- Usb Drive Not Recognized
- Computer Will Not Recognize Usb
- Why Is My Usb Hard Drive Not Recognized Connected
- Why Is My Usb Hard Drive Not Recognized
- My Computer Is Not Recognizing Usb Devices
Are you unable to access your Seagate external hard drive when connected to your PC? Well, I must say that you have come to the exact right webpage because here you will definitely be going to know how to fixSeagate external hard drivenot detected error.
This is great info! The only problem is that I don't know which drive is the external drive to which I back up my files. Disk 0, Disk 1 and Disk 2 don't equate to any other labeling of the drives. I would assume that my internal hard drive would be Disk 0, but it's not, so I don't feel confident deleting any partitions on the other drives. I'd rather not have to go through all that again. I picked up a 1Tb Seagate (no more WD for me!) drive as the old drive's replacement (and took advantage of the opportunity to upgrade to 7200 rpm from 5200 rpm.) I want to clone the drive in the machine to the new drive using my USB dock. However, Windows10 File Explorer doesn't see the dock.
Also, you will get to know how to recover data from Seagate external hard drive not recognized, if the data gets deleted while fixing this error.
But first, let’s get started with its fixes…
How To Fix Seagate External Hard Drive Not Recognized or Not Detected Error
You can try the below solutions to fixSeagate external hard drive unrecognized or undetectable error. These solutions will definitely help you resolve this error now.
Important Note: The below-mentioned solutions are not only applicable to fix Seagate external hard drive driver not recognized the problem but also to fix Seagate external hard drive light not blinking and therefore it is not detecting.
Besides that, these solutions can also be used to fix all other external hard drives such as Samsung, Hitachi, Toshiba, LaCie, Thunderbolt, eSATA, Firewire, etc that does not get recognized by your Windows computer.
Solution #1: Connect External Hard Drive To Another PC or Mac
Sometimes, the USB port of your system does not work properly or the USB port itself is damaged.
So, if you notice that external hard drive light is blinking but it is not getting read by the system, then you can try to connect the hard drive to another system and check if it is getting recognized. Or you can try another USB port to connect the drive to your PC.
You can also try to reboot the PC and retry to connect your hard drive once again.
If it works – it is good. If it does not, then follow the next solution.
Solution #2: Scan External Hard Drive With Virus Cleaner/Anti-Virus Software
If you are confident enough that the virus has infected your Seagate external hard drive and because of this reason, the drive is not getting readable by the system, then you can use Virus Cleaner or Anti-virus software. This software will help you to scan and remove all viruses from your hard drive and PC. After this, you can format the hard drive to make it recognize.
Note: Apply this solution only when you are confident that virus infection has made your external hard drive unrecognizable, or else skip this solution.
Solution #3: Unhide Hidden Devices To Make Seagate External HDD To Get Recognized
- On your PC click Start. In search address bar type devmgmt.mscand hit Enter.
- Hover mouse to View and select Show hidden devices.
- Next, expand all notes just by clicking on the + (plus) symbol.
- If you find any greyed entries, then right-click on it and select Uninstall.
- Now Reboot PC and try to connect external hard drive.
Solution #4: Uninstall Hard Drive Driver to Solve External Hard Drive Undetectable Error
- On your PC, click Start. In search address bar type devmgmt.mscand hit Enter.
- This will open Device Manager. Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers and check if any device is showing as unrecognized.
- If it shows unrecognized, then delete or uninstall the drive by going to the driver tab and then check whether external hard drive displays up in My Computer or not.
- If it doesn’t display up, then restart or reboot your PC. If external hard drive shows but later it gets disappeared, then open Disk Management and change the name of your external hard drive only.
This will solve all the problems.
Solution #5: Switch ON Root Hub to Fix External Hard Drive Not Recognized Issue
- On your PC, click Start. In search address bar type devmgmt.mscand hit Enter.
- This will open Device Manager. Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers. Right-click on USB Root Hub > Properties > Power Management > uncheck Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.
