- If your drive is powered on but still isn't appearing in File Explorer, it's time to do some digging. Open the Start menu and type 'disk management,' and press Enter when the Create and Format Hard Disk Partitions option appears.
- TCL tv won't recognize external hard drive: Wdtv media player can't recognize my drives. How do I get my pc to recognize the external hard drive that I used to record Dish files. I want to put the files in my pc but: My computer recognizes hard drive as storage unit, but will not let me access it!
- Aug 08, 2019 The port, the connecting cable, the power supply and the external hard drive (EHD) can all suffer from physical and/or electrical faults. Some external hard drives draw their power from the USB.
- Can't Find External Hard Drive
- Computer Won't Detect External Hard Drive
- Laptop Doesn't Recognize Hard Drive External
External hard drive sometimes may not be recognized by the Windows OS and this is a very common problem that many Windows users face. Actually, when you connect a portable hard drive in USB 3.0 port of Windows computer, Windows does not show any drive in the Windows Explorer section. Some users claimed that the external hard drive worked perfectly before they made a complete partition of the hard drive and new Windows installation. This is possibly a problem with the installed USB driver on your PC.
It will not recognize my external hard drive plugged into any USB port. That is, the external drive does not appear in My Computer and or on the list of drop-down drives. The external hard drive does work on my Dell 4100 series computer (really ancient). The hard drive itself was made at about the same time as the 8300 series computer (ca. It turns out it dropped my hard drive. I restarted the shield and it played about 10 minutes of video and stopped again. Under SettingsStorage, there is no mounted external hard drive. I tried unplugging it and plugging it back in but nothing. The hard drive works just fine on my computer, but it seems like the Shield won't let it mount.
In order to fix 'External hard drive not recognized by the PC' problem, install the pending OS updates at first (optional, but it may fix the issue for you). Then, connect the USB 3.0 external USB drive to your PC. Check whether your shows the USB device not recognized message or not. If you are getting such message check the solution for USB device not recognized problem. If you get any other error message then try to fix the error using hardware and devices troubleshooter of Windows OS (Windows 10, 8.1, 8 or 7). It will automatically do a fix of the persistent known problems of your PC.
The problem may occur when the computer or the Windows OS fails to load the supported drivers (which loads automatically on connecting the external hard drive the USB port). Maybe some program blocks the driver software from being installed on the PC. You can try Microsoft's Install and Uninstall troubleshooter to solve the problem.
If nothing works for you, try to do a manual fix to solve the 'hard drive not recognized' issue.
How to Solve External Hard Drive is not Recognized by the PC Error?
Looking for the probable cause of the problem, I have found few possible reasons which might create problems for the external hard drive to be recognized by the Windows operating system. The possible reasons are listed below.
- The USB driver that are currently installed on your PC may be damaged, corrupted or unstable.
- Any latest Windows update has made a confliction with the existing/installed USB driver.
- The USB controller of your PC may be corrupted or affected by the virus or something else.
- The external hard drive may fall under the selective suspend setting.
You should try step by step fixes for each reason to narrow down the possibilities (listed above) for 'USB 3.0 portable hard drive does not recognize' error. New xbox support.
Solution 1: Uninstall the USB Driver
If you suspect that your existing USB driver installation becomes corrupted, you need to uninstall the USB driver first from your PC. To perform the action just go to Device Manager of your PC. Under the Disk Drive section, choose the appropriate USB driver, right-click on it and uninstall the corrupted driver (from Uninstall Device option). Also, uninstall the Universal Serial Bus controllers.
Then, insert the external hard drive to the USB 3.0 port of your PC. The recommended software will automatically be installed on the PC again. Unplug the USB drive, restart the PC and wait for a while. Reconnect the portable USB drive in your PC. Hopefully, it will start working. If not, then follow the next solution mentioned here.
Solution 2: Check for Windows Updates
Go to Windows update settings and check whether any pending updates are waiting there for download and installation. Install the latest Windows updates. Check for the latest versions of Windows drivers and update the device drivers to fix 'external USB 3.0 hard drive not working' issue.
Solution 3: Disable USB selective suspend setting
Sometimes, USB selective suspend settings option does not let the external mass storage drive functioning properly in the USB port. When you disable the USB selective suspend setting option, the external USB storage might force the PC to recognize the device properly. To change the setting open Control Panel and navigate to the following path: Control PanelHardware and SoundPower Options.
Can't Find External Hard Drive
Click on 'Change Plan Settings link'.
Then choose 'change advanced power settings'.
Under USB settings, choose USB selective suspend setting option and disable it.
Click Apply and then click OK.
At last, check whether the drive has an assigned drive letter or not. Use Disk Management to assign a letter to the drive. Hopefully, Windows troubleshooter will work for you to fix the issue by which Windows can't recognize the external hard drive connected to your PC.
Preferences does not scan for media, it only changes the storage location for new additions. The files have to be added to the library. It sounds like you tried this in one of your attempts but it did not work (I don't know why it didn't unless there is some detail I missed).
Computer Won't Detect External Hard Drive
Where do you want your library? On the external or internal?
If the internal, start iTunes. Drag your media files to the 'Automatically Add To iTunes folder. iTunes 9: Understanding the 'Automatically Add to iTunes' folder. - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3832 Or use the 'Add' menu item to add files to iTunes, or drag them to the iTuens library in the sidepanel.
If somewhere else, start iTunes while holding down the option/alt key, select a library location. Add as above.
What are the iTunes library files? - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660
More on iTunes library files and what they do - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes#Media_management
What are all those iTunes files? Wd quick formatter for windows 7. - http://www.macworld.com/article/139974/2009/04/itunes_files.html
Laptop Doesn't Recognize Hard Drive External
Where are my iTunes files located? - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1391
Oct 1, 2014 6:37 AM