Windows 10: Some External Drives Not Working, Configured With Null Driver, Unable to Install New...

Before anyone responds with the typical canned response delete/reinstall/check for updates, be advised this doesn't work. I have several external drives that do not work on my computer. The problem seems to coincide with the 20H2 update. My most recently used devices had their configuration data in the registry preserved, but less-used devices, including backups, had the data wiped from their registry entries in Data Migration, Enum, Hardware Profiles, etc. I have been able to rebuild the entries to where diskmgmt can see the drives, but diskmgmt refuses to refresh. Setup API Log indicates

:)

 

External drive

Hi Richard,

There are several factors that can cause your external drive to not read DVDs even though the system is recognizing the device. This could be caused by a driver that needs to updated or corrupted files. For us to resolve your concern, kindly answer the questions
below:

• Just to confirm, the device that is not working properly is a external DVD optical drive?
• Were there any recent changes or updates installed on your computer?
• Have you tried to plug the external drive to a different port on your computer?

As a initial recommendation, we suggest that your run the built in troubleshooter in Windows 10. Kindly refer to the steps below:

• Type “Troubleshooting” in the Search bar and press Enter.
• Click on “View All” in the top left corner.
• This will display the list of troubleshooters which are built-in in the computer. You can click on
  Hardware and Devices from the list and you can run the troubleshooter.

This will check for common errors that affect hardware on your computer and attempts to correct them.

We look forward to your response after completing the steps.

 

External Hard Drive configuration

So method one was correct step wise (from what I can tell) But it won't let me delete a partition even though the drive is unallocated.

 

External Hard Drive configuration

Hello,

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

We apologize for the inconvenience caused to you. I would like to help you further from here.

From the description of the issue, I understand that the External hard Drive is undetected in your computer.

Please follow the below suggested methods and see if it helps.

Method 1: Check the Drive Partition in Disk Management

• Right click on "My Computer" and select "Manage" from the menu.
• From the "Computer Management" window select "Disk Management" from the menu on the left.
• In "Disk Management" check to see if the drive is visible. If the drive is found, look at the partition for the drive. New drives will be labeled as FAT32 and have a drive letter assigned.
• If the drive does not display as "Healthy," or shows the file format as "RAW," then the partition has become corrupt. It could also be corrupt if the bar above the drive is black and shows as "Unallocated."
• To make the drive usable again after a partition has become corrupt or lost start by right clicking on the drive in "Disk Management" and select "Delete partition" from the menu. Then right click on the drive again and select "create partition" from the
  menu. Follow the steps in the partition wizard to create a Primary partition.
• After the new primary partition has been created "Disk Management" will display the drive with an NTFS partition.
  

Method 2: Check the drive status in Device Manager

• Right click on "My Computer" and select "Manage."
• From the "Computer Management" window select "Device Manager" from the list on the left.
• From the device list, expand the "Disk Drives" category by clicking on the [+] symbol found to the left. If the drive is detected by the system, there will be an entry for your external drive.
• If it is not listed under "Disk Drives," expand the "Other Devices" category and see if there is an entry for an "Unknown Device."
• Right click the "Unknown Device" and select "Properties."
• Under the "General" tab, it will typically display "This device is not working properly" followed by either Code 10 or Code 28.
• Code 10 would suggest a potential power supply issue (typically 3.5-inch desktop external drives). If a second external drive with an equivalent power supply is available, try connecting the power supply to the drive.
• If a different power supply is not available, verify the problem by connecting to a different USB port or by connecting to a second PC.
• If the same error code is still displayed, create an RMA and return the drive under Warranty.
• Code 28 would suggest a driver error.
• Expand the "Disk Drive" category in "Device Manager" right click on the drive and select "Uninstall."
• Disconnect the external drive, reboot the computer and reconnect the drive when the computer has finished restarting.
• If same error is displayed, try connecting it to a second PC to verify the issue.
• If the drive fails on the second PC with the same error, create an RMA and return the drive under Warranty.

Hope the above information was helpful. If you need further assistance, please do let us know and we would be happy to help you further.

Thank You.