Beginners' Complete Seagate External Hard Drive Repair 2024

Master Seagate external hard drive repairs with this beginner-friendly guide. Comprehensive, step-by-step instructions to troubleshoot and complete your Seagate external hard drive repair.

There's no doubt that the Seagate external hard drive is recognized for its reliability, capacious storage, and user-friendly design. Additionally, it's no wonder that it's a top choice among users. However, there can be several cases where you might face issues while using it.

So, if you are one of them, this article from EaseUS is your proven lifeline. Here are some of the important factors you need to take a look at before jumping into the article.  

Seagate external hard drives and USB storage devices can malfunction due to various factors. Find the issue and check the guides below to follow a step-by-step tutorial to identify and perform Seagate external hard drive repair, ensuring successful device restoration.

Guide 1: Fix Seagate External Hard Drive Not Working No Light

Several factors might cause your Seagate external hard drive not to light up, suggesting that it is not functioning properly. Here are some of the most common ones that you can fix easily:

• Power supply issues
• Faulty USB ports
• Damaged USB
• Disk Failure

Now that you know about some potential causes, check out the below-given solutions that will truly help in Seagate external hard-drive repair.

1. Reconnect the Seagate external hard drive to the PC. A loose connection to the hard disk may be the cause of the no-light issue.

2. Change the USB Port. To rule out a malfunctioning USB port as the culprit, try inserting the hard drive into a different USB port on your computer.

3. Examine and replace the USB connection cord. Check the USB cable for wear or damage. If necessary, swap it out for a fresh and functional cable.

4. Connect to a different or new PC. To discover if the issue is a drive- or PC-related problem, test the hard disk on a different computer to see whether the problem continues.

5. Check if the disk shows up in Disk Management. If the hard disk isn't detected, check Disk Management on your computer's Windows operating system. If you haven't already, think about giving it a drive letter and see if it shows up in Disk Management.

Guide 2: Fix Seagate Hard Drive Light On But Not Detected

If your Seagate Drive's light is on, but you are still not able to use it, here are some potential causes of your issue.

• USB Root Hub Disabled
• Hidden Devices/Partition
• Outdated Seagate External Hard Drive Driver
• Virus Infection

As a first step in Seagate external hard drive repair, you may run a virus scan on your Windows machine. However, if your device is virus-free, you can use the following methods to address the other current problems.

Method 1. Check USB Root Hub

If your PC doesn't have the USB Root Hub enabled, the Seagate external hard drive may light up but not function properly. Here's the solution:

Step 1. Launch "Device Manager."

Step 2. Expand USB controllers, choose USB Root Hub, and click "Properties."

Step 3. Go to the Power Management tab and unselect  "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power."

Step 4. Repeat for every USB root hub.

Method 2. Show Hidden Devices/Partition

Showing hidden devices or partitions is vital to uncovering potential issues affecting hard drive detection. EaseUS Partition Master, with its free "Unhide Partition" feature, is truly a savior and is highly recommended to show hidden devices and partitions, streamlining the process for efficient resolution in just a few clicks.

All you need to do is download the tool and follow the steps given below:

Option 1 - Hide Partition

• Right-click the partition, and choose "Advanced". Select "Hide" from the drop-down menu.
• Then you will see a window showing the notification. Read the instructions and click "Yes" to continue.
• Click the "Execute 1 Task(s)" button in the top-left corner. Then, click "Apply" to hide your partition.

Option 2 - Unhide Partition

• Right-click the partition you want to view and access. choose "Advanced" and select "Unhide" from the drop-down menu.
• Read the instructions and click "Yes" to continue.
• Click the "Execute 1 Task(s)" button in the top-left corner. Check the pending operations, then click "Apply" to unhide the partition on Windows 11/10/8/7.

Method 3. Update Seagate External Hard Drive Driver

Are you sure that your Seagate external hard drive driver is up-to-date? If not, you can follow the steps given below:

Step 1. In Device Manager, choose your hard drive driver.

Step 2. Select "Update driver" and choose the latest driver.

