Windows 10: My D: drive is allocated, but does not show up in file explorer

I downgraded from Windows 11 to Windows 10. I noticed my D: drive was missing. It says it is allocated, but it is not a drive and it will not let me add a volume it is all greyed out. This is very frustrating as I have tried everything.

:)

 

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.

 

Unable to open Western Digital 320GB hard drive in File explorer to format on Windows 10.

Hello Yancy,



Thank you for posting on Microsoft Community. We regret the inconvenience caused and will assist you in resolving the issue.



Before assisting further, I would like to ask you few questions:

• Is Western Digital 320GB an external or internal hard drive?
• Does the drive show in Disk management?
• Does other external drives get detected and show in File explorer on the PC?

You might be facing the above issue due to the unallocated letter for the drive. Unallocated drives are those whose drive letters are not allocated when initially partitioned or after formatting. You will be able to view the drive on your PC if you
have allocated a drive name for the partition created. The drive will not be visible on the PC if you do not allocate a drive letter or a drive name.



Method 1: Check if the drive is shown in
File Explorer. If the drive is not shown in the File Explorer, allocate a drive letter to the HDD by following the steps below and check if the issue is resolved.

• Connect the HDD to the PC, press Windows logo + X keys on the keyboard and select
  Disk management option from the context menu. Check if the drive is visible in the window.
• If visible, right click on the Unallocated disk drive and select
  New Simple Volume option. Follow the onscreen instructions where in the process you will get to a window where you can allocate a drive name for the HDD.
• After allocating a drive letter, right click on the drive and select
  Open. Check if you are able to open the drive in File Explorer.

Method 2: If the issue persists, follow the steps below to check if the contents of the external HDD drive can be accessed:

• Connect the HDD to the PC, press Windows logo + X keys on the keyboard and select
  Disk management from the context menu.
• Check if the HDD is visible in the window (It should show if the drive is detected under Device manager).
• If visible, right click on the drive and select Open from the context menu.
• Check if the contents will open in the File Explorer window.
• If the HDD fails to open in File Explorer, I suggest you to format the drive in the same window by choosing
  Format option form the context menu on right clicking on the drive.
• Close the windows and check if the changes are effective.

Write to us with the answers to the above questions and the status of the issue on the same post for further assistance. Your reply is most important for us to ensure we assist you accordingly.



Thank you.

 

How in WIN 11 do I change the drive letter of the CD/ROM drive?

Thanks, Greg.

So this is what worked, step by step.

Reboot

Drive is listed as E: in file explorer.

Drive not listed in Disk Management.

Insert DVD, it plays after short pause.

Disk management now shows Audio CD as E:

Right click, change letter to R: (while playing!)

Reboot.

Drive now shows as BD-RE drive as R: in File Explorer.

The bottom line is

- File Explorer does not provide for changing drive letter afics.

- Disk Management seems to need a disk to be in the drive for it to "see" the drive. I can't recall is this is Win 10 behaviour

I don't recall having any difficulty with this in Win 10 (its possible that the Win 10 default drive allocation was "after" my external drives; or I "just changed it").

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.