If you have an internal disk in a desktop PC, you'll probably need to shut your PC down before switching cables - see your PC's manual for details. It might sound crazy, but cables fail a lot, so try using a different cable to plug the disk in. This is especially common with USB hubs, but sometimes there are differences between ports on a PC, so try a few different ports if you have them. Sometimes USB disks don't get enough power from some ports, or have other issues with particular ports. Plug the disk into a different USB port that's directly on your PC (not on a hub). To turn off your PC in Windows 10, select the Start button, select the Power button, and then select Shut down. Shut down your PC, turn off your external hard disk (if it's an external disk with a power cord), and then turn your PC and the disk back on. If you have an external disk that's not showing up, unplug the disk, plug it back in, and then select Action > Rescan Disks. It's best to just leave them alone to do their jobs starting your PC and helping you recover from problems.
These partitions are full of really important files your PC needs to operate properly. Ignore any partitions that are listed as EFI System Partition or Recovery Partition. Don't do this if you're trying to recover files from this partition - instead, skip ahead to the next step.
If the disk works after one of these steps, don't bother with the next steps, just kick back, celebrate, and maybe update your backups. There's only so much you can do to fix a failing disk, but here are some steps to try to see if we can get it working again. There are a bunch of reasons a disk or memory card might be missing or fail to initialize, with a common reason being because the disk is failing. Or maybe you have a disk full of important files, and you don't want to erase the disk by initializing it. However, there's a good chance you've already tried this, and it didn't work. Solution: If the drive is brand new and just needs to be initialized, erasing any data on it, the solution is easy - see Initialize New Disks. It's also possible that the disk is having hardware problems or issues plugging in, but we'll get to that in a few paragraphs. Basically this means that the disk has never been initialized and formatted, or the drive formatting has become corrupted somehow.
If you have a disk that doesn't appear in File Explorer and is listed in Disk Management as Not Initialized, it could be because the disk doesn't have a valid disk signature.
How to open Disk Managementīefore we launch into the tricky stuff, here's an easy way to get to Disk Management in case you're not there already: If you still need help, post a question there, or Contact Microsoft Support or the manufacturer of your hardware.
If you get an error or something doesn't work when following these procedures - don't panic! This topic is just the first thing to try there's also a ton of info on the Microsoft community site in the Files, folders, and storage section about the wide variety of hardware and software configurations you might be dealing with.