How to Fix Hard Drive Not Showing Up on Windows 10

A lot of people use Windows 10 on their computer nowadays. So, it’s not surprising that one of the most common questions we get asked at our support center is: “Why can’t I see my hard drive on Windows 10?” In this article, we’ll show you a few different ways to fix this problem.

Check if the Hard Drive is Detected by BIOS

If your hard drive is not showing up on Windows, the first thing you should do is check if it is detected by BIOS. To do this, restart your computer and enter BIOS. Once in BIOS, look for the hard drive under the Storage section. If it is listed there, then your hard drive is detected by BIOS and the problem is likely with Windows. If the hard drive is not listed in BIOS, then there may be a problem with the hard drive itself and you will need to troubleshoot it further.

Check if the Hard Drive is Assigned with a Drive Letter

If your hard drive is not showing up on Windows, the first thing you should check is if the hard drive is assigned with a drive letter. To do this, open the Disk Management tool. You can find this tool by opening the Control Panel and then clicking on “Administrative Tools.”

Once you have opened the Disk Management tool, find your hard drive in the list of drives. If your hard drive does not have a drive letter assigned to it, right-click on the drive and select “Change Drive Letter and Paths.” Then, assign a drive letter to your hard drive and click “OK.”

After doing this, your hard drive should show up on Windows. If it does not, there may be another issue causing the problem.

Initialize the Disk

If your hard drive is not showing up on Windows, there are a few things you can try to fix the issue.

First, you can try initializing the disk. To do this, open the Disk Management tool. You can find this tool by clicking on the Start menu and then typing “disk management” into the search box. Once the Disk Management tool opens, find your hard drive in the list of disks. Right-click on it and select “Initialize Disk.” If initialization is successful, your hard drive should now be showing up in Windows.

If initializing the disk does not fix the issue, you may need to assign a drive letter to your hard drive. To do this, open the Disk Management tool again and find your hard drive in the list of disks. Right-click on it and select “Change Drive Letter and Paths.” Click “Add” and assign a drive letter to your hard drive. Your hard drive should now be showing up in Windows.

Convert MBR to GPT or GPT to MBR

You can convert MBR to GPT or GPT to MBR using the Disk Management tool.

To do this, open the Disk Management tool and select the hard drive that you want to convert.

Right-click on the hard drive and select Convert MBR to GPT or Convert GPT to MBR from the menu.

Follow the prompts to complete the conversion process.

Create a New Partition on the Disk

If your hard drive is not showing up on Windows, you may need to create a new partition on the disk. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open the Disk Management tool by typing ‘diskmgmt.msc’ into the Windows search bar.
2. Right-click on the disk that you want to partition and select ‘Create New Partition’.
3. Follow the prompts to create a new partition on the disk.
4. Once the partition is created, you should see it show up in Windows Explorer.

Format the Hard Drive

If your hard drive is not showing up on Windows, there are a few things you can try to fix the problem.

One thing you can try is formatting the hard drive. This will erase all of the data on the drive, so make sure you have backups of any important files before doing this. To format the drive, open the Disk Management tool in Windows. Right-click on the hard drive and select Format. Choose a file system and click OK.

Another thing you can try is checking the BIOS settings. Sometimes hard drives can be disabled in the BIOS, so make sure that the drive is enabled. You can access the BIOS settings by pressing a key (usually F2 or DEL) when your computer first starts up.

If neither of these solutions work, it is possible that there is a hardware issue with the hard drive. In this case, you will need to take the computer to a qualified technician for repair.

Reinstall Windows 10

If your hard drive is not showing up on Windows, there are a few things you can try to fix the issue.

First, make sure that the hard drive is properly plugged in and that all the cables are secure. If the hard drive is still not showing up, try restarting your computer.

If the hard drive still isn’t appearing, you may need to reinstall Windows 10. To do this, go to the Windows 10 download page and select the option to download the installation media.

Once the installation media is downloaded, boot from it and follow the prompts to reinstall Windows 10. Be sure to select the option to keep your personal files and apps when prompted.

If you’re still having trouble after reinstalling Windows 10, it’s possible that there’s an issue with the hard drive itself. In this case, you may need to replace the hard drive.

Use Diskpart Command Prompt

If your hard drive is not showing up on Windows, you can use the Diskpart command line tool to fix the problem. First, open the Command Prompt as an administrator. Then, type in the following commands:

diskpart
list disk
select disk 0 (or whichever disk your hard drive is connected to)
attributes disk clear readonly
online disk
exit

This will fix the problem and your hard drive should now be visible on Windows.

Update or Reinstall Drivers

If your hard drive is not showing up on Windows, the first thing you should try is updating or reinstalling your drivers. Drivers are the software that helps your computer communicate with your hardware. Sometimes, driver problems can cause your hard drive to not show up.

To update your drivers, go to the manufacturer’s website and download the latest drivers for your model of hard drive. Once you have downloaded the drivers, install them on your computer. If this does not fix the problem, you can try reinstalling your drivers. To do this, go to the Control Panel and uninstall the drivers for your hard drive. Then, restart your computer and install the drivers again.

If updating or reinstalling your drivers does not fix the problem, there may be something wrong with your hard drive itself. Try running a diagnostic test on the drive to see if there are any problems. If you find any errors, you may need to format the drive or replace it entirely.

Run SFC Scan

If you’re having trouble getting your hard drive to show up on Windows, one thing you can try is running an SFC scan. SFC stands for “system file checker.” This is a tool that scanning your system files for any corrupted or missing files. If it finds any, it will attempt to fix them.

To run an SFC scan, open the command prompt and type in “sfc /scannow.” This will start the scan. It may take a few minutes to complete. Once it’s done, restart your computer and see if the hard drive shows up.