How to Fix Hard Drive Not Showing in Disk Management? Find Best Solutions
Ever met with an instance when your internal hard drive not showing in disk management? If yes, then there could be various reasons for such circumstances. However, we have noticed this query being faced by many users across the globe; hence, we have come up with this blog. It will include the major reasons why hard drives do not show up in disk management, along with possible solutions. So, read on and get the perfect solution for the internal and external HDD not showing in disk management for Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, etc.
Why is the Hard Drive Not Showing? Possible Reasons
- Wrong Initialization: Whenever the disk is displayed as Unknown or Not initialized in Disk management, it is also not available in File Explorer
- Connection Issues: Any improper connection, poor power outage, or incorrect insertion of cable or USB port can cause the internal hard drive to not show up in disk management
- Bad Sectors: Sometimes, due to several bad sectors in the disk, Windows finds it difficult to recognize the internal hard drive not showing up.
- Outdated Disk Driver: When the driver of the internal hard drive is outdated, it fails to show up in disk management
- Hard Drive Without a Drive Letter: When the hard disk partition is not assigned with any drive letter
Methods to Fix Hard Drive Not Showing in Disk Management Issue
As we have noticed, there are different reasons behind this disk not showing up in the Windows error. So, the solutions are also different for different cases. In the below sections, I am going to explain all the solutions to fix internal or external disks not coming up in disk management.
- Check connection to fix disk not showing error Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7
- Format hard drive to fix disk not showing in Diskmgmt
- Update driver and fix disk doesn’t show in Disk Management
- Fix hard drive not coming up in disk management in BIOS
Technique #1: Verify that the Disk is Connected Properly or Not
This is the simple way to resolve the disk not showing issues. Simply check the connection. Follow the steps:
- First of all, make sure that the hard drive is properly connected to the motherboard and the power supply is also made available to it
- To check, open the computer case and ensure that the data cable is attached to the relevant port on the motherboard and power cable to the power supply
- Even if the hard disk is connected properly but the internal hard drive not showing up in disk management, try to implement the other methods listed below.
Technique #2: Format the Internal Hard Drive Via Disk Management
If the hard disk not formatted, then there is a chance that disk will not be visible in disk management utility in Windows 10, 8, 7, etc. Follow the steps listed here:
- To begin with, hit Windows Key + X Key and select the Disk Management option
- After launching disk management, identify the drive which is defined as Unknown or Not Initialized
- Once the drive is identified, select the Initialize Disk option and either select the partition style as MBR or GPT.
- Based on the drive size, select MBR if the size is smaller than 2 TB; otherwise, select GPT if the drive size is larger than 2TB.
- After initializing the drive, right-click the unallocated space, select New Simple Volume and click Next.
- Now, specify the volume size or leave it as per the default size and click on the Next button.
- After assigning the drive letter, select the file system, click Next and then hit the Finish button.
- This procedure will help to fix the internal hard drive not showing up in disk management
Note: Once the disk is formatted, you will lose the complete data. So, if data is lost due to formatting the disk,. Then you need a trusted way to recover files after formatting disk.
Technique #3: Update Drivers to Fix Disk Not Showing Error
If the drivers are not updated, then this issue will appear. So, the external hard drive is not showing up in disk management. Simply update the disk driver.
- The internal hard drive won’t show up in disk management if the drivers are not updated. This is applied to the motherboard and chipset drivers.
- It is recommended that you visit the manufacturer’s website and make sure that you download the latest drivers for your motherboard.
Technique #4: Check if the Drive Shows Up in the BIOS or Not
Check if your external disk is showing up in the BIOS or not. Follow the steps listed below:
- As soon as you know that the internal hard drive is not showing up in disk management, then try to check whether it is displayed in BIOS.
- For that, keep pressing F2 or Del until your system boots to enter BIOS. If you have any confusion about finding the key, then check the motherboard manual.
- Now, if your drive appears in BIOS, then it is connected and working properly. It means there is something wrong with Windows
- In the other case, if the internal drive doesn’t display in BIOS, then there is a chance that the drive may not be properly connected
Note: If any of these methods didn’t work for you to resolve the hard disk not showing in disk management, then immediately take a backup of all your files and folders saved in it.
Important Tips: Secure Your Important Files and Folders First!
Are you facing discrepancies while implementing the manual methods? Moreover, executing the manual method requires sufficient and strong technical knowledge. If the commands are not executed properly, you may fail to process the steps. Worried after reading all these? Resolving my new hard drive not showing up in disk management is necessary. But before that, secure your files first. Fortunately, we have expert-suggested software that will help recover permanently deleted files from external hard drive secure your files first and avoid data loss.
After this fix, the internal hard drive is not showing up in the disk management error. This tool is loaded with countless features to recover deleted partition on external hard drive. It is induced by a simple and easy-to-use interface that enables a naïve user to easily run this tool.
Read More Information: How to Recover Deleted Video Files from Hard Drive?
Working Steps of this Software
- Initial screen when downloading and installing hard disk recovery software.
- Select the partition and press the “Scan” or “Scan Formatted” button according to your needs.
- View fully recovered data items in the Wizard panel.
- Select Save all data or uncheck the option to save the recovered data from HDD to your desired location.
Closing Thoughts
If you are in a situation wherein your internal hard drive is not showing up in disk management,. Even if executing the manual methods did not give you appropriate results,. Then, do not waste time; simply download and install the automated tool mentioned above. Because of the various limitations of manual methods, it is always the best option to opt for this tool to save your important files first and then move on to fix the internal or external hard drive not showing in disk management issue.
Frequently Asked Question by Users
Q: How do I fix my external hard drive not showing up in disk management?
In the above blog, we have mentioned four solutions to fix external HDD not showing up in disk management. You can try anyone to get rid of these issues.
Q: Can you see the hard drive in Device Manager but not in disk management?
By reading this blog, you can see the hard drive in the device manager but not in disk management.
