Fix An External Hard Drive That's Not Working/Responding/Showing Up

External hard drives are often used to back up important data from our Windows PCs, but if they suddenly stop working, it could be disastrous. Don't worry, though - we can help you get it working again and save those precious files.

Applies to: Fix external hard drive, USB drive, SD card, internal HDD/SSD, etc., not working or responding error on Windows PC.

Quick Guide - Fix External Hard Drive Not Working/Responding Error in 3 Parts:

External hard drive problems can be frustrating, but solutions can be applied to any brand, including WD Elements, Seagate, SanDisk, Toshiba, and others. Problems such as the drive not being recognized, not being detected, or not being able to read data can be fixed by checking the USB port, updating the drivers, running a disk check, and formatting the drive.

Causes of External Hard Drive Not Working/Responding

If your external hard drive suddenly stops working or cannot be recognized by your PC, there are several possible reasons for this issue, including physical damage, software glitches, or compatibility problems with your computer's operating system.

If your external hard drive is not working, you don't have to buy a new one and lose all your precious data. Instead, check the causes of the issue, which could be a faulty cable, a corrupted file system, or a hardware failure. This will help you identify the problem and potentially fix it without having to replace the entire drive.

• Problematic connection
• RAW, invalid or unsupported file system 
• Drive letter conflict or no drive letter
• No partition
• Not initialized
• Outdated disk driver
• USB Root Hub is outdated
• Disk is physically damaged
• ...

If the drive is not functioning, try to troubleshoot the issue by checking the power cord, cable connections, and ensuring the drive is properly seated. If the drive is still not working, you may need to use a data recovery tool or take it to a professional for assistance.

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If you are having a similar issue with your PC's hard drive, you can try the fixes below. 

Part 1. Make Non-Working External Hard Drive Detectable

To fix an external hard drive not detected due to a connection problem, try restarting your computer and the external hard drive, then reconnect them. If the issue persists, try using a different USB port or cable, or check the drive's power source if it's a self-powered drive.

If an external drive suddenly stops working or becomes undetectable to your PC, the first thing to check is the physical connection, ensuring it is properly plugged in and seated securely in the USB port.

#1. Check and Change External Hard Drive Connection Cable

If you're experiencing issues with your external hard drive not being detected by your computer, start by checking the connecting cable between your drive and PC. Ensure that the cable is securely plugged into both the drive and the computer's USB port, and that there are no visible signs of damage or wear on the cable.

• If the USB connector has become loose in the port, simply push it firmly back into place and see if that corrects the problem.
• If the cable is broken or damaged, replace it with a new one and try again. Even if it looks fine, it's worth swapping it out in case there's an issue inside.

#2. Change a USB Port or Connect to a New Computer

If the cable appears fine, then it could be the USB port on your PC that's faulty, which may need to be replaced.

Try plugging the drive into another computer to see if it works, and also try connecting it to a different computer to see if the issue is with the drive or the PC.

#3. Check Power Management for USB Hub

If the drive is not working, check the power management settings in Windows to see if they're causing the issue. To do this, go to Device Manager, find the drive, right-click it, and select "Properties." Then, click on the "Power Management" tab and make sure that the "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" checkbox is unchecked.

Step 1. In Run (Windows + R), type devmgmt.msc and hit Enter.

Step 2. Open Device Manager > expand "Universal Serial Bus controllers".

Step 3. To resolve the issue, right-click on the USB Root Hub in the Device Manager, select Properties, and then navigate to the Power Management tab. Uncheck the option that allows the computer to turn off the device to save power.

If your computer can detect and recognize your external hard drive after following the tips, you can try to open the drive and access the data.

If you're unable to recover your data, don't worry. Instead, move on to Part 2, where we'll guide you through the process of using hard disk data recovery software to restore your precious data.

Part 2. Recover Data Before Fixing a Non-Working Drive

After making the external hard drive detectable, it's essential to recover any data stored on it right away. This will not only ensure you have a copy of the files but also prevent the possibility of losing any data while trying to fix the problem. To salvage your files, you can follow the steps to recover them.

3 Steps to Recover Data from External Hard Drive

To recover data from a problematic drive, you'll need dedicated software like Deep Data Recovery, which is fast, reliable, and easy to use.

