Why the computer does not see the second hard drive and how to fix it. What to do if the computer does not see the external hard drive
You have multiple discs on your computer, you have reinstalled or updated your Windows systems 10, and suddenly it turns out that the computer does not see the second HDD hdd / ssd or partition disappeared.
See what to do in this case and where to look for the cause of the problem. Often this also happens when a new hdd/ssd is installed or after formatting an old one.
The situation may seem strange, because the disk is probably visible in the BIOS. The solution to this problem is trivial.
It is simply not formatted or partitioned. To fix this situation, simply go to the appropriate settings in Windows 10. To do this, open the classic control panel and select System and Security.
Then we look down and find the "Administration" section - open it.
The next step is to go to the "Computer Management" category - double-click.
Now we go to "Disk Management" - click on the line once.
If you see a black bar, then this is a section that the system does not see - it only sees of blue color. Right-click on it and select the line "New Simple Volume".
Now we need to create a section. For this purpose, we determine the amount of space that will be allocated to it. The system will ask for a drive letter, and at the end to format the media.
The recommended file system is NTFS. Optionally, you can specify a label, which is the name that will be displayed in the file explorer. At the end, click "Finish" and from that moment on, the drive should be visible in the Windows 10 system.
Attention
If the above method did not bring the expected results, it is worth checking if the media is connected to the computer correctly - check that two connectors are connected to the connector: SATA and power supply.
windows 10 does not see the hard drive - make sure the cables are connected correctly
It often happens that as a result of updating the system or its complete reinstallation, other hard disks connected to the computer are no longer visible.
In theory, the hdd or ssd is properly connected to the computer, but after opening the "This PC" window, it does not appear in the list of connected devices.
Where to find the reason? If you have a desktop computer, make sure the SATA cable or power supply is not disconnected from the hard drive accidentally.
Remove the side cover and check the cables connecting the drives to the motherboard.
Windows 10 computer does not see the second hard drive - Check device manager
The next step is to check if the hard drives are visible at all as connected to the computer.
This can be done using the device manager - if they are connected, but at the same time disconnected - then they can be reactivated.
To do this, go to Device Manager. Then we expand the tab " Disk devices».
You will be shown your hard drives connected to the computer. If they are detected and enabled, they will be displayed simply with an icon without any additional markup.
If they are connected, but for some reason disabled, a red icon with a down arrow may appear next to them - in this case, you must right-click and select "Enable".
Finally, there may be a third scenario - undetected disks will also not be displayed here if, for example, they are absent.
In this case, it means that it is not even detected as connected to the computer - the reason may be damage (or poor contact) of one of the cables (SATA or power supply) or even a physical failure.
Windows 10 does not see the hard drive - check the assigned letter
This is the most common problem and the easiest to fix. Partitions may have been unmounted during a system upgrade or reinstall, so they don't show up in My Computer.
To check this and assign a drive letter, enter the Windows 10 Disk Management window. To do this, press the combination Windows keys+ R and enter the following command in the new run window:
A new control window will appear. Below we see the division of disks and partitions. Each partition is added with its name (if you have set one) as well as the drive letter. Only it may turn out that some sections do not have a letter.
How to assign it? All you have to do is right-click on it and select Change Letter.
In the new window, click "Add" and in the "Assign the next letter" field - select one of the presented ones. Finally, click OK to close the windows.
Your drive will receive the selected drive letter and will be immediately visible in the My Computer window.
Make the second disk visible using the command line (beginners should not try)
If the methods above did not help you, and the basic disk does not have extended partitions (this does not work for dynamic and RAID) windows system 10 does not see run the command prompt as administrator and enter the commands:
- diskpart
- list disk
Take note of the disk number, which is not visible to the computer and enter the command select disk F (F is the disk number) and press Enter.
Attention
All your data will be deleted, so think carefully especially if there is something important.
If the second physical disk is not visible, use the following commands
- clean (cleaning)
- create partition primary (you can set the size=S parameter, for the size in MB, if you need several of them).
- format fs=ntfs quick
- assign letter=F (assign the letter F).
If there is an unallocated area, all the same commands are used, but without clean. Use this option only if you know what you are doing.
If you are unsure, in doubt about something, save your data or refuse such a step altogether. Good luck.
Good afternoon.
