3 Fixes When an External Hard Drive Is Not Showing up in Windows 11

Quick Tips

• You may use the Windows Hardware troubleshooter to fix the problem.
• If troubleshooting fails, you will likely have to replace the hard drive.

Basic Fixes:

• Try another USB port: Your current port may be faulty, and using a different one may be effective.
• Disable Password Protection: Password protection locks your drive, and you may need to remove this feature to appear on your computer.
• Format the drive as exFAT for compatibility between Mac and Windows: If the drive appears in Disk Management, explore formatting it on the current device or another device.
• Reconnect the drive and check the cable connection: You may easily have this problem because of minor cable or connection issues. Check everything and reconnect the drive.
• Reboot the computer: When a minor glitch triggers this hardware issue, resolve it with a simple computer restart.

Fix 1: Run the Hardware Troubleshooter

Windows packs a dedicated troubleshooter tool for fixing hardware connections. Here’s how to use it to fix the external hard drive not showing up in Windows 11.

Step 1: Press the Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog box.

Step 2: Type msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic in the Run box and hit Enter.

Step 3: Hit Next on the dialog box.

Let it troubleshoot, diagnose, and fix the problem.

Fix 2: Enable Auto Mounting

Whenever you connect a new external hard drive to a Windows 11 PC, it assigns a letter to the device and maps the drive’s location. This process is called auto mounting. To fix the external hard drive not showing up in Windows 11, enable automatic mounting of the drives (especially the external ones) using the MountVol tool.

Step 1: Click the Start button > type Command Prompt > click Run as administrator.

Step 2: Type the following command and press Enter. It will enable the Auto Mount function.

mountvol /E

Step 3: Reboot your PC and try connecting an external hard drive again.

Note: You can remove all previously assigned drive letters by running the command below:

mountvol /R

Fix 3: Check if the Drive Shows up in Disk Management or BIOS

If you don’t see the connected drive in the File Explorer menu, you may use the Disk Management tool on Windows. You can check all the drives attached to your computer, review size, check partitions, and other statistics. You can also use the Disk Management tool to activate your hard drive. Let us show you how.

Step 1: Press the Windows key, search for disk management, and click it.

Step 2: Connect your external hard drive with your PC.

Step 3: Right-click on your hard drive name > select Online from the context menu.

The system will open hard drive content in a new File Explorer window. Additionally, you may access your BIOS and see if the hard drive is showing. If it is, the problem may be connected to the File Explorer.