Windows 10: Unable to initialize external hard drive

Discus and support Unable to initialize external hard drive in Windows 10 Ask Insider to solve the problem; Hi, I was using an external hard drive on my PS4 however it just randomly stopped working after well over a years use. I plugged it into my PC but i... Discussion in 'Windows 10 Ask Insider' started by /u/Budski52, Jul 6, 2020.

  1. /U/BUDSKI52
    /u/Budski52 Win User

    Unable to initialize external hard drive


    Hi, I was using an external hard drive on my PS4 however it just randomly stopped working after well over a years use. I plugged it into my PC but i could not see it.

    When i open disk management and do a disk scan i can then see it appear in the disk management section however it says uninitialized. When i try to initialize it, it says 'The request failed due to fatal device hardware error'.



    Does anybody have any advice on how to get this hard drive working? Thanks

    submitted by /u/Budski52
    [link] [comments]

    :)
     
    /u/Budski52, Jul 6, 2020
    #1
  2. REMON ONT
    Remon Ont Win User

    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.
     
    Remon Ont, Jul 6, 2020
    #2
  3. MRITYUNJAYAKUMAR
    mrityunjayakumar Win User
    initializing an external hard drive

    whenever I initializing my new silicon power a80 2 TB external hard drive then virtual disk manager shows data error(cyclic redundancy error). how can i solve this problem and able to initialise such external hard drive
     
    mrityunjayakumar, Jul 6, 2020
    #3
  4. TWYNOG
    twynog Win User

    Unable to initialize external hard drive

    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.
     
    twynog, Jul 6, 2020
    #4
Thema:

Unable to initialize external hard drive

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