External hard drives (HDD) are becoming more popular day by day, sometimes it seems that very soon they will be more popular than flash drives. And it's not surprising, because modern models are some kind of box, the size of cellular telephone and contain 1-2 TB of information!
Many users are faced with the fact that the computer does not see the external hard drive. Most often, this happens immediately after buying a new device. Let's try to understand in order, what is the matter here ...
If the new external HDD is not visible
A new one here means a disk that you connected to your computer (laptop) for the first time.
1) First what are you doing, go to computer management .
To do this, go to control Panel , then in system and security settings -> administration -> computer management . See screenshots below.
2) Pay attention to the column on the left. It has a menu disk management . Let's move on.
All disks (including external ones) connected to the system should be displayed in front of you. Very often, the computer does not see the connected external hard drive due to incorrect drive letter assignment. You then need to change it!
To do this, right-click on the external drive and select " change drive letter... ". Next, assign the one that is not yet in your OS.
3) If the disc is new and you have connected it to your computer for the first time - it may not be formatted! Therefore, it will not be displayed in "my computer".
If this is the case, then you will not be able to change the letter (you simply will not have such a menu). You just need to right click on the external drive and select " create a simple volume... «.
Attention! All data in this process on the disk (HDD) will be deleted! Be careful.
4) Lack of drivers… (Update from 04/05/2015)
If the external hard drive is new and you don't see it in either "my computer" or " disk management“But it works on other devices (for example, a TV or another laptop sees and detects it) - then 99% of the problems are related to Windows and drivers.
Despite the fact that modern Windows 7, 8 operating systems are quite "smart" and, when a new device is detected, they automatically search for a driver for it - this does not always happen ... The fact is that versions of Windows 7, 8 (including all kinds of assemblies from " craftsmen") a huge number, and no one canceled various mistakes. Therefore, I do not recommend excluding this option right away ...
1. Check the USB port if it works. For example, connect your phone or camera, even just a regular flash drive. If the device works, then the USB port has nothing to do with it ...
2. Go to Device Manager (In Windows 7/8: Control Panel/System and Security/Device Manager) and look at the two tabs: Other devices And disk devices.
Windows 7: Device Manager reports that there are no drivers for the "My Passport ULTRA WD" drive in the system.
The screenshot above shows that Windows does not have drivers for an external hard drive, so the computer does not see it. Usually, Windows 7, 8, when you connect a new device, automatically installs a driver for it. If this does not happen to you, there are three options for action:
a) Click on the "Update hardware configuration" command in Device Manager. This is usually followed by automatic installation drivers.
b) Search for drivers using special. programs: ;
c) Reinstall Windows (to install, select a "clean" licensed system, without any assemblies).
Windows 7 - Device Manager: Drivers for external HDD Samsung M3 Portable installed correctly.
If the old external hard drive is not visible
By old here we mean a hard drive that was previously working on your computer, and then stopped.
1. First, go to the disk management menu (see above) and change the drive letter. This is definitely worth doing if you created new partitions on your hard drive.
2. Secondly, check the external HDD for viruses. Many viruses disable the ability to see disks or block them ().
3. Go to the device manager and see if the devices are detected correctly. There should be no yellow exclamation marks (well, or red ones) that signal errors. It is also recommended to reinstall the drivers on the USB controller.
4. Sometimes reinstalling Windows helps. In any case, first check the health of the hard drive on another computer / laptop / netbook, and then try reinstalling.
It is also useful to try to clean your computer from unnecessary junk files and optimize the registry and programs (here is an article with all the utilities: use a couple ...).
5. Try connecting the external HDD to a different USB port. It happened that, for unknown reasons, after connecting to another port, the disk worked fine as if nothing had happened. I noticed this several times on Acer laptops.
6. Check cords.
One time the external hard drive didn't work because the cord was damaged. From the very beginning, I did not notice this and killed for 5-10 minutes in search of the cause ...
In situations where there is not enough space on the hard drive, and there is not enough money on the new larger one, users choose the option of connecting a portable drive or a second HDD. Unfortunately, you can’t set them up right away, but sometimes you’re lucky, and the system itself recognizes the device. If the computer does not see the hard drive in both BIOS and Explorer, the article will help you deal with this problem. For convenience, it is divided into several cases - when not visible in BIOS, and then in interface and, accordingly, in the list of devices.