• Free Download
• Windows 11/10/8/7, 100% Secure

To restore data from an external hard drive, start by ensuring the drive is safely connected to your computer. Next, use a data recovery software, such as Deep Data Recovery or Disk Drill, to scan the drive for recoverable files.

Step 1. Connect your external hard drive to your computer using a correct USB cable. Then, run Deep Data Recovery, select the desired file types, and click "Next" to begin the recovery process.

Step 2. You can access your external disk from the External drives section, and it supports various brands like WD, Seagate, Toshiba, LaCie, SanDisk, and Samsung.

Select the external hard drive and then click the "Scan" button. 

Step 3. As soon as the scan process starts, the software will find and display more and more lost and deleted data in the scan results, with recovered data nicely organized to help you quickly find target files and folders by file type or searching with an exact file name.

Step 4. After scanning, you can preview the files found by Deep Data Recovery's algorithms, select the desired files, and click "Recover". To prevent data overwriting, it's recommended to save the recovered data to a different drive than the original Seagate drive.

Don't Save the recovered data on your external hard drive before fixing and making it work normally again.

Part 3. How to Fix "External Hard Drive Is Not Working/Responding" Error

To repair a non-working or undetectable drive, you can try booting from a live USB or CD, then using a tool like Disk Utility or Qiling Partition Master to scan and repair the drive. If the drive is not recognized, try using a different USB port or cable, and ensure the drive is properly connected.

To get a better idea of what needs fixing, open Disk Management in Windows and check the state of the drive.

• To resolve the "Disk Contains Corrupted File System" error on an external hard drive, check for disk errors by running a built-in tool like Check Disk (chkdsk) on Windows or Disk Utility on macOS. If errors are found, run the tool in repair mode to fix them. Additionally, try running the hard drive in a different USB port or using a different USB cable to rule out any hardware issues.
• To format an external hard drive to NTFS, you can use the built-in Disk Management tool in Windows. First, plug in the external hard drive and open Disk Management by searching for it in the Start menu. Right-click on the external hard drive and select "Format.
• To create a new partition in an external hard drive that displays as unallocated, you can follow these steps: First, connect the external hard drive to your computer. Then, open the Disk Management tool, which can be accessed by right-clicking on the Start button, selecting Disk Management, and clicking on it. In the Disk Management tool, you should see the external hard drive listed as an unallocated disk.
• To assign a new drive letter to an external disk that shows up as "New Volume" with no drive letter, you can follow these steps: right-click on the "New Volume" and select "Change Drive Letter and Paths" from the context menu, then click on "Add" and select a drive letter from the dropdown list, and finally click on "OK" to save the changes. This will assign the selected drive letter to the external disk.
• Initialize the external disk by creating a new partition table and file system, then create a new volume on it. This will make the disk recognizable and usable by your computer. To do this, you can use the built-in Disk Management tool in Windows or a third-party disk management software.
• #6. Update Disk Driver
• #7. Update Universal Bus Controllers 
• #8. Run Antivirus Software
• #9. Turn to External Hard Drive Manufacturer or Repair Center for Help

Methods 1-7 can fix most problems with non-working drives, but should that not be the case you can turn to methods 8 and 9 for help. Let's go through each method step by step.

Method 1. Check and Fix Disk Errors on External Hard Drive

To fix an external hard drive that's not working due to an unknown disk error or corrupted file system, you can try running a disk check and repair using built-in tools like Check Disk (chkdsk) on Windows or Disk Utility on Mac. If the issue persists, you may need to try a more advanced repair using a third-party software like DiskGenius or Disk Drill, which can scan and repair disk errors, recover deleted files, and even recover data from corrupted or damaged hard drives.

When a hard drive, internal or external, has an unknown error or a corrupted file system, Windows may not be able to detect or access it, resulting in the drive not being recognized or opened.

Here are two options you can try to fix these problems.

Option 1. Run Partition Manager Freeware to Fix External Hard Drive Not Responding Error

Download and install Qiling Partition Master Free on your PC.

Step 1. Right-click the target partition that has a problem. 

Step 2. Choose "Advanced" > "Check File System". 

Step 3. In the Check File System window, select the "Fix the error on the disk" option to resolve the issue.

Step 4. Click "Proceed" to check errors on your partition.

