Windows 10: USB External Hard Drive is not visible in My PC or Disk Management, but is detected on...

I have noticed that any external hard drive connected with usb no longer works on my windows 10 pc. These devices work on 3 other PC's, but are not functional when connected to an Alienware R6 PC. I have followed many of the following recommendations:1. completed all windows updates and driver updates2. Confirmed BIOS is up to date.3. Uninstall USB root hub and USB controller when in SAFE mode, restart PC to reinstall drivers automatically4. run sfc /scannow and dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth in CMD prompt as administrator some errors were successfully repaired.5. completed repai

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external hard drive. Why won't file manager see it.

Hi,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



I understand that your external hard drive is not shown in File Manager. I'll certainly assist you with the issue.



However, please let us know:

• Does the issue occur only with the external hard driver or with all the USB drives?
• Are you aware of any changes made to the computer prior to this issue?

• Which build version of Windows 10 is installed on the computer? Refer
  Which version of Windows operating system am I running?

I would suggest you to check if the hard drive is detected in Disk Management. To check press
Windows logo key + X and select Disk Management and see if that hard drive is detected.



You can also share the screenshot of Disk Management to know more about the issue. Please refer

how to include a screenshot in your post to upload the screenshot.



Note: Make sure you don't capture any personal information while taking the screenshot.



Meanwhile, you may want to refer the troubleshooting steps from the article Error:
“USB Device not recognized" when you try to access a USB external hard drive except Method 2 and see if that makes any difference.



You can also connect the external hard drive to a different PC and check if it gets detected.



Let us know the results, we will be glad to help you further.



Regards,

Nikhar Khare

Microsoft Community – Moderator

 

Toshiba External USB drives not showing in Explorer or Disk Management Plug-in

Thank you for the update.

Looks like your system is unable to detect your external hard drive. Let's see if scanning for new hardware will fix the issue. Follow these steps:

• Press the Windows key to launch the Start menu.
• Type in Device Manager and press Enter.
• Under Device Manager, select Action tab > Scan for hardware changes.
• Wait for your system to install the generic driver for your device and follow the on-screen instructions.

If the issue still persists, we suggest that you perform the following recommendations below:

• Plug in your external USB drives to other USB device port of your system.
• Use other USB cables for your external device to connect to your system.

Keep us updated and we will be glad to assist you further.

 

Hard Disk Drive (HDD) seen as Solid State Drive in Optimize Drives

Hi Joshua,

Which hard drive is an external and internal?

Did you checked the hard drive is visible when you go to This PC?

I suggest you to type diskmgmt.msc in the start search and hit enter.

Check if you can see both hard drives.

You may also uninstall and then reconnect the external hard drive and check.

This method resolves issues where the currently loaded USB driver has become unstable or corrupt.

• Click Start, type Device Manager in the Search
  box
• Click Device Manager from the returned list.
• Click Disk Drives from the list of hardware
• Right-click the USB external hard drive with the issue, and click 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.

Please update us with the status. We will be glad to assist you.