If your hard drive disappeared or failed to show up in Windows 10/8/7, don't worry. This page will show you how to effectively fix hard drive disappeared error in Windows Explorer/Disk Management. If hard drive disappeared issue fixed but data lost, use EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to recover lost data from the hard drive.

Hard drive disappeared after Windows 10 update

'Does anyone know how to make the disappeared hard drive to show up again in Windows 10? My computer received the latest Windows 10 update last night, and it automatically installed the update. The problem is that I could not see the second hard drive in File Explorer after the computer restarted. I rebooted the computer but the hard drive still disappeared. Is there a way that can help me to make the disappeared hard drive show up in Windows 10?'

When the hard drive disappeared on Windows computer, you'll not be able to visit and access the saved data. And this will result in data loss, storage space shrinking issue and other more problems. So what can you do when the hard drive disappeared on your PC? If you are facing such a problem, relax! Effective methods are available here to help now.

I tried Dell's driver for an O2Micro card reader for the Latitude E6520 (and others) but that one says EVERY card has to be formatted, or says a card needs to be inserted when attempting to open the drive with a card plugged in that shows up perfectly fine on any other computer. Hard Drive Installation (via WinZip) from Device Manager for R208743.exe Download 1.Click the location, e.g. Americas, from which you want to download the file. 2.When the File Download window appears, click Save this program to disk and click OK. The Save In window appears.

If it's SSD not showing up in Windows 10, go to the other page to find solutions. In addition, some of the linked page's solutions are also applicable to the HDD disappeared issue, like rescan, initialize, and check hard disk errors...

Quick fix hard drive disappeared issue in Windows 10

When hard drive failed to show up on Windows PC, you can try to connect your hard drive with a different USB port to see if it helps or not.

If not, you can also try to connect the hard drive to another computer to check if the issue replicates or not.

If the problem gets solved, you may need to change a new USB cable line or hard drive cable.

If the problem still exists, don't worry. Just follow the next offered methods to fix hard drive disappeared in Windows 10 error now.

Fix hard drive disappeared in File Explorer error

When you open File Explorer, and you cannot view the hard drive partition there, like D drive, E drive, and other data partitions, you can try the next two methods for help.

Method 1. Run hardware and device troubleshooter to fix hard drive disappeared issue

1. Press 'Windows + R' keys.
2. Type 'control' and press enter to open the control panel.
3. Type 'troubleshooting' in the control panel search box and open it.
4. Click 'view all' on the left pane.
5. Run the hardware and devices troubleshooter and follow the on-screen instructions.

Method 2. Perform partition recovery with EaseUS Partition Recovery

Windows update deletes a hard drive partition, or you accidentally perform 'Delete Volume...' in Disk Management, the hard drive will be in 'unallocated space' state. Windows 10 will not recognize a hard drive partition showing up as unallocated. You can create a new partition on the unallocated drive to make it show up again. Creating a new hard drive would help Windows system detects the drive as new, but the hard drive data is gone forever.

There are two ways to protect hard drive data from disappearing: [1] Directly perform a whole partition recovery instead of creating a new one; [2] Recover hard drive data after creating a new drive. Both ways are meant to rescue data on a disappeared hard hard drive storage, but the former method is more preferred. EaseUS Partition Recovery is able to recover the entire hard drive along with data on it.

Go to the product page and download EaseUS Partition Recovery, and follow the guide to show up a disappeared hard drive as well as data in Windows 10.

Step 1: Run EaseUS Partition Recovery on your PC.

Select the disk or device where you lost partition(s), click 'Scan' to continue.

Step 2: Wait for the scanning process to complete.

Let the program scan selected disk and find the lost partition(s).

Step 3: Preview and restore lost partition(s).

Double-click on the partition which is marked as 'Lost' with 'Good' recoverability.

Preview the content of the lost partition. Click 'OK' and click 'Proceed' to start restoring the lost partition.

Step 4: Click 'Recover Now' to finish the partition recovery process.

Note: If the program warns you that there is a conflict, back up the listed partition with essential data to an external hard drive first. Then execute the final operation to restore your lost partition.