Using a second hard drive
Initially, we meant that there is a second device (hard drive) that you connect to the computer both internally and externally. Both options are radically different connected. The fact is that the second option works like a flash drive and there should be no problems recognizing it on a computer, but with the first case everything is a little different.
The situation is that it can work for related reasons:
- if properly connected to the motherboard;
- if he is correct;
- if the motherboard is OK;
- if the drivers have not crashed and everything works fine.
Thus, check that HDD was properly connected and working. A motherboard that does not work will immediately give itself away - the PC simply will not start. The last item on the list is the most annoying. If the driver crashes, you will need to contact the device vendor so that he can resolve this issue. When, when everything is working properly and connected, but the computer does not see the second hard drive - move on to the next paragraph of the article.
Why is the second HDD not visible in the BIOS menu?
Initially, you need to consider this option, because the menu BIOS - the face of the state of the computer and you can see all necessary information. Very often it is used to show the user in the store which devices are connected to a laptop or PC, what parameters are set, etc.
In order to enable the "visibility" of the hard drive in BIOS, you need to perform either one or both options.
So the first one looks like this:
- Turn off the computer and restart it. Immediately after the PC has turned on, press the key on the keyboard F2 (sometimes DELETE) so many times until the coveted menu appears;
- Go to the menu "Advanced", then in configuration tab equipment (may be named differently, but the word Configuration will definitely be there)
- Find the controller line and change the status Disabled on Enabled;
- Save changes and exit BIOS, if the computer requires - restart the computer.
- We repeat point number 1 the previous instruction and now select the system configuration menu;
- In field "Configure SATA" change AHCI to any other;
- We repeat point number 4 the previous version.
In the first case, we simply enabled the disk controller, and in the second case, we changed the configuration type, because some HDDs may not support AHCI. This is where all the "torture" over the BIOS ends, and we proceed to the configuration already from the user interface.
To immediately understand whether the system does not see the hard drive, you need to go to the disk manager. To do this, we use the utility "Run". Call: Windows logo key + R key. Then enter the command "diskmgmt.msc" and press "OK".
You will enter the window "Disk Management". The instruction will be relevant for you if you have something like this picture:
According to the screenshot, there is a disk in the system that is simply not initialized. In this case, you need to immediately make it initialized. To do this, right-click on it and select "Initialize". Then choose the section style. For Windows 7 choose MBR, and then click OK. After that, you need to create a simple volume based on this disk so that you can use the memory on the disk through "local" disks.
Right-click on the disk again and select "Create Simple Volume". We assign a letter, go through all the points of the utility and confirm the actions. Then everything will be accurately displayed and working, and you will no longer worry about the answer to the question of why the computer does not see the second hard drive.
Why is the second HDD not visible on Windows 10?
How users new system, the owners of the "dozens" are less likely to encounter the problem of displaying the disk in the "Explorer". Since the system is fresh, and the equipment is not yet very good, it happens that the HDD is not visible. In this case, you must definitely follow the same steps as for Windows 7, but with a small amendment.
The computer does not see the hard drive, what does this mean, and how to deal with the problem.
First of all, you need to decide what is a hard drive. A hard drive (called a "hard drive" in slang) is a device for storing data.
In fact, all information on a computer is stored on it (with a few exceptions).
Diagnostic Measures
If the computer does not see the disk, you need to decide on the "culprits". That is, find out if the problem lies in the device itself or in the system.
To do this, you will have to connect to another computer.
If it recognizes the device, then the problem is in the system, if not, then the hard drive itself is faulty. Further work on it is better to entrust the masters.
Or use a warranty replacement or repair.
If the problem is in the "native" hard drive system, then there are several ways to fix it on your own.
The few things you can do yourself will help you avoid spending on professional services.
Some useful tips
- You can enter the BIOS settings by pressing the F2 or
- It's better to remember well correct connection cables with SATA outputs;
- taken out of system block it is better to wrap the hard drive in an antistatic agent;
- The lower part of the device, which is with boards, is also better to always put on antistatic.
Main problems and solutions
There are a number of problems with the hard drive that you can overcome with your own hands.
A software conflict or outgoing contacts can be corrected without contacting specialists.
