[Fixed] External Hard Drive Not Showing Up in Disk Management on Windows 10/11


"Have had my new PC for a while and have had stuff on my Hard Drive (an external hard disk). I turned off my PC to go to sleep then when I woke up to turn it on my external hard drives is no longer being displayed. I checked disk management and it is no longer showing up. What should I do? "

- question from the Reddit forum

It must be frustrating and upset if you connect your external hard drive(HDD/SSD) to a PC, but it doesn't show up in Disk Management. If in this case, you can't get access to the data stored on it.

Disk Management is a built-in tool in Windows that can help you manage hard drives and other external storage devices. Generally speaking, if an external hard drive doesn't disappear in File Explore, you can find it in Disk Management. But if an HDD isn't showing up in Disk Management, you may be at a loss and don't know how to deal with it.

external hard drive not showing up in disk management windows 10

Don't worry, this post will tell you all possible reasons why external hard drive not showing up in Disk Management on Windows 10/11 and provide effective solutions to repair the issue with a stepwise guide.

A Quick Guide:

Workable Solutions Step-by-step Troubleshooting
Fix 1. Check the Connection Unplug the HDD and reconnect it, Replace an...Full steps
Fix 2. Update Your Drivers Enter "device manager" in the search bar on...Full steps
Fix 3. Reinstall Drivers for Unrecognized External Hard Drive Go to Device Manager, Select Disk drives, and....Full steps
Fix 4. Check the Hard Drive in BIOS Restart your computer, and press F2/Del key...Full steps
Fix 5. Use Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter Double-click the Control Panel on the desktop...Full steps

Why External Hard Drive Not Showing Up in Disk Management on Windows 10/11

When your Windows 10 and 11 computer can't detect the connected external hard drive in Disk Management, it may be caused by the following reasons:

These reasons also apply to the "SSD not showing up in Disk Management" error.

How to Repair External Hard Drive Not Showing Up in Disk Management

We have found five practical and working solutions to fix the hard drive or USB external hard drive not showing up in Windows 11 in the Disk Management error. You can try them one by one:

Notice
Before troubleshooting, you should back up the external hard drive to prevent any data loss during the process. To make it easier, you can use professional Windows backup software, like Qiling Disk Master, to finish the external hard drive backup to cloud, hard drive, NAS, etc., in a few clicks without any data loss.

Qiling Disk Master Free

  • Supports full disk/partition backup of files, programs and operating system
  • Designs for protecting data from a failing hard drive by taking a significant backup
  • Makes a bootable rescue media to access a none-bootable

Fix 1. Check the Connection

A poor connection between the external hard drive and the Windows computer will lead to Disk management can't detect it. So, the first thing you need to do is to check the contention, which includes:

check connection prolem

Fix 2. Update Your Drivers

If the external hard drive is connected to the computer but still can't be detected in Disk Management, it may be caused by the outdated driver, or some errors exist in it. You should update your external Hard Drive drivers to fix the issue. Follow the steps below to update your driver:

open device manager

disk drives

uninstall driver

Fix 3. Reinstall Drivers for Unrecognized External Hard Drive

If the driver update doesn't work, the external hard drive driver may be corrupt or damaged. Hence, you need to reinstall the external HDD driver. Here are the steps:

uninstall

Fix 4. Check the Hard Drive in BIOS

Another working solution to find the external hard drive is BIOS, and check if it shows inside BIOS. Follow the steps below to check the external hard drive in BIOS:

bios settings

Fix 5. Use Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter

Windows 10/11 has a built-in Troubleshooter, which can help to diagnose hardware problems. You can use it to examine external hard drive errors.

troubleshooting

hardware and sound

Wrapping Up

These are the five solutions to fix the "External hard drive not showing up in Disk Management on Windows 10/11" issue. If you know the specific causes of the problem, you can try the corresponding solutions. If don't, try them one by one.

Also, don't forget to back up the external hard drive before applying the fixes to secure your data from any potential risks. Qiling Disk Master can be a good helper in this case. It's a professional backup software that enables you to back up external hard drives and other storage devices in Windows 11/10/8/7 with simple clicks.

How to Backup Seagate External Hard Drive FAQs

1. Why is my external hard drive not showing up in Disk Management?

As we mentioned in the post, many factors will lead to external hard disks not showing up in Disk Management. Some common reasons include poor connection, incompatible systems or hardware, outdated drivers, incorrect drive letters, corrupted hard drives, etc.

2. How do I get Windows 10 to recognize my external hard drive?

To make your external hard drive be recognized by Windows 10 computer, you can try the following tips:

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