Step 3. Reboot to check if the issue remains.

Share this article with your friends who also have similar trouble with the Seagate external hard drive.

Guide 3: Fix Seagate External Hard Drive Not Working on TV

If you find your Seagate external hard drive not working on your TV, check below to find out the causes of your problem.

• Incorrect USB port selection
• USB hub or adapter compatibility issues
• Improper hard drive ejection
• Unsupported file format on the TV
• Incompatibility with the GPT partition format
• Outdated Android TV OS

These methods will help you with Seagate external hard drive repair.

Method 1. Check the USB Port, USB Adapter, and Reconnect the Seagate External Hard Drive to the PC

To fix a Seagate external hard drive not working on your Android TV, follow the steps below:

Step 1. Select the correct USB port.

Step 2. Disconnect any hubs or adapters.

Step 3. Connect the hard drive directly and follow the proper ejection process.

Method 2. Format Seagate External Hard Drive to FAT32 for TV

If you want to use a Seagate external hard drive with your TV, make sure that your hard drive is in FAT32 format. If it's not, follow the steps below: 

Step 1. Select your drive in File Explorer.

Step 2. Right-click on your drive and choose the "Format" option.

Step 3. Choose FAT32 in the "File System" option and format your drive.

Method 3. Create Partition in Seagate Hard Drive for TV

Your Seagate external hard drive's default partition format might occasionally not work with your TV. The problem may be solved by making a special partition in a compatible format. Don't worry; EaseUS Partition Master has got your back.

Follow the steps given below and utilize the create partition feature to create a FAT32 volume to make the Seagate disk work on TV normally.

Step 1. Launch EaseUS Partition Master to check for free space at the Partition Manager section.

• If your hard drive has unallocated space, jump to Step 3 to create partition.
• If the hard drive has no unallocated space, continue with Step 2.

Step 2. Shrink a disk partition to create unallocated space.

Right-click on the target drive partition with a lot free space and select "Resize/Move".

Drag either end of the partition rightwards or leftwards to shrink the partition size so as to get ample unallocated space. You can visually know how much space you've decreased in the "Size of partition" area. Click "OK".

Click "Execute xx Task" and then "Apply" to save all the changes.

Go back to Partition Manager, there should be unallocated space appearing on the same disk and you can continue with the next step to create new partition on your hard drive.

Step 3. Create a new partition with unallocated space on the target hard drive.

 Right-click on the unallocated space and choose "Create".

Customize the partition size, partition drive letter, partition label, file system (NTFS, FAT32, EXT2/3/4, exFAT) and more in the Advanced Settings. Click "OK".

Finally, click "Execute * Task" and "Apply" to complete creating partition with the unallocated space on your disk. Repeat the steps to partition a hard drive and get many more partitions.

Guide 4: Fix Seagate External Hard Drive RAW, Inaccessible, or Access Denied

If you're experiencing issues with your Seagate external hard drive being in a RAW state, inaccessible, or showing "Access Denied," follow this guide for effective solutions to get your drive back on track. But before that, have a look at the causes of this issue.

• Disk corruption
• Permission settings
• File system errors

Here are some effective methods to get your Seagate external hard drive repaired.

Method 1. Reconnect Seagate External hard Drive

Before everything else, plug out the Seagate external hard drive from your device and reconnect it. This simple step might work out for you.

Method 2. Take Ownership to Access Seagate External Disk

Use the "takeown" command in Windows Command Prompt to take ownership of an external hard drive, resolve access denied to a specific folder, and get access to your drive back.

Follow these steps:

Step 1. Open "File Explorer" and select "Properties."

Step 2. Navigate to "Security", select "Advanced," and change the owner's name.

Step 3. Now verify user account names and replace the owner on sub-containers and objects.

Step 4. Apply and confirm.

Method 3. Check File System Error on Seagate External HDD

EaseUS Partition Master offers a "Check File System" feature to diagnose and repair file system errors on your Seagate external hard drive. Just download and install the tool to check the error.

