Windows 10: Resolved - External Hard Drive - On

With Windows 7, my external hard drives 3 of them would automatically connect switched on and seamlessly eject using the Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media Utility at bottom right.


Windows 10, I initially had issues not being able to seamlessly eject one external hard drive. Tried fixing with the Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter by typing msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic at the cmd prompt. The Hardware and Device trubleshooter did not fix the issue. I still resort to using the Control Panel, Device Manager to uninstall one of the hard drives. Also, in Computer Manager, Offline does not appear as a context menu option.


My issue is when I reconnect the external hard drive in Windows 10, it is switched off. I have to manually switch it on. Whereas in Windows 7, I do not switch them off when I eject them; when I reconnect them, they are automatically on which is logical as they were on when they were ejected. I prefer how Windows 7 does it because the on/off switch part of the external hard drive is of a mechanical nature. The on/off switch can break down while the external hard drive itself is perfectly functioning. When that time comes, it will be an issue as I cannot use it if I do not have a way of turning it on. I did a right-click on the external hard drive in File Explorer, clicked on Properties, but there is nothing there that would make the external hard drive stay on.


Any ideas, solutions? Thanks in advance.

:)

 

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

Hi John,

We suggest that you try the troubleshooting steps below:

• Open your External Hard Drive file in File Explorer.
• Type the name of the file you want to search on the search box and click Enter.

The file will show up in Search Results and you will be able to move it to the correct folder.

Let us know if you need further help.

 

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.