It can be frustrating when you plug a portable hard drive into your computer and it doesn’t show up or get recognized. There are a few common reasons why this might happen and some steps you can try to get your external hard drive working properly.
Quick Overview
Here are some quick answers to common questions about portable hard drives not being recognized:
- The drive isn’t getting enough power – Use the USB cable that came with the drive or plug it into a powered USB hub
- Drive isn’t properly connected – Disconnect and reconnect the USB cable, try a different USB port
- Outdated drivers – Update your USB and external hard drive drivers
- Partition issues – The drive may need to be initialized, partitions may be damaged, or drive is formatted incorrectly
- Drive failure – If nothing else works, the hard drive itself may have failed
Power Supply Issues
One of the most common reasons an external hard drive isn’t recognized is because it’s not getting enough power. USB ports provide power as well as data transfer. Some external drives need more power than a single USB port can provide. There are a couple ways to fix this:
- Use the USB cable that came with the drive – Some drives come with a special USB cable that provides extra power. Using the manufacturer’s cable rather than a generic one can resolve power issues.
- Plug drive into a powered hub – Hubs with their own AC power supply can provide stable, sufficient power to devices plugged into them. So plugging the drive into a powered hub can fix power-related recognition issues.
Connection Issues
Sometimes the USB cable between the external drive and computer comes loose or isn’t properly connected. Before looking for complex solutions, try these simple steps:
- Disconnect and reconnect cable – Unplug the cable from both the drive and computer, wait a few seconds, and firmly reconnect.
- Try different USB port – Try plugging the drive into a different USB port on your computer if available.
- Test cable with other devices – Verify the USB cable works by connecting other devices, like a phone or different external drive.
- Replace cable – If other devices work fine with the cable but the drive doesn’t, get a new USB cable specifically for that drive.
Driver Issues
For the computer and OS to communicate properly with an external drive, the appropriate drivers need to be installed. An outdated or missing driver is often the issue when a drive isn’t recognized:
- Update USB drivers – Use Device Manager on Windows or System Information on Mac to update USB drivers.
- Update external hard drive drivers – The manufacturer may offer a driver update utility to keep the device firmware up to date.
- Reinstall drivers – Completely uninstall then reinstall the USB and external hard drive device drivers.
On Windows, device driver issues can also cause the dreaded “USB device not recognized” error. Updating or reinstalling drivers typically resolves this problem quickly.
Partition and Format Issues
The way a drive is partitioned and formatted determines whether or not the OS can access and recognize it. Here are some partition and format-related issues that can affect recognition:
- Drive needs to be initialized – Brand new drives need to be initialized before use, a process that partitions and formats the drive.
- Partition table corrupted – The partition table holds information about partitions on the drive. If it gets corrupted the computer can’t access the drive.
- Partitions deleted – Partitions can be accidentally deleted, causing a drive to seemingly vanish from the OS.
- Incorrect file system format – For example, formatting with NTFS for Mac or HFS+ for Windows won’t work properly.
Tools like Disk Management on Windows or Disk Utility on Mac can be used to check and fix partition and format issues. The sections below provide more details.
Initializing an External Drive
Brand new external drives usually come ready to use and don’t need to be initialized. However, if your drive can’t be recognized at all, initializing might be the solution. Initialization sets up the partitioning and formatting required for the drive to be used as external storage on your OS.
On Windows, use Disk Management. On Mac, use Disk Utility. Select your external drive, then look for an option to Initialize (Windows) or Erase (Mac). Read the dialog boxes carefully so you don’t accidentally erase data. This will quickly setup your new drive and should make it recognizable.
Fixing Partition Table Issues
The partition table is a very important but easily corrupted part of a drive. It keeps track of info about partitions on the drive. So if it gets corrupted, which can happen for various reasons, the entire drive may fail to work or be recognized.
To fix, you’ll need disk repair software that can rewrite partition tables. On Windows try a free tool like TestDisk or PartitionGuru. On Mac, tools like DiskWarrior can rebuild partition tables.
Recovering Deleted Partitions
Partitions can be accidentally deleted using Disk Management or Disk Utility. Important steps:
- Stop using drive immediately to prevent overwriting deleted data
- Use data recovery software to scan and restore the deleted partition
- Once partitions are restored, drive should be recognized again
Free recovery software options include Recuva for Windows and Disk Drill for Mac.
Correct File System Format
External drives need to use a supported file system for the OS to recognize them. Common file systems include:
- Windows – NTFS and exFAT
- Mac – Mac OS Extended (HFS+) and exFAT
- Linux – exFAT and ext4
For example, formatting an external drive with HFS+ won’t allow Windows to recognize it. And NTFS will cause issues for Mac. Use utilities like Disk Management or Disk Utility to check or change formatting as needed.
Failed Hard Drive
If you’ve tried the above solutions and your drive still isn’t recognized, the hard drive itself may have failed. Some signs include:
- Unusual noises coming from drive
- Slower performance
- Corrupted data
- OS detecting drive but reporting 0 bytes used
In this case, contact the manufacturer for warranty replacement if still under warranty. Or consider purchasing a new drive. Reliability tends to decline over time, so replace older external drives after 4-5 years.
Preventing External Hard Drive Issues
Following some best practices can help avoid and mitigate issues with external hard drives:
- Safely eject before unplugging – This prevents data corruption and disconnect issues
- Handle carefully – Don’t drop drives or expose to moisture or magnets
- Use high-quality cables – Cheap cables can cause various connectivity problems
- Keep drives cool – Excess heat can damage components and shorten lifespan
- Update software – Keep OS, drivers, firmware, and recovery utilities updated
- Backup data – Keep a backup so you can restore data if drive fails
Recovering Data from Unrecognized Drives
If your drive isn’t recognized and you need to access important data on it, don’t attempt any major fixes yet. First, use data recovery software to try restoring your files. For the best chance of recovery, avoid writing any data to the drive.
RECOVERIT DATA RECOVERY software allows recovering data from unrecognized external drives with a few clicks. It supports all file types and storage devices.
Follow these steps to recover data from an unrecognized external or portable hard drive with Recoverit:
- Download and install Recoverit on your computer
- Launch the program and select the unrecognized external drive
- Scan the drive – Recoverit will dig deep to find any recoverable data
- Preview found files, then recover those you want to another drive
Recoverit makes it easy to get your files off a drive that isn’t working properly before attempting any repairs. It may seem counter-intuitive, but recovering data first provides the best chance of retrieving your files from the inaccessible drive.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Recover 1000+ file types | Won’t fix unrecognized drive issues |
| Easy to use interface | Requires another drive to save recovered files |
| Recovers data from damaged drives |
Conclusion
An external hard drive not showing up is one of the most common issues reported by users. But in most cases it can be fixed with relative ease. Start by checking power supply issues, cable connections, driver updates, and partition errors using utilities for your OS and drive.
If no simple fixes get the drive recognized, data recovery software should be used to retrieve important files before reformatting or replacement. Following best practices like safe ejecting and handling drives carefully can help avoid issues in the future.