4 Easy Ways to Restore Data from Hard Drive that is Not Detected

Hard drives, new or old, internal or external, can suddenly start not showing up in File Explorer or Disk Management. Don't panic – this is one of the most common problems faced by Windows as well as MacOS users.

This can be a distressing situation where you cannot access data on your hard drive. If your hard drive is not showing up, it may be because it is not initialized or needs formatting. Make sure your drive is properly connected to the motherboard with a SATA cable. Due to some BIOS settings, your HDD may not be visible in Windows Operating Systems.

When it comes to data backup and transfer, an external hard drive is invaluable. However, when it is not recognized or identified by the computer, it can cause problems. This is common with some error messages, such as: "The drive is not formatted," "The drive cannot be accessed," "RAW drive is not initialized."

The reasons can be anything right from hard drive sockets are not properly connected. Hard drive getting corrupt. It can also turn RAW, At times, the system might not be able to detect or recognize the file system. Erors in the registry directory. At times, the hard disk might not be specified as the first booting device in BIOS. Incorrect or improper hard drive partitioning or formating. Damaged or faulty sockets or ports.

Regardless of the reason your hard drive is not getting detected. You can try solutions like changing the driver letter, updating device drivers, running CHKDSK in Command Prompt. If all of those solutions fail, then formatting the hard drive can help.

Before you proceed and start troubleshooting the problem. You should know the data might get permanently deleted or lost. If you have taken backups and saved it on various locations. If you don't have backups. I recommend you first recover data from the hard drive.

Also Read: How to Recover Files from External Hard Drive not detected?

Table Of Contents

• How to Recover Data From Hard Drive Not Detected Using Remo Recover?
• Methods to Fix Undetected Hard Drive
• Conclusion

How to Recover Data From Undetected Hard Drive Using Remo Recover?

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• Connect the undetected hard drive to the computer.
• Now, Launch the software on your system, select the hard drive and click on the Scan option.

Note: If you are unable to find the hard drive, click on the Can’t Find Drive? option.



• Once the scan starts you can click on the Dynamic Recovery View to recover your files and folders from your unrecognized hard drive during the scanning process itself.



• After completion of the scanning process, a list of recovered files is displayed under the Lost and Found folder or Lost Partition folder.



• You can preview all the recovered files such as photos, videos, excel files, etc using the Preview feature for free.



• If you are satisfied with the results, select the files which you want to restore and hit the Recover button to save them at your desired location.

You have now safely recovered your data from the undetected drive and save it in a different location. Ensuring the safety of your data. The next section discusses various solutions to make the undetected hard drive detectable.

Also Read: recover deleted files from external hard drives

4 Effective Methods to Fix Undetected Hard Drive

• Method 1: Fix the Unrecognized Hard Drive By Changing The Assigned Letter
• Method 2: Look For Errors In The Device Drivers
• Method 3: Use Command Prompt To Fix Your Hard Disk Not Detected Issue
• Method 4: By Formatting The Hard Drive Using Disk Management Utility

Method 1: Fix the Unrecognized Hard Drive By Changing The Assigned Letter

All drives are assigned an identifying letter when they're created. For example, the default letter of Windows drives is usually "C:". In some cases, simply changing this letter could solve the visibility issues, as long as your computer boots up.

1. In Disk Management, right-click the volume and select "Change Drive Letter and Paths."
2. In the new window, click "Change." Here you can assign a new drive letter to your USB and click "OK." This should fix the problem.

A used device can suddenly produce unallocated space. Unallocated space cannot be used to store data. To use the space, you need to create a partition on it or divide it into multiple partitions. Accidental partition deletion, virus attacks, or other reasons can cause this type of disk partition loss. You simply need to recover the data from the unallocated space and create a new disk volume to reuse it.

Method 2: Update the Device Drivers

Outdated device drivers or any issue with the device drivers are also one of the reasons why your computers fail to detect the hard drive. Follow the below-mentioned steps to find errors in device drives to fix the hard drive won’t mount or not detected issue:

• Press Windows+R and type devmgmt.msc and click on ok



• Under disk drives and look for any exclamation mark
• If yes, right-click on the device and select properties to see the error message
• If the issue is due to outdated drivers update the drivers and see if the issue is fixed.

Method 3: Use Command Prompt To Fix Your Hard Disk Not Detected Issue

To fix the hard drives that are not detected using CMD or CHKDSK, follow the below-mentioned steps:

• Go to disk management, check which drive is undetected and remember the drive letter.
• Open the command prompt in administrator mode and type chkdsk drive letter:/r/f in place of a drive letter and enter the drive letter assigned to the undetected hard drive letter. (For example chkdsk d:/r/f)
• Wait for the process to complete and enter diskpart tap on the enter key
• Once you are in the diskpart type rescan command and wait for the process to complete
• Exit the diskpart and enter the command chkdsk /f drive letter after completing the process check if you have fixed the hard drive not detected issue.

Sometimes, Windows tries to fix the issue with the hard drive by asking you to format it. In case you click on yes and give permission to format the hard disk, your data will be lost in just one click. In another scenario, the hard drive might have turned RAW or been damaged due to virus intrusion. Either case, your precious data is at risk and you should act soon to recover data from a hard drive that is not detected. We strongly suggest you perform the data recovery using Remo Recover before following the steps to fix the undetected hard dive.

Method 4: By Formatting The Hard Drive Using Disk Management Utility

First, you have to check whether your hard drive is showing in Disk Management or not. If you see your hard drive here, the issue may be in not showing up in File Explorer. If the drive is visible in Disk Management then follow the below steps to fix your undetected hard disk using Disk Management:

Step 1: Press Windows+R and type diskmgmt.msc and hit the enter button.

Step 2: See if your hard drive is listed among the list of drives.

Step 3: If you find your undetected hard drive, format the hard drive.

Now, that you have completely formatted the drive with a compatible file system. You can restore the data that was earlier recovered on your drive and you are good to go.

Conclusion

Recovering data from an undetected hard drive can be risky without proper guidance. Hence, this article specifically explains the steps you need to do when your hard drive is not detected and recover data safely. It is recommended to always make use of a trusted data recovery tool like Remo to make the process secure and simpler.