Windows 10: I want to be able to access my external hd wirelessly again.

After two attemps to fix my poor internet connection where I was told to disconnect the router for one minute at a time so the IT guys could reconfigure my router, I discovered way too late that the external hd I had configured to be accessible wirelessly was no longer accessible. When I clicked on it, it said something along the lines of "name already in use" or something. But then we had to unplug the router from the outlet entirely, and all devices I had available wirelessly vanished from the network tab. I just want to restore things to the way they were. This was how things looked at the network tab in File Explorer when everything was okay:My own computer was visible, though with no shared files or folders, the router was there, and you could find the hard drive if you accessed it, and finally I could access my mother's computer, as well as her desktop.


I don't know why it all went away. What do I have to do to make my computer visible through the network? I know this all sounds barely coherent, but that's only because I myself barely understand what happened. If anyone could just guide me through a step-by-step to make the items mentioned in the underline section visible again, I would be immensely grateful.

:)

 

Bad External HD???

Hi Tom,

The error that you received when trying to connect or access data to an external hard drive can be caused due to the following:

• Corrupted USB driver is unstable or corrupted.
• Important Windows Update is missing.
• USB controllers are corrupted or unstable.
• Your external drive may be entering selective suspend.
• Motherboard needs to update its drivers.

In order for us to troubleshoot your concern, we recommend that you follow the steps provided on this article:
Error: “USB Device not recognized” when you try to access a USB external hard drive.
The article will be able to provide you with the steps that you'll need to perform in order to resolve this issue.

Let us know if you have other questions.

 

External HD Connection Problem

I have attached an external HD to my computer running Windows 10 and it will not show up in my drive list. The properties shows it as Seagate.ink - what is an ink file and any suggestions as to how I can get it to work?

 

Problems accessing my external WD/HD.

Hi,

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

We understand your concern as you are having limited access to the external hard drive.
In order to get clarity and to assist you accordingly, please reply with the answers to the questions below.

• What is the Windows 10 version and Build installed? (Type winver in Windows search/Run command)
• What is the make and model of the PC?
• Were you able to access the complete drive prior to this issue?

Update the drivers from device manager

1. Press Windows + X keys on the keyboard.
2. Choose Device Manager from the pop-up menu.
3. Expand Disk drives option.
4. Right click on the problematic drive and choose Update driver.
5. Select Search Automatically for updated driver software
   and follow the onscreen steps

I would also suggest you to update the storage drivers from the manufacturer website. If you are using an Intel configuration, then you can try updating the Intel Rapid Storage drivers from the manufacturer website.

Regards,

Aditya Roy

Microsoft Community – Moderator