- Repeat the process for all USB Root Hub shown in the list and then restart/reboot system and try to connect external hard drive.
Solution #6: Make Changes In Registry To Fix Seagate External Hard Drive Not Recognized Error
Note: Follow this solution very carefully.
- On your PC click Start and in search address bar type regedt32 and then click on Yes.
- After this backup your registry. Go to File>Export.
- On the left panel go toHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlClass{4D36E967-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
- On the right panel, if you see any lowerfilters or upperfilters, then delete
- After this re-try to connect external hard drive again.
Solution #7: Format And Repartition Seagate External Hard Drive
Another solution you can try is to format and repartition the Seagate external hard drive. It is possible to format this hard drive using the drive management or any third-party tool. But, here, you can try these below steps to format and repartition Seagate external hard drive in Disk Management:
- First of all, you have to go to Start menu on your Windows PC ad then type there ‘CMD’.
- Now, you have to make a right click on Command Prompt and then simply select Run as administrator and click there Yes to confirm if it prompts.
- Now, type the below commands one after another and then hit Enter key after each command you type in the command prompt window:
diskpart
list disk
select disk # (replace # with the letter of the USB drive)
clean
list disk
select disk # (replace # with the letter of the USB drive)
clean
- Next, you have to go to Start menu and then simply type there ‘create and format disk partitions’ and then open it.
- Now, you have to choose there ‘New Simple Volume….’
- Now, in the next step, you have to follow the steps by step instructions directed to finish the creation. Next, you will be prompted to format the external hard drive to access it.
After performing the above steps, your Seagate hard drive not recognized will be easily fixed.
Recover Data From Unrecognized or Undetectable Seagate External Hard Drive
Many people have asked – how to recover data from Seagate external hard disk which is not detecting? So, when your Seagate external hard drive is not recognized by Windows or Mac computer, then the first thing that will worry you – is the data stored within the hard drive.
So, the first precaution you must take is to restore data from Seagate external hard drive. For this, you can use External Hard Drive Recovery Tool which is suitable and perfect hard drive data recovery. It will allow you to restore almost all file formats of photos, videos and audio files from your Seagate external hard drive on Windows or Mac.
This recovery software for external HDD can easily detect your unrecognized external hard drive and deeply scan and extract digital media files. These media files recovery include pictures, photos, videos, movies, music, songs and other audio files from any external hard drives, including Seagate external HDD as well.
Important Note:As soon as you notice that your Seagate external hard drive is not recognized on your Windows or Mac computer, then you must stop using it and do not add any new data on it. Because adding new data will overwrite the existing data and you will lose the chance for recovering files from it. After this, immediately apply the External Hard Drive Recovery Tool, scan it and recover digital media files from it.
* Free version of the program only scans and previews recoverable objects.
Here, you can go through the step by step guide to recover deleted data from Seagate external hard drive in just three simple steps.
What Is External Hard Drive
In the era of today’s world, the external hard drive has major benefits in storing huge amount of data and hence many people would like to buy an external hard drive with a USB port so that they can store lots of data with ease.
Among several external hard drives, Seagate external hard drive is mostly used by a large number of people all across the world, because of its good performance.
However, sometimes when you plug Seagate external hard drive into the USB port of PC or Mac then the hard drive is not detected by the system. If your Seagate external hard drive is brand new, then you can directly go to manufactures to deal with the problem or you can replace it with another hard drive.
Reasons: Why Seagate Hard Drive Not Detected Error Occurs?
There could be several reasons that can make your Seagate hard drive not detected. Some of the common reasons are mentioned below:
- The hard drive might have got damaged
- The USB port of a PC or Mac computer might be damaged or Seagate external hard drive not working
- Maybe your external hard drive has got infected with virus or malware
- Hard drive driver installed on your system might have been outdated
- Hard drive failure or maybe hard drive contains bad sector or it has gone bad or corrupt itself
These are some common problems. So, what you can do to fix these problems when your Seagate hard disk not detected or not recognized?