Option 2. Run CMD to Manually Fix External Hard Drive Errors

Step 1. To open Command Prompt, type cmd in the Search box, right-click on the result, and select "Open as administrator" or simply click on it to open a regular Command Prompt window.

Step 2. Right-click "Command Prompt" and choose "Run as administrator".

Step 3. To begin the checking process for drive G:, type `chkdsk /f /r /x g:` and press Enter. This command will run a thorough check on the drive, fixing any errors it finds, scanning for bad sectors, and performing an offline scan.

To find your external hard drive, open File Explorer and look for the drive letter "g" (replace with your actual external hard drive letter) in the left panel. Click on it to open the drive, and you should see your files and folders listed in the main panel.

Step 4. When the task is complete, type "exit" and press Enter to finalize the process.

Your disk should now be detectable to Windows. If it still doesn't work, there's another option you can try.

Option 3. Run CMD Alternative to Fix External Disk File System Error

The command line is a powerful tool for fixing problems on Windows, but it can also cause severe problems if used incorrectly. We recommend using Qiling Clean Genius instead, which is a safer and more effective solution for cleaning your computer.

Repairing file system or disk errors can be done in a practical and safe way using a reliable method. This approach ensures that any issues are resolved without causing further problems or data loss.

• Free Download
• Windows 11/10/8/7, 100% Secure

Download Qiling CleanGenius and install it on your computer to start checking and refixing file system errors on your device.

Step 1. Click "File Showing" to enter the next step.

Step 2. To fix a problematic device, choose the target device and select the box that says "Check and fix file system error". Then, click "Execute" to initiate the repair process.

Step 3. After the fixing process is complete, click "here" to access and start using your device.

Method 2. Formatting an External Hard Drive to NTFS to Repair the Fault

To resolve the issue of an external hard drive not working, detected, or responding due to a RAW or unsupported file system, you can try formatting the drive. This will erase all data on the drive, so make sure to back up any important files before proceeding.

If your external hard drive appears as RAW or with an unsupported file system in the Disk Management app in Windows, the best solution is to reformat the drive.

Here's how to reformat a drive that's showing as RAW or with an Unsupported File System:

Step 1. In Run (Windows + R), type diskmgmt.msc and hit Enter.

Step 2.To format an external hard drive, go to Disk Management, right-click the external hard drive, and select "Format".

Step 3. To format a USB drive, select a file system such as NTFS or exFAT and check the box for "Quick format". Then, click "OK" to begin the formatting process.

Once you've replaced the drive's internal components, you can safely use your external drive again. This includes formatting the drive and transferring your files back to it.

Method 3. Create A New Partition in External Hard Drive

To fix the issue where the external hard drive shows as unallocated in Disk Management, you can try running the built-in Check Disk utility, Chkdsk, with the /F and /R options to scan and fix any disk errors. If the issue persists, you can try reformatting the external hard drive using the built-in Disk Management tool, or using a third-party disk management software.

When your external hard disk shows as unallocated, it typically means that there is no partition on the disk, and the computer can't recognize it. To resolve this issue, you should first recover any data from the disk, as shown in Part 2, before attempting to fix the problem.

Then, you can follow the steps below to create a new partition, making the external hard drive working again:

Step 1.Connect the unallocated external hard drive to your PC and open Disk Management to initialize and format it, making it ready for use.

Step 2.To create a new partition on an external hard drive, right-click on the unallocated space and select "New Simple Volume" from the context menu.

Step 3. Set partition size, drive letter and file system (NTFS), etc.

Step 4. Click "Finish" to complete the process.

Method 4. Assign a New Drive Letter to External Disk 

The issue occurs when the external hard drive is not recognized by the computer, showing up as a "New Volume" with no drive letter assigned. This can be caused by a faulty disk or a disk that is not properly formatted.

Step 1. To access your external hard drive, go to Disk Management and right-click on it. I removed the unnecessary word "your" to make it concise.

Step 2. Go and select a new drive letter by clicking "Change", and click "OK" to confirm.

The non-responding drive should now be readable by Windows.

Method 5. Initialize External Disk and Create a New Volume

To resolve the issue where an external hard disk is not working or being detected due to the error "Disk Is Unknown, Not Initialized," one can try the following steps. First, ensure the external hard drive is properly connected to the computer and powered on.

