There are many reasons for a USB external hard drive not showing up in Windows 11, though it was normally detected and recognized in Windows 10. You can identify the problem and try easy fixes here to repair Windows 11 not recognizing USB hard drives, external HDDs, SSDs, flash drives or SD cards without losing data.
How frustrating is it when you plug in a drive only to find that the external USB hard drive not showing up in Windows 11? You can imagine how irritated we get, prizing away at nothing while waiting for that pesky error to go away. If you've confirmed a connection but cannot seem to be able to find or fix driver issues - don't worry! There are many solutions available online with just one click of a button on the Google search engine's webpage interface (which saves time). Let's dive in to get more information.
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| Workable Solutions | Step-by-step Troubleshooting |
|---|---|
| Fix not showing in File Explorer | Fix 1. Try other available USB ports...Full steps |
| Fix not showing in Disk Management | Fix 7. Update drivers for USB Root Hub and Generic USB Hub controller...Full steps Fix 8. Reinstall drivers for the not recognized USB drivers...Full steps |
| Fix files & folders not showing up | Fix 9. Show hidden files and folders...Full steps |
| Fix Raw drive not showing up | Fix 10. Convert Raw to NTFS/FAT32/exFAT...Full steps |
Many users have reported that Windows 11 does not recognize USB devices, particularly storage systems such as an external hard drive. This isn't the only issue that users have reported and many claims that their USB external hard drive missing after Windows 11 update. Also, in the scenario where the users upgraded to Windows 11 from the previous OS version, i.e., Windows 10. Hence, whether you upgraded to Windows 11 or updated your copy of Windows 11, chances are you have run into the issue of a non-detectable USB external hard drive under Windows 11.
In such a case, users are advised to ensure the external drive is properly configured and check for physical damage. It is also possible that a new external hard drive will not appear for some other reasons.
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There can possibly be more than one reason why your Windows 11 system does not detect your external USB storage drive. These may include the following issues or reasons:
[Fixed] External Hard Drive Not Showing Up in Disk Management on Windows 10/11
External hard drive isn't being detected by the computer and isn't showing up in disk management? Don't worry, this post will walk through all possible reasons and tell you effective solutions to fix the issue without lag.
The following are the best ways that will surely help you fix USB external hard drive not showing in Windows 11 File Explorer:
You should check whether or not your drive is turned on. Using an external USB hard drive can have a blinking light to indicate that it's powered on and working when you plug it into a USB port. You may also have heard a fan spinning, which shows that the hard disc is powered up.
If none of these conditions and signs are available, then try changing between the available USB ports. Next, get a new USB cord and try plugging in with it. If the hard disc still won't turn on, it's probably damaged physically or has developed a fault.
Lucky for you Windows 11 provides a nifty tool to fix external hard drives and flash drives known as the Hardware and Device Troubleshooter.
To access and run the troubleshooter, execute the following steps:
You need to open Disk Management and then go to the Change Drive Letter and Paths. After this, press OK to finish the setup.
Within the disk management, you will also get the option of formatting the external USB drive. Follow the process through the given image and the article on how to format an external USB hard drive to process it.
However, formatting the device will delete your data. When it is necessary to get back your data, you can use EaseUS Todo Backup Free to back up the hard drive for free.
There are two methods to fix USB external hard drive not showing in windows 11 disk management:
You can fix it by updating the USB Root Hub and Generic USB Hub controller. Go to Device Manager and update Drivers. See the image above.
You can fix it by reinstalling drivers for the not recognized USB drivers. Go to Device Manager, and the same method will be applicable to reinstall drivers.
However, some other most important and simple troubleshooting tips exist to help you Recognize an External USB Drive.
Try to show hidden files, folders and drive in Windows 11 file explorer options. See the image to know how to show hidden files.
A raw USB hard drive won't show up normally until you formatted the Raw file system with a recognized NTFS, FAT32 or exFAT file format. The formatting procedure is the same as the Fix 6 presented.
You can also fix the problem by fixing a RAW USB hard drive that is not detected in Windows 11. You can use it by updating the USB driver. See the image above to fix it.
So, now you know the methods for Windows 11 to detect your external USB storage. In this blog post, for your convenience, we've attempted to provide the most useful and effective techniques and steps for you to enable your USB external hard drive under Windows 11. You can also use third-party software like EaseUS Todo Backup in such scenarios. This software is simple to use and may be used by virtually anyone. We recommend that you try it at least once to realize its power and utility. All in all, backup is the 100% guaranteed way to protect data on a not recognizing the external hard drive.
To get Windows 11 to read your external hard drive, you'll need to connect it to your computer using a USB cable. Once it's connected, you can access it by going to My Computer or This PC and double-clicking on the drive. If you're having trouble getting Windows 11 to read your external hard drive, you can try using a different USB cable or connecting it to a different USB port on your computer. You can also try reformatting the drive using Windows 11's built-in Disk Management tool.
There are a few possible reasons why your USB external hard drive is not showing up.
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