If you choose to create a new partition on unallocated space and need data recovery afterward, then choose EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to recover hard drive data. Being different from Partition Recovery software, using Data Recovery Wizard won't help recover a disappeared hard drive but only data on it.

Fix hard drive disappeared/not showing up in Disk Management

If the hard drive disappeared or failed to show up in Disk Management, the next two steps can easily help you out.

Step 1. Update device drivers in Windows 10

1. Right-click on the Start button and select 'Device Manager'.

2. Expand one of the categories to find the name of your device, then right-click it, and select 'Update Driver'.

3. 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. Otherwise, you can try to reinstall the driver by doing like this:

1. Open Device Manager, right-click the name of the device and this time select 'Uninstall device'.

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

Step 2. Change drive letter of disappeared hard drive

1. Press 'Windows + R' keys to bring up the Run dialog.

2. Type'diskmgmt.msc' and press enter to open disk management.

3. The disappeared hard drive can be detected now, right-click on it and select 'change drive letter and paths'.

4. Click 'change' and assign a different drive letter.

5. Save the changes, restart the computer and check again.

• Applies to: Fix used hard drive/SSD, external HDD, and new hard drive/SSD not showing up error.
• Works on: Windows 10/8/7, Windows Servers
• Reading Duration: 3-5 Minutes

Hard drives, be it new or old, internal or external, may not show up in File Explorer or Disk Management on your computer for some reason. If your hard drive suddenly becomes undetectable, don't fret.

Follow through the guide here, learn the causes and apply those practical fixes to make your hard drive showing up again in Windows 10/8/7 without losing any data:

Also Read:

Note that if your hard drive is physically damaged or broken, take the drive to a local repair center or its manufacturer for repair. The fixes on this page can only fix logical errors that caused your internal or external hard drive not showing up.

Why Is My Hard Drive Not Showing Up in Windows

The reasons for the new hard drive and used hard drive not showing up are various. The specific reasons are as follows:

• Problematic connection
• Drive file system is not supported or corrupted
• Drive letter conflict
• Hard drive shows as unallocated or Unknown, Not Initialized
• Hard drive driver is outdated
• Hard drive is damaged
• New hard drive is not initialized
• New hard drive is not enabled in BIOS

But how fix your disk is not showing up error on Windows PC? Continue reading, and you'll know the exact solutions in the next 2 parts.

Part 1. Fix (Old/New) Hard Drive Not Showing Up in Windows 10

O2micro Hard Disk Drive Drivers

Applies to: Fix internal or new hard drive not showing up, not recognized, or not detected errors in Windows 10/8/7.

In this part, we collected 6 ways for you to try. Pick up the right method according to the current state of your hard drive, and follow the tutorial to make your drive showing up again:

1. #Fix 1. Hard Drive Not Showing Up in File Explorer - Check & Change Hard Drive Connection
2. #Fix 2. Hard Drive Display as RAW in Disk Management - Format to NTFS
3. #Fix 3. Hard Drive Shows as Unallocated - Recover Data and Create Partition
4. #Fix 4. Hard Drive Has No Drive Letter - Change or Assign New Drive Letter
5. #Fix 5. Hard Drive Driver Has Yellow Exclamation Mark - Update Hard Drive Driver
6. #Fix 6. New Hard Drive Not Showing - Initialize New Hard Drive, Create Partition and Enable in BIOS

For the used hard drive, Fix 1, 2,3, 4, 5 are good for you to try. If your new hard drive is not showing up, try Fix 3 and Fix 6. Let's start fixing the hard drive not showing up error on your own now.

Fix 1. Fix Problematic Hard Drive Connection - Change Disk Connection

Applies to: Fix internal hard drives or new hard drive is not showing up in File Explorer or Disk Management error.

Connection issues may result from a problematic cable or loose connection. Here's how to change your hard drive connection and make it show up on your computer:

Step 1. Check the cables. If the power cable or SATA cable is broken, change the cable with a new one.

Step 2. Unplug and replug in your hard drive via the SATA cable and power cable tightly.

Step 3. Restart your PC to check if the hard drive shows up.

Fix 2. Fix RAW, Unsupported or Corrupted File System - Format Hard Drive to NTFS

Applies to: Fix hard drive not showing up caused by an unsupported, RAW, or corrupted file system.

