Windows 10: My external hard drive is recognised but I can't access my files and "request failed due to...

The other day I was able to use my WD Elements hard drive just fine however I tried plugging it in today but I can't access any of my files. On device manager, it recognised my hard drive as a storage device however no drive letter was assigned to it and I don't see it in File Explorer. In disk management, my disk drive is recognised as "disk 1" and when I try to initialise it, I get the "request failed due to a fatal device hardware error" error. It gets even more confusing as when I use command prompt to verify my hard drive, I get the "OK" status however I can't use the chksdks function as

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External hard drive not recognised

Thanks for this. I've done what you suggested and been through all the steps mentioned in the article. The hard drive works fine on a Mac computer, and I've managed to copy the information on it. It must be a Surface issue so I'll try to get a chat line tomorrow.

 

External hard drive not recognised

Hi twynog,

The issue that you're experiencing with the external hard drive might be due to some missing Windows hardware or software updates. To help you in resolving this, you may follow the steps below:

Method 1: Uninstall and then reconnect the external hard drive - this method resolve issues where the currently loaded USB driver has become unstable or corrupt.

• Select Start, type Device Manager in the Search box.
• Select Device Manager from the returned list.
• Select Disk Drives from the list of hardware.
• Press and hold (or right-click) the USB external hard drive with the issue, and select Uninstall.
• After the hard drive is uninstalled, unplug the USB cable.
• Wait for 1 minute and then reconnect the USB cable. The driver should automatically load.
• Check for the USB drive in Windows Explorer.

If method 1 doesn't work the way it should, you may proceed to other steps provided in this
article.

Do get back to us if you need further assistance.

If you think this was useful, you may "mark it as an answer" to help those who are facing the same issue.

 

Trouble accessing files on external hard drive

I am am having trouble accessing files from an external hard drive. Getting 0x80004005 error message and other errors "can not access files". I have shared and given permissions for all the files but still no luck

The external hard drive was one of a shared network of hard drives but I have been able to access all the others....

THoughts? Suggestions?