Windows 10: I can't access my external hard drive with Windows 10

The device is a 250 gigabyte Toshiba SATA I've recovered from a broken laptop i believe it was window XP or a different old windows version I've already tired the disk manager and device manager. Whenever I try to initialize it i get an error that says "the request could not be performed because of a I/O device error"

:)

 

Seagate External Hard Drive

Hi Barbara,

Hardware failure or corruption within your system files are some of the possible reasons why you are experiencing an issue with accessing your external hard drive. For us to provide an accurate solution, we would need you to answer the following questions:

• Which build, version and edition of Windows 10?
• Are you experiencing the same issue when you are trying to access the external hard drive using another PC?
• What troubleshooting steps have you done so far?

In the meantime, we suggest running the automated troubleshooter for hardware. Follow these steps to do so:

• Open the Control Panel.
• Using the search box at the upper right corner of the window, type troubleshooting.
  
• From the search results, click on Troubleshooting.
• Click on Hardware and Sound and then choose Hardware and Devices.
• Once done, restart your computer and then check if the same issue persists.

We are looking forward to your response.

 

Unable to access the external hard drive after upgrading to Windows 10

Hi Alan,

As you are facing issues with accessing the external hard drive after upgrading to Windows 10, do not worry we will help you with this issue.

Do provide us additional information to assist you better with this issue:

• What is the make and model of your devices?
• What exactly happens when you try to access the drive?
• What is the complete error message/ error code of this issue?
• Were you able to detect the device under Device Manager/ File Explorer?

Step 1: As a workaround, I suggest you to do the following to detect the issue:

• Connect the hard drive to different port and check if the issue persists.
• Connect different hard drive to the same port and check.
• Connect different hard drives to different ports and check.

Step 2: If the device is not detected on your computer try to run
Hardware and Devices troubleshooter as it checks for common problems and makes sure that any new device or hardware connected to your PC is installed correctly.

• Press Windows key from the keyboard, type
  Troubleshooting and select it.
• Click on view all option on the upper left corner of
  Troubleshooting window.
• Select the Hardware and Device
  options from the list.
• Click Next to run the Hardware and Device
  Troubleshooter

Step 3: I suggest you to check if there are any drivers with yellow exclamatory mark in the Device Manager.

• Press Windows + X from the keyboard, click on
  Device Manager.
• Right click on the detected driver, click on Properties
  and check the device status.
  

Hope it helps. Try the above and update us the status of this issue with the required information, we will be happy to help you further.

Thank you.

 

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.