When your hard drive is displaying as RAW, or it shows as '*Others' in disk management, it means that your hard drive contains a file system error.

The best solution is to format the drive to a supported file system. Let's see how to format your hard drive to a recognizable file system again:

Step 1. In Windows 10/8, Press Windows + X keys, click 'Disk Management'.

In Windows 7, right-click the Start icon, select 'Search'. Type disk management and click on it.

Step 2. Find and right-click on your hard drive, select 'Format'.

Step 3. Set the file system as NTFS, tick 'Perform a quick format', and click 'OK' to start formatting the drive.

Note: As formatting will cause data loss, don't forget to turn to data recovery software in Fix 3 to bring back all your hard drive data after making the drive show up.

Fix 3. Fix Unallocated Hard Drive - Restore Data and Create New Partition

Applies to: Fix hard drive not showing up but displays as unallocated or unknown, new hard drive show as not initialized in Disk Management.

Sometimes, a used hard disk may suddenly become unallocated. It could be accidental deletion, virus attack, or other unknown reasons that cause partition loss on your disk.

In such a case, you will need to recover data from the unallocated space first and then create a new volume(s) on the disk to make the hard drive show up. Here is the whole process to make your hard drive showing up again without losing any data:

# 1. Recover Data from Unallocated Hard Drive

Professional hard drive recovery software - EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is capable of performing lost partition recovery, scanning, and bringing your files as soon as possible from unallocated hard drive space.

It will mark the unallocated space in your disk as a lost partition that you can directly select to scan and find everything on the drive:

Step 1. Select and scan hard drive.

On EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, select the drive where you lose your data and click 'Scan'. Wait patiently until this program finishes the scanning, it will find all your lost data on the drive.

Step 2. Find and preview found files on the selected drive.

Check 'Deleted Files', 'Lost Files' or use 'Filter', 'Search' to find the lost files on the selected hard drive. You can double-click to open and check the found files.

Step 3. Recover and save lost hard drive data.

O2micro Hard Disk Drive Drivers

Select all found lost hard drive files, click 'Recover' and browse another secure location to save them. Click 'OK' to confirm and finish the recovery process.

Remember to save the found files to another secure location before making the hard drive showing up, and safe to save files again.

#2. Create a New Partition to Make Hard Drive Show Up

After retrieving all your precious files, now you can create a new partition to make your hard disk show up and usable again on the computer.

Step 1. Right-click 'This PC', choose 'Manage', and click 'Disk Management'.

Step 2. Right-click the unallocated space of your hard drive and choose 'New Simple Volume...'.

Step 3. In New Simple Volume Wizard, click 'Next' to continue.

Step 4. Set the volume size, assign a drive letter to the volume, and set NTFS as the file system by clicking 'Next'.

Step 5. Click 'Finish' when Disk Management shows it has created a new volume on your hard drive.

Fix 4. Fix Drive Letter Conflict - Change Hard Drive Letter

Applies to: Fix hard drive not showing up in File Explorer error caused by conflicted drive letter or hard drive has no drive letter.

When your hard disk's drive letter is conflicted with the drive letter of one partition on the computer, the hard drive will show as New Volume without a drive letter in Disk Management. Or the hard drive doesn't have a drive letter, it won't show up in File Explorer.

So the best way to make your hard drive show up is to change its drive letter. Here are the steps:

Step 1. In Disk Management, right-click the hard drive marked as New Volume or the partition doesn't have a drive letter.

Step 2. Select 'Change Drive Letter and Paths'. In the new window, click 'Change'.

Step 3. Assign a new drive letter to your external or internal hard drive and click 'OK'.

Fix 5. Fix Outdated Hard Drive Driver - Update Disk Drivers

Applies to: Fix hard drive not showing up in File Explorer, hard disk has a yellow exclamation mark in Disk Management.

If your hard drive has a yellow exclamation mark in Disk Management under the Disk Driver section, it means that the drive driver is outdated. It is why your hard drive not showing up in Windows, neither in File Explorer nor Disk Management.

