Do i have a bad HDD, or is it an "install" issue?

[m3dicat3d]

Just purchased a WD Blue 1Tb HDD for a simple transfer of files to store temporarily. Really I only need the thing to stay alive for a few days while I decide on whether an m.2 upgrade would be worth it to me (separate post). Anyhow, I'm on Windows 10 atm, and I cannot find the device in Explorer, under Disk Management, or Device Manager. I also checked the power and SATA cables, but they are fine.

I do however, see the drive in BIOS. Just not anywhere else.

I'm thinking I may have a bad drive, or I may need to perform a voodoo ritual to get it recognized and working. Not sure why I'd see it in BIOS but no where else.

Does this sound familiar to anyone, and if so, are there any suggestions I might try (already tried tech support, told me to return it, but figured I'd check a little bit more before giving up on it).

In case it's useful, my specs are as follows:

i7 7700k
Win 10 64 Pro
MSI Z270 m7 mobo
Cryorig R1 Ultimate cooler
16 Gb Corsair Vengence LPX DDR4 3000
EVGA GTX 1080 SC
Corsair RM 850x Gold PSU
CM Trooper full tower case

Thanks in advance!

 

[rchris]

You need to "initialize" a new drive; then format it. Usually, when going to Disk Management, I'll get the message to initialize it (which just requires a check in the pop up that comes up).
Maybe check in BIOS that the SATA port is enabled.

 

[Dugimodo]

Try a different SATA port. Is your existing hard drive an M.2 drive? if so it may share pci-e lanes with some of the sata ports and prevent you from using them at the same time, check the manual. Otherwise unless you have an external dock or enclosure there's not much left you can try, possibly a linux live disk or flash drive just to confirm it's not a weird windows error.

 

[thx1138v2]

I don't think Explorer will show it if it hasn't been formatted. Remember, "drive" letters are actually logical drive letters for partitions, not physical drives which are numbered 0, 1, etc. If the drive doesn't have a partition there's nothing to show in Explorer. I'm not sure about Device Manager. Seems it should show up there but I'm not sure how the UEFI BIOS handles the interface to Windows for unformatted drives.

Under Disk Management->Action, click Rescan Disks and if it shows up, right click it and format it.

BTW, you can hot swap secondary SATA drives (not the boot drive). It's part of the SATA spec and the connectors are configured to handle the hot swapping. If you are installing one, you connect the cables and click Disk Management->Action->Rescan Disks and it will show in the list. To dismount it you right click the drive and click Offline and then disconnect the cables.

 

[m3dicat3d]

Thanks for the replies! Disk management gives no such prompts. Unfortunately, re-scanning does nothing either. SATA ports are enabled. No M.2 drives installed. Tried different SATA ports, but nothing (except having to reset the boot order to get the OS drive to boot up).

I sincerely appreciate the advice, I am thinking I just got a bum drive from WD. Will return it and buy something other than WD and try that. Again, thanks for trying to help!