Windows 10: Windows does not recognize my external hard drive

Windows 10 used to recognize my external hard drive when i plugged it in to the USB port. Suddenly, it doesn't. How do I get it to see the external drive?

:)

 

external hard drive not recognized


Hello zbook
#1) I have tested the external drives in three different computers, win10 pro, Win10, and XP. The results are identical. When I plug in the external hard drive windows signals a new device with an audio signal and the light comes on on the external drive. The results on all three pc's is identical in disk manager, file explorer and device manager.
#2) I have tried all solutions presented to me by FreeBooter, from the simplest solution of uninstalling the external drive in device manager and rebooting windows, to using the various third party software that was suggested, obviously with out success.
#3) The attached screen shots will only show one of the drives attached because I don't have enough free USB ports to attach two drives and I didn't think it would have been a good idea to use a hub.
#4) one strange thing about one of the drives is that now device manager lists it as a Toshiba drive although it is a Western Digital.
#5) Sorry but I have no way of getting a photo of BIOS










I look forward to reading your comments

 

External Hard Drive Not Recognized by Windows 10

Hi Thomas,

Sometimes, PCs fail to recognize the External Hard Drive even after confirming a successful connection. This is usually due to a corrupted or outdated device driver. However, for us to isolate the issue, we need additional information. Kindly answer the
questions below:

• Have you tired to plug your external hard drive to another port or to another device to make sure that it is working properly?
• Are you getting any error messages when you plug in your external hard drive?

In the meantime, we suggest that you run the Hardware and Device Troubleshooter. This automated tool will check the hardware/USB connected to your PC for any known issue and resolve it automatically. Refer to this link to access the troubleshooter:
Find and fix problems with devices and hardware.

Update us on how it goes.

 

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.