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

Easy to FIX

Right click on my computer
Choose MANAGE
Then find DISK MANAGEMENT
You should see your ext hard drive under the list.
Right click on it, and choose CHANGE DRIVE LETTER
Choose anything, but I recommand something higher than M:

I've seen this problem with alot of STORAGE DEVICE

It happen more often with Laptop because they usually have Card reader.
So it makes couple drives like e:, f:, g:.
Storage device tries to install themself with the drive letter next to CDROM
c: - HD1
d: - HD2 or CDROM
e: - Mass storage device (maybe for card readers)
So your external HD tries to have the E: drive (probably a bug)

See ya

Thank you very much it now works i was about to throw it out the window and then go down to PC world to probably spend lots on money on such a simple task.

THANK YOU

Easy to FIX

Right click on my computer
Choose MANAGE
Then find DISK MANAGEMENT
You should see your ext hard drive under the list.
Right click on it, and choose CHANGE DRIVE LETTER
Choose anything, but I recommand something higher than M:

I've seen this problem with alot of STORAGE DEVICE

It happen more often with Laptop because they usually have Card reader.
So it makes couple drives like e:, f:, g:.
Storage device tries to install themself with the drive letter next to CDROM
c: - HD1
d: - HD2 or CDROM
e: - Mass storage device (maybe for card readers)
So your external HD tries to have the E: drive (probably a bug)

See ya
For 3 wks I've been going on to Microsoft website looking for this answer and I'm so glad to stumble across your answer cos now you've put my miseries to rest. Your post was very simple to follow and it worked straight away! Thank You very much..do you have a website? I like supporting people like you.

Have a good day!
dlema71

same problem here..hd doesn't show in my computer..and noisy..

Hi,

I hope you can help me.

Bought a laptop SATA HDD to replace my old one with. I stuck it in an external case in order to back my current HDD onto the new one. However when I connect the new one in the external case it does not show in my computer although the computer has "installed" the the "new device" and it shows up as being connected in the hardware list in the control panel. I simply am not able to access it or manipulate it. The advice given above does not work as it is not available in the DISK MANAGEMENT list.

Can anyone help me.

Thank you.

check and set up your bios...then restart

set configuration as ide and then reboot..just try..hehe

A friend of mine figured it out. I had been an idiot and not scrolled far enough down the list of drives to find my new one. Sometimes you just deserve a smack :S

Thanks for all the help.

I have a Simpletech 500gb external hard drive and it was working fine for a while. I was using it mainly to store and backup my data and regularly connected it to my PS3 to watch movies. When i was trying to adding more data onto it one day, a message came up saying that the disk was full. I pressed cancel thinking that I would need to remove some files to make room. But after i pressed cancel, my external was no longer shown in my computer. It still mad the noise when I disconnected and reconnected and had the safely remove device icon in the right tray. I tried to research on the problem and called the company for some support. The technician said that it was because of the PS3 that it doesnt show in my computer, but i was thinking it worked fine before. Anyways, he told me to right click on my computer and click on manage. Then goto disk management to format my external. I did just that, and formatted it but after around 5-6 hours it was still formatting so i cancelled it. It now appears as Local Disk F: instead of orginally E: and everytime i try to right click or double click on it, it freezes the window and makes it not responding.

Any help will be GREATLY appreciated!!!!!!

Easy to FIX

Right click on my computer
Choose MANAGE
Then find DISK MANAGEMENT
You should see your ext hard drive under the list.
Right click on it, and choose CHANGE DRIVE LETTER
Choose anything, but I recommand something higher than M:

I've seen this problem with alot of STORAGE DEVICE

It happen more often with Laptop because they usually have Card reader.
So it makes couple drives like e:, f:, g:.
Storage device tries to install themself with the drive letter next to CDROM
c: - HD1
d: - HD2 or CDROM
e: - Mass storage device (maybe for card readers)
So your external HD tries to have the E: drive (probably a bug)

See ya

I did everything you said. Worked good except for one thing. When I went into Computer Management it showed two drive letters, (C): and (D):. It showed the the new hard drive below those as Disk 1 and Unallocated. It would not let me change the drive letter. I guess because it had no letter to change. So I just partitioned it with the full amount of available space and that worked. I hope that was the right thing to do. Thanks again.

disk maanagement is the solution to that...

i have the same issue here....i did thru disk mgmt...change the letter and format it but the problem still persist...ok for a few minute and then make all application hung up...any other solution...?

test your HD

Easy to FIX

Right click on my computer
Choose MANAGE
Then find DISK MANAGEMENT
You should see your ext hard drive under the list.
Right click on it, and choose CHANGE DRIVE LETTER
Choose anything, but I recommand something higher than M:

I've seen this problem with alot of STORAGE DEVICE

It happen more often with Laptop because they usually have Card reader.
So it makes couple drives like e:, f:, g:.
Storage device tries to install themself with the drive letter next to CDROM
c: - HD1
d: - HD2 or CDROM
e: - Mass storage device (maybe for card readers)
So your external HD tries to have the E: drive (probably a bug)

See ya


When I try to right click on the drive, everything is grayed out except help. I can't click the option to change letter drive.... any other suggestions? I am stuck! :( HELP!

For general troubleshooting start with these
>> See USB Device Problems? Check for Windows Updates
>> See Troubleshoot: Windows Won't Recognize Your USB Hard Drive

If it turns out to be a missing hard drive letter / drive letter conflict
>> Also see Fix a Drive Letter that Doesn't Appear (http://www.techspot.com/vb/showthread.php?p=720763#post720763)

And other things to know and try
>> You might also need to try removing upper/lower filters. See this MS KB (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925196)
>> You should also know that viruses can cause this problem. Click here for Virus/Malware Removal Instructions (http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic58138.html)

Did you get a driver with it?

I am having the same problem.............I tried what ever has been told above..........bt my problem is when I try to name my HD there isn't any option of naming it in the device management!I m using windows xp!is there any way out!

did you tried that using administrator account?

I have the same problem. It sometimes make me crazy.
Thank you very much. Now, it works well.

my external hard drive dose not show up in My Computer, but it dose show up in Disk Management. wen i right click on the Ext. drive i can only Delete Volume or click for Help. how do i make the hard drive appear on My Computer?

new or old external HD? try to format..

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??? =[

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 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925196) and also here (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314634)

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?

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.?