Just Relax! Below you will find the solutions that will help you to effectively fix these problems and makes your Seagate external hard re-usable once again.
Related External Hard Drive Issues And Solutions
Why Is My External Hard Drive Not Showing Up?
Many people have also asked that – why is my external hard drive not showing up?
Well, the reasons could be various such as in some cases when you try to connect your drive to PC with a USB port you will find that hard drive is not detected. The issues could be caused by partition issue on your external hard drive, wrong file system usage, driver issues, dead USB ports or other issues. In worst situations, the drive itself might be simply dead.
So, how to make external hard drive to show up? Below follow the steps to do so:
- Press Windows Key + R to open RUN dialogue box.
- In RUN Box type diskmgmt.msc and hit ENTER.
- Here, you can see the external hard drive listed in the Disk Management Window, even if it doesn’t show up in My Computer since it doesn’t contain any partitions, it should show up here.
How Do I Fix My External Hard Drive Without Formatting?
There are many people out there asking for a solution – how do I fix my external hard drive without formatting?
Well, you can follow the above-motioned solutions 1- 6, in order to fix external hard drive issues without formatting. However, if you are looking to format the external hard drive but getting the not formatted error then learn here – How to Fix External Hard Drive Not Formatted Error.
If you are looking to recover inaccessible data from drive without formatting it then please visit – How To Recover Files From USB Drive Without Formatting It?
Conclusion
Here I have provided several solutions and I am sure that it will help you to fix Seagate external hard drive not detected or not recognized error.
However, it is also important to recover digital media files from the external hard drive if the data has been deleted from it unintentionally.
You can try External Hard Drive Recovery Tool to do so and keep safe your data then by keeping a regular backup.
Usb Drive Not Recognized
So, just try all the solutions mentioned here and use your external hard drive without any interruption.
Editor's Note: This post was originally published in June 2018. This updated version is completely revamped for comprehensiveness, freshness, and accuracy.If you have found this post helpful and useful, then please do not forget to share it.
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Alex is an expert technical writer with 7+ years of experience. His in-depth knowledge about data recovery and fascination to explore new DIY tools & technologies have helped many. Alex has a great interest in photography and loves to share photography tips and tricks with others.
'My 1TB WD external hard drive is not working on my Windows 10 PC and I can do nothing to the drive since it fails to show up in This PC.
I've changed the USB port but it still not working.
I don't know what reasons have made the drive not responding, and neither I know any solutions. I've saved quite a lot of important files inside the drive. If you have any methods to fix my issue and make the WD external hard drive work again, please help me. Thank you.'
I've changed the USB port but it still not working.
I don't know what reasons have made the drive not responding, and neither I know any solutions. I've saved quite a lot of important files inside the drive. If you have any methods to fix my issue and make the WD external hard drive work again, please help me. Thank you.'
Though it's no longer a new problem that external hard drive fails to work or suddenly fail to show up in PC. But it's still a tough issue for ordinary users when their external hard drive, USB or SD card etc devices suddenly become unrecognized, not working or responding in PC. Here below, you'll find 1 quick fix and 4 methods to fix WD external hard drive not working issue. If your external hard drive or storage devices are having this issue, relax and just follow to get your problem fixed right here now.
Computer Will Not Recognize Usb
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If you are having a similar issue on your hard drive, you may directly try the fixes below.
Are your hard drives, be it new or old, internal or external, not showing up in File Explorer or Disk Management? Follow to learn how to make your hard drive showing up again in Windows 10/8/7 without losing data.
Quick fix WD external hard drive not showing up/unrecognized/responding error
1. Click Start > Type: devmgmt.msc in the Search box and hit Enter.
2. Open Device Manager > Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers.
3. Right-click on the USB Root Hub > Select Properties.
4. Go to Power Management and uncheck Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.
2. Open Device Manager > Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers.
3. Right-click on the USB Root Hub > Select Properties.
4. Go to Power Management and uncheck Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.
After this, reboot PC and reconnect WD external hard drive to your PC, then you'll be able to use the drive again.
