Windows 10: Hard drive shows up as Local Disk D

I cant access my external drive and it shows as local disk D

:)

 

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

 

My Local Disk D drive is looked

Hi,

I recently did a recovery on my surface pro 3 because it was slow so I thought about it's time to reinstall windows. However, after the recovery was done, my local disk D got locked. My C drive shows an icon of an open silver lock, however my local disk
D drive shows a golden lock that is locked. I don't know how that happened but I have a lot important stuff on my D drive and I don't know the 48-digits recovery key. Any suggestions?

Thank you

 

Cannot access D drive since upgrading to Windows 10.

Hello Judy,



Thank you for replying quickly with the status of the issue.



Please reply to few more questions:

• 
  Is the D: drive located on the same hard disk or on different hard disk?
  
• 
  Did you have any important data saved on the
  D: drive?
  

If the D: is saved on another hard disk and you are unable to access it, I suggest you to format the drive completely and check if the issue is resolved.



To format the hard disk, follow the steps below:

• 
  Press Windows logo + X keys on the keyboard and select
  Disk management option.
  
• 
  Right click on the D: drive and select
  Format option.
  
• 
  Wait for the formatting to complete and check if the changes are effective.
  

Write to us with the status of the issue for further assistance. Your reply is most important for us to ensure we assist you accordingly.



Thank you.