External HDD won't show up in Explorer, but shows in device manager

[vipete]

Running a WD External 3.5" External HDD

Windows 7 Home 64Bit

External HDD shows in Device Manager as proper device name and I'm even able to "safely remove usb drive" using the windows utility.

However, HDD does not show up in explorer to retrieve data.


Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Dr_JRE]

Running a WD External 3.5" External HDD

Windows 7 Home 64Bit

External HDD shows in Device Manager as proper device name and I'm even able to "safely remove usb drive" using the windows utility.

However, HDD does not show up in explorer to retrieve data.


Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Right click on My Computer and select Manage.

Select Disk Management

Is the drive there?

Do you need to initialize it? (right click on the picture of the drive)

Does it need a drive letter? (right click and select Assign Drive Letter or Path)

Does it require partitioning? (if its listed as unallocated right click on Unallocated and select New Simple Volume)

Does it require formatting? (right click on the drive in disk management and select Format)

 

[Warren Taylor]

Have looked all over the place for a solution.

This was it. Tx
Warren

 

[nateks0492]

Would this work even if there is existing data on the external hard drive without compromising or losing that said data?

Running a WD External 3.5" External HDD

Windows 7 Home 64Bit

External HDD shows in Device Manager as proper device name and I'm even able to "safely remove usb drive" using the windows utility.

However, HDD does not show up in explorer to retrieve data.


Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Right click on My Computer and select Manage.

Select Disk Management

Is the drive there?

Do you need to initialize it? (right click on the picture of the drive)

Does it need a drive letter? (right click and select Assign Drive Letter or Path)

Does it require partitioning? (if its listed as unallocated right click on Unallocated and select New Simple Volume)

Does it require formatting? (right click on the drive in disk management and select Format)

 

[Dr_JRE]

Would this work even if there is existing data on the external hard drive without compromising or losing that said data?

Running a WD External 3.5" External HDD

Windows 7 Home 64Bit

External HDD shows in Device Manager as proper device name and I'm even able to "safely remove usb drive" using the windows utility.

However, HDD does not show up in explorer to retrieve data.


Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Right click on My Computer and select Manage.

Select Disk Management

Is the drive there?

Do you need to initialize it? (right click on the picture of the drive)

Does it need a drive letter? (right click and select Assign Drive Letter or Path)

Does it require partitioning? (if its listed as unallocated right click on Unallocated and select New Simple Volume)

Does it require formatting? (right click on the drive in disk management and select Format)

Assigning a drive letter should be harmless (it will break shortcuts if the drive letter changes from what the shortcut has.)
Everything else will destroy the data.
You need to recover the data first before you start messing with the drive.

Pandora Recovery is a great free windows app that can recover lost data (so long as windows can "see" the drive)
http://pandorarecovery.com/

System Rescue CD is a great standalone operating system for recovering data and repairing broken computers. (Will recover data so long as the BIOS can "see" the hard drive)
http://www.sysresccd.org/
(Use Testdisk to attempt to repair the disk without need for recovery. if testdisk fails to repair the disk, PhotoRec will recover the data off the drive.)

 

[arodriguez50206]

Running a WD External 3.5" External HDD

Windows 7 Home 64Bit

External HDD shows in Device Manager as proper device name and I'm even able to "safely remove usb drive" using the windows utility.

However, HDD does not show up in explorer to retrieve data.


Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Right click on My Computer and select Manage.

Select Disk Management

Is the drive there?

Do you need to initialize it? (right click on the picture of the drive)

Does it need a drive letter? (right click and select Assign Drive Letter or Path)

Does it require partitioning? (if its listed as unallocated right click on Unallocated and select New Simple Volume)

Does it require formatting? (right click on the drive in disk management and select Format)

I am also experiencing the same issue, I cannot see the drive in explorer, but it does appear in disk management. As soon as disk management loads, it give me a message to initialize the drive, with 2 options, MBR or GPT. I have attempted both, and i receive "the media is write protected" error message. The drive does not have a drive letter. I cannot partition the drive because it will erase all the data i have. I know i can get the drive to work again, but my concern is the data. The drive appears as unallocated, and when i right click, i only get the properties option, all the other options are greyed out. I have windows 7 ultimate, please help.

