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USB external drive not shown in Computer

Discussion in 'Legacy Windows' started by Sparky7407, 2016/02/27.

  1. 2016/02/27
    Sparky7407

    Sparky7407 Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    I have plugged my external drive into a USB slot on my laptop running Windows 8.1 Pro and when I click on the desktop Computer icon the external drive is not shown in the screen that opens - all the other usual drives and folders are shown.
    The external drive is shown in "Safely Remove Hardware and eject Media" in the notification area and is also shown the Devices and Printers window.
    I have plugged the external drive into different USB slots with the same effect each time.
    What do I need to do to see the drive in the Computer window so I can access the files on the drive?
     
    Sparky7407,
    #1
  2. 2016/02/27
    Steve R Jones

    Steve R Jones SuperGeek Staff

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    For grins, try rebooting with it plugged in.
     
    Steve R Jones,
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  4. 2016/02/27
    Sparky7407

    Sparky7407 Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Thanks Steve, tried your tip but still the same.
     
    Sparky7407,
    #3
  5. 2016/02/28
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    Does is show up in Disk Management?
    Rt click Computer icon > select Manage...
     
    TonyT,
    #4
  6. 2016/02/28
    Sparky7407

    Sparky7407 Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Tony, yes it does show in disk management.
     
    Sparky7407,
    #5
  7. 2016/03/01
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    What is its status shown in disk mgmt?
    It sounds like the partition table on the drive is corrupted.
    You can recover your files and afterward repair the partition table using TestDisk.
     
    TonyT,
    #6
  8. 2016/03/01
    SpywareDr

    SpywareDr SuperGeek WindowsBBS Team Member

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    Sometimes, there is a problem with the electronics within the hard drive enclosure. Removing the hard drive from the enclosure and connecting it directly to the motherboard, or inserting it into another know-good enclosure, will allow you to access the files on the drive again.

    (Note that this approach will not work with ALL external USB hard drives. Some have been designed to work only while in the enclosure.)
     
    SpywareDr,
    #7
  9. 2016/03/01
    Sparky7407

    Sparky7407 Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Thanks guys.

    The drive works perfectly well when I plug it into another laptop with Win 8.1 Pro and I can access all the files on the drive. It sounds like a problem with my laptop rather than the drive itself.
     
    Sparky7407,
    #8
  10. 2016/03/01
    SpywareDr

    SpywareDr SuperGeek WindowsBBS Team Member

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    Well yes. If it works perfectly fine on another computer, then it would be a computer problem. Have you tried a System Restore back to a date when it was working corectly?
     
    SpywareDr,
    #9
  11. 2016/03/02
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    Same operating system on both computers?

    Either way, I would copy the files off the external drive, then plug it into the comp that doesn't mount it, then use disk mgmt to delete the partitions and create new ones. After that, access the drive properties and disable indexing on partitions. If the comp now mounts the drive, safely remove it and connect to the other comp & put back the files.

    I ran into similar problems between windows xp and windows 7-8. XP would always mount the drives but sometimes win7 & 8 would not. And sometimes 7 would have no problem and 8 would.

    Closest I could come to isolating/preventing the problem was to always use the Safely Remove Device in system tray before disconnecting or powering off the externals drives. Sometime on a reboot or a shutdown windows won't cleanly unmount the drive and next run it won't detect & mount it properly.
     
    TonyT,
    #10
  12. 2016/04/16
    Sparky7407

    Sparky7407 Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Tony, thanks for the suggestion and my apologies for not replying sooner as I've been working in a desert with a very limited internet connection.
    Your suggestion worked, great.
     
    Sparky7407,
    #11

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