Step 1. Right-click "My Computer" > "Manage" to run Disk Management.

Step 2. Right-click the unknown external hard drive and select "Initialize Disk" from the context menu.

Step 3. Select the disk(s) to initialize and choose MBR or GPT partition style, then click "OK" to confirm.

Now that the drive is erased, it should be recognized as 'unallocated'. If you need to recover data, go back to Part 1 and use Qiling data recovery software to retrieve your files.

• Free Download
• Windows 11/10/8/7, 100% Secure

Step 4. To create a new volume on your external hard drive, right-click on the unallocated space and select the option to create a new volume. This will allow you to format the space and use it for storing files.

Method 6. Update Disk Driver

Applies to: Get non- To get your external hard drive to show up and work, you can try updating the disk drivers. This can be done by going to the Device Manager, finding the disk driver, right-clicking on it, and selecting "Update Driver".

Step 1. Right-click "This PC" and choose "Manage".

Step 2. Click "Device Manager" then expand "Disk drives".

Step 3. Right-click the external drive and select "Update driver" from the context menu. This will initiate the process of updating the drive's drivers to the latest version, potentially resolving the issue.

Step 4. Click "automatically search for driver software online".

Method 7. Uninstall Universal Bus Controllers

To fix the issue of an external hard drive not working, updating the Universal Serial Bus (USB) controllers driver may be a helpful solution. This involves checking and updating the driver for the USB controller, which is responsible for managing data transfer between the external hard drive and the computer.

Step 1. Open "Device Manager", find and expand Universal Serial Bus controllers

Step 2. Right-click on the USB controllers of your external drive and select "Uninstall device".

Step 3. To resolve the issue, you can try uninstalling each USB controller one by one, and then restarting the computer. This process can be done by following these steps: uninstall the first USB controller, restart the computer, uninstall the second USB controller, restart the computer, and so on, until all USB controllers have been uninstalled and the computer has been restarted. This should resolve the issue of the USB ports not working properly.

When you reboot your PC, Microsoft will automatically reinstall the USB controllers software, which should resolve the issue with your external hard drive not working.

Method 8. Run Antivirus Software

To fix a virus or malware causing your external hard drive not to work, first, disconnect the drive from your computer. Then, boot your computer in safe mode and run a virus scan using an anti-virus software.

If you've tried troubleshooting steps without success, consider using antivirus software to scan your system for viruses or malware that might be causing your drive to malfunction.

Step 1. Install and run antivirus software on your computer.

Step 2. Scan and unlock the external hard drive.

Step 3. Wait for the cleaning process to complete, then, restart the PC.

After this, reconnect your external hard drive to the computer and check if you can use it again.

Method 9. Turn to External Hard Drive Manufacturer or Repair Center for Help

If all else fails, the last option is to contact either the manufacturer of the hard drive or a local disk repair center for help, as they may be able to assist with damaged physical disks or outdated firmware.

If you're only interested in saving the data on the drive, then either may be able to assist you, plus you can contact Qiling Data Recovery service to talk to one of our technicians.

To Sum Up

The causes of external hard drives not working, not responding, or not detecting errors can be attributed to various reasons. To address this issue, we have broken down the troubleshooting process into three parts, making it easier for you to identify and resolve the problem. The causes include faulty hardware, software issues, and human errors, which can be resolved by checking the power cord, updating drivers, and running disk checks, among other things.

To resolve issues with external hard drives, the first step is to make them detectable by the computer, which can be achieved by checking the drive's connection, restarting the computer, and ensuring the drive is formatted in a compatible file system. If the drive is still not detected, the next step is to recover data from the external hard drive, which can be done using data recovery software or by physically removing the drive and connecting it to another computer. If the external hard drive is not working at all, solutions include running a diagnostic test, checking for physical damage, and attempting to recover data before considering a replacement or repair.

The methods provided in this article can also be applied to repair and fix various types of storage devices, including SD cards, memory cards, USB drives, flash drives, and hard drive partitions, which are experiencing similar problems.

It's recommended that you regularly create extra backups of your files to another secure location, such as using cloud storage services, and if disaster strikes, consider Deep Data Recovery for assistance.

• Free Download
• Windows 11/10/8/7, 100% Secure

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