We expect our equipment to be reliable all the time. When they aren’t, the consequences can be distressing. Data kept on an external hard drive is a backup and can be restored from secondary storage space. If the data on your hard drive is kept on this hard disk, a drive crash could permanently cause you to lose your files.

Sometimes, you may come across external hard drives not showing up, and you may try and fail to recover data from your hard drive. Your options for restoring it may be limited.  If the external hard drive recovery fails, follow these steps.

Make Sure It Is Plugged In and Powered On

The drive may not get the power it needs just because you inserted it into your computer. Some larger drives aren’t meant to be portable and may need wall power to spin up, even though others can’t get enough power from your computer’s USB port. 

Try connecting the AC power adapter that came with your drive and hitting the power button, if there is one, if you haven’t already. Ensure both USB plugs are inserted into your computer if it comes with two. After your driver receives the necessary change, it will look normal.

Restart Your Computer

Have you attempted to switch it on and off once more?  Even if it sounds cliché, restarting your computer can be beneficial. The drive may not appear if the CPU is experiencing a lot of stress or an unidentified glitch occurs. 

Still, if your external hard drive is not showing up, resetting the system may allow the computer to detect the drive again. Restart the computer after unplugging the drive. Don’t plug it back in immediately, and wait for the system to boot up before attempting to use the drive again.

Try Another Cable or PC

Unplug the drive and try an alternative port if you notice the hard drive not showing up. It can simply be picky about your particular dive. Try a USB 2.0 port if it is connect to a USB 3.0 port.  Try plugging it straight into the PC if it’s connected to a USB hub.  Try the drive again with a different hookup in case of a problem with the USB cord.

Try it on another computer as well. You may need to copy the data to a disk designed for cross-compatibility since the drive may not be formatted for the computer you are attempting to use. The possibility that the port is failing is a more significant problem.  If the disk functions in a different port or on a different machine, you might need to put more effort into fixing the USB port.

Format and Create a New Partition on the Drive

The computer may not recognize an external hard drive if it is brand-new and unused or if you are connecting it for the first time. This is because the drive may not have any partitions established. The Windows disk management tool might identify the drive.

If your external drive appears unpartitioned or unallocated in the disk management tool window, you can format it using the appropriate file system. This will make it visible the next time you connect it to your computer.

Reinstall or Update the Drive

Even if you have verified a good connection, your computer may occasionally malfunction or refuse to detect an external storage device.  In this instance, the device driver is probably the source of the issue.  The manufacturer of the hard drive provides a piece of software called a driver that enables your computer to know how to connect to the device. You must manually install or update the driver if it is corrupted or installed incorrectly.

Reinstalling the device driver after uninstalling it:

  • Click the top of the list after opening the start menu search and entering Device Manager.
  • Expand the branch market disk drives.
  • Find your hard disk in the list, then select Uninstall with a right-click.

After unplugging your computer’s detachable disk drive, restart it. After your computer has rebooted, re-plug the hard drive. After completing the above-mentioned procedures, your computer will recognize and set up your drive independently. You should carefully follow the guidelines below, which should only be use as a last option.  If you don’t, you risk damaging your external hard drive and having an unstable or unusable system.

Final Thoughts

You can use a professional data recovery service if you find it hard to recover it yourself. The Recovery Squad is the best option to recover your data safely. We are Australia’s top external hard drive data recovery service provider because we employ the most experienced and trained data recovery experts in the business. Our engineers have a thorough grasp of data storage and access, and they can use this knowledge to recover data that other firms cannot retrieve. Contact us to get the best data recovery service!