Outgoing contacts
The problem may lie in the banal lack of contact. To fix it, you will need to remove the cover of the system unit and try reconnecting the cables.
If the result is not followed, then you can use other, parallel cables.
Incorrect BIOS settings
In the case when even the BIOS does not detect the hard drive, you need to look at the system date. Its incorrectness indicates a configuration failure. Resetting the settings will help fix the situation.
To do this, you will need to remove the battery on the motherboard, wait 10-30 minutes and install it back.
After these simple steps, the hard drive should be defined as a physical device.
The problem may be in the order of boot devices. In this case, you do not need to completely reset the settings.
It is enough to find the menu item, in the name of which there is the word "Boot".
It will list the priority of devices to boot. In this list, you need to move the HDD to the first line.
Not enough food
If the device periodically disappears and appears, then you need to listen to it.
The characteristic buzzing sounds of changing cycles of work indicate a lack of power. Then you will have to purchase a more powerful power supply or turn off some less important device.
Device conflict
Two hard drives one brand in the system can cause conflicts. To avoid them, you need to check and configure each one in turn with a separate connection to the system.
Bus version
Versions prior to Vista may not support the SATA(SATA II) interface.
The easiest way in this case is to change the operating system to a newer one.
If this is not possible, then you still have to reinstall the OS, but with integrated drivers for SATA interfaces.
OS problem
If the BIOS detects the device, but Windows does not see the hard drive, then manual configuration will be required. Windows tools. To do this, proceed as follows:
1. Open the "Control Panel" in the drop-down panel "Start";
2. Double-click on the "Administration" item;
3. In the window that opens, the item "Computer Management";
4. In the list on the left, the item "Disk Management".
The hard drive is one of the most important hardware components of a computer, without which it is impossible to save any data whatsoever. When the user turns on the computer, the first step is to recognize the BIOS hardware, including connected hard drives, and then the boot record is determined, after which control is transferred to the operating system. But it happens that in this chain a failure occurs.
In such cases, the computer either does not see the hard drive completely, or it does not appear in Explorer. If it is a system drive, Windows won't boot and an error is displayed on the screen. Most often it is “WARNING! HARD DISK NOT FOUND" or "DISK BOOT FALTURE, INSERT DISK AND PRESS ENTER", but there may be other messages indicating the absence of a hard drive.
The reasons why the hard drive is not detected can be both hardware and software in nature, but most often they are associated with hardware problems. What to do if the computer does not see the hard drive? The first step is to rule out malfunctions in the hardware and only then look for what is wrong with the software.
Hard drive not detected in BIOS
The hard drive may not be available in Explorer or Device Manager, but it should be visible in the BIOS. If it is not defined in basic system I/O, this may indicate a hardware problem. Consistently check the correct connection of the loops, make sure that they are working (you can try to replace them). Special attention pay attention to the quality of the contacts, see if there are any signs of oxidation on them. The disk itself may also be faulty. The easiest way to find out if everything is in order with it is by connecting it to another computer.
On computers with two physical drives, you should pay attention to the special connector located on the HDD case between the power and data connectors. If you look closely, you can see four pairs of contacts and a special jumper that closes one of the pairs. This jumper is used to change the priority of the hard drive. If the disk is the main one, the jumper must be set to the Master position, if it is an additional one, it must be set to the Slave mode. Setting this jumper to the same position on both media will most likely result in the BIOS not being able to recognize them correctly.
Note: The jumper for switching between priority modes is not present on all hard drive models.
Most of the above applies to conventional prefabricated PCs, but with portable computers, everything is a little more complicated. If the laptop does not see the hard drive, and you have suspicions that hardware problems are to blame, you may have to limit yourself to checking the contacts of the disk, the corresponding connectors motherboard and the disk itself. It is not recommended to disassemble a laptop without having the appropriate knowledge and experience; in such cases, it is better to take the device to a service center.
If everything is in order with the hardware, check the settings of the BIOS itself - the SATA and IDE controllers must be enabled. In different BIOS versions, the names of the settings you need may differ slightly, but usually they always mention the word SATA (ATA) or IDE. If this is an Ami BIOS, the required setting will most likely be located in the section Advanced - Onboard Device Configuration. Go into it and find the controller, the name of which mentions SATA or IDE. Make sure it is set to Enabled.