The only solution is to update the device driver, and here are the steps for you to try:

Step 1. Right-click 'This PC' and choose 'Manage'.

Step 2. Click 'Device Manager' then expand 'Disk drives'.

Step 3. Find and right-click the problematic external or internal drive and select 'Update driver'.

Step 4. Click 'automatically search for driver software online'.

Wait for the driver to be updated, then reboot your computer. Afterward, you can check whether the hard drive shows up or not.

Fix 6. Fix New Hard Drive Not Showing Up - Initialize Disk, Create Volume, and Enable in BIOS

Applies to: Fix new hard drive is not showing up in File Explorer issue.

Mostly, if your hard drive is a brand new disk, you need to initialize it first. Then create a new partition on it and enable it in BIOS. By doing so, you'll make your new hard drive showing up on Windows 10/8/7.

Here are the steps to make your new hard drive detectable:

#1. Initialize Disk and Create Volume on New Hard Drive

Step 1. Right-click 'This PC' (in Windows 10) and choose 'Manage'.

Step 2. Go to 'Disk Management', right-click your new hard disk, and choose 'Initialize Disk'.

Step 3. Select the disk and choose MBR or GPT as its partition style, click 'OK' to start.

Step 4. Right-click on the unallocated space in your new hard drive and select 'New Simple Volume...'.

Step 5. Set the volume size, drive letter, and file system as NTFS to the new hard drive.

Step 6. Click 'Finish' when the process completes.

#2. Enable Hard Drive in BIOS

If your hard drive is disabled in BIOS, the OS won't be able to detect it, and it won't show up in Windows. Hence, checking whether your hard drive is disabled in BIOS is also necessary.

Step 1. Restart your computer and press F2 or Del until you enter BIOS.

Step 2. Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to choose 'Integrated Peripherals' and hit 'Enter'.

Step 3. Use the arrow keys to select 'USB Controller'.

If it is disabled, change the option to 'Enabled'.

Step 4. Save and exit BIOS.

Afterward, restart your computer and see whether your hard drive is detected.

Part 2. Fix External Hard Drive Not Showing Up - 4 Fixes

Works to: Fix external hard drive not showing up or not detected by Windows PC error.

Mostly, when your external hard drive fails to show up on Windows 10/8/7, first, connect your new hard drive correctly to your computers.

Then you can pick up the proper fix to make your external hard drive show up on PC and work normally again:

1. #Fix 1. External Hard Drive Shows Not Showing Up - Change USB Cable, USB Port
2. #Fix 2. External Hard Drive Shows As RAW - Format External Hard Drive to NTFS/exFAT
3. #Fix 3. External Disk Not Detected and Has Yellow Exclamation - Update Disk Drivers
4. #Fix 4. External Drive Not Detected with Outdated USB Controller Driver - Update USB Hub Root Driver

So the solutions are quite clear now. Just follow the right method to make your new hard drive detestable and show up on your computer again.

Fix 1. Check and Change USB Cable, USB Port to Make External Hard Drive Show UP

Change the connection between the external hard drive and computer, you can make the external disk showing up.

Step 1. Change a new USB cable if the old one is damaged and connect the drive to the PC.

Step 2. Change the USB port if the external hard drive doesn't show up, and reconnect the drive to the PC.

Step 3. Switch and connect the external hard drive to another computer.

If nothing shows up, it's the external hard drive itself having a detection issue on your PC. Try the following 3 fixes to make the drive show up again.

Fix 2. Format External Hard Drive to NTFS/exFAT

If the external hard drive displays as RAW or '*Other', it won't show up correctly on your computer.

Step 1. Keep the external hard drive connected to the PC.

Step 2. Open Disk Management and right-click the external hard drive with the RAW or unknown file system.

Step 3. Select 'Format' and set 'NTFS' or 'exFAT' for the external hard drive.

Step 4. Select 'OK' to finish the formatting.

If you lost files after formatting the external hard drive, turn to EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for help. Let it scan and find all your lost files.

Fix 3. Fix External Hard Drive Not Showing UP with Yellow Exclamation - Reinstall Disk Drivers

Applies to: Fix external hard drive not showing up and has a yellow exclamation mark in Disk Management.

