Windows 10: Hardware change new hard drive

The laptop HP pavilion bought in 2017 I have as my device had a complete hard drive failure last night - the BIOS can't find any drive. I plan on replacing the drive, but will my Windows 10 need to be purchased again? Will I need a copy on a disc since I won't be able to download until I have an installed OS.


The laptop was purchased as refurbished so HP isn't an option for help.

:)

 

unrecognised external hard drive on Windows 10

Since you already reinstalled the drivers of the External Hard Drive, let's run the
Hardware and Devices troubleshooter as it can resolve your concern. You can do that by following these steps:

• 
  Press the Start button.
  
• 
  Type and select Troubleshooting.
  
• 
  Click on View all on the left panel.
  
• 
  Select and run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter.
  

If the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter doesn’t resolve your concern, we suggest that you change the letter of the External Hard Drive. You can do that by following these steps:

• 
  Press the Start button.
  
• 
  Type and select Control panel.
  
• 
  Select System and Security.
  
• 
  Select Administrative Tools, and a new window will appear.
  
• 
  Double-click Computer Management, and a new window will appear.
  
• 
  Select Disk Management that is located under
  Storage in the left pane.
  
• 
  Right click on the External Hard Drive that is not showing on the File Explorer.
  
• 
  Select Change letter and network path, and a new window will appear.
  
• 
  Select Change, and choose the letter that you want for the External Hard Drive.
  

After changing the letter of the External Hard Drive, we suggest that you reboot your laptop for the changes to take effect.



Let us know how it goes.



Regards.

 

Problem finding Hard drive

Hi Peter,

Based on the information that you've provided, it seems that your second hard drive is not recognized by your computer. For us to resolve the issue, we suggest that you follow these methods:

Method 1: Run the hardware troubleshooter. Follow the steps below on how-to:

• On Cortana search, type troubleshooting.
• Select Troubleshooting from the list.
• Click on View all at the left pane.
• Click on Hardware and Devices to run the troubleshooter.
• Restart your PC and check if the second hard drive is recognized.

If the issue persists, proceed to method 2.

Method 2: Scan for hardware changes on your PC.

• Press Windows key + X on your keyboard and then select
  Device Manager.
• Click on Computer to highlight it and then click the
  Action tab.
• Select Scan for Hardware changes option.

Update us with the outcome so we can provide further assistance.

 

Hard Drive not Showing

Hi Lori,

Thank you for posting back.

• How are you connecting the Hard drive to your computer?
• Have you tried connecting the hard drive to a different computer and check if it works?

It's possible that your USB drivers are corrupt. I suggest you to try the following steps and check.

• Press Windows Key +R and type
  devmgmt.msc to open Device manager.
• Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers
  at the left bottom.
• Right-click the first USB controller under Universal Serial Bus controllers, and then click on
  Uninstall to remove it.
• Repeat these steps for the entire USB controller under Universal Serial Bus controllers.
• Restart the computer. After the computer starts, Windows will automatically scan for hardware changes and reinstall all the USB controllers that you uninstalled.

Keep us posted with the status of the issue to assist you further.

Thank you.