In the Award BIOS, you need to go to the Integrated Peripherals section and make sure that the On Chip Primary PCI IDE and On Chip Secondary PCI IDE options are enabled (Enabled), and the On Chip SATA Mode option is set to Auto.
As a last resort, you can try resetting the BIOS to factory settings. There are six reset methods in total, but only two will be available to you. Here is the first one. After completely turning off the power, find the Clear CMOS jumper on the motherboard, switch the jumper from pins 1-2 to 2-3, wait 20 seconds, and then return it to its original position.
And here is the second way. After turning off the power, find the CR2032 battery on the motherboard, remove it, also wait a minute and reinsert it. The BIOS will be reset. You can reset the BIOS on laptops in the section Exit-Load Setup Defaults, but this is only possible if the manufacturer does not set password protection, otherwise the device will have to be disassembled so that the battery can be removed.
The disk is detected in the BIOS, but the system does not see it
Things are somewhat different when Windows 7/10 does not see the hard drive, but it is perfectly detected by the BIOS. If this is a system drive, Windows will naturally not boot, and it is important to understand what exactly is causing the problem. These can be problems with the disk itself, incorrect BIOS settings, or damage to the operating system. The latter is important to rule out. To do this, try to access the hard drive data by booting from a LiveCD or USB flash drive.
If the disk is visible in the built-in LiveCD file manager, most likely something is wrong with the operating system. In other cases, first go into the BIOS and see if your boot priorities are set correctly. By the way, the Operating System not found error may indicate just a lost priority. In Ami BIOS, you can do this on the tab Boot - Boot Device Priority, and in Award BIOS - in the section Advanced BIOS Features - First Boot Device.
Also, in the Advar BIOS, you need to make sure that the mode for the hard drive is set to Auto in the Standard CMOS Features section.
All of the above is true for additional (second) disks. If everything is in order with the BIOS settings, but the computer does not see second hard disk, check following points:
– After opening the Disk Management utility from the Start menu, find your drive in the list and make sure it is initialized. If not, right-click on it, initialize it, and then create a new volume on the disk.
– Disk space is not allocated. Again, create a new volume.
– The drive letter is not assigned. Give it a free letter, otherwise it will not be displayed in Explorer.
– The media file system is detected as RAW. Format the drive or perform a recovery file system team chkdsk [drive letter]: /f. Alternatively, you can use special utilities like TestDisk for this.
– Disk drivers are damaged or not installed. Open Device Manager, find your second drive under Disk Drives and see if it's marked with a yellow sign. If checked, this may indicate that the necessary drivers are missing. Download the drivers from the disk manufacturer's official website and install them.
Special attention deserves the case when the computer does not see the hard drive when Windows installation 7/10. This problem is quite common on laptops with caching SSDs, SATA drives, and RAID arrays. Its main reason is the lack of specific drivers that allow you to work with such configurations. It does not matter, you can download drivers from the official website of the manufacturer of your laptop model or motherboard. The names of such drivers usually contain the words "SATA", "Intel RST", or "RAID".
Copy the driver to the flash drive you are installing Windows from and boot from it. When an empty window for selecting a partition for installing the system appears, click "Download", specify the path to the copied driver and install it.
If the system is installed from an optical disk, the driver file is also copied to a USB flash drive, which must be connected to the laptop / computer before it is turned on, otherwise the portable media will not be recognized. After installing the driver, the disk should appear in the installation wizard window.
The computer does not see an external hard drive connected via USB
But what if the computer does not see the hard drive connected via USB? Almost everything is the same as mentioned above. The only difference is that in the BIOS we check if the USB controllers are enabled. In Award BIOS, these are USB EHCI controller, USB EHCI controller, USB Keyboard Support, USB Mouse Support and Legacy USB storage detect, in AMI, USB device settings are usually located in the Advanced - USB configuration or Advanced - Peripherals section.
Problems with USB ports. They also need to be checked for correctness.
Lack of power is another reason why an external drive may not be recognized by the system. If possible, do not use extension cords, the connection itself must be made through the port on the rear panel. If possible, use when connecting drives autonomous source power supply, this will increase the stability of the drive. And the last. External drive may not be recognized by Windows for the same reasons that the system does not see flash drives and other USB-connected devices. We recommend that you read the article, perhaps you will find a lot of useful things in it.
