External HDD detected but doesn't show up in explorer

TVeblen said:

Why is that?
You want to eliminate the possibilities that there is a electrical or connection problem with the external drive. That makes diagnosing the problem and solution easier.

If it is one of those newer drives with a 'special' data cable then if you contact the manufacturer they will normally send a new one out.

It would be good to know the brand and model number of the external drive. Is it a portable drive that gets it's power from the PC, or a desktop model that uses it's own power supply? The portable models have known power issues on some PCs.

It's a portable one and the power light is on when I plug it into the computer. So I thought it might not be a problem with the USB cable. But I will try to get another USB cable.

zed7007 said:

gregrocker said:

Do not try to initialize the HD as it will destroy the data.

I gave you the steps to try to fix or recover the HD's partition or it's data.

I tried the steps. PW detected the hard disk as a bad disk and when I right-click the HDD none of the options are available on the pop-up menu.

Here is the screenshot of PW:
Attachment 192220

Then click on the Disk number to highlight it, from Wizards tab select Partition Recovery Wizard to see what it finds.

If even Partition Recovery Wizard doesn't see the drive, then use Recuva - Feature.

It's going to be hard to help you recover your data when you don't follow the exact steps given and report back interactivately without being prompted.

zed7007 said:

gregrocker said:

Do not try to initialize the HD as it will destroy the data.

I gave you the steps to try to fix or recover the HD's partition or it's data.

I tried the steps. PW detected the hard disk as a bad disk and when I right-click the HDD none of the options are available on the pop-up menu.

Here is the screenshot of PW:
Attachment 192220

Then click on the Disk number to highlight it, from Wizards tab select Partition Recovery Wizard to see what it finds.

If even Partition Recovery Wizard doesn't see the drive, then use Recuva - Features.

It's going to be hard to help you recover your data when you don't follow the exact steps given and report back interactivately without being prompted.

gregrocker said:

zed7007 said:

gregrocker said:

Do not try to initialize the HD as it will destroy the data.

I gave you the steps to try to fix or recover the HD's partition or it's data.

I tried the steps. PW detected the hard disk as a bad disk and when I right-click the HDD none of the options are available on the pop-up menu.

Here is the screenshot of PW:
Attachment 192220

Then click on the Disk number to highlight it, from Wizards tab select Partition Recovery Wizard to see what it finds.

If even Partition Recovery Wizard doesn't see the drive, then use Recuva - Features.

It's going to be hard to help you recover your data when you don't follow the exact steps given and report back interactivately without being prompted.

Sorry for that. PW is taking a long time to scan so I will post the results as soon as I can.

I'm taking the HDD to a service center. Thanx for the help guys.

zed7007 said:

I have a WD 500GB external hard disk. It had been working fine on any computer systems that I used it on, for more than 5 months and all of a sudden it is not shown in the My Computer window. But it is still detected and installed correctly on any system that I plugged it into.

Here is a screenshot of diskmgmt. It says the disk is unallocated.
Attachment 192117


Any ideas how to solve this problem?

P.S. I already tried rebooting in safe mode, and rebooting again in normal mode. It didn't help. Also I have read many posts with similar problems but they do not exactly match my problem scenario and weren't of any help either.

From milo499 , 23 Jun 2014 ; I had the same problem with one of my HDDs when I connected to my Win 8 ,64 bit computer. I went through Forum to get a solution. but finally by trial I found the solution
On the screen shot of Device Manager , that you showed , note the Yellow marked indication on the LH side of the disk indication. Rt. Click on that and click on ' on line 'that is shown in the dropdown menu. That is it. Immediately the disk will be detected & window will allot the alphabetical character
Even though it is too late for you to note this , I am sending this reply for others having the same problem ; good luck
milo499