If your drive has the "File System Error" issue, then follow the instructions below:

Step 1. Open EaseUS Partition Master on your computer. Then, locate the disk, right-click the partition you want to check, and choose "Advanced" > "Check File System".

Step 2. In the Check File System window, keep the "Try to fix errors if found" option selected and click "Start".

Step 3. The software will begin checking your partition file system on your disk. When it completes, click "Finish".

Method 4. Format External Disk

You can format your Seagate external hard drive to solve this problem. But make sure that you have taken backups of your data, and then proceed further.

Step 1. Input diskmgmt.msc in the "Run" dialog box and hit "Enter".

Step 2. Right-click on the drive, select "Format," and confirm the format.

This should help make your drive accessible on your device. However, you'd lose all the stored data.

Guide 5. Get Rid Of Seagate External Hard Drive Read-only or Write-protected Issue

Facing a Seagate external hard drive that's stuck in read-only mode? These are some causes that you should read about.

• File Errors
• Write Protection
• Virus or malware
• Attribute Changes
• Disk Errors

Here's what you can do to fix it:

Method 1. Take Full Control of Seagate Disk via Property Security Tool

Ensure that you have full control permissions on your Seagate disk to access it uninterruptedly. Here's how you can get control over your Seagate disk:

Step 1. Right-click on your Seagate drive and go to "Properties".

Step 2. Find to the Security tab and click on "Advanced".

Step 3. Change the owner to your current user account.

Method 2. Remove Write Protection from Seagate

If the disk is write-protected, you can use the EaseUS Partition Master's "Remove Write Protection" feature by downloading and installing the software.

Just connect your Seagate external hard drive, open the software, and remove the write protection in just a few clicks by following the steps below:

Step 1. Download and install EaseUS Partition Master, go to the Toolkit section, and click "Write Protection".

Step 2. Select your write protected USB, USB external disk or SD card, and click "Disable".

Method 3. Clear Read-Only State via CMD

You can also use CMD to clear the Read-only state.

Step 1. Open Command Prompt, type diskpart, and press "Enter".

Step 2. Enter the commands:

• list disk
• Select disk X (replace X with your Seagate drive number.)
• attributes disk clear readonly to clear the read-only state

Check if the issue has been resolved.

Guide 6. Seagate External Hard Drive Not Showing Full Capacity

There's a high chance that you are facing this issue because of the following reasons:

• Outdated hard drive
• Incomplete or incorrect formatting
• Wrong partition table
• Cloning a smaller drive to a larger one

Below are the methods you must try to get a Seagate external hard drive repaired.

Method 1. Update Disk Driver

If your Seagate disk driver is not up-to-date, it can cause the problem of the Seagate external hard drive showing the wrong capacity instead of full capacity. So, follow the steps given below to update your disk drivers:

Step 1. Open Device Manager and expand "Disk drives."

Step 2. Right-click on the problematic drive and choose "Update driver."

Method 2. Format Seagate External Disk

To format your hard drive and give it a fresh start, follow the steps given below:

Step 1. Press "Win + R", type cmd and run it as administrator.

Step 2. Type diskpart and enter these commands:

• list disk
• select disk n (target drive number)
• clean
• create partition primary
• format fs=ntfs quick (or exfat)
• assign

Method 3. Convert 3TB or Larger Seagate Disk to GPT

The Seagate external drive, initialized with the wrong partition table (MBR), causes Windows not to recognize the space beyond 3TB, requiring conversion to GPT. You can use the incredible tool EaseUS Partition Master's "Convert to GPT" feature and also avoid volume and data loss issues.

Just follow the steps below:

Step 1. Download and launch EaseUS Partition Master on your computer.

Step 2. Go to Disk Converter, select "Convert MBR to GPT," and click "Next" to continue.

Step 3. Select the target MBR disk that you tend to convert to GPT, and click "Convert" to start the conversion.

Guide 7. Resolve Seagate External Hard Drive Slow

Are you encountering Seagate external hard drive slow issues? Right below are the possible reasons why this issue is arising.