When the external hard drive has an outdated drive driver, it won't show up in File Explorer. It appears with a yellow exclamation under the disk driver section.

The only solution is to update the device driver, and here are the steps for you to try:

Step 1. Right-click the Windows icon and choose 'Device Manager'.

Step 2. Expand 'Disk drives' and find your external hard drive.

Step 3. Right-click the problematic external drive and select 'Uninstall device'.

Step 4. Click 'OK' to confirm. Restart your computer and reconnect the external hard drive to your PC.

Fix 4. Fix Outdated USB Controller Drivers in External Hard Drive - Update USB Drivers

Applies to: Fix external hard disk not showing up or not detected by Windows PC.

If you notice the external hard drive works with one computer while fails to be detected by another, you can try to update the USB Controller driver of the computer in which the hard drive is not showing up.

Step 1. Right-click 'This PC' and choose 'Manage'.

Step 2. Click 'Device Manager' then expand 'Universal Serial Bus Controllers'.

Step 3. Right-click 'USB Root Hub (USB3.0)' and select 'Update driver'.

Step 4. Choose 'Search automatically for updated driver software' and restart your computer.

It happens that a Toshiba external hard drive is not working in Windows, be it not showing up, not recognized, or not showing files. Follow to identify your situation and fix your Toshiba hard drive.

Part 3. Related Issue: Hard Drive Not Showing Files

Instead of not showing up in Windows at all, a hard drive may not show files though they still exist. This problem is less serious than the hard drive missing in Windows since the files are always recoverable. Files on a hard drive or another storage device may disappear due to three reasons:

• Files are hidden by malware or a virus
• Files are deleted accidentally
• The computer does not recognize the file system of the hard drive

To fix these issues, you can follow the steps below for help:

Step 1. Recover hidden or removed files from the hard drive.

Reliable EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard can help you restore all the hard drive files in only 3 steps, as shown in Fix 3 Part 1.

Step 2. Run antivirus or malware clear software to remove all viruses and malware.

Step 3. Format the hard drive to restore its full capacity and set NTFS as its file system.

Now, you are good to use this drive and save files on it again. For more details, read the article about the pen drive not showing files for help.

The Ending Line

On this page, we explained why is your hard drive or external hard drive not showing up on Windows PC. We also provided solutions and fixes to help you make the used external or internal hard drive, and new hard drives show up again without losing any data.

Sometimes, you may also encounter the same issue on a USB drive, SD card, etc. These fixes are also applicable to fix this error on USB, SD card, etc., devices.

FAQs About Hard Drive Not Showing Up

Besides offering solutions for New or Used hard drive not showing up issue in File Explorer or Disk Management, this page also discusses the causes of hard drive not recognized error. In this part, we will continue to unveil some top concerned questions on Google and leave a brief answer below each question.

If you have the same doubts, read on, and find the answer here now:

1. What do I do if my internal hard drive is not detected?

As shown on this page, there are many ways that you can try to fix the internal hard drive not detected issue.

For a new hard drive, you can first initialize the disk and then create partitions on the drive.

For a used hard drive, you can try these tips as shown on this page in Part 1:

1. 1). Change the hard drive letter;
2. 2). Recover lost partition data, and create new partitions;
3. 3). Update hard drive driver;
4. 4). Check hard drive connection, enable it in BIOS.

2. How do I get Windows 10 recognized a new hard drive?

Be it similar to the provided solutions on this page, when a new hard drive is not detected or recognized on Windows 10, and you may also mainly try the following tips:

Check new hard drive connection > Initialize new hard drive and create partition > Update drive letter > Enable it in BIOS.

3. Why is my hard drive not showing up on Mac?

Being it similar to hard drive not showing up on Windows computer, the reasons why your hard drive is not showing up on Mac are caused by the same issues.

Here is a list of why a hard drive is not showing up on Mac:

• Hard drive connection error
• Settings in Desktop, Finder
• USB port issue
• Hard drive corrupted
• macOS and firmware is outdated
• ...

For a step-by-step guide, you may follow Flash Drive Not Showing Up on Mac to troubleshoot the hard drive not detected on Mac issue and make the drive detectable again.