 

[Dr_JRE]

To recover data you can install Pandora Recovery in windows or use PhotoRec in Linux.

To make the disk writable again you can try these solutions:

You can try the HP Format Tool:
http://download.cnet.com/HP-USB-Disk-Storage-Format-Tool/3000-2094_4-10974082.html

A bit of an odd solution, but it's been known to work for me in the past.

Next up would be DISKPART
Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Command Prompt

Type:
diskpart

Then type:
list volume

This will show you a list of your drives. look for the drive you want to remove write protection from.

Then type:
select volume #
(Replace # with the number corresponding to the problem disk.)

Now type:
attributes volume clear readonly

This should have fixed the issue. Iff not you will need to download a live linux, (like Xubuntu) and install Linux Live USB Installer. (LiLi: http://www.linuxliveusb.com/ ) Use lili to "burn" Xubuntu onto a USB thumbdrive. (create some Persistent Space in Lili's step 2)

Boot the computer from your live linux USB. (Do not install Xubuntu.)

Go to "Start" and open Terminal Emulator.

Go to "Start" -> System -> and open gparted.

In gparted, take note of what label linux has assigned the write protected drive (EG; sdb)

In Terminal, Type:
sudo hdparm -r sdb
(replace sdb with whatever drive "letter" you found in gparted)

if that didn't fix it, you can try one last ditch effort.
In your live linux, go to: "start" -> settings -> Settings Manager -> Software & Updates -> Place check-marks in all the boxes EXCEPT CD ROM / DVD in Ubuntu Software tab, Other Software tab and Updates tab.

Next open a terminal by go to "start" -> Terminal Emulator
Type:
sudo apt-get install testdisk
now go to "start" -> system -> testdisk

let testdisk attempt to scan and repair the disk.

if these all fail, then there is likely something physically wrong with the disk. When you installed Testdisk you also installed a program called PhotoRec. This is a data recovery app than can recover the data from the drive.

 

[Mandy de Klerk]

Running a WD External 3.5" External HDD

Windows 7 Home 64Bit

External HDD shows in Device Manager as proper device name and I'm even able to "safely remove usb drive" using the windows utility.

However, HDD does not show up in explorer to retrieve data.


Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Right click on My Computer and select Manage.

Select Disk Management

Is the drive there?

Do you need to initialize it? (right click on the picture of the drive)

Does it need a drive letter? (right click and select Assign Drive Letter or Path)

Does it require partitioning? (if its listed as unallocated right click on Unallocated and select New Simple Volume)

Does it require formatting? (right click on the drive in disk management and select Format)

 

[Mandy de Klerk]

Same problem. The External Harddrive is under devices but wont open so i can see what is in the folder. If i right click on file picture under devices, it doesn't give me one of your options. What now?

 

[popatim]

Please begin your own thread for assistance but you can begin my looking for your drive in disk management, not devices. Run/search diskmgmt.msc

Thank you.

 

[corieyount]

mine wont show up when i go to disk management and right click it only says help no other options please help!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Zachdavey]

I had the same issue, but for me it was as simple as assigning a drive letter, for some reason It had not got a drive letter. As soon as I did that it worked fine.

 

[homealoneatshaw]

I too have a portable HDD that I started by formatting on another computer, after that, it won't install like any other drive. It shows up in device manager and disk management, but fails to initialize or allow me to give it a drive letter of anything else. I'll had these utilities uninstall it and then restarted the computer so that it might install properly after the restart, but no luck.

Any ideas what to do next ?

Thanks
running Dell XPS 9100 with Windows 7 Home Premium