When initializing or re-installing a storage medium, difficulties often occur. Your external hard drive is not showing up in Disk Management on Windows 10? Unfortunately, this is a well-known error with the operating system. On Windows 7, this problem already existed. A solution from Microsoft is therefore not to be expected for the time being, and even an upgrade to the latest version does not really help.
But! The individual repair steps can be performed quickly and without much prior knowledge. If an external hard drive is not showing up for Windows 10, this error is most likely related to the partition the medium is connected to. How you can best proceed in this regard is explained below.
Why is my External Hard Drive Not Showing Up in Disk Management on Windows 10?
First of all, there might be connection problems, which is why you should check all contacts carefully. Next, you take a closer look at the driver – are there any important updates? The manufacturer often includes essential software that you need in order to use your hardware. It can also be worthwhile to connect external drives to an alternative device. This way, you can see if the storage medium itself still works.
Your external hard drive is still not showing up in Disk Management, although you have already performed the above steps? Then the problem is probably that your operating system is not initializing the hard disk. We will now show you how to fix this error and assign a partition to the medium:
How can I Initialize a Hard Disk in Windows 10?
- Switch to Disk Management. For example, you can use the Windows search function (Windows logo key + S) to search for Compmgmt.msc and select Data Storage. Or you can right-click on the Start menu (Windows logo key + X) and go directly to Disk Management.
- Now you should see a list of all connected devices, including the external hard drive that is not showing up in Disk Management on Windows 10. Select it with a right mouse click and choose Change drive letters and paths. With the selection, the disk should initialize rigth away.
- Confirm possible queries and assign a letter to the disk. If all common characters are already assigned, you can also add new ones at this point. After clicking Next, you still have several options regarding the formatting, where you can use the default settings.
- Congratulations, your external hard drive should now be displayed correctly and appear in Windows Explorer. In Disk Management, you will now see a blue bar instead of an inactive black display.
External Hard Drive is Not Displayed – Soft Reset as a Last Resort
According to the classic support motto “Try a reboot in case of complications”, which helps with various difficulties, you open up the Device Manager. You can find it via Windows logo key + X, for example. There, you click on the Drives tab and right-click on the external hard drive that is not showing up in Disk Management.
Here you select Uninstall Device. Windows 10 will then remove the storage medium. To complete this process, disconnect the drive from your computer and restart the machine. Finally, you just have to reconnect the external hard drive to your PC and initialize it as described above.
We hope that we could help you with our guide if your external hard drive is not showing up in Disk Management on Windows 10. You can also have a look at our other installation guides if you are experiencing problems with Windows or Microsoft Office. In addition, it is always a good idea to clean up storage media regularly.
