What to do if your external hard drive does not show in my computer

Look back at this post so you then try (in this order)
> Windows Updates
> Using the DriveCleanup tool
> Removing disk drive filters

Great guide it helped me sort out my drive issue

The same thing happened to me too.... Actually, I was be able to use my external hard drive before (btw, it's a Western Digital external hard drive). I was connecting it to my friend's desktop, and put it standing on the floor. After we're done using it, I accidently hit it and it fell flat on the floor. The next thing I know is that when I plug the USB in my desktop, it didn't show the drive in my computer anymore. It showed the USB icon on the taskbar. I opened Device Manager and it said the device is working properly, but then I opened Disk Management and it's not in there. Can someone please help me??? =[

Seagate Ext. HD

Hi there,
I'm having the same problem as the previous post. Just purchased a 500g Seagate External Hard Drive. It was working fine for a couple of days but one day I rebooted and couldn't find it anymore! I tried the Seagate Diagnostic Too "SeaTools" and it didn't recognize it. Even my Disk Management doesn't see it. It powers on fine and doesnt make any wierd noises either.
HELP!
thanks,

try to change the cable

yea, change the cable.. and have you tried it in a different computer?

if you're running XP you can also take a look here and also here

Great Guide mate. It help a lot

My problem is the opposite. My J ext drive appears in My Computer and can be used, but it does NOT appear in Disk Management. I have an issue with the drive turning itself off (no light but fan runs, then needs power cycling) and wanted to see whT Disk Management had for it.

Any ideas?

Scroll down. If it appears in My Computer then 99.9999999999999999% chance it's in Disk Management. (i;d say 100% but i suppose nothing is impossible with computers, sometimes )

Help.. is there any one can help me with my external drive(seagate 250GB)
I was connecting my external drive when someone came and put his flash drive
which have a virus of surabaya. My antivirus was not updated so after he have gone
we realise that our computer have a virus seeing it when restarted our PC. So we formated our
PC and when everything was okay by installing Window XP and make my antivirus update. I connect my external to scan the virus in it. But when I connect there's nothing appear in my computer and also the lower bar, and the light which always turn on is not light. And i only hear a sound(peep sound) coming out of it. so can anyone can help me with this.?

the other night i turned my hdd on and before it finsished loading or what have you (autoplay) i turned it off. and now when i turn it on nothing happens on my computer??? any help would be appreciated. according to the usb properties it shows up there but no where else.. is it possible when i shut it off before it got done loading the drive got erased? i hope not please let me know

For the future, see How to Avoid Problems with USB Storage Devices

But for now, to start, i'd run chkdsk utility. What version of Windows are you running?

> For XP, see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315265
> For Vista, see Method 1 in http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/67612-check-disk-chkdsk.html

/* edit */
p.s. while sometimes nothing is impossible with computers, is likely your files are still on the disk

im running xp. and i ran the chkdsk utilities like u said but i dont think it made a difference. i have tried the hdd on another comp. and same thing as soon as i turn it on the comp freezes until i unplug it..

this is the solution for XP

THIS IS THE SOLUTION FOR XP. I dont know if it works for vista or 7.
YOU DONT HAVE TO LOOSE YOUR FILES FORMATTING THE DISK DOES NOT SHOW IN MY COMPUTER

1. click start and then run.
2. in the open box, type regedit and then cklick ok.
3. in the navigation pane, locate and then click the following registry subkeys (first-second-third-etc) until you see in the right pane disk drives.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-
E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

4. in the right pane, click UpperFilters.

Note. You may also see an UpperFilters.bak registry entry. You dont have to remove this entry. Click UpperFilters only. If you dont see the UpperFilters registry entry, you still might have to remove the LowerFilters registry entry. To do this, go to step 7.

5. On the Edit menu, click Delete.
6. When you are prompted to confirm the deletion, click Yes.
7. In the right pane, click LowerFilters.

Note If you dont see the LowerFilters registry entry, unfortunately this content cannot help you any further. Go to the the "Next Steps" section for information about how you can find more solutions or more help on the Microsoft Web Site.


8. On the Edit menu, click Delete.
9. When you are promptefd to confirm the deletion, click Yes.
10. Exit the Registry Editor.
11. Restart the computer.
12. First DELETE the UpperFilters and if this doesnt work after restart then you might have to DELETE the LowerFilters.
Nik The Greek

Thanks for the guide

Thanks a lot Mr. Noname

Thank you very much for presenting the solution to my problem. The problem has been fixed. Thanks again

Hi, I have a similar problem, but mine seem a little worst. Not only is my computer unable to read External Hard Drive, it can't read any other external storage device like thumb drive and SD card.

I've tried what T.S. has posted, going to disk management and changing the disk letter. However, everytime I changed the disk letter, it will just restore itself back to the original state.

Let's say I assign Z: to my SD card, but after assigning for 1 second, the windows refreshes itself and Z: is no longer assigned to my SD card (returned to the state before).

I'm really anxious about this problem now because I have some important files in my external hard drive that I'm trying to transfer from my old computer to this new laptop.

P.S. I'm using Windows 7.

Thanks a lot in advance. Please Help ]:

Hi SonicTrex

Now that's really odd. I've never heard of "refreshing drive letter assignments right back to original state" like that!!!

Are you using an account with Admin Rights??? (I ask to double check, altho i would think if not access rights, Win 7 wouldn't let you do it in the first place... but worth double checking)

Then also try See How to Cleanup and Remove old USB Storage Drivers

Then post back and we can look further.. as i also wonder if you might have some overzealous "real time protection" based anti-malware product that might be what's restoring the settings

Thanks.

Anyway, what I meant was whenever I try to assign a disk letter to the storage device, the letter gets assigned for a moment and it disappears. I'm logged in as adminstrator. It shouldn't be my anti-virus software as the devices could work well before.

I have tried the link you have posted (Btw, there's one ineffective link on opening "elevated command prompt" :/) but to no avail.

Also, I think I might have found the source of error. In the device manager, it actually shows all my storage devices to have error code 10: the device cannot start. Rest assure, I know this thread is not the right place to post this, so I will seek the solution somewhere else [:

Weird though, I have only bought this new laptop for 1month and it could use all my storage devices at first (Thumb drive, SD card, external hard drive).. Jeez...

Still, thanks.

Hey SonicTex

1. Thanks for the heads up about the ineffective link. Will fix it when i get the chance

2. The symptom you mention above (about all storage drivers having error code 10) might result from a bad class filter driver. (A Windows class filter for class=Disk will be applied to all your Disk devices so if you have a bad class filter, it might be the single cause of the problem.) It's at least worth checking it out. See if this might apply CD/DVD or Disk Problems? How to Fix Problems Caused by Filters