If this quick fix doesn't work, relax and just follow below-offered methods to repair not working WD external hard drive or devices now.
If this quick fix doesn't work, relax and just follow below-offered methods to repair not working WD external hard drive or devices now.
Why Is My Usb Hard Drive Not Recognized Connected
Fix WD external hard drive not recognized error
Here you have two methods to follow and fix WD external hard drive not recognized or undetectable error in Windows 10/8/7:
Method 1. Reboot PC into Safe Mode to make WD external hard drive recognizable
- Go to Setting > Update & security.
- Tab on Recovery > Advanced Startup > Restart now.
- PC will automatically boot into another Startup Settings screen.
- Press F4 to initiate PC reboot into Safe Mode.
- Then check whether the WD external hard disk can be detected or not.
Editor de videos online gratis hd. Method 2. Change drive letter to make unrecognized WD external hard drive detectable
The other way is to change the drive letter with Disk Management tool so to make unrecognized or undetectable WD external hard drive to show up in PC:
- Right-click on This PC/My Computer > Select Manage.
- Go Disk Management > Find your external hard drive and right click it by choosing Change Drive Letter and Path..
- Assign the drive with a new letter that doesn't exist in your PC and mark the Partition as Active.
- Click OK.
- Restart PC and your External hard drive will show up and work again.
Fix WD external hard drive not working/responding issue
When WD external hard drive, USB or other brands of storage devices are not working or not responding to any operations in your PC, don't worry. You can follow below-offered methods to get problems fixed right now:
Why Is My Usb Hard Drive Not Recognized
Method 1. Update WD external hard drive driver to make it work
1. Click on Start > Type: devmgmt.msc in Search to open Device Manager by hitting Enter.
2. Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers > Right-click every USB device found there and select Uninstall.
3. Then check out whether any devices show up as unrecognized or not:
2. Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers > Right-click every USB device found there and select Uninstall.
3. Then check out whether any devices show up as unrecognized or not:
- If WD external hard drive shows unrecognized, go to drivers tab and delete/uninstall the driver; Then check out whether the external hard drive shows up in My Computer/My PC or not.
- If it doesn't show up, reboot or restart PC;
- If it shows up but disappears later, repeat above steps and go to Disk Management, change the drive letter of your WD external hard drive and reconnect it to PC to let PC detect it again.
Method 2. Repair corrupted system files/bad sectors on not working WD external hard drive
Corrupted system files or bad sectors on WD external hard drive or other storage devices would block your device from working or responding in Windows PC.
Professional partition manager software from EaseUS will repair bad sectors and fix corrupted system files to make your WD external hard drive work again. Free download, install it and follow below guide steps to fix bad sectors and corrupted system files on your drive now:
Step 1: Open EaseUS Partition Master on your computer. Then locate the disk, right-click the partition you want to check, and choose 'Check File System'.
Step 2: In the Check File System window, keep the 'Try to fix errors if found' option selected and click 'Start'.
My Computer Is Not Recognizing Usb Devices
Step 3: The software will begin checking your partition file system on your disk. When it has completed, click 'Finish'.
Extra Tip: WD external hard drive recovery
After fixing not working external hard drive on your Windows PC, you may continue using it for storing fancy data again.
But if you lost files or valuable data on the drive, don't worry. Professional WD external hard drive recovery solution offered by EaseUS hard drive recovery software is what you exactly need. It will simply restore lost files from WD external hard drive within 3 simple steps on Windows 10/8/7 etc PC.
If you lost files after fixing WD external hard drive not working issue or cannot access saved data in your storage devices, just free download EaseUS hard drive recovery software and let it help now.
But if you lost files or valuable data on the drive, don't worry. Professional WD external hard drive recovery solution offered by EaseUS hard drive recovery software is what you exactly need. It will simply restore lost files from WD external hard drive within 3 simple steps on Windows 10/8/7 etc PC.
If you lost files after fixing WD external hard drive not working issue or cannot access saved data in your storage devices, just free download EaseUS hard drive recovery software and let it help now.