• Fragmentation on the drive.
• Presence of bad sectors.
• Faulty cables or outdated drivers.
• Lack of free space on the drive.

You can follow the methods given below for Seagate external hard drive repair.

Method 1. Connect via USB 3.0 Port and Change Connection Cable

To improve Seagate external hard drive transfer speeds, ensure a reliable USB 3.0 port and a new cable, replace if necessary, and plug the drive into the USB 3.0 port.

Method 2. Format Seagate External Hard Drive to NTFS for Transfer of 4GB or Larger Data

Seagate external hard drives reformatted to the NTFS file system can improve transfer speeds by optimizing data storage and retrieval and addressing file system issues and software-related factors. EaseUS Partition Master offers a fast and secure formatting feature for external hard drives, allowing users to format the drive to various file formats, thereby addressing slow drive speeds.

Just follow the instructions below:

Step 1. Run EaseUS Partition Master, right-click the partition on your target external hard drive, and choose the "Format" option.

Step 2. Assign a new partition label, file system (NTFS/FAT32/EXT2/EXT3/EXT4/exFAT), and cluster size to the selected partition, then click "OK".

Step 3. Click "Yes" to confirm.

Step 4. Click "Execute 1 Task(s)" in the top-left corner and then click "Apply" to start formatting your external hard drive.

Method 3. Update Seagate External Hard Drive Driver

To update your Seagate external hard drive driver to the latest version, follow the detailed steps here:

Step 1. Go to "Device Manager" and expand the disk drivers.

Step 2. Locate your drive and follow the on-screen instructions to update your driver.

Step 3. Restart your device.

Don't forget to share this article on your social media to help more users.

Guide 8. Repair Seagate External Hard Drive Not Showing Up

This guide aims to address common reasons for Seagate external hard drives not appearing on your PC and provides effective solutions to restore its recognition and accessibility. Listed below are the causes for which you are facing this issue.

• Problematic connection
• Hard drive damage
• Drive letter conflict
• Outdated hard drive driver
• Unallocated or not-initialized hard drive
• Unsupported or corrupted file system

The causes for Seagate disks not appearing on a PC can vary, and most of the solutions have been covered below.

1. Reconnect the Seagate external hard drive: Ensure the connection is secure.

2. Change the USB port or USB connection cable and try it on a different PC: Test different USB configurations.

3. Check if the disk shows up in disk management: Verify disk visibility in Windows Disk Management.

4. Reinstall USB Controller Drivers: Update or reinstall USB controller drivers.

5. Change the Drive Letter: Modify the drive letter assignment.

6. Format the Disk: Erase and reformat the Seagate disk.

7. Create a New Partition: Initialize a new partition on the drive.

8. Clean Up Virus or Malware: Perform a virus and malware scan for system health.

Hopefully, this quick guide has resolved your issue. However, for detailed instructions on resolving the Seagate external hard drive not showing up, refer to this guide.

Conclusion

Despite having a fantastic reputation, Seagate's external hard drives sometimes encounter problems. However, you may confidently address and cure these problems with the aid of this thorough Seagate external hard drive Repair Guide, ensuring the smooth running of your priceless storage devices.

These detailed instructions could potentially help you get your Seagate device back to fully operational, regardless of the issue- whether it's an unresponsive drive, a RAW format, or a slow hard drive issue. You can employ these repair procedures to guarantee easy data access and peace of mind.

FAQs About Repairing External Hard Disk

Do you have more questions? These FAQs will surely help you solve them.

1. Is there a Seagate hard disk repair tool?

Yes, Seagate provides a free diagnostic tool called "SeaTools" to check and repair Seagate hard drives for various issues.

2. What do I do when my Seagate external hard drive?

Try reconnecting it, changing USB ports or cables, checking in Disk Management, updating drivers, and ensuring proper power supply.

3. Can you restore data from corrupted Seagate external hard drive?

Yes, you can recover data from a corrupted Seagate external hard drive using data recovery software like EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, provided the drive is still readable by the computer.