What to do when an external hard drive is not showing up on Windows 10

Is your external hard drive not showing up in Windows 10? Don't worry—this guide will walk you through a series of troubleshooting steps to help you identify and resolve the issue. Whether it's a simple connection problem, a driver conflict, or a more complex issue, we’ll cover everything you need to fix the problem and get your external hard drive detected.

There are several possible reasons as to why your USB external hard drive isn't showing up: 

• USB port connection issues: The USB port, plug, or wire is damaged.

• Power supply issues: The external hard drive isn’t receiving enough power from your computer.

• Unstable or corrupt drive: The USB controllers have become unstable or corrupt.

• Incompatible or outdated drivers: You don’t have the latest driver installed for your external drive.

• Hard drive malfunction: The external drive may need repairing or replacing.

Before diving into the steps below, consider trying your external drive on another computer to see if the issue persists. This can help determine whether the problem lies with the drive or your current computer.

To make the process easier, here’s a quick checklist to start:

• Try a different USB port and cable: Sometimes, the port or cable is the issue.

• Try connecting it to a different computer: The problem may not lie with the drive at all.

• Check for power indicators: Many external drives have lights or sounds that indicate power or data activity.

• Switch USB versions if possible: For example, if you're using a USB 3.0 port, try a USB 2.0 port, or vice versa. Note that while this could solve your connection problem, data transfer will be slower. 

• Use a powered USB hub: Some external devices might not be drawing enough power from your computer to operate reliably. This is more likely to be an issue with older spinning hard drives. New external SSDs connected via USB-C cables are unlikely to ever experience this problem.

If your computer isn’t recognizing the drive, try a different cable as well as another USB port to rule out a faulty connection. 

If there is a light on your external drive, this can also provide a quick indication of whether the connection is working, and power is being supplied. 

If the drive works in a different USB port, the issue is with your computer’s port, and you will need to get this fixed. But, if the drive isn’t connecting to another working port, the issue is likely with the drive cable, which you should consider replacing.

Another way to recover data from an external hard drive which is not being detected is to try connecting the drive to a different computer using both your regular cable and a new cable. You might discover that the issue it not with the drive at all, but with your PC. In that case, the problem is likely to be a software or hardware issue on your computer, and the data on your external drive should be safe. 

If your drive is getting power but still not being recognized, then use your System Tray to look for new hardware. 

Click on the up arrow (^) at the bottom-right of your screen, and you should see the Found New Hardware icon. To get more information and options for the icons in the tray, right-click on the icon. 

If it’s not there — and this may sound cliché, but it often solves a problem — reboot your computer and look for the icon again. If it now appears, then you should be able to open the drive in File Explorer and access your data. 

1. Windows has a nifty diagnostic tool that could help find and fix any issues found to get your external USB drive working again: 
2. Open Start, search for Command Prompt, then right-click to Run as administrator
3. If prompted, allow access 
4. Copy and paste “msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic” to bring up the troubleshooter
5. Click on Advanced, and click Apply repairs automatically for Windows to try and fix any issues found
6. Once the scan is finished, click View detailed information for an overview 

Fingers crossed this has fixed the issue, and your external drive is now appearing in File Explorer.