Windows 10: windows 10 won't let me select external drive to back up

Discus and support windows 10 won't let me select external drive to back up in Windows 10 Installation and Upgrade to solve the problem; I'm currently backing up to C: drive but want to change to my external hard drive. Despite the system reading from it and writing to it with no... Discussion in 'Windows 10 Installation and Upgrade' started by KateShillibeer, May 29, 2020.

  1. windows 10 won't let me select external drive to back up


    I'm currently backing up to C: drive but want to change to my external hard drive. Despite the system reading from it and writing to it with no difficulty when I try to add the drive as the location of my back up I get a message saying the location can't be used to save my files. I desperately need to back up to fix another windows problems. Please help asap. Thank you

    :)
     
    KateShillibeer, May 29, 2020
    #1
  2. Marco Gav Win User

    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.
     
    Marco Gav, May 29, 2020
    #2
  3. Marco Gav Win User
    unrecognised external hard drive on Windows 10

    Hi,





    Your External Hard Drive might not have been configured correctly on your Windows 10 PC.



    We suggest that you update the device driver. You can do that by following these steps:


    • Select the Start button, type Device Manager, and select
      it from the list of results.

    • Expand the category where your device is located (Disk Drives), then right-click on the name of your device, and select Update Driver Software.

    • Select Search automatically for updated driver software.



    If Windows doesn't find a new driver, you can try looking for one on the device manufacturer's website and follow their instructions.



    If updating the device driver doesn't work, we suggest that you reinstall the driver:


    • Open Device Manager.

    • Right-click on the name of the device.

    • Select Uninstall.

    • Restart your PC and Windows will attempt to reinstall the driver.



    Let us know how it goes.



    Regards.
     
    Marco Gav, May 29, 2020
    #3
  4. windows 10 won't let me select external drive to back up

    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.
     
    Jordan Dom, May 29, 2020
    #4
Thema:

windows 10 won't let me select external drive to back up

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