

Right-click the drive that you want to change, and then click
Change Drive Letter and Paths.

Do one of the following:

[*]To assign a drive letter if one has not already been assigned, click
Add, click the letter that you
want to use, and then click OK.

To change a drive letter, click
Change, click
Assign the following drive letter,
click the letter that you want to use, and then click OK.

[*]To remove a drive letter, click
Remove, and then click
Yesto confirm that you want to
remove it.

Method 4: Try to check the drivers in Device manager:

a. Press WIN+X.

b. Click on Device Manager.

c. From the list, expand the Universal Serial Bus Controllers.

d. Right click on the USB ports.

e. Check if it is enabled or not.

I hope this helps. Please let us know the results. Feel free to write us back for any further assistance with Windows, we’ll be glad to assist you.

 

Windows 10, when connecting external drive 2 drive letters both the same appear in this computer

When I attach a USB external drive HDD or Flash drive stick, 2 drive letters appear (both the same) how do I stop this? Click on either and it opens just the same this is more of an annoyance than operational problem.