Windows 10: I see my D drive, but I cannot open it and forces me to format it.

So about a month ago, my computer randomly was missing the D drive, and I couldn't find it for weeks. Then about 2 weeks ago, it suddenly pops up back into my file directory, but it doesn't show the storage bar or the amount of memory inside. Whenever I double click to open it, it takes a minute before it prompts me to format it. I tried to format it, but it tells me that Windows cannot format this drive. I'm not sure what to do and worried that it might be a hard drive failure. Thanks for any help!

:)

 

D drive

Hi,

Based on the details you have provided us, it appears that there might be some corrupted contents on the said partition. We can also consider that this is caused by a virus.

For us to check if a certain virus is hiding your files, kindly follow the steps below:

• Type Command prompt in the search bar.
• Type-in the following command:
  
  attrib -h -r -s /s /d D:\*.*
• Press Enter to execute the command.

If you think that there is nothing important stored in it, then we suggest that you reformat your D drive so that you can use the free space for important files.

You can follow the steps below to start with the process:

• Click on the File Explorer.
• Select This PC.
• Right-click on your D drive, then click on Format.
• Follow the on-screen process to finish formatting the partition.

Let us know how it goes so that we can further assist 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.

 

Format an external Drive.

Hello Roger,

Thank you for posting your concern in Microsoft Community and welcome to the Windows 10 Family.

I would suggest you to follow the below steps to format the drive you are referring to.

• Right Click on Start menu and select Open Computer Management.
  
• 
  In the left pane, under Storage, click Disk Management.
  
• 
  Right-click the volume that you want to format, and then click Format.
  
• 
  To format the volume with the default settings, in the Format dialog box, click
  OK, and then click OK again.
  

Note: You cannot format a disk or partition that is currently in use, including the partition that contains Windows.

Hope it helps.

Thank you.