How to Fix Hard Drive Not Showing in Windows [Solved]

February 17, 2025Andrew Miller

Recover Windows Data & Fix Windows Problems

Here are some frequently reported questions about hard drive not showing up in Windows 10. Read and check if you encounter the same problem.

The internal hard drive not showing up in Disk Management.
The hard drive not showing up in BIOS.
The external hard drive not showing up in Windows 10.
The second hard drive is not detected in Windows 10.
The newly-installed hard drive is invisible in Windows 10.

In conclusion, you cannot access the internal or external storage space in Windows 10. Things will be worse if your stored files are inaccessible. Fortunately, you can fix HDD not showing up in Windows 10 without data loss. Now, let's read together to see how to find the disappeared or not recognized hard drive in Windows 10.

Part 1. Why is My Hard Drive Not Showing Up on Windows
Part 2. How to Fix New Hard Drive Not Detected on Windows 10
Part 3. How to Fix PC Not Recognizing Hard Drive
Part 4. FAQs about Hard Drive Not Showing in Windows

Part 1. Why is My Hard Drive Not Showing Up on Windows

• Loose or Damaged Cables

Check if the hard drive's cable to the motherboard is loose, damaged, or not well connected. If so, the hard drive may not be recognized by the system.

Check out if the USB or Type C is broken for external hard drives. Also, you can try a different port each time to resolve the issue.

• Drive Letter Conflict

Sometimes, a new or existing hard drive might not be assigned a drive letter. It will lead to recognition failure in File Explorer. This can be fixed by assigning a drive letter in Disk Management.

• Outdated or Corrupted Drivers

Outdated or corrupted drivers may remain bugs and instability. Updating or reinstalling drivers can often solve this problem.

• BIOS/UEFI Configuration

If the hard drive is disabled in the BIOS/UEFI settings, it will not be detected by the operating system. Enabling the drive in the BIOS/UEFI can solve this issue.

• Power Supply Issues

An insufficient power supply or connection for internal hard drives can prevent the drive from spinning up and being recognized.

• Physical Damage

If your hard drive was dropped or hit by something, the collision may cause the disk surface to be scratched.

Part 2. How to Fix New Hard Drive Not Detected on Windows 10

Method 1: Check Disk Connection

First, check if your disk is well connected to the motherboard. Ensure your connection port from the disk and motherboard is not broken or loose. If the cable is fine, try to change to another new one to see if the problem remains.

Method 2: Initialize the Hard Drive with Disk Management

When your hard drive appears as unallocated space, or you cannot see the disk capacity, you should initialize the hard drive. Be aware that all stored files will be removed completely. So you had better create a backup before fixing the hard drive or partition not showing up in Windows 10.

Step 1.

Press "Windows" and "X" keys together, then locate the Disk Management window.

Step 2.

Find a hard drive named as "unknown" or "unallocated" under the "Volume" category.

Step 3.

Choose "Initialize Disk" from its right-click menu.

Step 4.

Set the disk partition style as GPT or MBR.

Step 5.

Go back to the main Window. Right click on the hard disk, then choose "Create New Simple Volume".

Step 6.

Set "NTFS" as your target file system. Later, you can format your new hard drive quickly.

Method 3: Update Driver Software Manually

If your hard drive works well in the past, then the Windows 10 hard drive not showing up problem may be caused by the incompatible driver. In another word, you need to update driver software to the latest version.

Step 1.

Open the Device Manager through the "Search" box.

Step 2.

Expand the "Disk drives" to see all available hard disk drives.

Step 3.

Right click on your target hard drive, then choose "Update Driver Software".

Step 4.

Do as the on-screen instruction tells to update the hard disk driver.

Method 4: Restart Your Windows 10 Computer

If your second hard drive not showing up in Windows 10 Disk Manager or BIOS, you need to reboot your computer and enter into the BIOS environment to have a try. Check if the hard drive is enabled in BIOS or not.

Step 1.

Restart your computer from the Start menu.

Step 2.

Press the "F2" key on your keyboard.

Step 3.

Browse and check if your second hard drive shows up in system setup.

Step 4.

If not, you need to restart your Windows computer again to have an another try.

Fix The Second Hard Drive Not Showing Up

Part 3. How to Fix PC Not Recognizing Hard Drive

Method 1: Change Drive Letter and Paths

Check the connection between the external hard drive and your computer. If it is connected properly, you can give a drive letter to your invisible hard drive. Actually, when you fail to detect the new hard drive in Windows 10, you can try this method to solve the problem.

Step 1.

Right click on "This PC" icon from the File Manager.

Step 2.

Select "Manage" to get a popping-up "Management" window.

Step 3.

Locate the "Disk Management".

Step 4.

Right click on your not showing up hard drive, then select "Change Drive Letter and Paths".

Step 5.

Choose the drive letter you need from the list.

Step 6.

Click "OK" to save your change. Then restart your computer.

Method 2: Format Hard Drive to NTFS

Sometimes, there might be file conflicts or logic errors in your disk. The best way to make it readable is to format your hard drive to NTFS. That will reset it to the factory status. But be aware that all the data inside will also be erased.

Step 1.

Search the Create and format hard disk partitions in the search bar and open it.

Step 2.

Right-click on the disk and select New Simple Volume.

Step 3.

Assign a letter to your disk. Then, click Next.

Step 4.

Select Format this volume with the following settings and choose NTFS in the File system part. After that, click Next.

Step 5.

Finally, click Finish to start formatting.

After all of these efforts, you should be able to see your disk has been formatted successfully.

Method 3: Create New Partitions and Restore Data

A new partition is needed if your disk has already been formatted but is still invisible in File Explorer. Also, we will provide a solution to restore your formatted data perfectly.

• Create New Partitions

Step 1.

Right-click on the new disk and choose Shrink Volume.

Step 2.

Enter the size you want this new partition to be and click Shrink.

Step 3.

As you can see, the new partition has been created but not formatted yet. You can repeat the steps in method 1 to make it available in File Explorer.

• Restore the Data from Formatting

This solution will help you to recover your lost file on Windows due to the formatting. Here, we recommend you try Aiseesoft Data Recovery.

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Step 1.

Launch the program and choose your target disk. Then, click Start Scan.

Step 2.

Wait for a while and you will see all the deleted files are listed here. Choose the ones you want to recover and click Recover.

Part 4. FAQs about Hard Drive Not Showing in Windows

Why is my hard drive not showing up in File Explorer?

This can be a lot of reasons, such as improper connections, outdated drivers, or file logic errors. Therefore, ensure your hard drive is connected correctly, and the driver is the newest version.

How can I check if my hard drive is detected in BIOS/UEFI?

Reboot your PC and press the F2, F10, or Delete key to enter the BIOS/UEFI. Next, look for the hard drive under the system configuration section to verify if it is detected.

What should I do if my hard drive is not recognized after a Windows update?

Sometimes, Windows updates can cause driver conflicts. You can try to uninstall the update patch or use the Device Manager and Disk Management tools to troubleshoot and resolve the issue. Also, you can try to stop Windows from updating to deal with it once and for all.

Conclusion

Today, we have shown you several methods to fix a hard drive not showing up in Windows 10, including changing drive letters and paths, formatting the disk, updating the driver, etc. I hope this tutorial helps you well. If you like this article, please share it with your friends, helping more people deal with their problems.

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